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Reading for pleasure Issue 14
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* R E A D I N G F O R P L E A S U R E *
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* Issue #14 *
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* Editor: Cindy Bartorillo *
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* HAPPY HOLIDAYS *
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* Featured Authors: Robert A. Heinlein / Ellis Peters *
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CONTACT US AT: Reading For Pleasure, c/o Cindy Bartorillo, 103
Baughman's Lane, Suite 303, Frederick, MD 21702; or on CompuServe
leave a message to 74766,1206; or on GEnie leave mail to C.BARTORILLO;
or call our BBS, the BAUDLINE II at 301-694-7108, 1200-9600 HST.
NOTICE: Reading For Pleasure is not copyrighted. You may copy
freely, but please give us credit if you extract portions to use
somewhere else. Sample copies of our print edition are available
upon request. We ask for a donation of $1.50 each to cover the
printing and mailing costs.
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DISTRIBUTION DIRECTORY
Here are a few bulletin boards where you should be able to pick up the
latest issue of READING FOR PLEASURE. See masthead for where to send
additions and corrections to this list.
????? Omaha, NE Pete Hartman 402-498-9723
Academia Pomono, NJ Ken Tompkins 609-652-4914
Accolade! BBS Round Rock,TX Jack Moore 512-388-1445
Ad Lib Monroeville,PA John Williams 412-327-9209
The Annex Dayton,OH John Cooper 513-274-0821
Beginnings BBS Levittown,NY Mike Coticchio 516-796-7296 S
Billboard Bartlett,IL Gary Watson 708-289-9808 P
Blcksbg Info Serv Blacksburg,VA Fred Drake 703-951-2920
Boot Strap OnLine Yuma, AZ Daryl Stogner 602-343-0878 S
Byrd's Nest Arlington,VA Debbie&Alan Byrd 703-671-8923 P
Checkpoint El Cajon,CA 619-442-3595 P
Chevy Chase Board Alexandria,VA Larkins/Carlson 703-549-5574 P
Computer Co-Op Voorhees,NJ Ted Hare 609-784-9404
Daily Planet Owosso,MI Jay Stark 517-723-4613
Death Star Oxon Hill,MD Lee Pollard 301-839-0705 P
Del Ches Systems Exton,PA Peter Rucci 215-363-6625
Diversified Prog PacPalisadesCA Jean-Pierre Denis 213-459-6053 P
Dorsai Diplomatic Mission NYC Jack Brooks 212-431-1944 P
Farmington Valley Hartford,CT John Walko 203-676-8920 P
Future Tech Boston,MA Napier & Moran 617-720-3600 P
Futzer Avenue Issaquah,WA Stan Symms 206-391-2339 P
IBMNew CompuServe Library #0
Inn on the Park Scottsdale,AZ Jim Jusko 602-957-0631 P
Invention Factory New York,NY Mike Sussell 212-431-1273 P
Ivory Tower Manchester,CT Karl Hakmiller 203-649-5611 PS
KCSS BBS Seattle,WA Bob Neddo 206-296-5277 P
Litforum CompuServe Library #12
Lost Paradise Mike King 703-370-7795 P
Magnetic Bottle Pennsylvania Bill Mertens 814-231-1345
Magpie HQ New York,NY Steve Manes 212-420-0527 P
MoonDog BBS Brooklyn,NY Don Barba 718-692-2498 P
MSU Library BBS St. Paul,MN Dana Noonan 612-722-9257 P
Oak Lawn Oak Lawn,IL Vince & Chris 708-599-8089 P
Poverty Rock PCB Mercer Is.,WA Rick Kunz 206-232-1763 PS
Round Table BBS Chicago,IL Kevin Keyser 312-777-9480 P
Sabaline Don Saba 619-692-1961 P
Science Fiction GEnie Library #3
SF & Fantasy CIS Hom-9 Library #5
SoftServ Long Beach,CA J. Neil Schulman 213-957-1176
Suburban Software Chicago,IL Chuck Valecek 312-636-6694 P
Sunwise Sun City W.,AZ Keith Slater 602-584-7395
Technoids Anon. Chandler,AZ David Cantere 602-899-4876 P
Writers Happy Hr Seattle,WA Walter Scott 206-364-2139 P
Writers' RT GEnie Library #1
Xevious Framingham,MA Nels Anderson 508-875-3618 P
Your Place Fairfax,VA Ken Goosens 703-978-6360 P
RFP Home Board (all issues available all the time):
Baudline II Frederick,MD the Bartorillo's 301-694-7108
(RFPs downloadable on first call; 9600 HST)
Any board that participates in the RelayNet (tm) email system can
request RFPs from BAUDLINE.
P = PC Pursuit-able
S = StarLink-able
NOTE: Back issues on CompuServe may have been moved to a different
library.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
What's News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Gauntlet #2 Coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Postcards From the Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Lost In a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Making the Most of Medicare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
The Dame in the Kimono . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Trust Me On This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
The Cuckoo's Egg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Best Western Nonfiction Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Passages To Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
SoftServ Paperless Bookstore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771
How To Read Paperless Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998
Genre Sections:
.............................................................
Loosen Your Grip On Reality 1025
Murder By The Book 2631
Frightful Fiction 3495
The Laugh's On Us 4148
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4215
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EDITORIAL
The subject this time is Naming Names. To begin with, there is a
controversy right now about uncredited book reviews. Several powerful
review periodicals, including Publishers Weekly, don't put any byline
on the reviews they publish, and a growing group of authors are
steamed about it. Despite the fact that Reading For Pleasure is
neither powerful nor controversial, we understand the position of
authors against uncredited reviews, and we will try very hard to
remember to put a byline on any review that we publish. Up to now the
rule of thumb is that any review not credited to someone else was
written by me.
That's what we're doing--now for what you should be doing. First of
all, it would help everyone out if you would mention RFP whenever
appropriate. If publishers and retailers hear our name, they might be
a bit more inclined to keep us up-to-date with catalogs and book
announcements. And if they keep US informed, we'll keep YOU informed.
Also, let us mention again that if you have a BBS and you carry RFP
regularly, *please* let us know your information so we can list you in
our Distribution Directory. We know for a fact that there are a bunch
of you out there who aren't 'fessin' up.
Lastly, sprinkled around this issue are a few mini biographies of some
of the people involved with RFP. Sort of a Parade of the Guilty, I
guess you could call it.
Have the very best Holiday you've ever had, and be sure to buy lots of
books for gift-giving. There are lots of great ideas in this issue,
and there are even more at your local bookstore. See you again in
issue #15 (available February 1, 1991), when our Featured Authors will
be Jonathan Carroll and Chet Williamson.
Cindy
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WHAT'S NEWS
* Are you a writer who can't seem to get published? Why not join The
Society of Rejected Writers, a support group for unpublished writers.
Membership will cost you $10 and 30 rejection slips. For more
information, write to: Bonnie Kaufman, SRW, 225 Central Park West,
#11-17, New York NY 10024.
* Writers frequently complain that their publishers don't publicize
their books sufficiently. William L. Shirer, author of the 1960
National Book Award winner THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, has
put his money where his mouth is. Little, Brown took out some
advertisements when his book, A NATIVE'S RETURN 1945-1988, first came
out in January 1990, but failed to publish further ads after all the
book reviews had come in. Shirer filled the gap by taking out ads in
the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times at his own expense. Nice
idea if you can afford it. Unfortunately, most authors can't.
* Jerry Biederman went on "a scavenger hunt for strangers' secrets".
In a city he won't name (even his publishers don't know where it is)
he approached people for their secrets; and got legal releases from
them to put these secrets in a book as long as they, and the town,
remain anonymous. A mailman confesses that he subscribes to Time
simply for show, that he can't really read that well. A trash
collector has a recurring dream of being a superhero's sidekick. And
so on. If you'd like to see if other people's secrets are as weird and
depraved as your own, watch for Biederman's book, SECRETS OF A SMALL
TOWN: THE EXTRAORDINARY CONFESSIONS OF ORDINARY PEOPLE, coming in
March 1991 from Pharos Books.
* Just in case you thought evolution was finally working, I'll repeat
a story I read in Publishers Weekly. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
H.G. Bissinger has been forced to cancel a promotional tour to Odessa,
Texas, because he has received "bodily threats" from some of local
citizens. He would have gone to promote his new book, FRIDAY NIGHT
LIGHTS, which is about Odessa's obsession with high school football.
OK, granted the book is a tad critical of Odessa, but "bodily
threats"?
* As I type this, more than 200,000 paperback books are being sent to
U.S. military personnel serving in the Persian Gulf. Eleven paperback
publishers, under the guise of the Paperback Publishing Division of
the Association of American Publishers, have donated books which
should have begun reaching the troops in early November. Some 100,000
of the books will be distributed by the USO in "Oasis Packages", which
will also include M&Ms, toothpaste, toothbrush, razor and blades,
writing paper, audio cassettes, and sunglasses. The eleven publishers
contributing books are: Avon, Ballantine, Bantam, Berkley, Dell,
HarperCollins, Penguin USA, Pocket Books, St. Martin's Press, Warner,
and Zebra Books.
* What do you do if you enjoy Kevin Costner's movie, DANCES WITH
WOLVES, but missed the book's publication in paperback back in 1988?
Newmarket Press comes to the rescue with a new hardcover edition of
the original novel, with an introduction by Costner and an afterword
by author Michael Blake (who also wrote the screenplay). The same
publisher also has DANCES WITH WOLVES: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY OF AN
EPIC FILM by Kevin Costner, Michael Blake, and Jim Wilson (he's the
producer of the movie). This is a $14.95 trade paperback with 170
photos and drawings, portions of the screenplay, articles about the
film's costumes and sets, and bits of relevant history, legend, and
literature.
* Jay McInerney's THE STORY OF MY LIFE (about a character named Alison
Poole), is being made into a one-woman play and will open in London
with Ally Sheedy.
* There's a new British magazine starting this month. It's called
MILLION: THE MAGAZINE OF POPULAR FICTION, the brainchild of David
Pringle (best known for his science fiction magazine, INTERZONE).
MILLION will have 68 pages of articles about popular writers,
interviews with them, book reviews, short stories, novel excerpts,
news, etc. For more information, write to: Popular Fictions, 124
Osbourne Rd., Brighton BN1 6LU, UK.
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COMING SOON! GAUNTLET #2!
GAUNTLET: Exploring the Limits of Free Expression
The only general-interest magazine about censorship has its second
issue coming out in March 1991. There's a new format this time--it's a
trade paperback (6 x 9), perfectbound; and it's not too soon to
reserve your copy. Issue #2 is a Stephen King special and will
include:
* Stephen King commentary by Michael Collings, Stephen Spignesi,
George Beahm and Howard Wornom; the latest news on King projects; and
an index of work by King censored in 1990.
* TWO stories by Ray Bradbury
plus:
Graham Masterton
Karl Wagner
Nancy Collins
Piers Anthony
2 Live Crew
Kathryn Ptacek
Kelley Wilde
Ray Garton
Dan Simmons
Skipp & Spector
Rex Miller
Andrew Vachss
and much more.
Make a check out for $8.95 to Gauntlet, Inc. (make it $15 if you want
#1 and #2; make it $21 if you want #1, #2, and the following year's
#3; add $15 if you want a Gauntlet T-shirt and specify Adult L or
Adult XL). Mail your check to: Gauntlet, Inc., Dept. O, 309 Powell
Rd., Springfield, PA 19064. Tell them RFP sent you.
(Late breaking news: There is now a special $75 limited edition
version of GAUNTLET, signed by many of the contributors--including
Stephen King, Graham Masterton, and Andrew Vachss. Send your check
(plus $3 shipping & handling) to: Borderlands Press, PO Box 32333,
Baltimore, MD 21208.
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POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE
by Carrie Fisher
(1987)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Actress Carrie Fisher (best know as Princess Leia of STAR WARS)
apparently had a good-sized drug problem at one time, and POSTCARDS
FROM THE EDGE is where she put a lot of the insights she gained from
the related experiences (being on drugs, being around people who are
on drugs, being in a rehab clinic, being off drugs, etc.).
I'm of two minds about this book. On the one hand, the characters are
all drawn from a limited section of our population--they're all rich,
self-involved southern Californians who make their living in the movie
industry. They're psychologically screwed up, but very, very
sophisticated about it. I don't know about you, but I don't know
anybody like this, and I'm damn glad about that. Here's a sample of
First Date dinner conversation from someone our heroine has an
almost-relationship with (this is all said dead-serious):
"I envy people meeting me for the first time," he said. "That first
meeting is everything, because I can watch their eyes and see it all
happen, and I want to BE them. *I* want to meet somebody like me."
Would you sit around listening to this kind of person? Would you
voluntarily spend time with this person? So, what I'm saying is that
the characters are difficult to sympathize with---because they're
alien, and because they're so obnoxious.
On the other hand, though, there's the writing, which is devastatingly
perceptive and enormously funny. Early in the book there's the
interior monologue of a cocaine user who decides to give it up and
then, within minutes, is consuming enough cocaine (and other drugs) to
wind up in the hospital. How he talks himself into his behavior is the
funniest and saddest few pages I've ever read.
Also, once we get away from the early emphasis on drugs, POSTCARDS
becomes more cheerful and more interesting. We see Suzanne Vale, our
heroine, on the job making a movie, shopping with a girlfriend, and
facing the terrifying possibility that, just maybe, she's actually
having an honest-to-God relationship. It's a fun trip.
On the whole, I give POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE a thumbs-up. I'm still
suspicious of Californians, but at least they're funny.
NOTES: As I'm sure you noticed, POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE was a major
motion picture of Fall 1990, directed by Mike Nichols and starring
Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, and Dennis Quaid. Carrie Fisher wrote
the screenplay herself, which she will also do for her second novel,
SURRENDER THE PINK, the film to be co-produced by Ms. Fisher and
Steven Spielberg. Her third novel, DELUSIONS OF GRANDMA, is due to be
released in early 1992.
MORE NOTES: While I've got you here, I might as well pass along the
rumor that Carrie Fisher did not actually write POSTCARDS FROM THE
EDGE (the novel, that is). I have NO knowledge about this issue at
all, and mention this only as an interesting bit of trivia.
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CINDY BARTORILLO was given a copy of THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances
Hodgson Burnett at a very young and impressionable age, which explains
her fascination for secret doors. Another favorite volume of her early
years was EDWARD LEAR'S BOOK OF NONSENSE, a large collection of
limericks, which explains her interest in poetry. These first volumes
led inevitably to Nancy Drew mysteries, which led to Perry Mason
mysteries, and before long she was hooked on the hard stuff: Fredric
Brown and Cornell Woolrich. In school she learned that of all the ways
to waste your time, school is the most boring. One day she found
herself reading Theodore Dreiser for fun, and immediately quit going
to school and eating meat. Before long, Cindy had discovered the
Victorians, which soon led to gothic fiction and ultimately to modern
horror. Today, when asked what she "does", she replies "I read", which
satisfies her and tends to puzzle everyone else.
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A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS
by Robert Benchley
(1981, Ipswich Press)
review Cindy Bartorillo
What better way to celebrate Christmas than with a collection of
Robert Benchley's yuletide essays? This volume makes a great Christmas
gift and a very nice introduction to Benchley's humor. The essays
range from 1921 to 1949, and deal with such standard Christmas issues
as boredom, the tyranny of tradition, social obligations, and
children:
"One of the problems of child education which is not generally
included in books on the subject is the Visiting Schoolmate. By this
is meant the little friend whom your child brings home for the
holidays. What is to be done with him, the Law reading as it does?"
---from "The Stranger Within Our Gates" (1930)
Indeed, Benchley manages to put his finger on the true value of
children at Christmas:
"For, after all, we must keep in touch with the children, because some
day they will get all of Grandma's money."
---from "Here Come the Children" (1925)
If your bookstore doesn't carry A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS, you
can get it the same place I did--from A Common Reader, a terrific
catalog source of unusual reading material, or as they say, "A
selection of books for readers with imagination". You can reach them
at: A Common Reader, 175 Tompkins Avenue, Pleasantville, NY 10570;
914-747-3388. By the way, they have other Robert Benchley books too.
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WHO IS ROBERT PITTMAN
AND WHY DOES HE WRITE FOR RFP?
He lives in Glenview, Kentucky and for the past five years has enjoyed
the state and status of retirement. His work career spanned 36 years
with a single company, B.A.T. Industries, where he specialized in
marketing, public relations and political relations. Other than the
United States, interesting tours of duty included Costa Rica, El
Salvador and Panama. He is a native of North Carolina but departed
that delightful area immediately following graduation from North
Carolina State College and now considers himself a fully-qualified
Kentuckian. He is married and has four children, all young adults.
