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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 01/29/93 -- Vol. 11, No. 31

MEETINGS UPCOMING:

Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are in Holmdel 4N-509
Wednesdays at noon.

_D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C

02/17 ENTOVERSE by James P. Hogan (Fantasy Written as Hard SF)
03/10 WEST OF EDEN by Harry Harrison (Primitive Humans Vs.
Alternatively-Evolved Bio-Tech-Advanced Reptiles)
03/31 STEEL BEACH by John Varley (Near-Future Uptopias--
Or Are They?)
03/31 Deadline for Hugo Nominations
04/21 ARISTOI by Walter Jon Williams
(If This--AI, Virtual Reality, Nanotech--Goes On)
05/12 THOMAS THE RHYMER by Ellen Kushner (Fantasy in a Modern Vein)
06/02 WORLD AT THE END OF TIME by Frederik Pohl
(Modern Stapledonian Fiction)
06/23 CONSIDER PHLEBAS by Iain Banks
(Space Opera with a Knife Twist)
07/14 SIGHT OF PROTEUS by Charles Sheffield (Human Metamorphosis)

HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 908-834-1563 hocpb!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell HO 1D-505A 908-834-1267 hocpb!jrrt
MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzfs3!leeper
HO Librarian: Nick Sauer HO 4F-427 908-949-7076 homxc!11366ns
LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 908-576-3346 mtfme!lfl
MT Librarian: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzfs3!leeper
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 908-957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.

1. With the current release of _C_h_a_p_l_i_n, we thought some people
would like to see what the fuss was all about. I myself would like
to take another look at the work of this pioneer filmmaker. We
will not be showing the little slapstick shorts, but two full-
length films, both bittersweet comedies. On Thursday, February 4,
at 7 PM, we will show:

CITY LIGHTS (1931) dir. by Charles Chaplin
MODERN TIMES (1936) dir. by Charles Chaplin

THE MT VOID Page 2

CITY LIGHTS has Chaplin's "Little Tramp" in love with a poor blind
girl in the streets. She thinks he is a wealthy man when, in fact,
he is as penniless as she is. The film centers on his efforts to
earn money to keep her fed and to get an operation for her eyes.
It is also about her illusion that her benefactor is a wealthy man.
Leonard Maltin gives it his highest rating and says, "Eloquent,
moving, and funny. One of the all-time greats." Steven Scheuer
agrees with Maltin's rating and calls it "one of the great works in
the history of cinema."

In MODERN TIMES once again we have the triumph of the little man
over a cruel and unfeeling society. This time out Chaplin starts
as a factory worker more a cog in a machine than a human. Included
is the hilarious feeding-machine sequence. In this unfeeling world
Chaplin falls in love with a female "Little Tramp" (played by
Paulette Goddard) and together they try to survive and maintain
both dignity and humanity. Maltin and Scheuer each give MODERN
TIMES their highest rating of four stars.

For both these films Chaplin wrote the story, the screenplay, and
the music, and also directed. Chaplin maintained tight control to
make the film exactly what he wanted. And the films are nearly
perfect.

2. At the request of one of our members, we have swapped the
meeting dates for _S_t_e_e_l _B_e_a_c_h and _W_e_s_t _o_f _E_d_e_n. Reminder on
availability: _S_t_e_e_l _B_e_a_c_h by John Varley is available at the Old
Bridge and Monmouth County (Headquarters) libraries. _W_e_s_t _o_f _E_d_e_n
by Harry Harrison is available at the Monmouth County
(Headquarters, Extension, Eastern, and Holmdel branches) and Old
Bridge libraries. _A_r_i_s_t_o_i by Walter Jon Williams is available at
the Old Bridge library. _T_h_o_m_a_s _t_h_e _R_h_y_m_e_r by Ellen Kushner is
available at the Monmouth County (Headquarters, Eastern, and
Extension branches) library. _W_o_r_l_d _a_t _t_h_e _E_n_d _o_f _T_i_m_e by Frederik
Pohl is available at the Monmouth County (Headquarters, Extension,
and Eastern branches) and Old Bridge libraries. _T_h_e _U_s_e _o_f _W_e_a_p_o_n_s
by Iain Banks is available at the Monmouth County (Extension
branch) library. _S_i_g_h_t _o_f _P_r_o_t_e_u_s by Charles Sheffield is
available at the Old Bridge library. (Don't forget, the Hogan,
Harrison, Kushner, Banks, and Sheffield are also available in
paperback.) [-ecl]

Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 908-957-5619
...mtgzfs3!leeper

We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in
the sense and to the extent that we respect this theory
that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.
-- H. L. Mencken

RED MARS by Kim Stanley Robinson
Bantam Spectra, ISBN 0-553-37134-7, $11.95.
"Green Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson
Tor Double #1, ISBN 0-812-53362-7, $2.95.
Book reviews by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Evelyn C. Leeper

RED MARS by Kim Stanley Robinson

Kim Stanley Robinson has taken a big subject--one might almost
say sprawling--the colonization and terraforming of Mars. It is so
big that it needs three books, of which this is the first. But this
book is independent enough to stand on its own.

