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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 08/16/91 -- Vol. 10, No. 7
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
08/28 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
11/13 MT: THE RED MAGICIAN by Lisa Goldstein (Jewish science fiction)
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.
08/17 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: TBA
(phone 201-432-5965 for details) (Saturday)
09/14 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: TBA
(phone 201-933-2724 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. Sometime in the early 1980s on a Friday night I found myself
with nothing to do. The only thing that looked like it could be of
any possible interest was a program on public television. It was
part one of a drama called _A_n _E_n_g_l_i_s_h_m_a_n'_s _C_a_s_t_l_e. I watched about
four minutes and it didn't look all that good. The characters were
making a soap opera set in World War II. One was surprised that
another one had considered World War II a "sort of victory." Odd
sort of discussion. Britain won the war. Then they started
talking about how Britain had crumbled when the Germans invaded. I
slammed a cassette into the machine. This was science fiction. It
THE MT VOID Page 2
was, in fact, alternate history. I'll go one more step and say it
was a really great alternate history. Our main character writes a
bad soap opera for a BBC that answers to a German overlord. The
last Jews in Britain are being rounded up for extermination. Urban
guerillas and terrorists are revolting and bombing collaborators.
The story is good and the acting is better. Kenneth More stars as
Philip Ingram. We did eventually get a decent and complete copy
and it became the most requested tape we owned.
On Thursday, August 22, at 7 PM, the Leeperhouse film fest will
show:
AN ENGLISHMAN'S CASTLE (1978) dir. by Paul Ciappessoni
2. In my review of _T_h_e _M_o_u_n_d last week, I referred to "Sam
Moskowitz's 'Microcosmic God'"; that should have been "Ted
Sturgeon's 'Microcosmic God.'" (I first read it in an anthology
entitled _M_i_c_r_o_c_o_s_m_i_c _G_o_d _a_n_d _O_t_h_e_r _S_t_o_r_i_e_s edited by Sam Moskowitz,
and the two have been inextricably entangled in my mind.) [-ecl]
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper
It is force, not opinion, that queens it over the world,
but it is opinion that looses the force.
-- Blaise Pascal
EXPECTING SOMEONE TALLER by Tom Holt
Ace, 1990 (1987c), ISBN 0-441-22332-X, $3.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper
I don't normally enjoy "humorous" fantasy. For one thing, it's
usually not very humorous. But Tom Holt's _E_x_p_e_c_t_i_n_g _S_o_m_e_o_n_e _T_a_l_l_e_r is
funny--funny enough that I frequently laughed out loud reading it (much
to the distress of my spousal unit, who was trying to read something
serious).
Holt takes as his background Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle of
operas. Malcolm Fisher, schlemiel supreme, runs over a badger one
night. The badger is not really a badger, however--it is Ingolf, a
Frost Giant who had seized the Ring and the Tarnhelm from Siegfried's
funeral pyre. If you're not following this, that's okay. Malcolm
didn't either, so the badger ... excuse me, Ingolf provides some
explanation and Malcolm later does his own research as well. (At the
end of Malcolm's research, Holt describes his state as follows: "Malcolm
had never been greatly inclined to metaphysical or religious
speculations, but he had hoped that if there was a supreme being or
divine agency, it would at least show the elements of logic and common
sense in its conduct. Seemingly, not so. On the other hand, the
revelation that the destiny of the world had been shaped by a bunch of
verbose idiots went some way towards explaining the problems of human
existence.")
Now that Malcolm has the Ring and can rule the world, of course,
everyone else wants it back--gods, valkyries, Rhinemaidens. He also
need some practice to get the knack of the Tarnhelm. And throughout all
this Holt demonstrates a wry wit that other humor writers often fall
short of. My only objection is the somewhat abrupt resolution, but then
any long drawn-out serious stretch would spoil the comic timing. If you
are a fan of Wagner's operas, you _m_u_s_t read this book, but even if
you've never heard a note, _E_x_p_e_c_t_i_n_g _S_o_m_e_o_n_e _T_a_l_l_e_r is highly
recommended.
(Extra note to opera fans: Anna Russell would have loved it.)