Reading has always been a favorite pastime and his range of interests
is wide with a slight leaning toward science fiction.
Contributions to Reading For Pleasure came about because of his son
Bill. Bill is a Macintosh maven and through his contacts in the
computer networks, found an early issue of RFP and formed a
communication with the editor. It was not long before Bill was saying,
"Pop, why don't YOU write something and contribute it to Reading For
Pleasure?" He wrote something, Cindy said, "Thanks", Bill said,
"More", and so it goes.
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LOST IN A BOOK
The Psychology of Reading For Pleasure
by Victor Nell
(1988, Yale University Press)
review by Howard Frye
Remember Masters & Johnson, the pair who published the huge study of
human sexuality? That was when we all found out for the first time
that everyone else is just as much of a pervert as we are. Well, LOST
IN A BOOK does the exact same thing for readers. The prose is on the
dry side, but it's a fascinating study of who reads, how they read,
what they read, and why they read. You'll particularly like the
discussions of "reading trance", a phenomenon that I bet you thought
nobody else knew about. Finally, someone who brings the literary focus
back where it belongs, with the reader.
"Traditional methods of criticism are fine if you're preparing a
museum exhibit, with the author, or his book, carefully pinned to
black velvet and positioned under glass, but what meaning can it
possibly have to readers?"
--from LOST IN A BOOK by Victor Nell
"Reading is creative...what any reader derives from the printed page,
therefore, is not exactly what some other reader would get or even
what the author had in mind, but to a certain degree at least a
personal recreation on the part of the reader."
--from BASES FOR EFFECTIVE READING by M.A. Tinker (1965)
and quoted in LOST IN A BOOK by Victor Nell
"When we hold a book in our hands, all we hold is paper. The book is
elsewhere."
--from THE BOOK REVOLUTION by R. Escarpit (1966)
and quoted in LOST IN A BOOK by Victor Nell
LOST IN A BOOK is now available in an economical ($14.95) trade
paperback from Yale University Press.
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ANNIE WILKES is a retired nurse who first discovered books while
working the 11pm to 7am shift. At first she preferred romance novels,
but she's since gone on to suspense and horror stories. Annie spends
her time doing volunteer work at the local Retirement Center, and in
the evenings she reads and avoids housework.
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MAKING THE MOST OF MEDICARE
by Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D.
(1990, DCI Publishing)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Yeah, I know, Medicare is that idea they came up with for your
grandparents. Well, don't look now, but you're one year closer to
Medicare than you were this time last year, and next year you'll be
even closer. If you or your parents are within shoutin' distance of
65, you'll want to have a copy of this book. You can't win the medical
insurance game if you don't know the rules.
Dr. Pell starts with a thorough description of who's covered by
Medicare, how to apply, and generally what Medicare will do for you
once you've got it. An entire chapter is devoted to explaining what
Medicare will pay for if you receive medical care in a hospital, a
skilled-nursing facility, a hospice, or at home (and how to make
informed decisions if you have a choice about where to be sick).
Another chapter covers the bills you receive from your doctor, along
with many recommendations for managing your medical care for
economical efficiency.
Perhaps the most useful parts of this guide are the practical
chapters. Let's say you've determined that Medicare should pay you
$100, but *they* say they should pay you only $15. What do you do now?
Dr. Pell includes many pages of real-life examples with concrete
solutions. Let's face it, rules aren't much good if you can't enforce
them in your own behalf.
MAKING THE MOST OF MEDICARE also covers groups with specific
perspectives. Those with coverage from another company will find out
how to use both to their best advantage. Medicaid, veteran's benefits,
and HMO's also are covered at length. And for those with chronic
medical problems, there is an entire chapter discussing the insurance
aspects of nursing homes, hospices, and home care.
Rounding out the book with a more human element, Dr. Pell discusses
general strategies and common sense advice for dealing with medical
care professionals and hospitals. This is important and encouraging
material that will help in the empowering of patients. The idea is to
participate actively and aggressively in your own medical care,
improving the quality of your own life (and possibly improving the
quality of medical care in general).
MAKING THE MOST OF MEDICARE is an absolutely essential guide to the
maze that is medical insurance for the elderly, and I can't imagine
the subject being handled more lucidly. All the information is
presented clearly and arranged usefully. At $11.95, this is a Best
Buy.
************************
THE DAME IN THE KIMONO
Hollywood, Censorship, & the Production Code
From the 1920s to the 1960s
by Leonard J. Leff & Jerold L. Simmons
(1990, Grove Weidenfeld)
comment by Howard Frye
A good, if somewhat dry, account of movie censorship, and the eleven
movies that shaped the Production Code: DEAD END, GONE WITH THE WIND,
THE OUTLAW, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, THE BICYCLE THIEF,
DETECTIVE STORY, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, THE MOON IS BLUE, THE
FRENCH LINE, LOLITA, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
************************
TRUST ME ON THIS
by Donald E. Westlake
(1988, Mysterious)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
JOGGING CAUSES NYMPHOMANIA
Have you ever wondered where those great headlines you see at the
supermarket checkout come from? "11-Yr-Old Gives Birth To Siamese
Twins During Gym Class" "Enraged Wife Feeds Husband To Dogs" "I Had
Bigfoot's Baby" How do these newspapers find all those crazies? How do
they generate so much nonsense week after week? Well, here's Donald
Westlake to the rescue, to tell us all about the inner workings of the
Weekly Galaxy. TRUST ME ON THIS does, however, bear the following
notice in the front:
A WORD IN YOUR EAR
Although there is no newspaper anywhere in the United States
like the WEEKLY GALAXY, as any alert reader will quickly
realize, were there such a newspaper in actual real-life
existence its activities would be stranger, harsher and more
outrageous than those described herein. The fictioneer labors
under the restraint of plausibility; his inventions must stay
within the capacity of the audience to accept and believe.
God, of course, working with facts, faces no such limitation.
Were there a factual equivalent to the WEEKLY GALAXY, it
would be much worse than the paper I have invented, its staff
and ownership even more lost to all considerations of truth,
taste, proportion, honor, morality or any shred of common
humanity. Trust me.
That has got to be the most eloquent preface I have ever read, as well
as being an incredibly clever twist of logic to tweak the nose of the
scandal sheets.
If a supposed real newspaper's activities are going to be "stranger,
harsher and more outrageous" than those of the WEEKLY GALAXY, they've
really got to work at it. Hilarious from first page to last, TRUST ME
ON THIS is a romp through the big issues of our day: morality, the
First Amendment, the power of the press, and the sex lives of
celebrities. On the way we meet some of the wackiest characters on
this side of the nuthouse. But let me get back to the beginning.
We begin with Sara Joslyn on her way to her first day of work as a
reporter for the WEEKLY GALAXY. On her way to the office she comes
upon a car on the side of the road with a dead body falling out of it.
The dead body has a bullet hole in the forehead. Like a good reporter,
Sara's main thought is what a great first day this will be; she will
arrive with her first story ready to be written up. She reports the
dead body to the guard at the gate, then rushes to meet her new
bosses. At the top there's Bruno DeMassi (appropriately called "Massa"
by his employees). He's the editor, publisher, and owner of the WEEKLY
GALAXY, and his office is in a large elevator so that he can pop up
amongst his employees unexpectedly, the better to instill terror in
the troops. Sara is assigned to work for editor Jack Ingersoll, a
ruthless, ambitious man who just might (or might not) have the
remnants of what used to be a conscience.
Sara joyfully presents him with her story about the dead body and
receives the response, "On what series is he a regular?" Which is
Sara's first lesson in WEEKLY GALAXY journalism, a lesson that shocks
and appalls her, but which she learns well, and soon Sara shows
promise of becoming a first-rate WEEKLY GALAXY reporter. (Westlake
makes it very clear that working for such a "newspaper" is two things
above all: tacky and terrifically fun.) Her dead body, however,
refuses to go away. First, the guard she reported it to is never seen
again. Then the paper on which she took notes about the body,
including the license plate number of the car, disappears. Even though
Sara is busy with her important assignments as a reporter: the
beer-and-potato chip diet, the 100-year-old twins, the marriage of a
Don Johnson-like TV star--still, the insignificant murder of one
unknown man continues to intrude on her life.
A typical bravura performance by Donald Westlake, and a particular
delight for the reader. Highly recommended.
************************
THE CUCKOO'S EGG
Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
by Clifford Stoll
(Doubleday, 1989)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Clifford Stoll is an astronomer by training, who, through the
capricious whim of fortune became an expert on computer security. The
loss of his grant at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories found him
accepting a job in the computer department, and on his second day on
the job he was given a busywork assignment: find out why the two arms
of the accounting software disagreed by 75 cents. You see, computer
time costs (at that time the cost was $300 an hour), so accounting and
billing are important parts of the computer department's life. Cliff
Stoll studied the computer log and discovered a user named Hunter who
didn't have a valid billing address, so no one was paying for his
time. And he had used exactly 75 cents worth of time.
The ominous fact that Cliff Stoll discovered was that 75 cents worth
of computer time was all that it took for "Hunter" to break into the
LBL computer and steal several legitimate accounts for use later. With
one brief call, someone had seriously compromised security at LBL.
More ominously, this same person had used the phone connection to LBL
to continue on out over a computer network, calling and breaking in to
computers all over the U.S., military computers mostly. On each
computer he'd take the password file, scan electronic mail for
interesting bits of information, and read any text files that seemed
to contain high-tech military information.
And only Cliff Stoll realized this computer thief was around. When
Cliff notified the systems managers at the various installations the
hacker visited, he invariably got one of two reactions. Either the
head computer person didn't realize there was a problem, and either
refused to believe it or didn't really care; or Cliff got total
rejection--the "Not here, buddy, we run a SECURE computer" song and
dance. Which, as Stoll proved, is entirely an illusion. Any computer
that is connected to the outside world is vulnerable and CAN be
infiltrated. If the good guys can get in, so can the bad guys.
In the course of this fascinating story, Cliff Stoll demonstrates that
ignorance can be very damaging. By ignoring or minimizing the problems
of computer security, systems managers insure that the problems will
continue. As we see in THE CUCKOO'S EGG, hackers are not the bored
overachieving computer geniuses that the media has painted them. They
are simply disaffected people with access to computers, and we are at
the mercy of their malevolence, or the motivations of the foreign
government that pays them.
Among the many rewards of reading THE CUCKOO'S EGG is the glimpse we
get of our government organizations at work, or not at work.
Organizations who appear to be using secrecy to hide the fact that
they essentially do nothing at all. And organizations that are avid
collectors of software loopholes, but won't tell anyone about them. As
Stoll shows, the bad guys are good at finding loopholes; the only
people who don't know about them are the good guys.
Wisely, Cliff Stoll doesn't make his book simply a high-tech thriller.
THE CUCKOO'S EGG is very much the personal story of a distinctive, and
charming individual. He bakes cookies, and gives us his recipe. He
dresses up like the Pope. He cooks sneakers in the microwave. No one
else could have told this story exactly like Cliff, and he has done an
excellent job of weaving his themes together. It's partly a detective
story, partly a personal odyssey, and partly a political statement.
And all of it makes great reading.
NOTE: THE CUCKOO'S EGG is now available in a mass market paperback
edition for $5.95 from Pocket Books.
************************
Reading for pleasure is often light reading, but not always: one of
pleasure reading's paradoxes is that for many sophisticated readers, a
wide range of materials, from the trashiest to the most literate and
demanding works, may induce reading trance, and such readers are
intrigued by the pleasure they derive from material they know to be
culturally worthless.
--Victor Nell (LOST IN A BOOK)
************************
BEST WESTERN NONFICTION BOOKS
(according to members of the Western Writers of America)
Abbey, Edward Desert Solitaire
Abbott, E.C. We Pointed Them North
Adams, Andy Log of a Cowboy
Bourke, John G. On the Border with Crook
Brown, Dee Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (biggest vote-getter)
Cunningham, Eugene Triggernometry
Dary, David The Buffalo Book
DeVoto, Bernard Across the Wide Missouri
DeVoto, Bernard Year of Decision, 1876
Dobie, J. Frank Coronado's Children
Dobie, J. Frank The Longhorns
Dobie, J. Frank The Mustangs
Fehrenbach, T.R. The Comanches
Fehrenbach, T.R. Lone Star
Graves, John Goodbye to a River
Gregg, Josiah Commerce on the Prairies
Grinnell, George Bird The Fighting Cheyennes
Haley, J. Evetts Charles Goodnight
Horgan, Paul The Great River
Lake, Stuart N. Wyatt Earp
Lavender, David Bent's Fort
Metz, Leon C. Pat Garrett: The Story of a Lawman
Parkman, Francis The Oregon Trail
Rollins, Philip A. The Cowboy
Rosa, Joseph G. They Called Him Wild Bill
Sandoz, Mari The Buffalo Hunters
Sandoz, Mari Cheyenne Autumn
Sandoz, Mari Crazy Horse
Sandoz, Mari Old Jules
Sonnichsen, C.L. Law West of the Pecos
Stone, Irving Men to Match My Mountains
Thrapp, Dan The Conquest of Apacheria
Twain, Mark Roughing It
Ward, Fay The Cowboy at Work
Webb, Walter Prescott The Great Plains
Webb, Walter Prescott The Texas Rangers
************************
PASSAGES TO FREEDOM: A Story of Capture and Escape
by Joseph S. Frelinghuysen
The honest, unpretentious story of a captain in the U.S. Army,
ambushed and imprisoned in Nazi German-occupied North Africa, and
taken to Italian POW camps.
On 23 September 1943 Joe Frelinghuysen escaped from the camp at Fonte
d'Amore and spent the next seven weeks in the Italian mountains,
running and hiding from the Germans.
PASSAGES TO FREEDOM is a suspenseful, touching story of a gentle,
compassionate American, set in a brutal epoch.
303 pages, illustrated, $17.95, from Sunflower University Press, 1531
Yuma (Box 1009), Manhattan, Kansas 66502-4228. Phone 913-539-1888.
************************
If you're handy around the house, or would like to be, you need to get
a catalog from The Taunton Press, 63 South Main Street, Box 5506,
Newtown, CN 06470-5506. They have beautiful, profusely illustrated
how-to guides and a comprehensive line of helpful videotapes too. Ask
for their Fine Homebuilding Books & Videos catalog for help with
flooring, stairbuilding, tilesetting, cabinets, trim, and
architecture. Ask for their Fine Woodworking catalog for help with
tools, methods, wood, furniture, and design. The books look great and
the prices are very reasonable.