Robinson's works often derive from history or historical
trends, and so one isn't surprised to see that outlook brought to
this book. Yes, it is a book about its characters, but it is about
them as shaping (and being shaped by) history. Though the plot of
the space colony torn between loyalty/duty to the parent
government(s) on earth and desire for their own freedom is scarcely
new, Robinson lifts it above a simplistic parallel to the American
Revolution or some other familiar event. It becomes its own event,
similar in some ways to earlier events, different in others. He
deals with the idea that the Mars colonies will be in many ways less
heterogeneous than the American were, for example. In many space
colonization stories, we see only the main characters, with everyone
else seeming to be sheep following the leaders of various factions.
In _R_e_d _M_a_r_s the later colonists are not sheep to follow the "First
Hundred" blindly; everyone is an individual and everyone has a point
of view. The politics of the novel encompasses all the nations of
Earth, not (as is all too common) merely the superpowers. The
effort of the developing nations to "get their share of the pie" is
one of the main forces behind much of what goes on in (and on) _R_e_d
_M_a_r_s.

Robinson also assumes his characters know their history--
discussions of terraforming Mars are not the totally technical and
scientific discussions one has come to expect, but include
references to projects and events which affected Earth's
environment. _R_e_d _M_a_r_s is an adventure story, true, but it is not a
simple-minded one and there is much to chew on. It seems to be a
descendent of Heinlein's _T_h_e _M_o_o_n _I_s _a _H_a_r_s_h _M_i_s_t_r_e_s_s, only more
sophisticated and writ large. More sophisticated because Heinlein
stacks his deck: he doesn't give any "responsible spokespersons for
the opposing view." All Heinlein's characters speak "self-evident"
truths ("why should anyone trust someone else to license a doctor
instead of making his own decisions?") that always work (the
successful line marriages, clan marriages, and other social
structures in _T_h_e _M_o_o_n _I_s _a _H_a_r_s_h _M_i_s_t_r_e_e_s work because Heinlein

Red Mars January 18, 1993 Page 2

writes them as working). Robinson, on the other hand, gives two--or
rather all--reasonably balanced sides to every argument and lets the
reader decide. Writ large, because Heinlein's Lunar colony is
fairly small and compact while Robinson covers, if not all of Mars,
certainly a substantial part.

Not only are the philosophies and their expositions more
sophisticated, but the style is as well. For example, Robinson's
use of color is both expected and surprising. There are the Reds
and the Greens, and we as readers have some already-wired reactions
to those names. But here the Reds are not the Communists or even
the Russians--they are the "environmentalists" who want to preserve
Mars in its pristine state: red. And the Greens want to terraform
Mars to serve the people--a more Marxist approach in a sense. This
total reversal of expectations is just one way in which Robinson
makes the reader think about his or her automatic assumptions and
quick reactions to certain words or phrases. (Some of this may be
from having read "Green Mars" as well; I am not absolutely sure that
the Reds or the Greens are specifically named as such in _R_e_d _M_a_r_s.
See my review of "Green Mars" below for more details.)

I definitely recommend _R_e_d _M_a_r_s, and in fact intend to nominate
it for a Hugo. (While the copyright date of this edition is 1993,
the first publication was in Great Britain in 1992, so this book is
eligible for the Hugo _t_h_i_s time around.)

"Green Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson

People have told me that Kim Stanley Robinson has said that
this will not be part of his "Mars" trilogy, but his interview in
_L_o_c_u_s last year says that it was certainly the first step toward
writing it. Even if he does not incorporate the text into one of
the three novels, "Green Mars" will clearly remain a part of the
same timeline. The basic story of "Green Mars" is of a group of
people climbing Olympus Mons, but the real beauty is in the filling
in of detail for the world around the volcano. You are _o_n Olympus
Mons, but you see all of Mars, not only at this instant, but also
its past and its future. Thus may sound like Jorge Luis Borges's
"Aleph," so let me make clear that I am not talking about the
climbers finding some magical window--I am saying that the story is
that magical window for the reader.

I am sure a rock climber would appreciate the descriptions and
details of the climbing itself, but even a person whose only
exercise is opening the door to the library will enjoy this novella.
If you are reading Robinson's "Mars" trilogy starting with _R_e_d _M_a_r_s,
this is a must-read as an adjunct to that.

THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
A book review by Frank Leisti
Copyright 1993 Frank Leisti

It is a rare opportunity to receive a book from someone these
days. In the time of fashionable gifts, Nintendo games are much
more the expected gift. Yet, when someone knows your passion for
science fiction and far out ideas, then the sense of presenting a
science fiction book becomes a welcome change from the ordinary. So
it was that I was presented with the paperback version of _T_h_e
_D_i_f_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _E_n_g_i_n_e.

However, as I was in the midst of touching and stroking my
roots in reading science fiction, with stories of the Lensmen and of
the Skylark saga, I refrained from diving into this alternate
history story, until my second rare opportunity came in the form of
a business trip to London, England. Serendipitously, I packed this
book amongst my clothing and set out on my first visit to this noble
city. And thence came the matching of experience with the story.

