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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 08/02/91 -- Vol. 10, No. 5

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. This week's Lincroft discussion book is _E_a_r_t_h by david Brin, of
which Dale Skran says:

One of the greatest challenges in SF is the creation of believable
novel of the next 50 years. David Brin does this in _E_a_r_t_h.

[Of all the contenders I have read,] Brin's _E_a_r_t_h has the best shot
at the Hugo. Although a vast tome, it becomes increasingly
engaging as the reader gets toward the end, and builds toward one

THE MT VOID Page 2

of Brin's patented "comic-book" style conclusions. By "comic-book"
I mean that it features the clash of mighty forces using
E. E. Smith style weapons that would not seem out of place in a
Stan Lee comic. Another Brin novel with a "comic-book" ending is
_P_o_s_t_m_a_n which has two super-strong cyborgs duking it out like pagan
gods in the final pages. As always with Brin, the science is well
thought out and the society carefully considered. He has clearly
been thinking about _E_a_r_t_h for a long time. Recommended. Strong
Hugo contender.

2. I see we are undergoing another attack by the Cheese People. I
don't know exactly who the Cheese People really are. They might be
a part of the Dairy Council or they might be just some terrorists
trying to prove to themselves how decadent and stupid Americans
have become. They probably have a name like Cheddar December
commemorating some event having to do with cheese that they rest of
us were never aware happened. Anyway Cheddar December (I guess
I'll call them that) was a group of terrorists who a few years back
put the legend "Approved for the Cheese Lifestyle" on labels of
cheese. Personally I have never been rich enough to be able to
afford a lifestyle for myself. I think people in California have
lifestyles anyway. I could be wrong, however. I will know I
actually have a lifestyle when I see a book that has a label
saying, "Approved for the lifestyle where you have 16,000 books in
cardboard boxes and after 12 years still no window treatments for
the living room." Once they make that an official lifestyle, I
will believe I have a lifestyle and will consider switching to the
cheese lifestyle, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think Cheddar December are the same people who came up with the
concept of "Real," or at least the first to make it pay. You see
all kinds of dairy products with the word "real" on them these
days. And only dairy products have this, as if it were impossible
to have _r_e_a_l tomatoes or _r_e_a_l eggs or _r_e_a_l anything else. As long
as it can be dairy, it's _r_e_a_l. Like _r_e_a_l imitation ice milk. None
of that phony imitation ice milk. We are talking about what is
really _r_e_a_l. Kraft in one of their ads talks about "and you know
how good _r_e_a_l cheese is." Never mind the fact that before they got
into the act all cheese was real. It was they who invented
machine-stamped, vacu-formed, roller-rolled, plastic process
cheese. They call them Kraft Singles because nobody can eat more
than one.

Anyway, what Cheddar December is up to these days is a bunch of ads
saying you should put two kinds of cheese on a cheeseburger: a
bunch of cowpokes sitting around the camp fire and eating
cheeseburgers and talking about how wild it is having two kinds of
cheese on the cheeseburgers. How do I find this stupid? Let me
count the ways.

THE MT VOID Page 3

1. As someone who used to make brie-burgers at Club Med, I can
tell you that one cheese tastes a lot like another on a
cheeseburger. A bleu-burger has a slightly different taste.
A Limburger-burger might have an interesting bouquet, but
there is no point in mixing Muenster and cheddar as the
Cheddar Decemberists suggest.

2. We all know that cowpokes chew tobacco and eat beans and
bad chili. I am hardly going to take their opinion on haute
cuisine.

3. If they had cheese at the camp fire it must have come with
them. I recently carried a piece of cheese around for a day
under similar hot conditions. It turns into a greasy paste.

3. Reminder: Hugo ballots must be postmarked by August 10.

Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper

Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks he is free.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

THE FANTASTIC ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD edited by Martin H. Greenberg
Signet, 1991, ISBN 0-451-17053-9, $3.99.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper

With all the fuss about Robin Hood generated now by the release of
_R_o_b_i_n _H_o_o_d, _P_r_i_n_c_e _o_f _T_h_i_e_v_e_s, it's not surprising that an anthology of
Robin Hood stories would be released. And just as the movie failed to
live up to its expectations, so does the book.

Part of the problem may be the cover blurb, which bills this as
"Thirteen Fantastic Writers Offer Glimpses into Alternate Worlds." I
guess alternate histories must be popular if that's what the blurb
writers think will sell the book, but these are _n_o_t (with one exception)
alternate history stories and shouldn't be billed as such. (Not to
mention the misleading cover of Robin Hood dressed in Sherwood green
against the New York City skyline--only two stories even come close to
matching that cover--and they don't.) Mostly the stories are old ideas:
Robin Hood's Jewish mother complaining to her mah-jongg group about her
son (frankly, I thought the complaining Jewish mother stereotype had
been laid to rest a while ago, but no, it's trotted out here in a
totally inappropriate context), Robin Hood comes back to teach a boy how
to fight off the bullies, what appears to be a Robin Hood role-playing
game as a security system on a computer (I swear I'm _n_o_t making this
up), and so on. And while the first "Muffy Birnbaum" story may have
been cute, if I never see another one again it will be too soon (a
shopping duel?!).

