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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 04/23/93 -- Vol. 11, No. 43

MEETINGS UPCOMING:

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

_D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C

05/12 THOMAS THE RHYMER by Ellen Kushner (Fantasy in a Modern Vein)
06/02 RED MARS by Kim Stanley Robinson
(Politics in Space Colonization)
06/23 CHINA MOUNTAIN ZHANG by Maureen McHugh
(Non-European Futures)
07/14 SIGHT OF PROTEUS by Charles Sheffield (Human Metamorphosis)
08/04 Hugo Short Story Nominees
08/25 CONSIDER PHLEBAS by Iain Banks
(Space Opera with a Knife Twist)
09/15 WORLD AT THE END OF TIME by Frederik Pohl
(Modern Stapledonian Fiction)

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 holly!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell HO 1C-523 908-834-1267 holly!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. My wife and I go out to eat a lot. We're spider bats and get
sick of the cave. No, just kidding. We're just normal people, but
we tend to eat out in restaurants a lot. We don't go to fancy
places, just family restaurants usually. And it's there we run
into the chief drawback of family restaurants--namely, families.
For some reason people think they can bring their kids to family
restaurants. I don't know where they got that idea. I can tell

THE MT VOID Page 2

you when I was a kid my parents thought that restaurant manners
were very important. These days restaurant manners, at least for
some kids, are very different. Kids seem to run the length and
breadth of the restaurants using strategies I thought went out with
the Golden Horde. They yell, they scream, they come running by my
table grabbing food off. Stick out one little foot to trip them
and you should hear the fuss. From the parents. Jeez!

Parents seem just not to care any more. They spend more time with
the younger kids. Tell me: is it _S_e_s_a_m_e _S_t_r_e_e_t that is mis-
educating kids or what? Why is it that every four-year-old in the
world thinks that number one on every adult's hit parade is the
alphabet song? I know the alphabet song! What's more, I know the
alphabet. Why do all the younger ones sing it with those little
voices at the top of their lungs. Admittedly the tune is Mozart
(or didn't you know that?), but this is no way to hear Mozart.
Now, it's not that I really have anything against _S_e_s_a_m_e _S_t_r_e_e_t.
But most of the kids who started their education on that street
will end up on another street. You know that a significant
fraction of high school students--I'm talking 25%--could not
correctly name the three countries that make up North America.
Pi-T-ful! The only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that
it is those kids who are going to be paying my Social Security.
But I can tell you I'm watching the economy. If Social Security
goes belly-up, some kid screaming the alphabet song is going to
pay, I can tell you.

2. The 1993 Nebula winners are _D_o_o_m_s_d_a_y _B_o_o_k by Connie Willis
(novel), "City Of Truth" by James Morrow (novella), "Danny Goes to
Mars" by Pamela Sargent (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Oct) (novelette), "Even the
Queen" by Connie Willis (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Apr) (short story), and Frederik
Pohl as Grand Master.

3. Attached is the list of Hugo nominations for this year, out
remarkably promptly from ConFrancisco. Since we have already
discussed or scheduled discussions for three of the nominees (_S_t_e_e_l
_B_e_a_c_h, _A _F_i_r_e _U_p_o_n _t_h_e _D_e_e_p, and _D_o_o_m_s_d_a_y _B_o_o_k), we might as well
go for the other two, especially since they are available in
paperback (or trade paperback). We have re-arranged the schedule a
bit so that these are scheduled before the Hugo balloting deadline;
see the schedule for the set of dates. (No, I don't know yet for
the Hugo-nominated short stories will be available electronically,
but I know Brad Templeton is working on it. Details will follow as
they become available. In any case, they are probably fairly easy
to track down: three of them are in a single issue of _A_s_i_m_o_v'_s!)
[-ecl]

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

If you attack stupidity you attack an entrenched interest
with friends in government and every walk of public life,
and you will make small progress against it.
-- Samuel Marchbanks

Hugo Nominees

- Novel

- _C_h_i_n_a _M_o_u_n_t_a_i_n _Z_h_a_n_g by Maureen McHugh (Tor)
- _R_e_d _M_a_r_s by Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperCollins (UK),
Bantam Spectra)
- _S_t_e_e_l _B_e_a_c_h by John Varley (Ace/Putnam)
- _A _F_i_r_e _U_p_o_n _t_h_e _D_e_e_p by Vernor Vinge (Tor)
- _D_o_o_m_s_d_a_y _B_o_o_k by Connie Willis (Bantam)