For you see, _T_h_e _D_i_f_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _E_n_g_i_n_e takes place in London,
England, as part of remembrances of three important and key figures
in the case with a certain set of computer cards, designed by the
Lady Ada. Of course, this takes place at the early turn of the
century, however, the story takes place about fifty years earlier,
around 1855. The world has changed greatly because of the influence
of Lord Babbage's device--the analytical engine. A set of gears and
other mechanical devices that work with cards to bring organization
and order to the universe of the European courts.

Sybil Gerard, Dr. Edward Mallory--Leviathan Mallory, and the
civil servant Laurence Oliphant are the main characters in this
story, whose lives touch upon the cards created by Lady Ada. So,
the story is told in three sections, each built on the other, in
chronological time, so that the mystery can unfold in its unexpected
splendor.

Imagine the world with a working computer before the invention
of radio tubes or electronic calculators. As each step in the world
is like a rung on an endless ladder, the direction of that ladder
becomes embedded in the events that have preceded. Consider the
world where Communism has a stronghold, not in Russia, but in the
Manhattan Commune. What forces could have been at work where the
United States was not united, but split apart into USA, CSA, French
Mexico, Russian America and the Republics of California and Texas?
As scientific discoveries developed, what impact would this
analytical engine provide with car manufacturers, with weaponry, and
with the state of sanitation with the polluted Thames River?

- 2 -

Yet, with all of the wonder and events blossoming in the story
line of the novel, I was able by circumstance to make my way to
those places of Flower-and-Dean Street, Piccadilly, Down, Half-Moon
Street. Even, the famous London Docklands, the repository of
commerce was available to live the experience of the main
characters. And so, with novel in hand, I was able to retrace some
of the movements and locations which were mentioned in the story.

With any alternate history story, especially when faced with
the reality that we perceive, what other stories are there for us to
know, if we were the brick within a wall, or the steps to the
street?

I found this to be an interesting alternative history with the
major occurrences still happening in the world, with the slight
twists as fate or time can bring when a different viewpoint is
given. On the Leeper scale, I would rate this story as +2.

The year is still young and this is our third science fiction
series to debut. Apparently we have another time travel television
series that looks as if it could follow in the time tracks of _T_i_m_e
_T_u_n_n_e_l and _Q_u_a_n_t_u_m _L_e_a_p. It certainly is the silliest of the newest
science fiction shows.

Our story begins in the present with a time traveler falling
into a stall in the women's restroom in the Smithsonian Institute
(well, they call it an "institute"). This is Darien Lambert, a
fancy cop from 2193. What is he doing in our time? We flash back
to 2193 ... uh ... we flash forward to Lambert's past in
2193 ... uh ... we flash forward back to Lambert's past in the
future. (Yeah, that's what we do.) In this future police have
gotten more technical, computers have gotten much smaller, criminals
have become much cleverer, and matte painters have lost the secrets
of their ancestors.

Lambert is born on August 17, 2160, which seems to fall on a
Monday contrary to all current expectations that it will be a
Sunday. Lambert has an IQ of over 200 which he either chooses not
to use or which may indicate downward recalibration. Advanced
technology has made him a super-athlete and has given him the
ability to "slow down visual images" until it is too late. He makes
himself a super-cop. Then he stumbles onto a mad Nobel Laureate who
has been sending something like a hundred criminals back to 1993
where they are trying to take over the government, just like Burr,
Bonaparte, and Brutus. (Brutus? Brutus was a follower of Pompey
who was forgiven and given a governorship by Caesar, but allowed
himself to be goaded into joining the assassination plot. He was no
empire builder!)

Lambert is given an AT&T smart card that is just a little
smarter. It is a tiny super-computer that projects a hologram of a
frumpy know-it-all librarian who can answer Lambert's questions. It
is called SELMA (short for "Special Encapsulated Limitless Memory
Archive") Gee, the computer has a female name which is an acronym.
Gosh, that has a nostalgic feel. I thought that went out with 1950s
science fiction films! he finds out the mechanics of time travel
from a beautiful super-genius, then goes back two hundred years and
finds a woman who looks just like the one he just left. (Oh, boy!
Now they're borrowing from Mummy movies.) So Lambert is now in 1993
hunting down criminals from 2193 who are trying to take over our
world. When he needs to send a message back to 2193 he places an ad
in the Washington Post. His trusty old police captain is scanning
the 200-year-old papers for ads that he could not find the previous

Time Trax January 21, 1993 Page 2

week, but were placed two hundred years earlier. Luckily the
captain has not thought to look at the front page or he would know
if the coup succeeded. I guess the idea is that the past is
changing the future, and there are allusions to something never
explained about parallel universes having something to do with time
travel. I don't understand it, the writers don't understand it,
only Lambert understands it because he took a course in Parallel
Universe Theory at the Police Academy. Confused? Hey, I spared you
the whole bit about the time travel drug.

All this is produced by Harve Bennett, usually associated with
"Star Trek" movies. Whether this series becomes something creative
and interesting, or falls into being just a souped-up _I_n_v_a_d_e_r_s
remains to be seen. We will all know some time in the future.