************************
SOFTSERV PAPERLESS BOOKSTORE
If you're interested in books-on-disk, be sure to fire up your modem
and call The SoftServ Paperless Bookstore BBS (213-957-1176 or
213-957-0874, 9600 baud HST Dual Standard). You can have the books
mailed to you on disk, or you can download them right while you're
online. Here's a list of what's available there, and what's on the
way.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON SOFTSERV
AGBERG, LTD. [available only on SoftServ]
Capricorn Games, stories--Robert Silverberg
Parsecs and Parables, stories--Robert Silverberg
The Shores of Tomorrow, stories--Robert Silverberg
BANKS & LAMBE, PUBLISHERS
The Odysseus Solution, a novel--Michael Banks and Dean R. Lambe
CADENZA COMMUNICATIONS, INC. [available only on SoftServ]
The Rainbow Cadenza, a novel--J. Neil Schulman
The Robert Heinlein Interview and Other Heinleiniana--J. Neil Schulman
CONNECTED EDITIONS [Originals/available only on SoftServ & Connect Ed]
The Birdhouse Cathedral, poetry--William Dubie
Fellow Travellers--Sharon Lerch
Security, a Novel--Sharon Lerch
Essays on Cyberspace--Paul Levinson
Deuce of a Time, a novel--Paul Levinson
Onlines: Chronicles--Paul Levinson
Decisions--Donald B. Straus
The Loom & The Keyboard--Gail S. Thomas
The Age of Choice: Commentaries on Public and International
Affairs, 1987-1990--Harlan Cleveland
DISTANT EAGLE PUBLISHING COMPANY [Originals/available only on
SoftServ]
Seven Novels of the Last Days
Volume I The Voice of Day--James David Audlin
Volume II The Wings of the Morning--James David Audlin
Volume III The Productions of Time--James David Audlin
HEWW [available only on SoftServ and HEWW BBS]
The Harbinger Trilogy
Book 1: Not Against Flesh and Blood--J.H. Kent Lyons
Book 2: What Shall Be the Sign?--J.H. Kent Lyons
Book 3: The TIme of the End--J.H. Kent Lyons
The Jesus Case--J.H. Kent Lyons
Canadiana--J.H. Kent Lyons
The Short Form Bible--J.H. Kent Lyons
THE KILIMANJARO CORPORATION [available only on SoftServ]
The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World--Harlan Ellison
Paingod and Other Delusions--Harlan Ellison
The Glass Teat: essays of opinion on television--Harlan Ellison
KOPUBCO
The Jehovah Contract, a novel--Victor Koman
Solomon's Knife, a novel--Victor Koman
New Libertarian Manifesto--Samuel Edward Konkin III
LOOMPANICS UNLIMITED
Natural Law or Don't Put A Rubber On Your Willy--Robert Anton Wilson
SYNAPSE BOOKS [Originals/available only on SoftServ]
The Hawk Trilogy
Volume 1 Hawk's Last Case--Red Greene
Volume 2 Hawk Gets Liberated--Red Greene
Volume 3 Hawk Goes Hollywood--Red Greene
The Devil's Drainpipe--Keith Kirts
Space Sex, or Tricks For Goldfish--Keith Kirts
Trysts--William T.R. Mellon
Aids Inc--Jon Rappoport
ROBERT RODI, PUBLISHER [Original/available only on SoftServ]
The World in a Hurry Again, a novel--Robert St. Onge Rodi
COMING SOON FROM SOFTSERV
BENARES & CARR, PUBLISHERS [Original/available only on SoftServ]
The Crying Clown Celebration--Camden Benares and John F. Carr
BERKLEY PUBLISHING CORPORATION [available only on SoftServ]
The Rape of the A*P*E, humor--Allan Sherman
CADENZA COMMUNICATIONS, INC. [Originals/available only on SoftServ]
Alongside Night, a novel--J. Neil Schulman
The Second Remove and Other Departures--J. Neil Schulman
The Musician and Other Musings--J. Neil Schulman
No Strings Attached: A Screenplay--J. Neil Schulman
All The King's Horses and other Screen Treatments--J. Neil Schulman
Profile In Silver and other Teleplays--J. Neil Schulman
Alongside Night: The Screenplay--J. Neil Schulman
CONNECTED EDITIONS [Original/available only on SoftServ & Connect Ed]
Understanding In-Flight Radiation--Robert Barish
The Visual Plough, poetry--Ron Buck
Snapshots, poetry--Ron Buck
DISTANT EAGLE PUBLISHING
Seven Novels of the Last Days
Volume IV A Mirror Filled With Light--James David Audlin
Volume V A Stitch in Time--James David Audlin
Moths That Seek The Moon and Other Dreams--James David Audlin
After Creation and Other Poems--James David Audlin
GPG PUBLICATIONS [Original/available only on SoftServ]
Lines of Fire, a novel--Guy Giovanello
HEWW [available only on SoftServ & HEWW BBS]
The Adventures of Harbinger--J.H. Kent Lyons
Plain Upon Tables, autobiography--J.H. Kent Lyons
The Elders' Cookbook--grandmothers in Vancouver, Canada
Compuflu: Five Tales--H E W W writers
Northern Light Verse... Eh?--HEWW poets
THE KILAMANJARO CORPORATION [available only on SoftServ]
Approaching Oblivion--Harlan Ellison
The Web of the City--Harlan Ellison
The Other Glass Teat--Harlan Ellison
Memos from Purgatory--Harlan Ellison
Ellison Wonderland--Harlan Ellison
KOPUBCO
An Agorist Primer--Samuel Edward Konkin III
LOOMPANICS UNLIMITED
Native American Anarchism--E. M. Schuster (ed.)
The Eden Seeker's Guide--edited by William L. Seavey
ROBERT RODI, PUBLISHER [Original/available only on SoftServ]
Baleford House, a novel--Robert St. Onge Rodi
IN PROCESS OF CONVERSION TO ELECTRONIC TEXT
AGBERG, LTD. [available only on SoftServ]
Valley Beyond Time--Robert Silverberg
The Science-Fictional Dinosaur--Robert Silverberg (ed.)
Men and Machines--Robert Silverberg (ed.)
CONNECTED EDITIONS [available only on SoftServ & Connected Education]
Provocations-- Walter Orr Roberts: non-fiction essays by co-author
of the nuclear winter book.
DISTANT EAGLE PUBLISHING
Seven Novels of the Last Days
Volume VI The Stars Blindly Run--James David Audlin
Volume VII The Silence--James David Audlin
THE KILIMANJARO CORPORATION [available only on SoftServ]
Deathbird Stories--Harlan Ellison
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream--Harlan Ellison
No Doors, No Windows--Harlan Ellison
Stalking the Nightmare--Harlan Ellison
KOPUBCO [available only on SoftServ]
Death's Dimensions--Victor Koman [Original/available only on SoftServ]
Saucer Sluts--Victor Koman [available only on SoftServ]
LOOMPANICS UNLIMITED
Free-Lance Writer's Handbook--James Wilson
The Complete Guide to Science Fiction Conventions--Erwin S. Strauss
How to Publish a Fanzine--Mike Gunderloy
How to Make Cash Money Selling at Swap Meets, Flea Markets, Etc.
--Jordan Coopers
How to Find Missing Persons--Ronald George Eriksen 2
The Resurrection of Aristocracy--Rudolph Carlyle Evans
Lucifer's Lexicon--L.A. Rollins
The Myth of Natural Rights--L. A. Rollins
How to Buy Land Cheap--Edward Preston
How to Survive a Nuclear Accident--Duncan Long
Surviving Major Chemical Accidents--Duncan Long
Survival Bartering--Duncan Long
Uninhabited and Desert Islands--Jon Fisher
The Last Frontiers on Earth--Jon Fisher
OFF-THE-WALL ENTERPRISES
Off The Wall, edited by Brad Linaweaver [Original/available only on
SoftServ]
UNDER CONTRACT BUT NOT YET IN CONVERSION
AGBERG, LTD. [available only on SoftServ]
The Aliens--edited by Robert Silverberg
The Best of New Dimensions--edited by Robert Silverberg
Car Sinister--edited by Robert Silverberg
Dawn of Time edited--by Robert Silverberg
Mutants--edited by Robert Silverberg
Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons--edited by Robert Silverberg
Strange Gifts edited by Robert Silverberg
BLUE MOON PRODUCTIONS [Original/available only on SoftServ]
Stretch Marks, a novel--Christine Conlin
THE KILAMANJARO CORPORATION [available only on SoftServ]
The Deadly Streets--Harlan Ellison
An Edge in My Voice--Harlan Ellison
Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories of the Hung Up Generation--Ellison
Love Ain't Nothing But Sex Misspelled--Harlan Ellison
Medea: Harlan's World--Harlan Ellison
Partners in Wonder: sf collaborations with 14 other wild talents--Ellison
Shatterday--Harlan Ellison
Sleepless Nights in the Procrustean Bed--Harlan Ellison
Spider Kiss--Harlan Ellison (edited by Marty Clark)
The Starlost #1: Phoenix Without Ashes--Ellison (with Edward Bryant)
Strange Wine--Harlan Ellison
KOPUBCO [available only on SoftServ]
Firescar: The Screenplay--Victor Koman [available only on SoftServ]
Untitled New Novel--Victor Koman
Agent For Anarchy: The Rann Gold Stories--Samuel Edward Konkin III
[available only on SoftServ]
Perspective Inversion: Collected Essays of Samuel Edward Konkin III
[available only on SoftServ]
An Essay on Trial By Jury--Lysander Spooner
No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority--Lysander Spooner
The Best of New Libertarian Notes, 1971-1975
[available only on SoftServ]
The Best of New Libertarian Weekly, 1975-1977
[available only on SoftServ]
The Best of New Libertarian, 1977-1988 [available only on SoftServ]
************************
HOW TO READ PAPERLESS BOOKS
The best program I know of for reading long text files on your IBM
computer is David R. Grigg's Autoread. With Autoread you can set
chapter stops so that you can go directory to any chapter. You can set
bookmarks to return to any particular place in the file. And you can
search on keywords to find just the right paragraph. When a
character's name is mentioned, and you can't remember who it is, just
tell Autoread to search out all previous references to that name.
Shazam! Instant memory. On top of all that, every time you start
Autoread with a particular text file, it automatically goes to where
you were when you left the program the last time. I also like the fact
that screen colors are easily changeable on the fly, and the author
has some other good features planned for future updates (like mouse
support, 43- and 50-line screens, and shortened forms of the menu
commands).
Autoread is a $15 shareware program for IBM's and compatibles. Look
for it on BBSs near you, or you can download it from RFP's home board
(The Baudline II BBS 301-694-7108. At the moment the latest version
for download is called AUTOREAD.ZIP). Best idea of all: for $25 you
can get the very latest version sent to you from the author himself
(David R. Grigg, 1556 Main Road, Research, Victoria 3095, Australia).
************************
<-*->:<-*->:<-*->:<-*->:<-*->:<-*->
< >
< LOOSEN YOUR GRIP ON REALITY >
< >
<-*->:<-*->:<-*->:<-*->:<-*->:<-*->
<< Editor: Darryl Kenning >>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Loosen Your Grip On Reality is a division of Reading For Pleasure,
published bimonthly. This material is NOT COPYRIGHTED and may be used
freely by all. Contributions of information, reviews, etc. should be
sent to:
Darryl Kenning CompuServe: 76337,740
6331 Marshall Rd. or GEnie: D.Kenning
Centerville, Ohio 45459 HeavenSoft BBS 513-836-4288
The Annex BBS 513-274-0821
---------------------------------------------------------------------
--------- RANDOM ACCESS ----------------------------------------------
Instead of my usual editorial, for this issue I am including remarks
made by Robert A. Heinlein. In some ways the style marks the speech as
older; it has not been particularly fashionable to be unabashedly
patriotic in recent years; and few people will profess to duty and
country. But every time I read this, from the very first time, I
confess to a lump in my throat and a stiffening of shoulders - because
I also believe - Thank You for saying it so well Bob.
Darryl Kenning
Centerville, Ohio
**********************
THIS I BELIEVE
Robert A. Heinlein
[This was originally broadcast on the Edward R. Murrow show, and read
by Mrs. Virginia Heinlein on the occasion of NASA's posthumous award
of the Distinguished Public Service Medal to Robert Heinlein, October,
1988.]
I am not going to talk about religious beliefs but about matters so
obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them. I believe in
my neighbors. I know their faults, and I know that their virtues far
outweigh their faults.
Take Father Michael down the road a piece. I'm not of his creed, but I
know that goodness and charity and loving kindness shine in his daily
actions. I believe in Father Mike. If I'm in trouble, I'll go to him.
My next-door neighbor is a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed
after a hard day to help a stray cat. No fee -- no prospect of a fee
-- I believe in Doc.
I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town
saying "I'm hungry," and you will be fed. Our town is no exception.
I've found the same ready charity everywhere. But for the one who says
"To heck with you -- I got mine," there are a hundred, a thousand who
will say "Sure pal, sit down."
I know that despite all warnings against hitchhikers I can step to the
highway, thumb for a ride, and in a few minutes a car or a truck will
stop and someone will say "Climb in Mac -- how far are you going?"
I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime
yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest, decent, kindly men. If
it were not so no child would live to grow up. Business could not go
on from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the
obituaries, but it is a force stronger than crime. I believe in the
patient gallantry of nurses and the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I
believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that
goes on quietly in almost every home in the land
I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you.
There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From
Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built
level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.
I believe that almost all politicians are honest ... there are
hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all doing their level
best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not
true we would never have gotten past the 13 Colonies.
I believe in Rodger Young. You and I are free today because of endless
unnamed heroes from Valley Forge to the Yalu River. I believe in--I am
proud to belong to--the United States. Despite shortcomings from
lynchings to bad faith in high places, our nation has had the most
decent and kindly internal practices and foreign policies to be found
anywhere in history.
And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red,
brown. In the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability and GOODNESS
of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on
this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have
come this far by the skin of our teeth. That we ALWAYS make it just by
the skin of our teeth, but that we will always make it. Survive.
Endure. I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize
brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the
apes will ENDURE. Will ENDURE longer than his home planet--will
spread out to the stars and beyond, carrying with him his honesty and
insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage and his noble essential
decency.
This I believe with all my heart.
**********************
As always, your comments, questions, or observations about RANDOM
ACCESS or anything else in LYGOR are welcome, get them to me at any of
the addresses listed on the masthead.
darryl
------- News 'N Notes ------------------------------------------------
* If there was a medical process that could take your aging, sick body
and transform it into a healthy, young body, and this process could be
repeated every 10-12 years, would you go through it? What if the
process cost one million pounds sterling? This is the basic idea
behind Joe Haldeman's novel, BUYING TIME, and it is on its way to
being made into a feature film right now. Joe Haldeman will create the
first step: a screenplay outline.
* In the beginning there was ENDER'S GAME. Then SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD.
And soon there will be XENOCIDE. (All by Orson Scott Card.)
* There's a new Elric novel on the way from Michael Moorcock: THE
REVENGE OF THE ROSE. Currently, Moorcock is working on JERUSALEM
COMMANDS, the third Pyat novel.
* Have you seen the special 25th Anniversary paperback reprint of DUNE
from Berkley Publishing? Did you know that there was a $1 refund offer
on it (and the other Dune novels)? You had to send in your cash
register receipt, the title page of each book purchased, and a
filled-in coupon. First problem with this deal: you've got to mutilate
your book to get one lousy dollar back. Second problem with this deal:
there were never any coupons printed, NONE. Nice trick, Berkley. To
placate the unamused masses, Berkley is extending the deal to December
30, 1990, and instead of a coupon you can use a 3x5 card or plain
paper (put you name, address, and the store name and address where you
bought the books).
* THE DISNEY/HEINLEIN CONNECTION: Disney has bought two Robert A.
Heinlein novels for production. FARMER IN THE SKY will be a TV-movie
and PUPPET MASTERS will be a theatrical release.
* AMAZING STORIES, in its present incarnation, will come to an end
with the March 1991 issue. If your subscription ends with the November
1990 or January 1991 issue, TSR (the new owner) will extend your
subscription through this March 1991 issue free of charge. The new
AMAZING STORIES will be a monthly of at least 96 pages, full size not
digest, and will begin with the May 1991 issue.
* The phantom printer that eats fiction at St. Martin's Press has
struck again! This time it was the last two paragraphs of Brian
Stableford's short story "The Magic Bullet" in THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE
FICTION edited by Gardner Dozois. The ending was missing from both the
hardcover and trade paperback editions, but they *promise* that the
UK, Book-of-the-Month Club, and Quality Paperback Book Club editions
will be complete. The missing text is as follows:
"They also began an intensive search for Lisa Friemann, but by the
time they found her, it was too late.
"By then, far too many people had seen the map, and the world was
already embarked upon its new era."
* Don't miss PACIFIC EDGE by Kim Stanley Robinson, a December 1990
release. It's not out yet as I write this, but I hear it's every bit
as good as the other two volumes of in the Orange Count, CA, trilogy
(THE WILD SHORE and THE GOLD COAST).
* If your interest in SF is on the scholarly side, you might want to
know about the Science Fiction Research Association, an organization
of academics, teachers, and anyone interested in the study of SF.
Membership starts at $45 a year and includes quarterly issues of
EXTRAPOLATION, 3 issues of SF STUDIES, 10 issues of the SFRA
NEWSLETTER. For information write: Tom Remington, English Dept., Univ.
of No. Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614.
* Confusingly, Donald Hassler, of Kent State, edits an academic (but
not boring) journal that is also called EXTRAPOLATION. It has
articles, reviews, letters, and news in the SF field. Four quarterly
issues will run you $15. Write to: Kent State Univ. Press, Journals
Dept., Kent, OH 44242.
* William Shatner has written a sequel to his novel TEKWAR. The new
one is called TEKLORDS.
* The Sci-Fi Channel is NOT dead yet! It has bought the rights to at
least 114 episodes of DOCTOR WHO, all the episodes of MAX HEADROOM,
and all 1,225 episodes of DARK SHADOWS. There are even plans for a
Sci-Fi Channel Magazine. If anyone hears about an actual start date
for this cable channel, please drop me a line.