- Novella

- "Uh-Oh City," by Jonathan Carroll (_F&_S_F June)
- "The Territory" by Bradley Denton (_F&_S_F July)
- "Protection" by Maureen McHugh (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Apr)
- _S_t_o_p_p_i_n_g _a_t _S_l_o_w_y_e_a_r by Frederik Pohl (Axolotl/Pulphouse,
Bantam)
- "Barnacle Bill the Spacer" by Lucius Shepard (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s
July)

- Novelette

- "True Faces" by Pat Cadigan (_F&_S_F Apr)
- "The Nutcracker Coup" by Janet Kagan (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Dec)
- "In the Stone House" by Barry N. Malzberg (_A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e
_K_e_n_n_e_d_y_s)
- "Danny Goes to Mars," by Pamela Sargent (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Oct)
- "Suppose They Gave a Peace..." by Susan Shwartz (_A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e
_P_r_e_s_i_d_e_n_t_s)

- Short Story

- "The Winterberry" by Nicholas A. DiChario (_A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e
_K_e_n_n_e_d_y_s)
- "The Mountain to Mohammed" by Nancy Kress (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Apr)
- "The Lotus and the Spear" by Mike Resnick (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Aug)
- "The Arbitrary Placement of Walls" by Martha Soukup
(_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Apr)
- "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s Apr)

Hugo Nominees April 19, 1993 Page 2

- Non-Fiction Book

- _E_n_t_e_r_p_r_i_s_i_n_g _W_o_m_e_n: _T_e_l_e_v_i_s_i_o_n _f_a_n_d_o_m _a_n_d _t_h_e _c_r_e_a_t_i_o_n _o_f
_p_o_p_u_l_a_r _m_y_t_h by Camille Bacon-Smith (University of PA
Press)
- _T_h_e _C_o_s_t_u_m_e_m_a_k_e_r'_s _A_r_t edited by Thom Boswell (Lark)
- _V_i_r_g_i_l _F_i_n_l_a_y'_s _W_o_m_e_n _o_f _t_h_e _A_g_e_s by Virgil Finlay
(Underwood-Miller)
- _M_o_n_a_d _N_u_m_b_e_r _T_w_o edited by Damon Knight (Pulphouse)
- _L_e_t'_s _H_e_a_r _I_t _F_o_r _T_h_e _D_e_a_f _M_a_n by Dave Langford (NESFA
Press)
- _A _W_e_a_l_t_h _o_f _F_a_b_l_e: _A_n _i_n_f_o_r_m_a_l _h_i_s_t_o_r_y _o_f _s_c_i_e_n_c_e _f_i_c_t_i_o_n
_f_a_n_d_o_m _i_n _t_h_e _1_9_5_0_s by Harry Warner Jr. (SCIFI)

- Dramatic Presentation

- _A_l_a_d_d_i_n (Walt Disney Pictures)
- _A_l_i_e_n _3 (20th Century Fox)
- _B_a_t_m_a_n _R_e_t_u_r_n_s (Warner Brothers)
- _B_r_a_m _S_t_o_k_e_r'_s _D_r_a_c_u_l_a (Columbia Pictures)
- "The Inner Light" (_S_t_a_r _T_r_e_k: _T_h_e _N_e_x_t _G_e_n_e_r_a_t_i_o_n)
(Paramount Television)

- Professional Editor

- Ellen Datlow (_O_m_n_i, various anthologies)
- Gardner Dozois (_A_s_i_m_o_v'_s, various anthologies)
- Beth Meacham (Tor)
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Pulphouse, _F&_S_F)
- Stanley Schmidt (_A_n_a_l_o_g)