There are some acceptable stories. "One-Eyed King" by Nancy
A. Collins features the sex and gore that have come to be associated
with her name (let's hope the parents of the teenagers who buy this
don't read this one!) and is well-done, but too graphic for my taste.
(I also found the ending unbelievable, but I could be wrong.) Laura
Resnick's "Avant Vanguard" was a lot of fun, even if something similar
was done a hundred years ago by S. C. (M. T.). (I'm trying to avoid
spoilers here; if you read the story this will make sense.) On the
other hand, two good stories do not an anthology make, and like the
movie that inspired this, _T_h_e _F_a_n_t_a_s_t_i_c _A_d_v_e_n_t_u_r_e_s _o_f _R_o_b_i_n _H_o_o_d is a
big disappointment.

AUTHOR'S CHOICE MONTHLY 14: Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Pulphouse, 1990, $4.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper

A while ago I reviewed James Morrow's _A_u_t_h_o_r'_s _C_h_o_i_c_e _M_o_n_t_h_l_y from
Pulphouse; now it's Nina Kiriki Hoffman's. This is number fourteen in
the series, titled _L_e_g_a_c_y _o_f _F_i_r_e (though since this appears only on the
title page, not on the cover, you're better off looking by number). As
with all the "Author's Choice" books, the physical book itself is
wonderful to hold: parchment-like covers, cream-colored pages that are
easy on the eyes, and a cover by George Barr.

Hoffman writes in a literary style, with a lot of use of first-
person narratives. This gives the reader a feeling of being right in
the story, and the introductory comments on how the stories came to be
written underscore a very personal involvement on Hoffman's part as
well.

The title story is about wishes, and dreams, and being an outsider,
and choices. There is only minimal fantasy content (if any--whether it
derives from the _T_w_i_l_i_g_h_t _Z_o_n_e episode "What You Need" is left for you
to decide). "Drawing on the Kitchen Table" has no fantasy aspect, but
is about art and using art to communicate.

"Savage Breasts," on the other hand, _i_s fantasy, and wickedly funny
fantasy at that. Ever on the quest for thematic pairings, I suggest
this and Suzy McKee Charnas's "Boobs" as well-matched. (This topic
provides enormous opportunity for jokes and puns. I will forbear.)

After the light-heartedness of "Savage Breasts," the depression of
"Tremors" is almost too jarring. I also found "Tremors" too similar in
theme and execution to many other stories to stand out in this
collection. And while the following story, "Universal Donor," is
original, it didn't do anything for me. "The Black Knitting Needle" had
power; however, it derives more from the underlying (true) story much
more than from the telling.

"Measuring Up to Shadows" is similar to "Legacy of Fire" in its
look at how we are affected by other people's perceptions and
expectations of us, but has a much higher fantasy content. Is that the
shade of Robert Burns chanting, "Oh wad some power the giftie gie us /
To see oursels as others see us!"

"Coming Home" is a classic horror story, with an ending you won't
see coming. You think you will, but trust me, you won't.

The final story, "Work of Art," is related to "Drawing on the
Kitchen Table" in that it examines art and its place in our lives.

Hoffman: Authors Choice July 24, 1991 Page 2

However, it tries to elevate art to a higher level than the average
person perceives it. If you don't agree with this view, you will
probably find the story annoying rather than moving, but you will find
yourself thinking about it either way. These two stories emphasize what
all her stories demonstrate: that Hoffman considers writing art rather
than just a way to make a living.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman's work is hard to find. I discovered her in
_W_e_i_r_d _T_a_l_e_s, and the stories in this book appeared in such magazines as
_S_n_a_p_d_r_a_g_o_n, _P_u_l_p_h_o_u_s_e, and _A_r_g_o_n_a_u_t. I find her choice of stories--for
this is "Author's Choice"--interesting in that I enjoyed other stories
of hers more (e.g., "Rumors of Greatness," "Courting Disasters," "Little
Once," and "Exact Change"), but I would still recommend this volume as
the easiest way to get acquainted with a promising author.

(Your local bookstore almost definitely won't carry this, and there
is no ISBN, so you can order direct from Pulphouse Publishing, P. O. Box
1227, Eugene OR 97440.)

GOOD NIGHT, MR. HOLMES by Carole Nelson Douglas
Tor, 1991 (1990c), ISBN 0-812-51430-0, $4.99.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper

Once again we have a Holmes pastiche with Irene Adler. She seems
to fascinate Sherlockians, and the number of books continuing her story
after "A Scandal in Bohemia" is remarkable. But Douglas doesn't do
that; she _r_e_t_e_l_l_s "A Scandal in Bohemia" from Irene's point of view.