* Watch for it: THE WAR AGAINST SHADES, a science fantasy trilogy by
Lawrence Watt-Evans....LORD KELVIN'S MACHINE, a Victorian SF novel by
James P. Blaylock....STARSEED by Spider and Jeanne Robinson, a
20-years-later sequel to STARDANCE....MINING THE OORT CLOUD by
Frederik Pohl....THE SILENT STARS GO BY by James White....THE CATSWOLD
PORTAL, an adult fantasy by Shirley Rousseau Murphy....NIGHTSIDE THE
LONG SUN by Gene Wolfe....BY THE SWORD by Mercedes Lackey.
**********************
STARSTRIKE
by W. Michael Gear
(1990, DAW Books, Inc.)
review by Robert A. Pittman
At times it is good to read a Science Fiction story which merrily and
enthusiastically carries one along without dwelling extensively on
technical or scientific validity. That is the way STARSTRIKE is
written; big, bold ideas and concepts not at all restrained by mundane
practicability.
This is a "first contact" story but it differs significantly from most
that I have read previously. The contact occurs without any
preliminary signals or alerts for the people of earth and only a few
people are aware that it has taken place. As a result, the author has
an adventure that moves forward on two levels. The first and principal
level has to do with humans who have been conscripted by an alien
group and have been carried off planet. The second level concerns the
people of earth who have been affected but do not realize that a
contact has occurred.
The off-planet group is made up of highly qualified military
specialists (men and women) from Russia, Israel and the U.S.A. They
must deal with the shock of the alien encounter and cope with the
problems of space travel. An even greater problem is the trauma they
undergo in adjusting from an historically hostile and competitive
relationship among themselves to one of cooperation and trust. The
aliens put their human captors into a conflict which not only risks
their lives but also puts all of earth at risk. A good story develops
as human guile and ingenuity is pitted against the alien technical
superiority and their historical experience in space. At the same
time, earth is dealing with a perplexing problem. Nuclear weapons and
most otheraggressive tools of war have been rendered inactive by an
unknown force. Major powers such as the U.S., Russia and China are
thrown into a state of confusion as they struggle to cope with the
loss of defensive and aggressive abilities.
W. Michael Gear moves both levels of the story along at a nice pace
and brings it to a logical and satisfactory conclusion. You will enjoy
reading STARSTRIKE.
**********************
EARTH
by David Brin
(1990, Bantam Spectra Books)
review by Robert A. Pittman
The novel EARTH left me tired--a reader's workout--and feeling
somewhat deceived by "packaging and brand identity" more alluring and
offering more promise than the contents delivered.
EARTH is constructed around the central issue of a billionaire
industrial leader and a young, dedicated scientist as they jointly
seek to control the effects of a microscopic black hole lodged deep
inside the earth. If this Beta singularity, as it is termed by the
author, is not dislodged, it will, over a span of about two years,
create a geophysical nightmare and ultimately consume the planet.
The story takes place about fifty years in the future on an earth that
is overpopulated and exhausted from overuse. The atmosphere no longer
effectively acts as a filter and as a result, we find a temperate
climate in Siberia, the tropical areas of the world turned into
deserts, and people wearing special glasses and body shields to
protect themselves. Animals no longer exist in a wild state but are
housed, fed and bred in massive "land arks". Humankind struggles
constantly to produce the food needed to meet its minimal requirement.
While the natural dimensions of life have deteriorated, the
technological side of life has improved. Communication and information
is available to all citizens through public networks, medical advances
have resolved many human ills with service available to all and
measures are in place for reduced crime and misbehavior.
Out of the conditions and concerns that arise from this environment,
the author has created some new and different social and political
groups. There are sun worshipers who deny the radiation, expose
themselves and die early. Others want strict birth controls and still
others look for solutions in the extension of humanity into outer
space. The message in this narrative is that the planet is a mess and
the human race is at fault!
When the story sticks to that central issue it is good reading and
intense adventure. It also develops some novel conjectures about
natural forces that can be harnessed and directed to fight the effects
of the ravaging singularity. The story unfolds with a level of
suspense that under other conditions would produce the anticipation
and the sustained interest that is expected in good reading.
The novel becomes tiresome as a result of extraneous material that the
author inserts throughout the book. These "inserts" are located at the
end of most chapters, are a half-page to one page in length and are
presented as quotations from history texts or other reference sources
including computer data base references. Maybe it is somewhat
inaccurate to call the material extraneous as it has been included as
a way to amplify understanding and provide background to what has been
read in the preceding chapter or to what will be read in the
forthcoming chapter. Even though we can understand the author's
intent, too often the content has no clear relationship to the main
story. The simple fact that these "inserts" exist is testimony to weak
construction and an erratic flow of thought that contaminates the
principal narrative.
At one point while reading EARTH, I was jolted and somewhat irritated
to run into a full chapter that was a verbatim repeat of a short story
that I had read in a Science Fiction magazine more than a year ago! It
was just dropped in the book with no prior rationale for its
inclusion--completely out of context! To be fair, later in the book a
somewhat vague link was provided, but not enough to erase the insult
of finding such blatant filler material.
David Brin is a renowned and reputable writer. He has been honored
with multiple Hugo and Nebula awards and has written the bestsellers,
STARTIDE RISING and THE UPLIFT WAR. EARTH therefore is not the result
of inexperience or a shortage of talent. I have to believe that the
book is constructed as the author intended and that it says what he
wanted to say as a contribution to Earth Day and his statement of
environmental concern. For this reader, it just did not succeed.
In summary, EARTH is a disappointment. The main theme of the novel is
exciting and unique. The "inserts" standing alone are at least
intriguing. The book, though, does not hang together. It reads as if a
good theme has been quickly written, extra material collected and
forced into a relationship with the central theme, the mechanical
assembly of both and the publication in time to take advantage of the
Earth Day movement. The publisher and the author owe more to the
reader.
------- BOX Scores ---------------------------------------------------
BOX SCORES
.....................................
/: :
: : MAN-KZIN WARS III, Niven +......4 :
: : FIRE ON THE BORDER,.............. :
: : Kevin O'Donnell Jr.......3 :
: : SPQR, John Maddox Roberts.......4 :
: : CHALLENGE MET, C Ingrid.........2 :
: : SINGULARITIES, W.T. Quick.......3 :
: : FUTURE CRIME, Ben Bova..........3 :
: : STARFIRE, P. Pruess.............3 :
: : INSURRECTION, Weber & White.....4 :
: : VOYAGE OF THE STAR WOLF :
: : D. Gerrold............4 :
: : :
: : by darryl kenning :
: :...................................:
:..................................../
0 = ugh! to 5 worth rereading!
**********************
WORLD FANTASY AWARD NOMINATIONS
Best Novel:
A CHILD ACROSS THE SKY by Jonathan Carroll (Doubleday)
IN A DARK DREAM by Charles L. Grant (Tor)
THE STRESS OF HER REGARD by Tim Powers (Ace)
CARRION COMFORT by Dan Simmons (Dark Harvest/Warner)
LYONESSE: MADOUC by Jack Vance (Underwood-Miller/Ace)
SOLDIER OF ARETE by Gene Wolfe (Tor)
Best Novella:
"Apartheid, Superstrings and Mordecai Thubana" by Michael Bishop
(Axolotl)
"Great Work of Time" by John Crowley (NOVELTY)
"On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks" by Joe R.
Lansdale (BOOK OF THE DEAD, Bantam)
"The Father of Stones" by Lucius Shepard (Asimov's 9/89)
"A Dozen Tough Jobs" by Howard Waldrop (Ziesing)
Best Short Fiction:
"Varicose Worms" by Scott Baker (BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH, Morrow)
"A Last Sad Love at the Diner of the Damned" by Ed Bryant (BOOK OF THE
DEAD, Bantam)
"Mr. Fiddlehead" by Jonathan Carroll (Omni 2/89)
"The Illusionist" by Stephen Millhauser (Esquire 12/89)
"Edge of the World" by Michael Swanwick (Full Spectrum 2, Bantam
Spectra)
"Yore Skin's Jes's Soft 'N Purty...He Said" by Chet Williamson
(RAZORED SADDLES, Dark Harvest/Avon)
Best Anthology:
BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH edited by Ellen Datlow (Morrow/Berkley)
THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY: SECOND ANNUAL COLLECTION edited by Ellen
Datlow & Terri Windling (St. Martin's)
RAZORED SADDLES edited by Joe R. Lansdale & Pat LoBrutto (Dark
Harvest/Avon)
BOOK OF THE DEAD edited by John Skipp & Craig Spector (Bantam)
Best Collection:
NOVELTY by John Crowley (Doubleday Foundation)
HARLAN ELLISON'S WATCHING by Harlan Ellison (Underwood-Miller)
BY BIZARRE HANDS by Joe R. Lansdale (Ziesing)
BLUE WORLD & OTHER STORIES by Robert R. McCammon (Grafton/Pocket)
RICHARD MATHESON: COLLECTED STORIES (Scream/Press)
Best Artist:
Thomas Canty
James Christiansen
Don Maitz
J.K. Potter
Special Award--Professional:
Dark Harvest (Paul Mikol & Scott Stadolsky)
Ellen Datlow
Underwood-Miller
Mark V. Ziesing
Special Award--Non-Professional:
Richard Chizmar (Cemetery Dance)
Peggy Nadramia (Grue)
David B. Silva (The Horror Show)
Joe Stefko & Tracy Kokoman (Charnel House)
------- FEATURED AUTHOR Robert A Heinlein ---------------------------
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was not the most prolific writer in the
Science Fiction genre, but there is no doubt that he was one of the
most, if not THE most influential writer for the past several
generations of SF readers and hopefully for the next several as well.
I won't repeat my RANDOM ACCESS notes from RFP #12 but I will say that
his writing influenced my life in many ways. If you are a fan of RAH
you will want to read a copy of GRUMBLES FROM THE GRAVE, a collection
of letters and commentary edited by Virginia Heinlein, that is one of
the two best pieces to provide insight into RAH's life, times, and
thoughts (see my review below).
First, here's a copy of the message posted on CompuServe when Mr.
Heinlein's death was announced.
09-May-88 11:08:08
Sb: #R.A.H. obit
Fm: SysOp Wilma Meier 76701,274
To: ALL
Friends - Robert A. Heinlein has passed away. Word was passed through
the network that he died on Sunday morning - the 8th of May.
Mr. Heinlein was one of the biggest names in the Science Fiction
genre. Born in 1907, his writing career began when he was 32 (1939)
with the publication of "Life-Line" in Astounding magazine. His first
published book was _Rocket Ship Galileo_, a juvenile issued by Charles
Scribner's Sons in 1947. Heinlein married Virginia ("Ginny") in 1948;
they had no children.
He is the only man ever to win four Hugo Awards for best science
fiction novel of the year (for _Double Star_, _Starship Troopers_,
_Stranger In a Strange Land_, and _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress_); he
has also received the Nebula Award for over-all achievement as a
science fiction writer.
In the mid/late 70's Mr. Heinlein had an operation called a "shunt" to
relieve pressure building up against his brain. After surgery and
recovery, he published his last works: _Friday_, _The Cat Who Walked
Through Walls_, _Job: A Comedy of Justice_ and _To Sail Beyond The
Sunset_. _Cat_ and _Sunset_ appeared to be the beginnings of a series
of which we will now never see the end.
His papers, correspondence, and memorabilia have been collected by the
University of California, Santa Cruz.
We have lost a true Master, friends. My grief knows no bounds.
In sadness, SysOp Wilma
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Heinlein, Robert Anson (July 7, 1907 - May 8, 1988)
Assignment In Eternity (1953). (2)
Reprinted in abridged form as: Lost Legacy (1960). (10)
(contains: "Gulf", "Elsewhen", "Lost Legacy", and "Jerry Was A
Man".)
Best Of Robert A. Heinlein, The (1973). (13) (contents unknown)
Between Planets (1951). (1)
Beyond This Horizon (1948). (2)
Cat Who Walks Through Walls, The: A Comedy of Manners (1985). (11)
Citizen Of The Galaxy (1957). (1)
Day After Tomorrow, The (1951) (4)
Door Into Summer, The (1957). (5)
Double Star (1956). (5)
Expanded Universe: More Worlds Of Robert A. Heinlein (1980) (14)
(contains: Foreword by Robert A. Heinlein, "Life-Line", "Successful
Operation", "Blowups Happen", "Solution Unsatisfactory", "The Last
Days of the United States", "How to Be a Survivor", "Pie From the
Sky", "They Do It With Mirrors", "Free Men", "No Bands Playing, No
Flags Flying--", "A Bathroom of Her Own", "On The Slopes of
Vesuvius", "Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon", "Pandora's Box",
"Where To?", "Cliff and the Calories", "Ray Guns and Rocket Ships",
"The Third Millennium Opens", "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?",
"'Pravda' Means 'Truth'", "Inside Intourist", "Searchlight", "The
Pragmatics of Patriotism", "Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You",
"Larger Than Life", "Spinoff", and "The Happy Days Ahead".)
Farmer In The Sky (1950). (1)
Farnham's Freehold (1964). (11)
Friday (1982). (16)
Glory Road (1963). (11)
Green Hills Of Earth, The (1951). (7)
(contains: "Delilah and the Space-Rigger", "Space Jockey", "The Long
Watch", "Gentlemen, Be Seated", "The Black Pits of Luna", "It's
Great to Be Back", "'--We Also Walk Dogs'", "Ordeal In Space", "The
Green Hills of Earth", and "Logic of Empire".)
Have Spacesuit - Will Travel (1958). (1)
Heinlein's Works by C. K. Hillegass (1975). (18)
I Will Fear No Evil (1970). (11)
Job: A Comedy Of Justice (1984). (17)
Man Who Sold The Moon, The (1950). (7)
(contains: "Let There Be Light", "The Roads Must Roll", "The Man Who
Sold the Moon", "Requiem", "Life Line" and "Blowups Happen" in the
original publication. Current publications eliminate the last two
stories and an intro. by John W. Campbell, Jr.)
Menace From Earth, The (1959)
(contains: "The Year of the Jackpot", "By His Bootstraps", "Columbus
Was a Dope", "The Menace From Earth", "Sky Lift", "Goldfish Bowl",
"Project Nightmare", and "Water Is for Washing".)
Methuselah's Children (1958). (3)
Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, The (1966). (11)
Notebooks Of Lazarus Long, The (1973). (11)
Number Of The Beast, The (1980). (15)
Orphans Of The Sky (1963). (8) /Expanded from: Universe (1951). (9)/
Past Through Tomorrow, The (1967). (11)
(contains: "Introduction" by Damon Knight, "Life-Line", "The Roads
Must Roll", "Blowups Happen". "The Man Who Sold The Moon", "Delilah
and the Space-Rigger", "Space Jockey", "Requiem", "The Long Watch",
"Gentlemen, Be Seated", "The Black Pits of Luna", "'It's Great to Be
Back'", "'--We Also Walk Dogs'", "Searchlight", "Ordeal in Space",
"The Green Hills of Earth", "Logic of Empire", "The Menace from
Earth", "'If This Goes On--'", "Coventry", "Misfit", and
"Methuselah's Children".)
Podkayne Of Mars (Her Life and Times) (1963). (11)
Puppet Masters, The (1951). (5)
Red Planet, The (1949). (2)
Revolt In 2100 (1953). (7)
(contains: "The Innocent Eye: an Introduction" by Henry Kuttner,
"'If This Goes On--'", "Coventry", "Misfit", and "Concerning Stories
Never Written: Postscript".)
Robert A. Heinlein: Stranger In His Own Land by George Edgar Slusser
(1976). (19)
Robert Heinlein Omnibus, A (1966). (13) (contents unknown)
Rocket Ship Galileo (1947). (1)
Rolling Stones, The (1952). (1)
Reprinted as: Space Family Stone (1969). (8)
6 x H (1961). (12)
Sixth Column (1949). (3)
Reprinted as: The Day After Tomorrow
Space Cadet (1948). (1)
Star Beast, The (1954). (1)
Starman Jones (1953). (1)
Starship Troopers (1959). (11>
Stranger In A Strange Land (1961). (11)
Three by Heinlein (1965). (5)
Reprinted as: A Heinlein Triad (1966) (8)
(Contains: The Puppet Masters, Waldo, and Magic, Inc.)
Time Enough For Love (1973). (11)
Time For The Stars (1956). (1)
To Sail Beyond The Sunset (1987). (14/11)
Tomorrow, The Stars (1952). (5)
(contains: "I'm Scared" by Jack Finney, "The Silly Season" by C. M.