- Professional Artist

- Thomas Canty
- David A. Cherry
- Bob Eggleton
- James Gurney
- Don Maitz

- Original Artwork

- Cover of _A_r_i_s_t_o_i (W. J. Williams) by Jim Burns (Tor)
- _D_i_n_o_t_o_p_i_a by James Gurney (Turner)
- Cover of _F&_S_F, Oct-Nov, illustrating "Bridges" by C. de
Lint), by Ron Walotsky
- Cover of _I_l_l_u_s_i_o_n (P. Volsky) by Michael Whelan (Bantam)
- Cover of _A_s_i_m_o_v'_s, Nov (Asimov portrait), by Michael
Whelan

Hugo Nominees April 19, 1993 Page 3

- Semi-Prozine

- _I_n_t_e_r_z_o_n_e edited by David Pringle
- _L_o_c_u_s edited by Charles N. Brown
- _T_h_e _N_e_w _Y_o_r_k _R_e_v_i_e_w _o_f _S_c_i_e_n_c_e _F_i_c_t_i_o_n edited by David G.
Hartwell, Donald G. Keller, Robert K. J. Kilheffer, and
Gordon Van Gelder
- _P_u_l_p_h_o_u_s_e edited by Dean Wesley Smith
- _S_c_i_e_n_c_e _F_i_c_t_i_o_n _C_h_r_o_n_i_c_l_e edited by Andy Porter

- Fanzine

- _F_i_l_e _7_7_0 edited by Mike Glyer
- _F_O_S_F_A_X edited by Timothy Lane and Janice Moore
- _L_a_n'_s _L_a_n_t_e_r_n edited by George J. Laskowski, Jr.
- _M_i_m_o_s_a edited by Dick and Nicki Lynch
- _S_t_e_t edited by Leah Smith

- Fan Writer

- Mike Glyer
- Andy Hooper
- Dave Langford
- Evelyn C. Leeper
- Harry Warner, Jr.

- Fan Artist

- Teddy Harvia
- Merle Insinga
- Linda Michaels
- Peggy Ransom
- Stu Shiffman
- Diana Harlan Stein

- John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer of 1991-1992
(Sponsored by Dell Magazines)

- Barbara Delaplace (2nd year of eligibility)
- Nicholas A. DiChario (2nd year of eligibility)
- Holly Lisle (1st year of eligibility)
- Laura Resnick (2nd year of eligibility)
- Carrie Richerson (1st year of eligibility)
- Michelle Sagara (2nd year of eligibility)

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper

Capsule review: This is a reasonably faithful
adaptation of what may be the great American novel.
Although whittled down from the intricate novel, this
version will entertain kids and adults. Rating: +1
(-4 to +4).

As unlikely as it seems, the great novel of Spain is a
burlesque about a madman who anachronistically thinks he is a
knight. _D_o_n _Q_u_i_x_o_t_e is a novel you can read at nearly any age. It
is simple enough to enjoy at age ten and as you grow it becomes more
and more sophisticated. England's great story for all ages is _A_l_i_c_e
_i_n _W_o_n_d_e_r_l_a_n_d. In the United States we also have our story for all
ages. It is not even a stand-alone, but is the second book in a
series that also includes boy detective stories. Yet _T_h_e _A_d_v_e_n_t_u_r_e_s
_o_f _H_u_c_k_l_e_b_e_r_r_y _F_i_n_n--often considered to be the finest American
novel ever written--is a book you can read and enjoy at ten or at
sixty. Disney Studios has adapted the picaresque novel into a
fairly entertaining adventure film.

For those lucky people who still have their first reading of
_H_u_c_k_l_e_b_e_r_r_y _F_i_n_n ahead of them, here is what the story is about: The
setting is the pre-Civil War South. Huck (played by Elijah Wood),
the wild adoptee of two old women, is kidnapped by his real father,
a violent alcoholic. Huck escapes to the Mississippi River and runs
into runaway slave Jim (played by Courtney B. Vance). They strike
up a partnership made uneasy by Huck's conscience telling him it is
wrong to help a slave escape. The novel tells of the strange people
they meet during their escape and of Huck's growing respect for Jim.

This version, while occasionally adopting modern values, is
actually fairly accurate to the novel, though the character Tom
Sawyer has been written out. Wood as Huck is an odd casting choice
since he seems too young and cute. Ron Perlman, who played a gentle
beast in the television series _B_e_a_u_t_y _a_n_d _t_h_e _B_e_a_s_t, plays a not-
so-gentle monster as Pap Finn. Younger children may be frightened
by Pap's drunken rage.