By itself, of course, the story would be insufficient for a novel.
So Douglas adds some additional plot by making Irene an amateur sleuth
as well, and then by providing her with a Watson-like companion
(Penelope Huxleigh) who serves as the narrator for most of the novel.
There are a few chapters scattered through the book devoted to Holmes
and Watson, but on the whole it is Irene's book.

Douglas has a definite feminist agenda here. Irene is not the
"adventuress" Doyle describes, but a liberated woman. She also solves a
murder mystery, finds lost jewels, etc., etc. While I can't object to
showing a liberated female detective in a story, I can ask, "Why make
her Irene Adler?" Amelia Peabody or even the heroine of _T_h_e _P_u_n_j_a_t'_s
_R_u_b_y would do as well.

One major problem is that Douglas has by retelling "A Scandal in
Bohemia" is that the reader knows the ending. Only in the secondary
plots is there any mystery, and even there not much. The lack of
suspense, coupled with the political agenda the book seems to promote,
detracts from the reader's total enjoyment.

And by choosing "A Scandal in Bohemia" Douglas has inherited a
minor problem as well. Much has been written about the many
inconsistencies and impossibilities in the story as told by Watson,
especially in regard to Irene's marriage to Geoffrey Norton, Surely any
author attempting to retell the story must deal with these and try to
explain them--especially if propounding a revisionist version in other
aspects--yet Douglas merely repeats the same impossible or unlikely
events. (Her level of research in other aspects seems equally
superficial: she goes out of her way to describe the Old Jewish Cemetery
in Prague and what Irene takes to be Rabbi Loew's crypt. There are,
however, no crypts in the cemetery and Rabbi Loew's grave is marked by a
very large and identifiable tombstone. _A_n_d the typesetter misspelled
"cemetery"!)

On the positive side, Douglas has a good style and is enjoyable to
read. A sequel to _G_o_o_d _N_i_g_h_t, _M_r. _H_o_l_m_e_s has already been written and
is titled _G_o_o_d _M_o_r_n_i_n_g, _I_r_e_n_e. (I personally think Douglas should have
gone for either _G_o_o_d _N_i_g_h_t, _I_r_e_n_e or _I_r_e_n_e, _G_o_o_d _N_i_g_h_t, but _G_o_o_d _N_i_g_h_t,
_M_r. _H_o_l_m_e_s is after all a direct quote from the Canon, so I suppose that
settled that.) I am very interested to see what Douglas does with what
I assume is a new story rather than a reworking of an old. _G_o_o_d _N_i_g_h_t,
_M_r. _H_o_l_m_e_s is recommended with reservations.

Capsule review: A female Mike Hammer solves a very
unoriginal and unsurprising mystery. There are a few
laughs in the script, but Jeff Kanew never manages to get
this film going or even make the audience curious who the
killer is.

Imagine, if you will, a hard-boiled detective. You know the kind:
wise-cracking, knows all the angles, good in a fight, heavy drinking,
and hard as nails. Our private eye may be a slob, but in a tight spot
nobody thinks faster. Nothing exciting, right? So far I could be
describing hundreds of different characters from Sam Spade to Mike
Hammer to Mannix to Peter Gunn. But ... but suppose this private eye is
different. Suppose on top of everything else our shamus is a sexy
woman. Boy, what an original idea for a character, huh? Aren't you
utterly intrigued? If you answered this question "yes," fine. You're
welcome to _V. _I. _W_a_r_s_h_a_w_s_k_i, a pedestrian made-for-television-grade
mystery that was instead made for a theatrical release. It would not at
all surprise me to see this turned into an equally pedestrian television
series that will last one season and die.

The film opens with a helicopter view of a bit city (Chicago) under
the credits and that is just about how original the plot gets.
V. I. Warshawski (played by Kathleen Turner) is on the outs with her
reporter boyfriend when she meets and is attracted to a famous hockey
star. Next thing she knows, the hockey player has left his daughter on
V. I.'s doorstep while he goes out for an evening on family business.
By the end of the evening he is dead, and Warshawski has a pesky young
teenager on her hands as well as a murder to solve.

The V. I. Warshawski novels of Sara Paretsky form the basis of this
story by Edward Taylor and adapted to the screen by Taylor, David Aaron
Cohen, and Nick Thiel. The screenplay is occasionally witty, milking
the novelty of a sexy woman with very masculine traits for all the humor
it can get from it. Even more comes from Warshawski's low opinion of
the opposite sex. And when they are tired of that they play with the
novelty of her name. Nobody, they suggest, can pronounce a three-
syllable name. Then they play the T. S. Garp initial game ("What does
the V. I. stand for?" "Very Inquisitive"). The story and the action
are strictly television level. Had there been a series of films about
this character, this might have made an acceptable fifth film in the
series. But if this is the first film there is not likely to be a
second one. I rate _V. _I. _W_a_r_s_h_a_w_s_k_i a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.