Kornbluth, "The Report On The Barnhouse Effect" by Kurt Vonnegut,
Jr., "The Tourist Trade" by Bob Tucker, "Rainmaker" by John Reese,
"Absalom" by Henry Kuttner, "The Monster" by Lester del Rey, "Jay
Score" by Eric Frank Russell, "Betelgeuse Bridge" by William Tenn,
"Survival Ship" by Judith Merrill, "Keyhole" by Murray Leinster,
"Misbegotten Missionary" by Isaac Asimov, "The Sack" by William
Morrison, and "Poor Superman" by Fritz Leiber.)
Tunnel In The Sky (1955). (1)
Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, The (1959). (3)
Reprinted as: 6 x H (1961). (12)
(contains: "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag", "The Man
Who Traveled In Elephants", "'All You Zombies'", "They", "Our Fair
City", and "'And He Built A Crooked House'".)
Waldo And Magic, Inc. (1950). (5)
Reprinted as: Waldo: Genius in Orbit (1958). (6)
Worlds Of Robert A. Heinlein, The (1966). (14)
(contains: "Introduction: Pandora's Box", "Free Men", "Blowups
Happen", "Searchlight", "Life-Line", and "Solution Unsatisfactory".)
UNCOLLECTED WORKS:
Beyond Doubt (collaboration w/ Elma Wentz) (1941).
Destination Moon (1950).
'My Object All Sublime' (1942).
Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon (1949).
Pied Piper (1942).
Tenderfoot in Space (1958).
SHORT WORKS PUBLICATION DATES:
A Bathroom of Her Own (1960)
"All You Zombies" (1959)
"And He Built A Crooked House" (1941)
Black Pits of Luna, The (1948)
Blowups Happen (1940)
By His Bootstraps (1941)
Cliff and the Calories (1977)
Columbus Was a Dope (1947)
Concerning Stories Never Written: Postscript (1953)
Common Sense (1941)
Coventry (1940)
Delilah and the Space-Rigger (1949)
Elsewhen (1941)
Free Men (1966)
Gentlemen, Be Seated (1948)
Goldfish Bowl (1942)
Green Hills of Earth, The (1947)
Gulf (1949)
Happy Days Ahead, The (1979)
How to Be a Survivor (1979)
"If This Goes On--" (1940)
Inside Intourist (1960)
"It's Great to Be Back" (1947)
Jerry Is A Man (1947)
Larger Than Life (1974)
Last Days of the United States, The (1979)
Let There Be Light (1940)
Life-Line (1939)
Logic of Empire (1941)
Long Watch, The (1949)
Lost Legacy (1941)
Man Who Sold The Moon, The (1950)
Man Who Traveled In Elephants, The (1957)
Menace from Earth, The (1957)
Methuselah's Children (1941)
Misfit (1939)
No Bands Playing, No Flags Flying-- (1967)
Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon (1949)
On The Slopes of Vesuvius (1977)
Ordeal In Space (1948)
Our Fair City (1949)
Pandora's Box (also as: Where To?) (1952)
Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You (1975)
Pie From the Sky (1979)
Pragmatics of Patriotism, The (1973)
"Pravda" Means "Truth" (1960)
Project Nightmare (1953)
Ray Guns and Rocket Ships (1952)
Requiem (1940)
Roads Must Roll, The (1940)
Searchlight (1962)
Sky Lift (1953)
Solution Unsatisfactory (1941)
Space Jockey (1947)
Spinoff (1979)
Successful Operation (1940)
They (1941)
They Do It With Mirrors (1974)
Third Millennium Opens, The (1956)
Universe (1941)
Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, The (1942)
Water Is for Washing (1947)
"--We Also Walk Dogs" (1941)
Where To? (1952)
Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry? (1958)
Year of the Jackpot, The (1952)
PUBLISHERS:
(1) Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
(2) Fantasy Press, Reading
(3) Gnome Press, New York
(4) Signet Books, New York
(5) Doubleday & Co., Garden City
(6) Avon Books, New York
(7) Shasta Publishers, Chicago
(8) Victor Gollancz, London
(9) Dells Books, New York
(10) Digit Books, London
(11) G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York
(12) Pyramid Books, New York
(13) Sidgwick & Jackson, London
(14) Ace Books, New York
(15) Fawcett Columbine Books, New York
(16) Holt, Reinhart and Winston, New York
(17) Ballantine Books, New York
(18) Cliff Notes, Lincoln
(19) The Borgo Press, San Bernardino
THE ROBERT HEINLEIN INTERVIEW
AND OTHER HEINLEINIANA
by J. Neil Schulman
(SoftServe Books)
review by Darryl Kenning
It is no great secret I suppose, that I really like the writings of
Robert Anson Heinlein, and consider him to be one of the all time
great Science Fiction authors of our times. THE ROBERT HEINLEIN
INTERVIEW AND OTHER HEINLEINIANA is a series of letters, book reviews
and the text of an interview that Mr. Schulman did with Mr. Heinlein
in 1973.
Once in a while you find a writer who says with almost perfect clarity
the things you have been thinking about and the things you would like
to say if you only had the skill and artistry. This series of writings
by and about RAH by J. Neil Schulman have done that for me. A very
articulate proponent of the libertarian philosophy in his own right
(read ALONGSIDE NIGHT by J.N.S. and of course anything by Ann Rand),
he sheds light on RAH's libertarian feelings and beliefs.
I particularly enjoyed the introduction to this book simply because in
JRN's description of the effect of the Heinlein writings on him, I saw
a mirror image of me, and I suspect from the ongoing popularity of
RAH's books and stories, a bit of most of the readers who were at an
impressionable age when we first had the incredible good luck to
stumble across his books.
Often I am put off by books about favorite authors - either they don't
do them justice at all, or they put every bit of imagery under a
microscope and in doing so destroy the beauty and soul of the story
and author. None of that is true when Mr. Schulman puts his
considerable talents to work in this book. The series of letters and
reviews have a powerful impact - more so when you realize the time
span that the material covers 1972-1988. The interview with RAH is the
crown jewel of the book.
By now you have no doubt, gotten the idea (I'm not often accused of
being overly subtle) that I am recommending this book. On my scale of
0 to 5, this is a 5. Worth reading, worth rereading, and worth keeping
to read again.
--------- Quotes 'n Stuff --------------------------------------------
Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggie" until you can pick up a
rock!
One should forgive one's enemies, but not until after they are hanged.
Experience teaches you to recognize a mistake when you've made it
again.
If the phone doesn't ring...it's me
(a song title by Jimmy Buffett)
---------- ASK UNCLE HAL 9001 ----------------------------------------
Test the enormous RAM database of UNCLE HAL, the new and improved
model 9001.
Q. What was the the REAL name of the author of ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN
WONDERLAND?
A. Best known by his pen name Lewis Carroll was really The Rev.
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a noted mathematician who wrote extensively
on symbolic logic.
Q. SF art is a little known field to most readers. I heard that a
husband and wife team once won a Hugo for SF art---do you know who
they were?
A. In 1972 Leo and Diane Dillon won a Hugo as a team. They are best
known for the original Ace special covers and several Harlan Ellison
book covers.
---------- THE HUGO's ------------------------------------------------
The HUGO AWARDS were first presented in 1953 at the 11th World Science
Fiction Convention held in Philadelphia, PA. The HUGO was not
presented in 1954 at the 12th World SF Convention (San Francisco, CA).
Only literary works are listed, at least until the brand new 1990
awards.
1953 - Philadelphia
Novel: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
1955 - Cleveland
Novel: They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley
Novelette: "The Darfsteller" by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Short Story: "Allamagoosa" by Eric Frank Russell
1956 - New York
Novel: Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein
Novellette: "Exploration Team" by Murray Leinster
Short Story: "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke
1957 - London
No literary works awarded.
1958 - Los Angeles
Novel: The Big Time by Fritz Leiber
Short Story: "Or All the Seas with Oysters" by Avram Davidson
1959 - Detroit
Novel: A Case of Conscience by James Blish
Novelette: "The Big Front Yard" by Clifford D. Simak
Short Story: "The Hell-Bound Train" by Robert Bloch
1960 - Pittsburgh
Novel: Starship Trooper by Robert A. Heinlein
Short Fiction: "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
1961 - Seattle
Novel: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Short Story: "The Longest Voyage" by Poul Anderson
1962 - Chicago
Novel: Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Short Fiction: the "Hothouse" series by Brian Aldiss
1963 - Washington, D.C.
Novel: The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Short Fiction: "The Dragon Masters" by Jack Vance
1964 - Oakland
Novel: Way Station by Clifford Simak
Short Fiction: "No Truce With Kings" by Poul Anderson
1965 - London
Novel: The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber
Short Fiction: "Soldier, Ask Not" by Gordon R. Dickson
1966 - Cleveland
Novel: (tie) ...And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny
Dune by Frank Herbert
Short Fiction: "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said The Ticktockman" by Harlan
Ellison
1967 - New York
Novel: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Novelette: "The Last Castle" by Jack Vance
Short Story: "Neutron Star" by Larry Niven
1968 - Oakland
Novel: Lord Of Light by Roger Zelazny
Novella: (tie) "Weyr Search" by Anne McCaffrey
"Riders of the Purple Wage" by Philip Jose Farmer
Novelette: "Gonna Roll the Bones" by Fritz Leiber
Short Story: "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison
1969 - St. Louis
Novel: Stand On Zanzibar by John Brunner
Novella: "Nightwings" by Robert Silverberg
Novelette: "The Sharing of Flesh" by Poul Anderson
Short Story: "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World"
by Harlan Ellison
1970 - Heidelberg
Novel: Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Novella: "Ship of Shadows" by Fritz Leiber
Short Story: "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones" by
Samuel R. Delany
1971 - Boston
Novel: Ringworld by Larry Niven
Novella: "Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber
Short Story: "Slow Sculpture" by Theodore Sturgeon
1972 - Los Angeles
Novel: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
Novella: "The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson
Short Story: "Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven
1973 - Toronto
Novel: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Novella: "The Word for World Is Forest" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Novelette: "Goat Song" by Poul Anderson
Short Story: (tie) "The Meeting" by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth
"Eurema's Dam" by R.A. Lafferty
1974 - Washington, D.C.
Novel: Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Novella: "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" by James Tiptree, Jr.
Novelette: "The Deathbird" by Harlan Ellison
Short Story: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le
Guin
1975 - Melbourne
Novel: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Novella: "A Song for Lya" by George R.R. Martin
Novelette: "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38
Degrees 54' N, Longitude 77 Degrees 00' 13" W" by Harlan Ellison
Short Story: "The Hole Man" by Larry Niven
1976 - Kansas City
Novel: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Novella: "Home Is the Hangman" by Roger Zelazny
Novelette: "The Borderland of Sol" by Larry Niven
Short Story: "Catch That Zeppelin!" by Fritz Leiber
1977 - Miami Beach
Novel: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
Novella: (tie) "By Any Other Name" by Spider Robinson
"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" by James Tiptree, Jr.
Novelette: "The Bicentennial Man" by Isaac Asimov
Short Story: "Tricentennial" by Joe Haldeman
1978 - Phoenix
Novel: Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Novella: "Stardance" by Spider and Jeanne Robinson
Novelette: "Eyes of Amber" by Joan D. Vinge
Short Story: "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison
1979 - Brighton, England
Novel: Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre
Novella: "The Persistence of Vision" by John Varley
Novelette: "Hunter's Moon" by Poul Anderson
Short Story: "Cassandra" by C.J. Cherryh
1980 - Boston
Novel: The Fountains Of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
Novella: "Enemy Mine" by Barry Longyear
Novelette: "Sandkings" by George R.R. Martin
Short Story: "The Way of Cross and Dragon" by George R.R. Martin
1981 - Denver
Novel: The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge
Novella: "Lost Dorsai" by Gordon R. Dickson
Novelette: "The Cloak and the Staff" by Gordon R. Dickson
Short Story: "Grotto of the Dancing Deer" by Clifford D. Simak
1982 - Chicago
Novel: Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
Novella: "The Saturn Game" by Poul Anderson
Novelette: "Unicorn Variations" by Roger Zelazny
Short Story: "The Pusher" by John Varley
1983 - Baltimore
Novel: Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
Novella: "Souls" by Joanna Russ
Novelette: "Fire Watch" by Connie Willis
Short Story: "Melancholy Elephants" by Spider Robinson
1984 - Anaheim
Novel: Startide Rising by David Brin
Novella: "Cascade Point" by Timothy Zahn
Novelette: "Blood Music" by Greg Bear
Short Story: "Speech Sounds" by Octavia butler
1985 - Melbourne
Novel: Neuromancer by William Gibson
Novella: "Press Enter []" by John Varley
Novelette: "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler
Short Story: "The Crystal Spheres" by David Brin
1986 - Atlanta
Novel: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Novella: "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai" by Roger Zelazny
Novelette: "Paladin of the Lost Hour" by Harlan Ellison
Short Story: "Fermi and Frost" by Frederik Pohl
1987 - Brighton, England
Novel: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Novella: "Gilgamesh in the Outback" by Robert Silverberg
Novelette: "Permafrost" by Roger Zelazny
Short Story: "Tangents" by Greg Bear
1988 - New Orleans
Novel: The Uplift War by David Brin
Novella: "Eye for Eye" by Orson Scott Card
Novelette: "Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight" by Ursula K.
LeGuin
Short Story: "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers" by Lawrence
Watt-Evans
1989 - Boston
Novel: Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh
Novella: "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis
Novelette: "Schrodinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger
Short Story: "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick
1990 - The Hague, Holland
Best Novel: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Foundation/Spectra)
Best Novella: "The Mountains of Mourning" by Lois McMaster Bujold
(May Analog/Border of Infinity, Baen)
Best Novelette: "Enter A Soldier. Later: Enter Another" by Robert
Silverberg (June Asimov/Time Gate, Baen)
Best Short Story: "Boobs" by Suzy McKee Charnas (July Asimov)
Best Nonfiction Book: The World Beyond the Hill by Alexei & Cory
Panshin (Tarcher/Elephant Press)
Best Dramatic Presentation: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Best Professional Editor: Gardner Dozois
Best Professional Artist: Don Maitz
Best Semi-Prozine: Locus, edited by Charles N. Brown
Best Fanzine: The Mad 3 Party, edited by Leslie Turek
Best Fan Writer: Dave Langford
Best Fan Artist: Stu Shiffman
------- Trekology ----------------------------------------------------
STAR TREK'S FUTURE HISTORY -- A GUIDE
by Jim Lyon
(Based on additional material by Joe Sewell)
The historical dates presented within this document are based upon the
history of the USS Enterprise. For further reference please see the
Starfleet Spaceflight Chronology, an earlier publication from Pocket
Books. The dates presented within have been adjusted precisely 64
years positive from dates printed in such references as the
Chronology, FASA's ST RPG, the Best of Trek and other sources due to
the revelation in the episode "The Neutral Zone" that the missions of
NCC-1701-D take place in 2364. (Since the date of the aforementioned
sources presents ST-IV in 2222 and ST:TNG following 78 years later,
the adjusted date for ST-IV is now 2286, fitting in nicely with movie
references.) Where those dates have been adjusted, the original has
been provided in parentheses.
2252 The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is the second Constitution-class
starship commissioned -- under Captain Robert April. (2188)
2254 The Enterprise finishes a shakedown cruise. April's ship embarks
on its first five-year exploratory mission. (2190)
2259 After the first five-year mission's completion, April steps down
and Captain Christopher Pike assumes captaincy.
First and only official contact with the planet Talos IV. (2195)
2271 Christopher Pike is promoted to Fleet Captain; James T. Kirk,
fresh from the USS Lydia Sutherland, is given command. (2207)
2272 First face to face contact with the Romulan Empire since the
Romulan War of 2170-2173 (2106-2109).
Enterprise involved in only suspension of General Order Seven,
requiring zero contact with Talos Four.
Organian peace treaty is forced upon the Federation and the Klingon
Empire. (2208)
2275 USS Enterprise is the sole survivor of the original 13
Constitution class ships. Enterprise returns to Earth for refit.
James T. Kirk is promoted to Commodore. (2211)
2277 James Kirk promoted to Admiral following the highly successful
Corinth negotiations which bring the Gorn Alliance to the
negotiating tables.
