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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 07/26/91 -- Vol. 10, No. 4
MEETINGS UPCOMING:
Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are on Wednesdays at noon.
LZ meetings are in LZ 2R-158. MT meetings are in the cafeteria.
_D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C
08/07 LZ: EARTH by David Brin (Hugo nominee)
08/28 LZ: QUEEN OF ANGELS by Greg Bear (Hugo nominee)
09/18 LZ: THE FALL OF HYPERION by Dan Simmons (Hugo nominee)
10/09 LZ: THE QUIET POOLS by Michael Kube-McDowell (Hugo nominee)
10/30 LZ: MINDBRIDGE by Joe Haldeman
11/20 LZ: EON by Greg Bear
12/11 LZ: MIRKHEIM by Poul Anderson
_D_A_T_E _E_X_T_E_R_N_A_L _M_E_E_T_I_N_G_S/_C_O_N_V_E_N_T_I_O_N_S/_E_T_C.
08/10 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: TBA
(phone 201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday)
08/10 Hugo Ballots due
08/17 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: TBA
(phone 201-432-5965 for details) (Saturday)
HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 hocpa!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt
MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 mtgzy!leeper
HO Librarian: Rebecca Schoenfeld HO 2K-430 949-6122 homxb!btfsd
LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 576-3346 mtunq!lfl
MT Librarian: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 mtgzy!leeper
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
1. I have to tell you about this disappointing thing that happened
to me. I had been hearing for months about the restoration of
_S_p_a_r_t_a_c_u_s. I was licking my chops and looking forward to the
release. Not that I hadn't seen the film. I actually have a very
good copy on tape, stereophonic sound and overture and everything.
I love a spectacular film with an overture. Somehow hearing five
minutes of music before you see anything, then having the film
actually start (if possible, with a curtain rise), just fills me
with excitement and anticipation. I'm serious. I love it!
THE MT VOID Page 2
Anyway, I really wanted to go see it on a wide screen. As the time
grew near I really was sorely tempted to watch my copy, even
without the "snails and oysters" scene. Big deal. One scene. And
a few violent fight scenes that the censor cut. What is good about
the film is Ustinov's performance, and Olivier's, and Douglas's.
Well, a poster showed up at my local theater. I went away on
vacation looking forward to seeing the film when I got back from
vacation. When I got back the film was gone. "Pulled from
circulation for lack of attendance." I should have watched my copy
when I wanted to.
2. I am sort of looking forward to the next Leeperhouse film fest.
On Thursday, August 1, at 7 PM, we will be showing one of the great
historical epics. And if you make noise or distract me, I break
your head.
Spartacus
SPARTACUS (1960) dir. by Stanley Kubrick
What can one say about Stanley Kubrick's account of the Servile
Rebellion against Ancient Rome? It is considered to be both
intelligent and spectacular. It has a superb score by Alex North.
What can you say about a cast like Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier,
Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov (a
superb scene-stealer), John Gavin, Nina Foch, Herbert Lom, John
Ireland, and Woody Strode? It won four Oscars. And it, together
with _E_x_o_d_u_s, broke the Hollywood blacklist by openly giving
screenplay credit to the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo. It could have
easily been boycotted. When it wasn't, the blacklist was broken.
Several moving scenes punctuate the film. If you have seen it, see
it again. If you haven't seen it, you'd be stupid to miss it.
Almost up to _L_a_w_r_e_n_c_e _o_f _A_r_a_b_i_a.
3. Does anyone have a copy of "Over the Long Haul" by Martha Soukup
(which first appeared in _A_m_a_z_i_n_g, March 1990) that I could borrow?
(Why is there always one Hugo nominee that's impossible to find?)
If you do, send e-mail to mtgzy!ecl, or call me at 957-2070.
Thanks. [-ecl]
4. I am told that in the last notice I referred to "Columbia." The
current spelling is "Colombia." Yes, I know what you are thinking.
It doesn't look right to me either. But that is the correct
spelling of the country.
