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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 03/12/93 -- Vol. 11, No. 37
MEETINGS UPCOMING:
Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are in Holmdel 4N-509
Wednesdays at noon.
_D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C
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)
Outside events:
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County meets on the second
Saturday of every month in Upper Saddle River; call 201-933-2724 for
details. The New Jersey Science Fiction Society meets on the third
Saturday of every month in Belleville; call 201-432-5965 for details.
HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 908-834-1563 hocpb!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell HO 1C-523 908-834-1267 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 quartet!lfl
MT Librarian: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzfs3!leeper
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 908-957-2070 mtgpfs1!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
1. We often hear from out various friends about how they were
adopted by a cat. The cat just showed up on their doorstep one
day, they fed it, and the cat knew he or she had found a new home.
I never thought the experience would happen to me. First of all we
all know about cats, they make messes, they break things, their
food smells awful, and they have no conscience. For all these
reasons I decided I would never have a cat. Now I have been
THE MT VOID Page 2
adopted by Caprice and as far as I am concerned she can stay as
long as she would like.
I was just startled one morning to find Caprice. She found her own
way into the house. One moment I didn't have a pet, the next there
she was running across the floor. She might not appeal to some but
she has dainty little features. And she is very shy. She avoids
people, which is probably just as well. But she makes no messes.
She leaves no bad smells. Most of the time you don't even know
she's around. Apparently she feeds herself. At least the ants we
had in the house a month or so ago don't seem to show up anymore.
And that is a big advantage over something like a cat that, as I
said, makes messes and bad smells. Caprice is small but very
effective at keeping the ant population down. I would guess she is
no more than an inch and a half in diameter with her legs out. I
am guessing Caprice is a she, though I have not found a
commensurately-sized web.
In any case, if you come visiting, please keep an eye out not to
step on Caprice. I have no idea how I'd replace her.
2. I recently reviewed Babylon 5 and found that while the single
episode was not all that interesting, there were a lot of very
interesting unanswered questions. The following was found on the
net:
J Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5, wanted this posted
far and wide. So here it is.
==========================
sf/babylon5 #452, from straczynski, 9907 chars, Mon Feb 22 00:43:04 1993
This is a comment to message 451.
There is/are comment(s) on this message.
--------------------------
The following is uploaded with the request that, if you support
what appears below, it be further uploaded to other BBSs...local,
regional, national...relay nets and networks.
First, a brief aside:
It's generally recognized that there would not have been a third
season of the original Trek series had it not been for the action
of science fiction fans across the country who, seeing in that
program something they liked, wrote to the network to keep the show
on the air. Their voices were heard, and the show stayed on the
air for one more season.
That's the part everyone knows. What's not generally considered
outside the Television Industry are all of the ramifications of
that action.
THE MT VOID Page 3
At two seasons, a little over 50 episodes, there were not nearly
enough episodes to go into general syndication. At two seasons,
the show would have been bought as a package by fewer stations,
would have popped up far less often on television sets subsequent
to the original series' cancellation. It's altogether possible
that it might not have shown up at all, and been consigned to the
NBC vaults on the grounds of insufficient episodes for syndication
marketing. (It happens; how many episodes of Captain Nice have you
seen lately?)
With that third season, there were finally enough episodes on hand
to go into general syndication.
And it was in syndication that Star Trek gradually built up the
viewership and the popularity that led to conventions, that
resulted in a generation of viewers to whom the term "klingon" was
not some obscure reference but a part of American popular culture.
Without that third season, the Star Trek phenomenon would never
have had a chance to grow.
There would have been no new novels, no animated series, no role
playing games, no Star Trek I, II, III, IV, V or VI. There would
have been no Next Generation or any other subsequent series.
All of that...ALL of that...happened because concerned viewers took
a moment to voice their opinions to those who were in a position
to listen, and to act upon those opinions.
Now...what does this have to do with Babylon 5?
Some of you have seen it. Many more of you are about to see it.
Throughout the year-plus that I've been talking about this show at
conventions and on the computer nets, I've emphasized a number of
agendas: our desire to Get It Right; to avoid shilling and lying to
fans, as is so often done by producers eager to cash in on *SCI-
FI*; and our intention to do intelligent stories with interesting
characters.
And there's one other item: I've said, time and again, not to
believe any of the hype, but rather to trust to your own considered
instincts. And it is that subject which is the point of this
essay. You now have the opportunity to judge our efforts for
yourself.