Internal problems begin in the Klingon Empire when the human- and
Romulan fusion races are looked upon by the Imperial Klingon
society as sub-Klingon. (2213)
2278 Enterprise is assigned to Captain Will Decker. (2214)
2279 The V'Ger Incident. The Enterprise deals with the alien invader
and is granted another five-year mission. Kirk accepts temporary
reduction to Captain to accept command. (2215)
2281 Records discovered on the colony planet Sumarik IX lead to the
conclusion that the Romulans migrated from Vulcan. This decision
does not settle well on Vulcan. (2217)
2282 An internal Klingon war begins against the fusion races, which
were originally created by genetic manipulation as a better way to
deal with the Federation (who look upon humans as BEING the
Federation) and the Romulans. Enterprise rescues a group of fusion
fugitives. (2218)
2283 The First Vulcan Secession affair becomes a major UFP concern
when the planet considers withdrawing from the Federation. All is
resolved during talks, but many Vulcans believe that their world
should take a lesser role in the politics of the Federation.
(2219)
2284 Following the political crisis on Akkadia, the Enterprise is
returned to Earth on orders of Admiral James Kirk. The Enterprise
is given to Starfleet training command, where it becomes a cadet
vessel. (2220)
2285 The Warrantors kidnapping crisis, where several Warrantors of
Peace are kidnapped on Vulcan. Enterprise is temporarily
commandeered in order to lead a rescue mission. (2221)
2286 The Genesis Incident. The USS Enterprise is destroyed in related
circumstances.
Earth is attacked by an extragalactic probe during the Cetacean
Incident.
USS Ti-Ho is rechristened Enterprise, NCC-1701-A. (2222)
-----CURRENT Star Trek Time Frame-----
2292 The Kinshaya, the so-called "demon race" which has plagued the
Klingon Empire for centuries, stage their second major attack
against that civilization. The Kinshaya begin a frontal assault
which soon pervades the Triangle, the wedge of space between the
three major space powers.
2294 A temporary pact, later known as "Pax Unificatum," unites the
Federation, Romulan Star Empire and Klingon Empire for the only
time in recorded history, from which the Kinshaya Realm is dealt
with. Troubles behind, the Romulans subsequently turn on the
others, severing communication.
2296 Captain James T. Kirk is killed on the Enterprise. Commander
Spock retires from Starfleet and Dr. Leonard McCoy is promoted to
Commodore and offered post at Starfleet Medical. Hikaru Sulu
becomes the ship's fifth Captain. (He serves with First Officer
Nyota Uhura, Captain of Engineering Montgomery Scott and Security
Chief/Second Officer Pavel Chekov.)
2298 The principles of Superwarp technology are discovered at the
Deneva Warp Research Facility but scientists realize the
application will take many years.
2301 One of the only known outposts from the long-dead Vegan Tyranny
is discovered on Selene GF-184, a dead planetoid in the Atarsis
region, by the Enterprise under Captain Sulu. The Vegan Tyranny
died out many years before the Federation was formed (indeed, the
last race to encounter them was the Andorians, in their first days
of interstellar exploration) and was believed to be cybernetic in
origin. Records indicate this correct, and the Enterprise is
publicly commended for its advances in the scientific community --
Vegan scripts answer a good many questions concerning the galactic
governments before the Federation in this region, and indicate the
planet Rigel has been a trading colony for at least a million
years.
2303 Outcries at Rigel over their little-known history eventually
reaches the seat of the Orion Colonies government. Many scholars
demand that the Rigellians open their planet to exploration -- the
surface of Rigel IV is largely paved over but its cities extend
many miles deep into its crust on almost the entire world. Rigel
holds steady, but two years later a group of Federation scholars
is led many miles down in one part of the planet to a vault where
records answer a great many questions about the early recorded
history of our Galaxy.
2306 Enterprise-A is retired from service and is installed at the
Starfleet Museum at Memory Alpha.
2308 USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-B, is commissioned. The latest
Enterprise is of the Destiny class, the newest stage of the
now-popular Excelsior-class design.
First contact with the Zhaunnir Dominion occurs when the starship
USS Carolina is ambushed.
2309 The Zhaunnir War with the Federation begins after this
newly-contact race of insectoids attack and destroy Outpost 41
without warning and level the Beta Gamelus IV colony. Starfleet
mobilizes its fleet cautiously, insuring both Klingon and Romulan
empires that it will still protect its borders.
2310 Date recorded as the official year the Zhaunnir War ended, but
with no specific conclusion. Following numerous Federation
victories, the insectoids seemed to break off and flee to their
homeworlds, as if mobilizing for another threat. Clues as to the
existence of the Ferengi Alliance are left behind the only
captured Zhaunnir marauder ship.
2311 The existence of the Ferengi Alliance is proven when military
experts examine the ruins at Castenzarus, a Federation colony
planet attacked by Zhaunnir marauders. It is discovered that the
Zhaunnir fled to defend themselves against this race, which they
refer to as the 'dread pirates'.
The Tomid Incident occurs when the Neutral Zone treaty is violated
in the Tomid system, located inside that section's borders, where
Romulan forces attack a Federation freighter. Following this act,
all contact is again lost with the Empire and ships flee from the
Zone borders. (It is discovered later that the Romulans had been
attacked by the Zhaunnir, who were fleeing Ferengi borders in a
last-ditch effort. The Federation freighter attacked was presumed
to be a Zhaunnir scout cruiser.)
Superwarp is tested on the vessel USS Swifteagle, a small scout
ship. Tests are positive, and small scale refits are ordered by
Starfleet Command.
2312 The planet Betazed first contacted by USS Melbourne. Betazed
wishes to remain neutral with sister worlds Zamoyed and Saxxirr.
Dr. Noonian Sung, a scientist whose work with artificial
intelligence has been ridiculed to date, mysteriously disappears.
2314 The Great Warp Disaster; the USS Enterprise-B discovers a network
of planets in the galactic core responsible for creating the
Galactic Energy Barrier, is crippled by automatic defenses and
crashes, destroying the barrier mechanisms. The subsequent EM wave
overload causes almost every ship in the Klingon Empire and
Federation to stop abruptly, halting standard warp technology.
Superwarp ships, constructed upon a different principle, still
functions, but is limited to only about a hundred ships. Subspace
radio is not affected.
Scientists determine that the pulse of the destruction of the
barrier will last for two years. Afraid of the huge terror this
will cause, plans for superwarp technology is broadcasted to all
Federation worlds, and is picked up by the Klingon Empire.
The "Great Galactic Dark Age" begins, as it is called in UFP media.
Starfleet orders an incredible amount of energy be put into refit
and construction of superwarp -- thankfully not a heavy refit
operation in space vessels.
The Romulans, who have already stumbled onto the principle of
superwarp, begin their own refits. The Zhaunnir Dominion retreats
once again for the time being, their own starships useless.
2315 Over 1000 Federation ships now have superwarp technology due to
incredibly good luck.
Superwarp technology assists the Federation's rescue of a Klingon
delegate party in the Triangle. The delegates, which include many
members of the Klingon Emperor's senate, are brought home.
2316 The interference from the Great Warp Disaster dissipates and warp
technology becomes functional. Damage from the GWD is extensive --
many planets have fallen into incredible decay and some have
attained considerable death due to lack of supplies. Aarda Dzorn,
an Andorian Starfleet consultant, is awarded both the Nobel and
Z'Magnees peace prizes, the only time both prizes are awarded to
the same person in Federation history, for her exhaustive work in
overseeing the effort to supply needy Federation worlds.
2317 The term "Great Galactic Dark Ages" is lifted when supply and
lifelines are completely restored, but the effects will linger on
for decades. During the next few years, exploration of the
Federation frontiers is very limited, but soon it is back in full
swing.
2320 Project Gamma, a special Federation espionage operation
concentrating on deciphering Klingon political information, is
formed. Gamma's concentrated information is eventually used during
the Great War in determining the validity of intelligence. For
now, it concentrates on learning the impact of the Great Warp
Disaster upon Klingon forces. A similar operation, Project
Theta-7, is also launched to determine the impact upon the Romulan
Star Empire, but this produces extremely little information.
2324 The Betazed Concordat signed; Beta worlds join the Federation
Internal strife begins on Mordan IV; Starfleet Ambassador Mark
Jameson departs after talks break down. The war will last forty
years.
2325 The Urselrope Wars involve a good number of planets in the
Lorenze Cluster on the Federation border, spearheaded by a colony
of refugees on Urselrope Seven. The wars come about due to
colonial disagreements and is supplied by Minos, "the Arsenal of
Freedom", which is destroyed by its own technology. The wars end
when the factions heed the Minos example and decide that enough
killing is enough.
2327 USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-C, an Ambassador class cruiser, is
commissioned with superwarp drive, and begins a ten-year mission.
2328 (It is discovered later that the Romulan Empire, which was
affected by the Great Warp Disaster about as much as the
Federation, defeated the Zhaunnir Dominion in this year. The
Zhaunnir were caught between the encroaching Ferengi Alliance and
the forces of the Empire. The Dominion is completely wiped out,
the final remaining forces choosing mass suicide. The destruction
of their frontier brings the Ferengi Alliance closer, yet the
Ferengi fail to see the importance in dealing with the Romulans.)
2329 The Alveda III disaster; medical supplies and food runs out and
the colony is saved by its own occupants. Jenette Crusher, a
botanist, saves many lives, including her own granddaughter
Beverly's, with her knowledge of local flora.
2330 The involvement of the Organians is seen to wane when the Klingon
outpost Khitomer, in Treaty territory, is neutralized. It is
subsequently discovered that Romulan pirates were responsible.
The Romulan Empire begins a massive reconstruction project,
including full development on superwarp battlecruisers.
2331 Although there are increased Klingon/Federation relations due to
the rescue and cooperation during the Great Warp Disaster, a
quarrel between ships of the two factions at Rigel soon turns into
a bloodbath -- and no Organian warnings arise.
It is discovered by the Federation Council that rival factions in
the Klingon Empire calling for all-out war with the UFP are slowly
becoming a dominant force there.
2332 Though Federation President Daniel McQuinn and Klingon Emperor
Khetas epetai-Subaiesh are negotiating, skirmish after skirmish
takes place.
Graham Attenborough and T'Mariak, the Federation Ambassadors to the
Empire, are recalled due to hostilities taking place on Klinzhai.
The Federation embassy is closed.
Starfleet issues a mobilization alert to all forces.
Shortly after Federation personnel leave Klinzhai, Emperor Khetas is
deposed. "Marak the Berserker" usurps the throne.
The Klingon-Federation joint outposts at Gibraltar and Sheliak II
are closed and Klingon forces withdraw from the border K-stations.
Marak the Berserker declares war against the Federation by having
three D-7 cruisers destroy Federation Outpost Seventeen.
The Great War begins.
2333 The Calstry Prime disaster -- six Federation ships are crippled
over that planet when a Klingon L-13 battlecruiser explodes after
its weapons overload.
The Orion Colonies declare themselves off limits to both Klingon and
Federation forces. Rigel sends out a declaration of neutrality.
Sherman's Planet razed by massive fires.
2334 The Battle of Rigel -- USS Enterprise and IKV Battlequeen II
combat each other over Rigel following the Enterprise's attempts
at sending a peace agreement. Though Battlequeen II is destroyed,
a message does get through to Klingon border defense posts --
though it is ignored.
The "Day of Reckoning" occurs in the late part of the year --
Federation scientists universally determine that the combat will
eventually destroy the Klingon Empire but will cripple the
Federation seriously.
President McQuinn killed when an anti-Federation terrorist unit
assassinates him on Alpha Centauri.
2335 Marak begins to lose many of his forces when he orders his
soldiers into useless deaths.
Kazak epetai-Subaiesh, the nephew of Khetas, begins a personal
challenge to destroy Marak.
The Subaiesh clan, using government-stolen systems, contact Outpost
81 on the Federation Border in order to solidify peace talks.
Kazak is behind the attempt, though uses it as an excuse to order
the death of an anti-peace leader and gain Marak's respect.
Kazak assumes the Klingon throne after assassinating Marak the
Berserker and calls for an end to the war. Shortly thereafter,
attacks against the Federation cease, and internal strife
overcomes the Empire.
Ambassadors Attenborough and T'Mariak journey under Kazak's
protection to Klinzhai, territorial seat of the Empire, aboard the
Enterprise to conduct talks directly.
Kazak's loyalist forces overcome the rebel units of the Empire and
war is halted. Kazak pronounces the change of the name of the
Empire and the new name, the Free Worlds of Klinzhai, is adopted.
Enterprise ferries Attenborough and T'Mariak along with the Klingon
ambassador, Koritarg, and a Klingon delegation to Babel, where the
Babel Peace Accord is signed.
2337 The Enterprise vanishes when its superwarp technology is
sabotaged by remnants of the rebel Klingon forces and speeds away
out of the galaxy.
2338 Six Federation worlds and fourteen Klingon planets, all along
remote frontiers, are subjugated by terrorists now known as
Ferengi.
2339 Emperor Kazak proposes unity against the Ferengi invaders, which
is met with much skepticism.
The Briolis Hearings begin between Federation and Klingon
representatives.
The Romulan Empire, which up until now has watched the
Federation/Klingon war with great interest, is suddenly caught up
in its own civil war begun by Romulans who believe their Empire
has taken a turn for the worse into barbarism. All set to deal
with the Klingons, the Romulans must turn unto themselves. Their
civil war will last 21 years and the preservationists, as they are
called, will lose to the warmonger Praetor.
2340 The Great Treaty of Unity is signed at the Briolis affair and the
Federation Grand Alliance begins. The United Federation of Planets
and the Free Worlds of Klinzhai will act as the United Nations
sought to act on Earth, only stronger.
Historians and scientists generally agree that the disappearance of
the planet Organia three days following the signing of the Great
Treaty and the earlier disappearance of the Organians themselves
from their their world were linked to their prediction of
Federation/Klingon peace, and indeed their disinvolvement with
relations a means to an end in the cause of peace.
2342 USS Tripoli discovers the deserted Omicron Theta IV colony and a
single occupant -- an android that comes alive to the Tripoli
scout party. The android, code named DATA, has no memory of the
colony occupants. (It is later determined that Data, who becomes
part of Starfleet, was created by Dr. Noonian Soong, and the
colonists were all destroyed by the Crystal Entity.)
2344 The Second Vulcan Secession Crisis. After reviewing the facts
concerning the Zhaunnir War, the Kinshaya affair and the Great
War, Vulcan's leaders decide that it would be more beneficial to
withdraw from political structures within the Federation. The
disaster is barely averted; Vulcan is convinced to remain a
member, though acting on an associate status, while fully
retaining its scientific and cultural prosperity and position.
Many Vulcans choose to return home during the affair, some to
their own colony worlds. Starfleet sees a radical drop in the
number of Vulcan officers it retains.
2345 First contact with the planet Bynaus. The Bynars will make
radical improvements in Grand Alliance computer systems over the
next 20 years.
Contact is finally established with the Tholian Assembly for the
first time since the days of the original Enterprise. The
Tholians, who have long rejected any sort of contact with the
Federation because they wished to keep all forms of barbarism away
from their scientifically minded citizens, have come to realize
the Federation's true intent in their long-distance study of the
Great War. Negotiations begin.
2347 The Tholian Assembly joins the Grand Alliance in an associate
status, preferring to retain their own defense and political
structure yet open to all forms of trade and communication.
Tholian advances with dilithium improve superwarp capabilities
beyond belief, and within a few years all forms of original warp
travel (of the kind rendered inoperative during the Great Warp
Disaster) have dwindled to almost nonexistence.
2348 Federation and Free Worlds borders reorganized in a fashion to
please both parties. Exploration zones are set up for both
governments for equal development. Problems with the setup will
result in the Altarian Conference nine years later.
2349 USS Stargazer is commissioned under Captain Jean-Luc Picard. It
becomes the first vessel to contact the Benzites, who will later
revolutionize superwarp science on practical application yet
reject (until 2364, when the first Benzite, Mordok, tests in the
Academy) any affiliation with Starfleet.
The Triangle Unification Affair -- the major governments of the
Triangle band together (excluding the Imperial Klingon States, a
segregated group of Klingons who severed ties with their home
Empire at least a century before) to decide exactly what their
position will be when dealing with the Grand Alliance.
2350 The Triangle Unification Affair ends with the declaration of the
participating worlds as territories. The Baker's Dozen, the
thirteen allied worlds that have withstood outside pressure for
nearly 150 years, becomes a protectorate with the full security of
Starfleet.
2351 A join Federation-Free Worlds force reseeds Sherman's Planet,
which was all but destroyed during the Great War. Sherman's Planet
becomes a symbol of unity between the two governments, and becomes
not only an agricultural planet but a territorial seat. Its single
moon, long an independent meeting point, is reconstructed as a
neutral conference site on the order of Babel and is christened
"Parliament".