A MATTER OF TASTE by Fred Saberhagen
Tor, 1990, ISBN 0-312-85046-8, $16.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper
This is the fifth of Saberhagen's "Dracula" series (also known as
his "Old Friend of the Family" series). (The first four are _T_h_e
_H_o_l_m_e_s-_D_r_a_c_u_l_a _F_i_l_e [1978], _A_n _O_l_d _F_r_i_e_n_d _o_f _t_h_e _F_a_m_i_l_y [1979], _T_h_o_r_n
[1980], and _D_o_m_i_n_i_o_n [1982].) The idea of a good vampire was certainly
unusual when Saberhagen wrote the first one, but Saberhagen had already
toyed with the concept once before. His _D_r_a_c_u_l_a _T_a_p_e [1975] was a
retelling of Bram Stoker's _D_r_a_c_u_l_a--from Dracula's point of view. For
whatever reason (poor distribution may have contributed), that work
vanished after a couple of years. When Saberhagen revived the idea (so
to speak), he started fresh, and in what was certainly a good move
commercially included Sherlock Holmes as well. (Whether Saberhagen
initially envisioned a new Holmes series rather than a vampire series is
not clear.) This time the series persisted, at least until 1982, when
it went into hiding and has only now resurfaced, almost a decade later,
with _A _M_a_t_t_e_r _o_f _T_a_s_t_e.
Alas, the series, like the main character, may be getting a little
long in the tooth. (Sorry, I couldn't resist that.) Once again, the
central character is Dracula, under the name of Matthew Maule, still
protecting the same family we first met in _T_h_e _H_o_l_m_e_s-_D_r_a_c_u_l_a _F_i_l_e. The
story is really two interleaved stories--one of Dracula's origin and
early life after death, and one of the present, where bad vampires are
threatening Dracula's "nephew" and the latter's fiance'e. The origin
story was by far the more interesting of the two, though its historical
setting seems influenced as much by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "Saint
Germain" series and Les Daniels's "Sebastian" books as by the Dracula
legend. (This is interesting, since I suspect that their success in the
period between Saberhagen's fourth and fifth books may be due to a
revival in interest in vampires caused by Saberhagen's series in the
first place.) Even with this similarity in the historical story,
however, I found the modern story more an interruption to what I
considered the primary story than a story in its own right. Had
Saberhagen published the historical story by itself as a novella (or
even as a short novel), the story would have flowed much more smoothly
and achieved a higher level and a wider appeal. As it is, I can
recommend _A _M_a_t_t_e_r _o_f _T_a_s_t_e only for fans of the rest of the series. (I
might further note that this is the first to appear in hardback. If
this were a great book, it might be worth getting in hardback; as it is,
you might as well wait for the paperback and have a matching set.)
NEWER YORK edited by Lawrence Watt-Evans
ROC, 1991, ISBN 0-451-45045-0, $4.50.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper
This original anthology of twenty-four stories has as its theme the
New York of the future (though one is more an alternate history/cross-
time story). In his introduction, Watt-Evans talks about the appeal New
York has always had for science fiction writers. This may be true, but
I would be curious to see what the sales figures for this in and out of
New York are compared to a randomly chosen anthology. Is this perhaps
the product of a bunch of New Yorkers who think everyone is fascinated
by New York?
With twenty-four stories one gets quite a range of styles, from
humorous fantasy to dark horror to classic science fiction. In a single
author collection or "Year's Best" anthology this is fine, but here the
strong stories overpower the lighter works. After A. J. Austin's
"Another Dime, Another Place" (a tale of a magical bag lady), a story
about racing pink elephants, no matter how well written, is going to
look pale and frivolous. And the examination of relationships in Martha
Soukup's "Ties" makes a brief look into a yuppie toddler's mind seem
superficial, even if in another setting it might have proved amusing.
There are the usual cyberpunkish futures, of course. There is the
haunting ghost story "Long Growing Season" by Robert J. Howe. There are
a couple of horror stories. (One suspects some people may say _a_n_y New
York story is a horror story.) And there is on distressingly obvious
story: Warren Murphy and Molly Cochran's "A Nice Place to Visit." (In
their defense, they are primarily mystery writers and may not be
familiar with the Pohl and Harrison stories this parallels, or with John
Carpenter's _E_s_c_a_p_e _f_r_o_m _N_e_w _Y_o_r_k. But the editor should have noticed.)
On the whole this is a good anthology, and its size means there's
probably something for every taste. (It helps to spread the stories
out, so that a light story doesn't suffer by following immediately on
the heels of a powerful one.) But then I'm a New Yorker and may not be
impartial. If you are not familiar with New York you may react to this
as I would to an anthology of sports science fiction. Assuming you have
some interest in the subject, try this book.