Babylon 5, as it stands in its present form, as a pilot, is the
first time that the crew, the cast, the director and others have
come together. Four weeks of shooting, two days of rehearsal, and
a budget roughly *ONE-FOURTH* that of DS9's pilot. As has been
stated from the very beginning, it has all the flaws you would
expect of a new project, in which people have to act together for
the first time, sets may or may not be all perfect, and the bugs
THE MT VOID Page 4
are still being worked out. That's what a pilot is for, to try
things, see what works, adjust, and move on.
The fundamental question behind Babylon 5 comes down to this: do
you like what you see? Does it make you want to see more? Have we
kept our promise as far as what was actually *delivered* in the
pilot?
Because there *is* more to come. There has always been a plan for
a series to follow. If anything, that was the point of the entire
exercise...to tell a story. To create a novel for TV that would
span five years, for which the pilot is the opening chapter. Having
now seen, or about to see the foundation for that story, and before
being asked to lend support to that series, you have a right to
some sense of what that series would entail, and what you're being
asked to support. One should never sign a blank check on the bank
of one's conscience. So here's a preview.
You will find out what happened to Sinclair, for starters, during
the Earth/Minbari war. For nearly 10 years, Sinclair has worked to
convince himself that nothing happened to him on the Line other
than what seems to be the case: that he blacked out for 24 hours.
He's just managed to convince himself of this. Now, suddenly,
someone comes into his life and with seven words -- you'll know
them when you hear them -- completely unravels the self-deception.
He knows then that something DID happen to him, that someone DID
mess with his mind...and he is going to find out who, and why.
The ramifications of that discovery will have a major influence on
the series, on his relationships, and the future of not only his
character but many others.
You will see what a Vorlon is...and what it represents. And what
it may have to do with our own saga, and a hidden relationship to
some of our other characters (watch the reception scene carefully).
We'll discover that there are MANY players in this game. You'll
find out what happened to Babylon 4, and it will call into question
what is real, what is not, and the ending of that episode is one
that you have not seen before on television.
We'll find that most every major character is running to, or away
from something in their hearts, or their pasts, or their careers.
Garibaldi's checkered past will catch up with him in a way that
will affect his role and make him a very different character for as
much as a full season, and have lasting effects thereafter. Lyta
will take part in a voyage of discovery that will very much change
her character. She will be caught up in a web of intrigue and
forced to betray the very people she has come to care for.
We will see wheels within wheels, discover the secret groups behind
the Earth and Minbari governments who suspect, with good reason,
THE MT VOID Page 5
that one of the B5 crew may be a traitor, who sold out Earth during
the Earth/Minbari war.
Some of the established empires in the pilot will fall. Some will
rise unexpectedly. Hopes and fortunes will be alternately made or
destroyed. At least one major race not yet known even to EXIST
will make its presence known, but only gradually. Some characters
will fall from grace. Others will make bargains whose full price
they do not understand...but will eventually come to realize, and
regret.
At the end of the first season, one character will undergo a MAJOR
change, which will start the show spinning on a very different
axis. The first season will have some fairly conventional stories,
but others will start the show gradually moving toward where I want
it to go. One has to set these things up gradually. Events in
the story -- which is very much the story of Jeffrey Sinclair --
will speed up in each subsequent season.
Someone he considers a friend will betray him. Another will prove
to be the exact opposite of what Sinclair believes to be true. Some
will live. Some will die. He will be put through a crucible of
terrible force, that will change him, and alter his destiny in a
profound and terrible way...if he goes one way, or the other, will
determine not only his own fate, but that of millions of others. He
will grow, and become stronger, better, wiser...or be destroyed by
what fate is bringing his way. In sum, it is a story of hope
against terrible adversity and overwhelming odds.
Each of our characters will be tempted in a different way to ally
with a dark force determined to once and for all destroy the peace.
Some will fall prey to the temptation, others will not, and pay the
price for their resistance.
The homeworld of one of our major characters will be decimated.
War will become inevitable. And when it comes, Babylon 5 will be
forever changed.
That, in broad brush strokes, is a little of what I plan to do with
the series. It is, as stated, a novel for television, with a
definite beginning, middle and end. The point being this:
If you genuinely approve of what you see in Babylon 5, if what we
promised is what we delivered, if having seen the prologue to the
five year story that is Babylon 5 you now wish to see the rest of
the story...if, in short, we haven't lied to you, and you like what
you see...then I ask that you voice your opinions. Space Rangers
has been canceled; the fate of other SF shows is in question
because studios and networks just aren't sure that there's a market
for another SF series.