2353 A lost freighter, the SS Firesprite, returns to Starbase 84 after
visiting a planet in the Texorith Cluster that Federation probes
have as yet not found. It is the fourth sighting of the mystical
planet of "Aldea", where the Firesprite held orbit for three hours
before departing. Aldea is later found (in 2364) in the Epsilon
Minos system by the Enterprise.
2355 The Stargazer is destroyed when it combats an unidentified ship
in the Maxia Zeta system. It is discovered nine years later that
the ship was a Ferengi scout cruiser.
2356 The Alcyones are presumed to have destroyed the last of the
plague-ridden Tarellians. In actuality, a single ship did survive
and made its way to the planet Haven eight years later.
Rear Admiral Savar is promoted to Starfleet Commander. Once he
begins his post, he promises to endorse more scientific and
exploratory duties for Starfleet rather than military. His
groundwork for an exploration-based Fleet eventually leads to
Vulcan's decision to reverse its political "hands-off" within the
Federation. Savar is killed in 2364; his policy continues, though
Vulcan's "re-entry" is slow.
2357 The Altairian Conference takes place to ground out differences
between the Federation and the Free Worlds of Klinzhai. It
involves many ship captains and delegates on both sides. All
differences are resolved.
2358 Operation Hawkeye is launched by Starfleet Intelligence. Its
purpose is to send reconnaisance missions to the Alliance borders
in an attempt to encounter Ferengi traders or other
representatives of this increasingly active new threat.
2360 The Romulan Civil War ends with the destruction of the
preservationist factions. Four years of reconstruction will see
the development of a number of capital warships and expansion
toward the Federation.
2361 The Velara terraforming endeavor, known as the "Gardeners of
Eden" project, is established.
2362 The Starfleet facility at Altair III, where the Altarian
Conference was a huge success five years before, is overcome by
the People's Abolitionist Front, which seeks to rid the Federation
of the "Klingon scourge". Lt. Commander William Riker prohibits
Captain Frank DeSoto of the USS Hood to beam down to talk to the
PAF leaders, who are waiting to kill him as a sign of their
seriousness, saving his life. Instead, security teams from the
Hood, Potemkin and Alliance take the leaders into custody.
The planet Haven becomes the 1500th member world of the Federation.
The Micromius disaster -- colonists settled here unaware that they
were destroying the indigenous population, a creature whose
natural form is in liquid state. When she becomes head of
Starfleet Medical, Dr. Beverly Crusher, along with Dr. Terence
Epstein, presents a practical solution that will prevent the
problem happening elsewhere.
2363 Benzite principles applied to superwarp, greatly increasing their
power capacity. Second-generation superwarp drive is set for the
next Enterprise ship.
The principles of holodeck technology are perfected at the Deneva
Test Facilities. Installation of the newest advances will also
come on the next Enterprise.
The Bandi of Deneb IV open up their rapidly-created spaceport to
Federation ships. Christened "Farpoint", the new station will
allow the current exploration zone to be expanded by its use as a
way station.
Operation Hawkeye's first success comes on Zeta Reticuli V, where a
scout party encounters a Ferengi patrol cruiser. Though no actual
face to face confrontation is recorded, it is the first real proof
that the Ferengi have penetrated Federation borders.
Rumors from the Alliance Alpha Exploration Zone intelligence section
say that Ferengi cruisers may even have penetrated as far as
within 200 parsecs of the Terra-Vulcan-Alpha Centauri home
cluster.
2364 USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D, commissioned and departs Earth. It is
the first ship equipped with second-generation superwarp drive and
the "continuous loop" phaser banks. It is commanded by Jean-Luc
Picard.
First contact with the "Q".
First official contact with the Ferengi Alliance in the Zendi Sabu
system within the Alliance Alpha Exploration zone by the
Enterprise. The encounter also clears up mysteries surrounding the
long-dead Tkon Empire.
USS Stargazer returned after being discovered by the Ferengi, Bok.
Starfleet Code One Emergency, as it is later called, is quelched and
Fleet admirals, including Grand Admiral Savar, are killed after
being possessed by strange parasitic life forms.
Contact reestablished with Romulan Star Empire on the border of the
Neutral Zone after several Romulan and Federation outposts are
destroyed. Enterprise arranges a temporary information treaty with
a Romulan ship.
* * * *
This timeline was written by Jim Lyon (72571,3002) based on material
by Joe Sewell as presented in ENTHIS.TXT. This document may be
reproduced so long as FULL text remains intact.
Other sources for this document include SPOCK'S WORLD by Diane Duane,
DEEP DOMAIN by Howard Weinstein, MEMORY PRIME by Gar and Judith
Reeves-Stephens, THE FINAL REFLECTION by John M. Ford, DWELLERS IN THE
CRUCIBLE by Margaret Wander Bonanno, the ST:TNG OFFICERS MANUAL and
many other products from the FASA Corporation (the creators of Star
Trek: The Role Playing Game), the four ST movies and of course the
seriesStar Trek: The Next Generation. Also adapted from
presentations in the BEST OF TREK series from Signet.
************************
#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#
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editor: Cindy Bartorillo
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FEATURED AUTHOR:
ELLIS PETERS
Sue Feder's name is familiar to anyone who pays attention to the
bylines on book reviews, and she is also the woman behind the Ellis
Peters Appreciation Society, as well as the editor and publisher of
the Society's official journal, MOST LOVING MERE FOLLY. To get a copy,
write to: Ellis Peters Appreciation Society, c/o Sue Feder, 7815
Daniels Avenue, Parkville, MD 21234. (She doesn't insist on being
paid, but it would be polite to include a couple of dollars to pay for
repro and mailing costs. Make any checks payable to Sue Feder.)
Watch for the third edition of 20TH CENTURY CRIME AND MYSTERY WRITERS.
It includes a completely new essay about Ellis Peters written by Sue,
and to show that she does read other authors from time to time, Sue
has articles on Richard Barth and Les Roberts in the book too.
ELLIS PETERS SAYS
by Sue Feder
Luckily for us, Ellis Peters graciously consented to take some time
out of her busy schedule to give us an interview. She once said, "I do
love talking to people, but it takes up so much time. I've had to tell
my publishers not to arrange much for me in case I start enjoying it
more than writing!" Some quotes were taken (with the permission of EP
and her agent) from ELLIS PETERS WRITES, an article which has appeared
elsewhere.
Edith May Pargeter was born the youngest of three in the village of
Horsehay, Shropshire, on September 23, 1913. Her father was the head
clerk at the local ironworks. Her elder brother, Edmund Ellis, had
become an engineer, and her middle sister married--both are now
deceased. There's a nephew, and some cousins locally and in Cornwall
with whom she remains close.
She recalls a very happy childhood. "We were all bright at school and
had no difficulties holding our own, plenty of friends, the company of
dogs, all the things country children enjoy, miles of countryside in
which to roam." Her little village is now part of Telford and "a lot
of the meadows I used to know are now built up with housing estates
and industrial enclaves. But go west an hour into Wales, and it's pure
hill country. Eastward you move into the flatter and more industrial
midlands."
Educated at Dawley Church of England Elementary School, and then on a
scholarship at Coalbrookdale High School for Girls, she always knew
she wanted to write. "You might say that was settled from the start."
Deeply influenced by her mother, who had written poetry but gave it up
to raise three children, and further encouraged by Miss Harvey, a
fondly-remembered English teacher, she adds "In my time I have also
sung in a choir, acted in school plays, danced as a solo act in local
concerts, and painted quite well while I was at school. But writing
was always my aim."
Her mother's experience may have had other influences--she has never
married, believing that she's better at friendship, and felt she
couldn't properly run a marriage and a career at the same time--and
for her the writing came first.
Although she obtained an Oxford Higher School Certificate and first
class honors in English, Edith didn't want to remain in school or
continue on to a university. Instead, at age 20, she took up on an
offer to become a chemist's assistant at a shop in Dawley--"both
serving...and dispensing, experience which has sometimes been useful!
I learned about medicinal drugs, including those of botanic origin."
Over the next seven years she began to write seriously--in
longhand!--selling short stories and a short novel. "My first earnings
were actually in newsprint. Back before the war there were many
regional newspapers which carried serial stories, and agencies
commissioned such stories on the strength of a full synopsis and one
first installment. Length was laid down, thirteen installments, the
introductory one longer than the rest, and the stories were syndicated
round the regions, so might appear in four or five different
newspapers. Nothing like it exists now. Quite independently, some of
these were taken up by popular publishers, and lengthened--by me, the
copyright after serial publication was mine--into full-scale novels
and published under another name. Odd copies turn up occasionally."
She now looks at these early efforts at mysteries as "rather
juvenile".
Just before the war she published her first full-length novel, THE
CITY LIES FOURSQUARE (1939). When the war began she attempted to join
the Women's Air Force. Rejected because she was in a reserved
occupation, she resigned from her job with the chemist and applied to
the Women's Royal Naval Service--this time listing her occupation as
author. "Authors were clearly expendable, because I was accepted
without question, and drafted off to Plymouth to joining the staff at
Western Approaches Command. A year later the command moved to
Liverpool, to be better placed as covering the convoy route across the
Atlantic."
Working in the service didn't deter her writing, and SHE GOES TO WAR,
about the WRNS, was published in 1942. It is due to be reissued in
England, for the first time in 47 years. The first volume of a trilogy
about a common soldiers war, THE EIGHTH CHAMPION OF CHRISTENDOM, also
came out while she was still in uniform (1945), with the second book
arriving just after (RELUCTANT ODYSSEY, 1946).
On VE Day in 1944 Edith received the British Empire Medal,
"recommended probably by the naval signals officer we worked under.
For zeal and whole-hearted devotion to duty, the citation says. It was
usual each year on the honours list for some such service awards to be
recommended and awarded. I was a teleprinter operator, and after about
a year and the move to Liverpool had a watch of perhaps nine girls
under me. We had probably about thirteen printers in the room, plus
telex, cable and wireless, and a direct transatlantic line to the
other end of the convoy route in Newfoundland."
Timing continuing to be everything, Edith was demobilized as Petty
Officer on VJ Day, 1945.
But the war years were important for another reason. Her lifelong
connection with Czechoslovakian people, language and culture began as
a direct result of her outrage at the 1938 Munich Agreement, that
infamous agreement amongst Britain, France and Germany, in which the
two former agreed to parcel Czechoslovakia out to Germany in the vain
hope of avoiding war. Calling the agreement "shameful", she
"personally regarded our declaration of war as a relief and a
reparation. So when the war was over I took the first opportunity of
visiting the country. I had a few wartime contacts with Czechs
fighting with us, and had the greatest respect and liking for them. I
went with my brother in the summer of 1947 to an international summer
school held at a resort about 30 miles from Prague. Many such schools
were held that year in other European countries. We took a party of
students, with university lecturers on British institutions and
history, and they brought Czech students and lecturers to meet us.
Thus we made a considerable number of friends at one go, and have kept
many of them lifelong. I continued my visits whenever I could, grew
closer to one family in particular, but also made professional
contacts among writers there, and became very interested in the
language, and especially in the classics in the language, the books
all my friends had on their shelves, many of them 19th century works,
when the language was being studied and revived. Some had no
translations. I began to read them with the help of dictionaries and
written grammars, and finding that inadequate, started making my own
translations as I went along. Translations from both poetry and prose
have been published, and in time I began to be asked to translate
works such as a life of Comenius, during his celebratory year among
educationalists, and even modern novels. I go to Prague every year if
I can, value my relationships there like gold, and feel myself in a
sense Czech, with all their hopes and needs. They are a people I not
only love, but admire. THE COAST OF BOHEMIA (1950) was an account of
three months spent in Czechoslovakia in 1948, a light travel book.
"It was through diplomatic personnel in Prague that I got to know
India, and finally went there for a prolonged visit which later
provided the background to two Felse novels [MOURNING RAGA, 1969, and
DEATH TO THE LANDLORDS!, 1972]. I loved and hated India; the pressures
of class division and riches and poverty there are devastating, but
love predominates. I have two families and scattered friends there,
mainly in Delhi, but south also, and wish I had the stamina to tackle
it again. Maybe I'll make it some day yet, but it does take stamina."
It wasn't until 1951 that she tried her first thriller, FALLEN INTO
THE PIT, which introduced the Felse family. In 1959 she developed her
`nom-de-crime' upon completion of her second thriller, the non-Felse
DEATH MASK, in order to keep these works separate from her mainstream
work. The Felse family finally reappeared in 1961, in the
Edgar-winning DEATH AND THE JOYFUL WOMAN. From here on out, Detective
Sergeant George Felse (later promoted to Detective Chief Inspector),
his wife Bunty, and teenage son Dominic, cheerfully took turns solving
a dozen mysteries from their hometown of Comerford to such exotic--but
hardly unexpected, given the predilections of their creator--locals as
Czechoslovakia and India. Another of Edith's loves, music, featured in
several non-Felse thrillers.
In the meantime, she continued to write historical novels. "The book
which came nearest to what I wanted it to be is undoubtedly the HEAVEN
TREE TRILOGY. It set out as an attempt to create a really great artist
and set him in his own society, whenever that might be. For me it was
the period of Early English known to us as `stiff leaf', in church
building, which the heaven tree itself illustrates--the braced leaves
that hold up the vault, as of the church, so of the heavens." Indeed,
it had to be that period--1200 AD and the early English Gothic
cathedrals, her favorite in art and what she calls the peak of English
achievement. "I found that the artist's eye, his sense of balance and
proportion, had a bearing on his view of his world and its justice,
and must bring about a conflict only resolvable by his victory or
death. Once created, the people of these books took over and acted for
themselves in a way which has never happened to me before or since.
"On the other hand confined by historical fact, I think my quartet of
novels on the life of Prince Llewelyn ap Griffith, the first true
prince of all Wales [grandson of Llewelyn the Great, who had appeared
in the trilogy], the BROTHERS OF GWYNEDD QUARTET, never published in
America, is possibly the most important thing I have done, in
recording actual history very little studied or appreciated elsewhere.
It was written to do justice to a very attractive and I think a great
man."
By 1977 the idea for a story based on a true historical incident had
been germinating for a while. The time had come to join her passionate
love of the history of the region with the pleasure of writing a
well-crafted thriller. "The story of the Shrewsbury Abbey's expedition
to obtain the bones of St. Winifred, in the 12th century, presented a
wonderful way to dispose of a body." So A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES came
to be. "At the time I had no intention of starting a series. But
there, only a few months after the St. Winifred affair, came the siege
and capture of Shrewsbury by King Stephen, and the massacre of the
castle garrison, 94 men hanged and thrown over the battlements into
the ditch. A private murderer might well take advantage of this
opportunity to toss a 95th among them. So there was the germ of ONE
CORPSE TOO MANY. By that time Brother Cadfael had taken me over,
apparently for good. The writing of these books has given me more pure
pleasure than anything else I have done. So the line continues, each
book based on some aspect of the recorded monastic life of Shrewsbury
and fitted into the history of the time. Each books carries the
history of the time a step forward, as accurately as possible, and
into that framework my own characters and stories have to be fitted.
There is a foreground and a background, in both of which sacred and
secular move in counterbalance."
Having lived her life in the Church of England, Edith believes her
writing is bound to reflect some of these teachings. Cadfael's
optimism, tolerance, and occasionally necessary unorthodoxy are all
characteristics he shares with his creator. Although she maintains
that there isn't much of her in him, she will concede that he could be
`her better self'. His wisdom and experience in the world outside
makes him passionate about the cause of (here's that word again!)
justice. Edith has said elsewhere, "I don't believe I could ever have
conceived him when I was forty."
Edith's roots in Shropshire remained firm and true. She has lived in
the same early 1800's house for about 35 years, having shared it with
her brother until his death a few years ago. She has memorialized him
by taking his first name for her most famous pen name. Ellis, the
maiden name of her Welsh grandmother, was given to Edmund as a second
Christian name and became the name the whole family called him. (The
last name, Peters, is a nod to a young friend named Petra, who was
still a child when the name was chosen.) She has even placed his
picture as Cadfael on the back cover of four of the books, from THE
DEVIL'S NOVICE to AN EXCELLENT MYSTERY in the British editions.
Surrounded by her records and books and writing--now with an old
portable typewriter--she still doesn't really feel happy unless she's
working on a book. Although Cadfael gardens, she does not. She was a
late convert to television, but now enjoys it--and, of course, waits
with the rest of us for the day when Cadfael makes his screen debut,
courtesy of Cadfael Productions Ltd.
One of the most important aspects of Cadfael's success is "the books
have been the means of drawing me close to the Abbey church itself,
which then, as now, was also the parish church of Holy Cross, and as
such survived the Dissolution, while the monastic buildings are almost
all lost. Nine hundred years old, considerably changed over the years
but still basically Norman, and still beautiful."