The recreation of the Old South seems fairly authentic. Bill
Conti has written a striking orchestral score. This production,
like the book, can be appreciated at nearly any age. I rate the
film a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.

[Seen at the Strathmore Theater in Matawan, NJ.]

Capsule review: There is human drama, political
spectacle, and beautiful scenery in this _D_r. _Z_h_i_v_a_g_o
of Vietnam. A story of a love triangle is told
against the backdrop of the Vietnamese revolt against
French imperialism. Recommended. Rating: +3 (-4 to
+4).

_I_n_d_o_c_h_i_n_e is a _D_r. _Z_h_i_v_a_g_o for Indochina/Vietnam. Like
_D_r. _Z_h_i_v_a_g_o, it is an almost melodramatic love triangle story set
against the backdrop of a country in revolution. It is a story of
people living through the death of one world they knew and the birth
of another world where they must survive.

Eliane (played by Catherine Deneuve) is a very independent
French woman who runs a rubber plantation in French Indochina in the
1930s. As the film opens she is attending the funeral of two close
Indochinese friends. She adopts their young daughter and tries to
bring up young Camille (played by Linh Dan Pham) in the ways of the
French aristocracy. Camille tries to be French, but we see her as
much more the same flesh as the workers that Eliane occasionally
beats. Into this relationship comes Jean-Baptiste (played by
Vincent Perez), a handsome French naval officer. Eliane falls for
Jean-Baptiste, having a short passionate affair with him. Then
Jean-Baptiste saves Camille from a terrorist and mother and daughter
discover that they love the same man. The tension tears the small
family apart and Camille runs away from home. Traveling on foot on
her own gives Camille a chance to see what the French colonial power
is really doing to her country. Eventually she becomes a pawn in
the Vietnamese revolt against the French.

Director Re'gis Wargnier has an eye for the stunning scenery of
Vietnam, both natural and in the native Vietnamese cultural
costumes. The film takes its time, 158 minutes, to tell a story
that covers a long span in the characters' lives. While the film's
sympathies are obviously against the French occupation, the
political viewpoint is somewhat understated. Wargnier's hand is
considerably more subtle than Bernardo Bertolucci's was in films
such as _1_9_0_0 and _T_h_e _L_a_s_t _E_m_p_e_r_o_r.

_I_n_d_o_c_h_i_n_e is intelligent and entertaining, certainly one of the
best films of 1992. I give it a +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.

[Seen at the Loew's Theater in Red Bank, NJ.]

Capsule review: John Sayles's latest film is a
nice pleasant story of two women learning to get
along and survive with each other. This leisurely
story of a paraplegic and her nurse learning to deal
with and then help each other has few surprises, but
it does do a detailed portrait of its major
characters. Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4).

May-Alice Culhane (played by Mary McDonnell) was once the queen
of the soaps. Then a reckless taxi driver turned her into an
unemployed paraplegic. She wakes in a hospital with no memory of
the accident and with a vicious attitude toward life. She
determines to return to her family home in Louisiana's Cajun country
to drink, watch television, and generally pity herself. In this
state she goes through several nurses. Either she could not stand
them or they could not stand her.

Finally, Chantelle (played by Alfre Woodard) is sent by the
agency. Chantelle wants the job, but has little experience and a
bad background. Surprisingly, she is a natural at dealing with
May-Alice. Each battles the other and has enough need to put up
with the other's bullying. Chantelle starts seeing a man from town
while May-Alice strikes up a friendship with an old potential beau,
Rennie (played by David Strathairn). Rennie is already married with
five children and May-Alice's condition makes sex impossible, but
there clearly is some interest.

John Sayles both wrote and directed _P_a_s_s_i_o_n _F_i_s_h, taking his
time to do it right. In showing us some of May-Alice's old friends,
Sayles is able to have some fun at the expense of the soap opera
industry and at overly demure Southern womanhood. The film is
longish at 134 minutes, but it does not drag. Some of the Louisiana
scenery is very well photographed. I give _P_a_s_s_i_o_n _F_i_s_h a low +2 on
the -4 to +4 scale.

[Seen at the Montgomery Theater in Rocky Hill, NJ.]