THE MT VOID Page 6
How can you help? By the following:
1) Write or fax the program director of your local TV station, the
one that aired Babylon 5, telling them that you want to see the
series which follows Babylon 5, and why.
2) Send another letter, or a a copy of that letter to Dick
Robertson, Sr. Vice President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television
Distribution, 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, 91522.
If, on the other hand, you think we blew it...then let the show go
the way of the trilobite. I've railed more than once against the
idea that "Bad SF is better than no SF," and won't back off of that
now that it's my own child on the railroad ties, waiting to see if
a Mountie will untie it before the incoming train does its grisly
business.
It's your choice, and your voice. And if you don't think one voice
matters, think of the long history of a certain other show that
would have long ago been consigned to the vaults of television
history had it not been for involved and interested viewers.
We made the show, and did the very best that we could. Now it's in
your hands....
[End of Straczynski's message]
3. In answer to a question raised by some members: the artist
responsible for the Post Office's "Space Fantasy" stamps is Stephen
Hickman, who is known for his cover art for Ace, Baen, and other
publishers (according to _S_c_i_e_n_c_e _F_i_c_t_i_o_n _C_h_r_o_n_i_c_l_e). If you plan
on nominating the strip of stamps for the "Best Original Artwork"
Hugo, remember that it is eligible for _n_e_x_t year rather than this,
since they first appeared in 1993. [-ecl]
4. Note that the factotum's e-mail address has changed.
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 908-957-5619
...mtgzfs3!leeper
I have always thought respectable people scoundrels,
and I look anxiously at my face every morning for
signs of my becoming a scoundrel.
-- Bertrand Russell
CHINA MOUNTAIN ZHANG by Maureen F. McHugh
Tor, ISBN 0-812-50892-0, 1993 (1992c), $3.99.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Evelyn C. Leeper
The premise of this novel may be unlikely--a 21st Century
proletariat revolution in the United States, followed by a civil war
which results in a _d_e _f_a_c_t_o Chinese takeover--but then many good
books are based on equally unlikely premises. The question is
whether the follow-through is both well-developed and true to the
premise, and in this McHugh gets full marks.
Undoubtedly the time McHugh spent living in China helped her to
draw a believable Chinese, especially since it needn't be precisely
the same as the present: time and events will effect changes in
China, and outside of China her societies are blends of the Chinese
influence with existing cultures. Even the main character, Zhang
Zhong Shan, a.k.a. Raphael Luis, is a blend--half-Chinese, half-
Hispanic. Though he "passes" as Chinese, he lives in fear that his
Hispanic background will be discovered and his status lowered as a
result. And he has other secrets, yet more dangerous.
Interleaved with Zhang's story are those of Angel, the kite
flyer; Martine, the Martian colonist; and Qian San-xiang, the ugly
daughter of Zhang's foreman. The inclusion of the Martian story
strikes me as trying to put too much in one novel; though I can see
some of what McHugh is doing with it, it often seems to be just
stuck in, as if the printer had accidentally stuck pages from
another book in here. There is some interaction between Zhang and
the colonists, but it seems unnecessary overall.
But the main story of Zhang's development keeps the reader
interested. He doesn't undergo the epiphany so many protagonists
do. His change is more gradual, and more realistic. (San-xiang's
transformation is more sudden in some ways, yet here the suddenness
both makes sense and serves to make a point about change.)
McHugh's short fiction shows her knowledge of China and this,
her first novel, shows that she can project this into a future that
has complexities which are to us at the same time both strange and
familiar. I recommend this compelling story of a society and the
people withing it. (By the way, _C_h_i_n_a _M_o_u_n_t_a_i_n _Z_h_a_n_g won the James
Tiptree, Jr. Award, given to works which expand and explore gender
roles in science fiction and fantasy.)
MAC
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: John Turturro plays a character
based on his own father in a film he directs and also
co-wrote. Turturro proves that the lives of a family
of carpenters is no less interesting than the lives
of a family of criminals. Surprisingly entertaining.
Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4).
The vast majority of employed people in this country have
rarely, if ever, seen someone in the same occupation portrayed in
the movies. There are maybe fifty or so professions that show up in
films and fewer that have a major part in the plot of the film.
Presumably from the filmmakers' viewpoint, other professions just
are not dramatic. But, in fact, many people's stories are dramatic
and they do take risks, have dreams, and in general have stories
worth telling. John Turturro's father, Nicholas Turturro, built
houses. In the family his adventures in that profession made
interesting conversation, but could the story be transferred to film
in a way that would make anyone want to come to see the film? John
Turturro apparently thought so, and proves his point with _M_a_c.
