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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 11/15/91 -- Vol. 10, No. 20
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
11/20/91 LZ: THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein (Alien
Parasites)
12/11/91 LZ: MIRKHEIM by Poul Anderson (Novels with Names of
Scandinavian Mythological Places in Them)
12/18/91 MT: "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke (Christian SF)
01/08/92 LZ: EXPECTING SOMEONE TALLER by Tom Holt (Operatic SF)
01/29/92 LZ: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess (Dystopias)
_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.
11/16/91 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: TBA
(phone 201-432-5965 for details) (Saturday)
12/07/91 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: Denise
Little of Barnes & Noble and B. Dalton (phone
201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday)
HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 908-834-1563 hocpb!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 908-576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt
MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzy!leeper
HO Librarian: Rebecca Schoenfeld HO 2K-430 908-949-6122 homxb!btfsd
LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 908-576-3346 mtfme!lfl
MT Librarian: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzy!leeper
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 908-957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
1. The Lincroft discussion this week will be about Robert
Heinlein's classic, _T_h_e _P_u_p_p_e_t _M_a_s_t_e_r_s. Of the book, David Pringle
says, "Alien 'slugs' attack the earth, attaching themselves to
people's nervous systems and turning their hosts into mindless
puppets. Fast-moving tale of paranoid (anti-communist?) fears run
wild. Well-handled, a classic of its type." Since Heinlein is a
very controversial author, there should be some spirited
discussion.
THE MT VOID Page 2
As an added feature, there will be a brief videotape of a panel
discussion of the _t_w_o film versions of _T_h_e _P_u_p_p_e_t _M_a_s_t_e_r_s currently
in pre-production--and why there are two. (This videotape was made
at Chicon V by Jo Paltin--thanks, Jo!) These new films should not
be confused with the earlier filmed version of _T_h_e _P_u_p_p_e_t _M_a_s_t_e_r_s
(_T_h_e _B_r_a_i_n _E_a_t_e_r_s featuring Leonard Nimoy) or the _O_u_t_e_r _L_i_m_i_t_s
episode inspired by it, "The Invisibles." The viewing of these
works should also not be confused with actually reading the book.
I know this is how many people got through their English literature
courses, but it won't work here. [-ecl]
2. I saw a sign in the grocery today for "free kittens." It seems
to me that the word "free" is one of the most mis-used words in
English. It has been claimed that free is the most powerful word
in American advertising. Everybody wants to get something for
nothing and they turn off their minds entirely in the hopes of
getting something for nothing. I think it is engrained in all
animal life. A fish sees a worm suspended in the middle of water.
Does Mr. Perch ask himself, "What is a worm doing suspended in
water? Do we have many worms floating there, not on the bottom,
not on the surface, but just here at eye level?" No, Mr. Perch
says, "Wow! A nice worm just here for the effort to bite it."
Next thing Mr. Perch knows he's lying on his side with a wedge of
lemon for company.
A free kitten is like a free worm. It is a package deal. With
every kitten you get comes a cat. Now I like cats. In spite of
what some folks think, I like cats. I like most animals. I just
don't respect cats because they have no conscience. A cat has a
natural in-bred tendency to want to feel it is getting away with
something. A cat is a nice animal, but you have to take it on its
own terms. I already have an animal like that in my life. I call
her Evelyn.
Evelyn is a real piece of work. She is sleek. She is clever. She
is more clever than a cat since she can actually argue for her
point of view. You can at times almost see her point of view. But
deep down she has the conscience of Madam Pussycat. She is a book
person. She can read a paperback book and leave it looking like it
is still hot off the press. There are no creases in the binding.
Open it up and you feel the binding stretching as if it has not
been opened before. If I didn't read her review, I would not
believe she had read it. (If I read the book later I may still be
unconvinced.) I underlined some passages in a book I read about
Saddam Hussein and she was shocked. How could I do that to a book?
On the other hand, she drove the car into a curb. The front end
down by the license is bent back at a 45-degree angle. What is her
reaction? "Well, we were going to trade the car in soon anyway."
(We were?) How can she be more concerned about a $2 book than a
$10,000 car? "A car is a car. A book is forever." I disagree and
so does this wedge of lemon next to me.
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 908-957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper
WHO'S AFRAID OF BEOWULF? by Tom Holt
Ace, 1991 (1989c), ISBN 0-441-88591-8, $4.50
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper
Since I thought Holt's _E_x_p_e_c_t_i_n_g _S_o_m_e_o_n_e _T_a_l_l_e_r was the
funniest writing since Anna Russell summarized the Ring, I eagerly
awaited this book, which was actually first published before
_E_x_p_e_c_t_i_n_g _S_o_m_e_o_n_e _T_a_l_l_e_r. Was I disappointed? Well, I hoped for
(expected?) a 10 and got only a 9, so in a sense I was. I guess
what I'm saying is that you _c_a_n finish your breakfast before rushing
out to buy this book.
One thing it has going for it (in addition to Holt's style, of
course) is that it is not a prequel, sequel, coquel, or in any other
way related to _E_x_p_e_c_t_i_n_g _S_o_m_e_o_n_e _T_a_l_l_e_r. No Norse gods inhabit
_W_h_o'_s _A_f_r_a_i_d _o_f _B_e_o_w_u_l_f?, just Vikings, chthonic spirits, and the
odd sorcerer or two. Oh, yes, and an archaeologist to serve as the
"straight man" (or in this case, "straight woman," and the reference
is theatrical, not sexual). Not surprisingly, having all these
beings from a thousand or more years ago running around in 20th
Century England causes some difficulty. (Even in Scotland, they're
a bit outre', but in London, they're real standouts.) But they adapt
surprisingly well--the sorcerers are even running a multi-national,
which probably surprises no one.
In short, Holt was _n_o_t a one-cook author and shows promise of
becoming the best fantasy humorist around. Buy this book!
THE TIME OF THE FOX by Matthew J. Costello
ROC, 1990, ISBN 0-451-45041-8, $4.50.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper
Graduate student Jim Tiber wants to use the time machine he's
just heard about at Columbia to go back and gather information on
whatever or whoever influenced the Beatles to rise from mediocrity
to one of the most important musical influences of our time. (This
is Tiber's theory, not mine--take up any disagreements with him.)
But just as he is about to discover the secret in Hamburg in 1962,
he finds himself thrown back in time to Rommel's North Africa
campaign. But Rommel isn't losing the way he should be--he's
winning!
Okay, it's another alternate history story, but even I probably
would not have read it if I weren't doing research for someone
assembling an annotated list of alternate history stories. First of
all, the fact that it's "Time Warrior 1" means that you know ahead
of time there will be no resolution, just a set-up for a sequel.
And the North African campaign is not a period in history that I
have great interest in. The latter meant that I couldn't always
follow what the differences were in what was happening, but since
the book is obviously aimed at people who know that time period well
(Matt Costello used to review games--and may still for all I know)
and gamers _w_o_u_l_d know this period, I could live with that. (For
example, I could have sworn that Tiber was surprised that Rommel
wasn't attacking Tobruk where he was supposed to have lost, but
Rommel _t_o_o_k Tobruk in our world--and later lost it--so I must have
remembered wrong.) What is more difficult to live with is the way
the rules seem to bend as the plot requires. The scientists in the
present are in a specially shielded building which protects their
memories if the past is changed. Yet somehow they can get
information about the current present in as well. And though they
claim they can't bring people back to the present from the past,
they manage to move Tiber around when the plot requires. And even
the North Africa campaign gets buried under other plotlines
involving another set of time travelers, art thefts, and various
other attempts to change history.
Unless you're a hard-core Rommel fan, give this one a miss.