HOT SHOTS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Jim Abrahams, without the
assistance of the Zucker brothers, manages to recapture
the spirit of the classic Z.A.Z. comedies with about a
gross of bad jokes, a gross of good jokes, a half dozen
_v_e_r_y _f_u_n_n_y gags, and maybe two or three dozen in-joke
film allusions. What _N_a_k_e_d _G_u_n _2-_1/_2 should have done to
police action films, _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s does to military flying
films. Not one cliche remains intact when Abrahams is
done. Rating: law +2 (-4 to +4).
Earlier this summer, and with much fanfare, we saw _N_a_k_e_d _G_u_n _2-_1/_2
directed by Jerry Zucker of the famous team of David Zucker, Jim
Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, who made _K_e_n_t_u_c_k_y _F_r_i_e_d _M_o_v_i_e, _A_i_r_p_l_a_n_e!,
_T_o_p _S_e_c_r_e_t!, television's _P_o_l_i_c_e _S_q_u_a_d!, and _N_a_k_e_d _G_u_n. And at that
point I said that a film was just not as funny if it did not have all
three funny men doing the writing. As far as I am concerned, _N_a_k_e_d _G_u_n
_2-_1/_2 just did not click. Now Jim Abrahams has his own attempt at an
Airplane! style film with _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s. And guess what? Abrahams
operating without the other two really can capture the manic style of
_A_i_r_p_l_a_n_e!. _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s must average at least three jokes a minute and
probably more. Maybe one in six is genuinely funny and at least half
are enjoyably witty. The movie is 85 minutes long. You can do the math
yourself and figure that _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s is a _v_e_r_y _f_u_n_n_y movie.
This time around Abrahams is trashing another breed of flying film,
the military flying film. _T_o_p _G_u_n, _F_l_i_g_h_t _o_f _t_h_e _I_n_t_r_u_d_e_r, _A_n _O_f_f_i_c_e_r
_a_n_d _a _G_e_n_t_l_e_m_a_n, _M_e_m_p_h_i_s _B_e_l_l_e, and probably many others provide a
mother lode of cliches for _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s to mine. But those are just the
beginning. There must be thirty film references for films outside the
military flight genre. Charlie Sheen plays Topper Harley, a second
generation hot-shot pilot who wants to recover the name his father
soiled. Carey Elwes (formerly of _T_h_e _P_r_i_n_c_e_s_s _B_r_i_d_e) plays Kent
Gregory, who has a vendetta to settle against Harley. Valeria Golino
(formerly of _P_e_e-_W_e_e'_s _B_i_g-_T_o_p) plays Ramada Thompson, Navy psychiatrist
and occasional night club singer, who provides the love interest, and
who in a remarkable scene with Sheen really sizzles. Even telling the
names of most of the other characters would be giving away some of the
gags of the film, not that _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s could not spare them.
The film culminates in an air attack on a certain unnamed Middle
East country. Considering that the flight sequences are basically a
throwaway, they are surprisingly convincing. While occasional model
work is obvious, at least some of the scenes really seem to show some
impressive flying. Even where model work is used it is surprisingly
good, no doubt by reaping effects technology as well as cliches from
supposedly more serious flying films. If you like Z.A.Z. films but were
disappointed by _N_a_k_e_d _G_u_n _2-_1/_2, this may be the film you were looking
for. I rate _H_o_t _S_h_o_t_s a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
IRON AND SILK
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Mark Salzman stars in the film
based on his autobiographical book about his two years
teaching in China in the early 1980s. While the film
places too strong an emphasis on his martial arts
training, it is also a valuable film to help understand
what is happening in modern-day China. Rating: low +3
(-4 to +4).
I have visited thirty-two countries other than my own, but none
have had such an impact on me as China during my 1982 visit. This was
just the tail end of Mao's China. In most of the places we saw everyone
still dressed in the Mao suits and caps. Some of the cities I visited
had been open to Westerners for only a year and you only had to be non-
Chinese to be treated as a celebrity. The Chinese were not shy about
their curiosity about Westerners either. In many cities in the north we
would have crowds five and six deep around our bus, just to be able to
look in the windows. Parents held up youngsters to see into the bus.