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper
All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then
to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is
nothing higher than reason.
-- Immanuel Kant
TALES OF NATURAL AND UNNATURAL CATASTROPHES by Patricia Highsmith
Atlantic Monthly, 1987, ISBN 0-87113-341-5, $8.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper
Patricia Highsmith is primarily known as a mystery writer, yet in
this collection she is well withing the bounds of "speculative fiction."
I suspect it is her unfamiliarity with the genre that leads her
occasionally to re-use well-worn plots, yet her style helps rescue them
from mediocrity.
The first two stories place more emphasis on style than on the
actual events involved. "The Mysterious Cemetery" has an eerie quality
that seems to be a cross between Poe and Lovecraft. "Moby Dick II; or
The Missile Whale," on the other hand, while evoking Melville in the
title, bears little stylistic similarity. Rather, parts of it reminded
me of Richard Adams's "animal's-eye" view of things.
From these two atmospheric stories, we go on to more plot-oriented
ones. "Operation Balsam; or Touch-Me-Not" is a tale of what might be
happening to the country's radioactive waste--not unlike other
cautionary tales perhaps, but far more realistic in plotting and
characterization than most (and far less optimistic than anything _A_n_a_l_o_g
would print). "Naubuti: Warm Welcome to a UN Committee" may not be
politically correct these days, but it probably reflects the reality of
life in the newly independent states in Africa. ("Newly" here means in
the last thirty years.) If Tor is looking for a thematic pairing of
stories for their "Tor Doubles" series, I would suggest this and Mike
Resnick's "Bully!" as excellent stories on the theme "Is Africa Ready
for Independence?" (Boy, if that doesn't stir up discussion, nothing
will!) (After writing this, I noted that "Bully!" has been paired with
Resnick's "Bwana" so I suppose that puts an end to that. But there
could still be a theme anthology....)
Just what a "kinder, gentler" America could lead to is examined in
"Sweet Freedom! And a Picnic on the White House Lawn." Or as a friend
of mine is fond of quoting, "Be careful what you ask for, because you
might get it." If you want a classic horror story a la the old
E. C. Comics, try "Trouble at the Jade Towers." (It also reminded me of
the episode "Beetles" from _T_a_l_e_s _f_r_o_m _t_h_e _D_a_r_k_s_i_d_e.)
In "Rent-a-Womb vs. the Mighty Right" Highsmith points out the
illogic in many of the positions of the "New Right." (Of course, that's
just _m_y opinion. Your mileage may vary, as they say, in this case
depending on your philosophy.)
As "Rent-a-Womb vs. the Mighty Right" is about birth, so "No End in
Sight" is about death, making a neat diptych in the center of this book.
The yellowish-green glow of Naomi predates Stephen King's _G_o_l_d_e_n _Y_e_a_r_s
Tales of Catastrophes July 12, 1991 Page 2
by four years, by the way, so I wouldn't rush to assume any influence
here. Just because Naomi is over 200 years old and glows green could be
a coincidence. (Then again, "No End in Sight" is right about the same
time as _T_o_m_m_y_k_n_o_c_k_e_r_s, the original green glow story.)
The politics of religion resurfaces in "Sixtus VI, Pope of the Red
Slipper," as well as some older ideas as well. Does the Lord work in
mysterious ways, his wonders to perform? Or is it all accident and
happenstance? In any case, this extrapolation of liberation theology
certainly stimulates thought.
Unfortunately, the collection ends on a weak note with "President
Buck Jones Rallies and Waves the Flag," heavily inspired (so far as I
can tell) by Stanley Kubrick's _D_r.=_S_t_r_a_n_g_e_l_o_v_e. What isn't Kubrick
seems pure Ron and Nancy, and it's a pity that an otherwise good
collection finishes up on such a lame story.
I haven't read other Highsmith books, and so can't comment on her
work in general. But these speculative fiction stories are recommended
as a way of seeing things from a different perspective.