John Turturro plays Niccolo "Mac" Vitelli, a carpenter and
brother to two carpenters and the son of a third. Mac's father is a
genuine craftsman, but the three brothers work for a Polish builder
who takes no pride in work and who looks for shortcuts to cheat the
customer. Mac gets fed up and, together with his brothers Vito
(played by Michael Badalucco) and Bruno (played by Carl Capotorto),
forms a partnership to compete with his old boss. Mac has an eye
for detail and assembles a team of quality builders, but financial
problems follow and haunt him. Even worse, Mac's explosive temper
more than once nearly ruins the family's dreams. The film also
focuses on the private lives of the brothers. Mac finds a wife
(played by Katherine Borowitz), but Vito and Bruno both like an
attractive beatnik (played by Ellen Barkin).
While the screenplay by Turturro and Branden Cole is episodic,
it is nevertheless surprisingly intriguing. In fact, for interest
value _M_a_c holds it own against films about men building their dreams
like _B_u_g_s_y or _T_u_c_k_e_r, even though the main character has nowhere
near the notoriety that Bugsy Siegel or even Preston Tucker had.
The film has a nice portrait of an Italian-American family in the
1940 and 1950s. Turturro plays his role with an intensity bordering
on over-acting at times. Still, this is an intelligent treatment of
a story unlikely to be made into a film. I give this one a low +2
on the -4 to +4 scale.
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: A whimsical shaggy-dog tale of
a love story. It is not much like anything you have
seen before. Light fantasy mixes into a forty-year
story of denied love, vengeance, and even a ghost or
two. We rarely see Mexican films in the art market,
but this one is worth seeing. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4).
Relatively often we see Canadian films in the United States.
With the length of the border we share with our neighbor to the
south, it is surprising that so few Mexican films ever get seen in
this country. With the exception of some low-budget horror and
science fiction films, few Mexican movies ever make it north of the
border. Many that do come north are popular only to make fun of.
Films like _T_h_e _W_r_e_s_t_l_i_n_g _W_o_m_e_n _V_s. _t_h_e _A_z_t_e_c _M_u_m_m_y or _S_h_r_i_e_k _o_f _t_h_e
_M_u_t_i_l_a_t_e_d can hardly represent the best that Mexico has to offer. A
reminder of that fact is _L_i_k_e _W_a_t_e_r _f_o_r _C_h_o_c_o_l_a_t_e, a pleasant
shaggy-dog romance story told in the genre of magical realism. In
magical realism, bizarre fantasy mixes with the everyday and is
taken very matter-of-factly.
The story takes place in northern Mexico and southern Texas and
centers on Tita (played by Lumi Cavazos), her mother (played by
Regina Torne John), and her two older sisters. Tita grew up in the
kitchen as a master cook. The time comes when Tita falls in love
with Pedro. But Tita's mother forbids Tita to marry then or ever.
Family tradition is that the youngest daughter cares for the mother
until the mother's death. This arrangement precludes any personal
life for the daughter and reduces the daughter to involuntary
servitude. At the insistence of the willful mother, Pedro cannot
have Tita, so he settles for Tita's older sister Rosaura. But the
marriage is at first only a ruse. Pedro is really using the
marriage as an excuse to remain close to Tita. Tita is forced to
prepare the wedding feast for Pedro and Rosaura. But the
supernatural shows its hand in Tita's cooking. Tita expresses
herself in her exquisite cooking only too well. Eat what Tita has
prepared and you will feel what Tita was feeling when she made the
dish. The misery she feels while making the wedding feast is
inexplicably spread to all the guests. But its when Tita cooks a
_r_e_a_l_l_y happy meal that things start to happen. Told against the
background of a Mexico in revolution in the first third of this
century, this is a story of anger and vengeance, yet it never loses
its whimsical feel.
At 144 minutes, _L_i_k_e _W_a_t_e_r _f_o_r _C_h_o_c_o_l_a_t_e may be a bit long to
sustain interest through its entire length. Still, the style is
Like Water for Chocolate March 7, 1993 Page 2
refreshingly different from anything the American film industry is
turning out. It is directed by sometime-actor Alfonso Arau with a
screenplay by Laura Esquival based on her own novel, which combines
magical realism and recipes for the dishes around which her story is
built. The title, incidentally, refers to an anger as hot as the
boiling water used for hot chocolate. I can recommend this one and
give it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.