People still talked very sadly about the horrible disaster that recently
had struck their country. It was a man-made disaster called a "cultural
revolution." In 1982 this was one China. The China of five years later
seemed another China altogether, with Western styles, new fancy hotels,
Coca-Cola, and Reeboks. In their words, they were "letting a thousand
flowers bloom." Two years later at Tienanmen Square there was yet
another China. Truly a country that comprises one quarter of humanity
changes little in any but the superficial face it shows to foreigners,
but that face to visiting foreigners it makes a big difference and it is
a very different China to them.
As something of a coincidence, the 1982 China I saw was also seen
by Mark Salzman. He graduated from Yale that year and went to fulfill a
dream he had had. He was a martial arts film enthusiast as a teenager
and he went to live in China and to try to study martial arts if
possible. The ostensible reason for his visit was to teach English at
the Hunan Medical College in Changsha, but he also wanted to learn
martial arts in the classical manner. After a two-year stay he returned
to the United States and wrote a book about his experiences in China,
_I_r_o_n _a_n_d _S_i_l_k. With Shirley Sun, he co-authored a screenplay based on
his book. He returned to China with Sun to film the screenplay. This
time he went to Hangzhou, which stood in for Changsha in the film. Sun
produced and directed; Salzman starred. The day after the film was
completed, as _V_a_r_i_e_t_y reports, the Chinese military moved on Tienanmen
Square and crushed a student rebellion and a thousand flowers.
The film shuttles back and forth among several subplots which are
not entirely independent. We see Mark's relationship to his class and
his teaching. He is a teacher teaching teachers English and in turn
being taught by them about Chinese culture and the Chinese people.
Iron and Silk August 12, 1991 Page 2
Through one of the members of his class, Mark meets a great and famous
martial arts instructor, Teacher Pan (played by Pan Qingfu,
a.k.a. Teacher Pan--yes, both Mark and Pan play themselves). Pan is
pleased by the interest of the American but at first wants no part of
teaching a spoiled foreigner who is unwilling to "eat bitter." A third
subplot has Mark attracted to a young woman with a taste for English
literature. And a fourth subplot deals with Mark just learning about
the ageless culture and the current government.
The stereotypic plot for such a story would have the foreigner and
the local Chinese misunderstanding each other and conflicting at first,
then learning to like each other. Ironically, that is just the reverse
of what happens. In the early part of his visit, Mark's relationships
with the Chinese are characterized by friendly cultural curiosity on
both sides. The one early ominous note is that the teachers in Mark's
class who had earlier learned Russian were ordered not just to learn
English, but to forget their Russian. Mark drops this detail gleefully
without reflecting how firmly it indicates that the government can
vengefully turn against a foreign nationality and how powerfully they
can order the people to follow suit. Eventually Salzman comes to
realize, or at least believe, that the government wants foreigners to
believe that the country is open to new ideas, but at the same time it
is determined to force the people to reject change. There is almost no
mention of political differences until well into the film when suddenly
Mark discovers that some of his closest friends are under heavy censure
for showing too much interest in Western ways.
Most of what is wrong with _I_r_o_n _a_n_d _S_i_l_k is in the iron part of the
film: the martial arts. Salzman's martial arts accomplishments are
impressive without being all that interesting. Entirely too much screen
time is spent on showing uninteresting martial arts demonstrations and
with characters, particularly Salzman himself, showing off for the
camera. Also Salzman uses a cutesy touch--scenes from old martial arts
movies intercut in the film to show what he is thinking. A similar
touch is used on a cable situation comedy currently, but it undercuts
the atmosphere of the otherwise serious film.
Salzman makes a surprising and disturbing mistake in the script
when he tells his girlfriend that he wanted to learn Chinese so he would
be able to speak to a quarter of the world. In fact, he speaks Mandarin
and nowhere near all people who speak a dialect of Chinese speak
Mandarin. Mandarin and Cantonese are as different as are English and
German. Written Chinese is a different matter, I believe. There is
basically only one written Chinese language and that all dialects share,
but there are several spoken dialects that might as well be different
languages.
I did find that the film reminded me much of my trip. I did not
visit Changsha, but I did visit Hangzhou and the film very nicely
captured the feel of that beautiful city. The highest compliment I can
pay _I_r_o_n _a_n_d _S_i_l_k is that not only did my visit help me to understand
the film, the film helped me to understand better my visit. In spite of
excessive martial arts sequences this is the best film I have seen this
year. I give it a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.