She goes on to say, "I loved and enjoyed the Felse family, but Cadfael
has been more demanding. He opens channels for me to say, through him,
things it would be difficult to say through a modern protagonist. He
has also opened wonderful prospects of actual current usefulness, a
practical application of literary communication. All his readers are
helping Shrewsbury Abbey to keep its fabric upright against the
pressures of modern traffic and modern exploitation and pollution, and
bringing friends and prosperity into Shrewsbury town. It wasn't
planned, but it is happening. And I am enjoying it!"
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDITH PARGETER/ELLIS PETERS
The following bibliography has been assembled from a variety of
sources, and the frayed edges may be showing. If you find a major
error here, I'd appreciate it if you let me know about it. ---Cindy
Hortensius, Friend of Nero (The Greystone Press, 1937)
The City Lies Four-Square (Reynall & Hitchcock, 1939)
People of My Own (Reynal & Hitchcock, 1942)
Ordinary People (W. Heinemann Ltd, 1942)
The Eighth Champion of Christendom (W. Heinemann Ltd, 1945)
By This Strange Fire (Reynal & Hitchcock, 1948)
The Coast of Bohemia (Heinemann, 1950)
Lost Children (Heinemann, 1951)
Fallen Into the Pit (Heinemann, 1951) Felse
Holiday With Violence (Heinemann, 1952)
This Rough Magic (Heinemann, 1953)
Most Loving Mere Folly (Heinemann, 1953)
The Soldier at the Door (Heinemann, 1954)
A Means of Grace (Heinemann, 1956)
The Heaven Tree (Doubleday, 1960)
Death Mask (Doubleday, 1960)
Where There's a Will (Doubleday, 1960) Felse
British title: The Will and the Deed
Death and the Joyful Woman (Doubleday, 1961) Felse (won Edgar Award)
The Linden Tree; an anthology of Czech and Slovak literature,
1890-1960 (Artia, 1962)
Funeral of Figaro (Morrow, 1964)
Flight of a Witch (Doubleday, 1965) Felse
The Lily Hand, and Other Stories (Heinemann, 1965)
Who Lies Here? (Morrow, 1965) Felse
British title: A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs
The Piper on the Mountain (Morrow, 1966) Felse
Black is the Colour of My True-Love's Heart (Morrow, 1967) Felse
Ivos Weihnachtsgeschenk; eine Erzahlung (Die Arche, 1968)
The Grass-Widow's Tale (Morrow, 1968) Felse
The House of Green Turf (Morrow, 1969) Felse
Mourning Raga (Morrow, 1970) Felse
The Knocker on Death's Door (Morrow, 1971) Felse
Death to the Landlords! (Morrow, 1972) Felse
The Bloody Field (Viking, 1973)
British title: A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury
Sunrise in the West (Macmillan, 1974)
Part 1 of the quartet The Brothers of Gwynedd
City of Gold and Shadows (Morrow, 1974) Felse
The Horn of Roland (Morrow, 1974)
Never Pick Up Hitch-Hikers! (Morrow, 1976)
The Hounds of Sunset (Macmillan, 1976)
Part 3 of The Brothers of Gwynedd
A Morbid Taste for Bones (Morrow, 1978) Brother Cadfael
The Marriage of Meggotta (Viking, 1979)
Rainbow's End (Morrow, 1979) Felse
One Corpse Too Many (Morrow, 1980) Brother Cadfael
Monk's-Hood (Morrow, 1981) Brother Cadfael (won Silver Dagger)
Saint Peter's Fair (Morrow, 1981) Brother Cadfael
The Leper of Saint Giles (Morrow, 1982) Brother Cadfael
The Virgin in the Ice (Morrow, 1983) Brother Cadfael
The Sanctuary Sparrow (Morrow, 1983) Brother Cadfael
The Devil's Novice (Morrow, 1984) Brother Cadfael
The Pilgrim of Hate (Morrow, 1984) Brother Cadfael
Dead Man's Ransom (Morrow, 1985) Brother Cadfael
An Excellent Mystery (Morrow, 1985) Brother Cadfael
The Raven in the Foregate (Morrow, 1986) Brother Cadfael
The Rose Rent (Morrow, 1986) Brother Cadfael
The Scarlet Seed (Macdonald, 1987)
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (Mysterious, 1988) Brother Cadfael
The Confession of Brother Haluin (Mysterious, 1989) Brother Cadfael
A Rare Benedictine (Mysterious, 1989) Brother Cadfael
The Heretic's Apprentice (Mysterious, 1990) Brother Cadfael
The Potter's Field (Mysterious, December 1990) Brother Cadfael
***********************
THE LINE UP FROM MYSTERIOUS PRESS
THE POTTER'S FIELD by Ellis Peters
When the Benedictine monks' plows turn up a long-dead corpse in a
newly-acquired field, Brother Cadfael delves into the intricate
mysteries surrounding the discovery. December $16.95
THE ICIEST SIN by H.R.F. Keating
Inspector Ghote is dispatched to get the goods on Bombay's most
notorious blackmailer, but uncovers murder instead. The latest Ghote
novel from the celebrated author. December $18.95
MISTLETOE MYSTERIES edited by Charlotte MacLeod
A collection of new mystery tales set around a Yuletide theme, by such
masters of the cozy style as Mary Higgins Clark, Peter Lovesey, and
Aaron Elkins. December $4.50
THE NEW YORK DETECTIVE by William Marshall
The author of the celebrated Yellowthread Street series now turns to
the most bizarre island nation of all--Manhattan, circa 1883--proving
that all the action wasn't in the wild west. December $4.95
DEAD ON TIME by H.R.F. Keating
The death of a wealthy young landowner takes Inspector Ghote from the
relative safety of Bombay into the rustic--and deadly--backwaters of
rural India. December $4.95
THOSE IN PERIL by Nicolas Freeling
Inspector Castang, in disgrace, is reassigned to a drab Parisian
suburb--but a pillar of the community who moonlights as a child
molester inspires him to new heights of unorthodox police procedure.
January $18.95
A TIME WITHOUT SHADOWS by Ted Allbeury
Did Winston Churchill betray a French underground espionage network to
appease Stalin during WWII? MI6 officer Harry Chapman
investigates...and the spies who survived the war begin to be
murdered. January $19.95
SAND CASTLES by Nicolas Freeling
A major mystery event--the return of Inspector Piet van der Valk,
after a hiatus of nearly twenty years. Freeling's popular detective
hero investigates murder among the vacation communities of the north
Holland coast. January $4.95
BERTIE AND THE SEVEN BODIES by Peter Lovesey
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, enters into his second case as an
amateur detective. A witty foray through Victorian manners, mores, and
murder by the master of the period mystery. January $4.95
WHO SHOT LONGSHOT SAM? by Paul Engleman
New York P.I. Mark Renzler is enticed into entering a handicapping
contest, and murder visits the racetrack. Engleman's latest, and
zaniest. January $4.95
***********************
MYSTERIOUS AFFAIRS
* Early reviews are very good for both THE GIFT HORSE'S MOUTH by
Robert Campbell and THE POTTER'S FIELD by Ellis Peters. The Campbell
book, another Jimmy Flannery story, is supposed to be as good as the
previous six. And I've heard that Peters' tale is as brilliant as
usual, but a bit gloomier.
* Three books reviewed in RFP #13 are now available in paperback
editions: THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY by Kingsley Amis ($4.95, Mysterious
Press); A MOUTHFUL OF SAND by M.R.D. Meek ($3.50, Worldwide Library);
and A SERIES OF MURDERS by Simon Brett ($3.95, Warner Books).
* If your interest in detection extends to nonfiction, be sure to get
yourself a copy of The Crime-Busters P.I. & Security Mail-Order
Catalog--you'll find hundreds of books on "the secrets and techniques
used by private investigation and security professionals". They don't
say so, but you should probably send them a dollar or two to defray
the printing and mailing costs (don't bother with an SASE, the catalog
is too big). You can place your orders on CompuServe too. For your
catalog, write to: Crime-Busters, PO Box 887, Stn B, Ottawa, Ont. K1P
5P9, Canada.
* Two Jack Early (pseudonym of Sandra Scoppettone, see RFP #12) novels
are on their way to the big screen. RAZZAMATAZZ has been acquired by
Warner Bros. and DONATO AND DAUGHTER was bought by Marion Brayton
Productions. Look for Charles Bronson to play the father, at least in
the DONATO AND DAUGHTER film.
* Don't miss it! Harlan Ellison has finally sold a story to the Ellery
Queen Mystery Magazine after, according to H.E. himself, 35 years of
trying. Whatever it is, it will be in the December issue.
* Lawrence Block's latest is A TICKET TO THE BONEYARD, a Matthew
Scudder story from Morrow just this past September. His next book will
be a short story collection scheduled by Morrow for April or May 1991.
It will be probably be called either THE BURGLAR WHO DROPPED IN ON
ELVIS or BATMAN'S HELPERS. After that we'll get another Matthew
Scudder novel, DOWN ON THE KILLING FLOOR, probably in September 1991,
also from Morrow.
* Ridley Pearson has become the first recipient of a new fellowship
given by the U.S.-United Kingdom Fulbright Commission in cooperation
with the Estate of Raymond Chandler and with Oxford University. The
award is given in the field of detective and spy fiction, to "a
yet-to-be-fully established writer who has an emerging reputation and
has published several significant works but has not yet gained major
national or international reputation." Pearson's most recent novel was
PROBABLE CAUSE and you can see a review of his UNDERCURRENTS in RFP
#5. Pearson is also a composer and rock musician.
* NO FOOLIN': One of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine contests of
yesteryear gave Second Prize to a story called "An Error in
Chemistry". It was written by William Faulkner.
* Did you know that Leslie Charteris, author of the mysteries about
"The Saint", was born in Singapore with the name Leslie Yin? He was
half-Chinese, half-English.
* Did you know that John Creasey wrote using as many as 28 pseudonyms?
Among his "stable of writers" was: J.J. Marric, Elise Fecamps, Henry
St. John Cooper, Tex Riley, and Anthony Morton.
* If you like short mystery fiction, you might like to give HARDBOILED
DETECTIVE a try. It's a quarterly, and it combines and replaces two
previous magazines, DETECTIVE STORY MAGAZINE and HARDBOILED. According
to the publishers, each issue will be "packed with original stories by
well-known pros AND talented newcomers, fine articles, classic
reprints, hard-hitting reviews, as well as Marv Lachman's fine column
from DETECTIVE STORY MAGAZINE. If you like the work of Vachss,
Randisi, Gault, Prather, Nolan, Fischer, and the rest of the
best--we've got the magazine you've been looking for!" Send $20 for 6
issues ($24 outside USA) to: Gryphon Publications, PO Box 209,
Brooklyn NY 11228-0209.
***********************
TOO LATE TO DIE
by Bill Crider
review by Joan Panichella
Bill Crider is a new mystery writer and one to watch. In his debut,
TOO LATE TO DIE, he creates some interesting characters and a
memorable sheriff.
Dan Rhodes isn't your typical cowboy-hat-wearing, boots-shined lawman.
Instead he's a rather average older man with a school teaching
daughter. He enjoys baloney sandwiches and Dr. Pepper in old fashioned
glass bottles instead of beer.
A young wife is beaten to death on his "beat". Was it her much older
husband or one of the flock of clandestine visitors? Or was it
possibly someone from her "wild" past?
Thurston, the town in which the murder took place, seems very real.
Mr. Crider knows how to craft vivid images. From Barrett's country
store to the chickens scratching in the bereaved's yard, the pictures
seem sharp.
Dan Rhodes postulates and tests several solutions to his dilemma
before he solves this mystery. In the meantime he jeopardizes not only
his upcoming reelection campaign but his life as well to discover what
went on.
I guessed part of the solution but watching Dan reach it was quit
enjoyable. I would eagerly read more about Rhodes and his locale.
***********************
HAWK'S LAST CASE
by Red Greene
(Synapse Books)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Cable Hawkins, Hawk to his friends, is a former policeman who now
works as a private investigator. His office is a pit and his love life
stinks. When ex-jockey Wayne Teagueworthy wants to hire him to help
with a personal problem, Hawk isn't exactly happy, but he could use
the money. It seems that Teagueworthy has decided to stay married to
Bobbie, which is causing girlfriend Cybil Rogers to resort to
violence. The night before she had actually fired arrows at him,
arrows which missed and became embedded in his car. Teagueworthy would
like Hawk to smooth things with Cybil before her aim improves.
Hawk sees Cybil and she promises to stop harassing Teagueworthy, but
you never know with women, you know? Next thing WE know, the little
guy has been stabbed in the chest and is in critical condition in
Intensive Care. Did Cybil rethink her promise, or does Teagueworthy
have other enemies? Hawk is on the case, and we get a great ride as he
digs into the horse racing scene past and present, with a little
police corruption thrown in as a bonus. And did I mention that an
unknown sniper is out to kill Hawk? He had had several close calls
before he ever heard about Teagueworthy's problem so the two
situations can't be related, or can they? You won't know until Hawk
does.
Red Greene handles the story with a very sure touch, and I
particularly enjoyed the way he let a lot of his characterization of
Hawk come from the other characters; we see a number of
slightly-different Hawks reflected in the other points of view. The
only complaint I can come up with is the understated finale--I wish
Hawk had discovered the last piece of the puzzle with more of a bang.
HAWK'S LAST CASE is classic American hardboiled detective fiction, and
it's only available from SoftServ, the Paperless Bookstore. If you
have a computer and modem you can call them at 213-957-1176 or
213-957-0874. Otherwise you can get a disk of HAWK'S LAST CASE in the
mail (IBM, Macintosh, or CP/M) by sending $4.95 plus $3 shipping and
handling to: SoftServ Publishing Services, Inc., PO Box 94, Long
Beach, CA 90801-0094.
By the way, HAWK'S LAST CASE is the first of a trilogy, and I'll bet
you'll want all of them. The other two are HAWK GOES HOLLYWOOD and
HAWK GETS LIBERATED, and I can't wait to see how Hawk's screwed up
private life turns out.
***********************
CHERIE JUNG was born at the usual early age, and by the age of five
had learned to read... This proved to be a handy skill since she will
read practically anything, including cereal box labels! When
arthritis and injuries cut short her career in teaching martial arts,
she turned her attention to writing, full-time. Along with her
husband, who is also a writer, they created a mystery BBS named Over
My Dead Body! about one year ago. Along with their six cats (who love
to help input data!) they operate the BBS 24 hours a day at (415)
465-7739. Mystery readers, writers and fans get on-line information
about mystery events, conven- tions and author signings as well as
book reviews, articles, interviews and author profiles. There are
numerous readers and writers conferences on-going at this time but the
Twin Peaks conference is currently the most active with fingers flying
furiously over the keyboards as upwards of 100 messages a day were
written during the "Who Killed Laura" frenzy!
***********************
DEADLY SAFARI
by Karin McQuillan
(St. Martin's Press, 1990, $17.95 ISBN: 0-312-03808-9)
review by Cherie Jung
Format: Hardcover
Character: Jazz Jasper, 1st appearance
Locale: Kenya, Africa
Status: Amateur, safari leader
Setting: Someone is killing members of the safari
Reading the quotes from praising authors regarding Ms. McQuillan's
first novel is like paging through a list of who's who in the mystery
genre. Tony Hillerman loved it. So did Linda Barnes, Kinky Friedman,
Patricia Moyes, Aaron Elkins, Dorothy Simpson, Nancy Pickard, Carolyn
Hart, Sheila Radley, Jeremiah Healy and Robert B. Parker. Other
authors have written glowing reviews, including Dorothy Uhnak. I
haven't heard a discouraging word about this book. I was skeptical. It
couldn't be THAT good, could it?
Well, it IS that good! Try as I might to remain aloof, I was quickly
drawn into the sensuous and exciting world of Jazz Jasper. The Kenyan
wilderness comes alive with Ms. McQuillan's description of its
majestic beauty - its inhabitants, both human and non-human. The
oppressive heat, the complaining and disgruntled members of the group,
and the bickering create an atmosphere ripe for trouble. Boyce
Darnell, a rich and easily dislikeable man, well used to having his
way or making life miserable for those who oppose him is the first to
die. Not everyone is saddened by that fact. Before his body can be
removed from the encampment, someone else is killed, necessitating a
call to the Nairobi police.
I think you will find the characters engaging and the plot well
developed. I also don't think you will be able to figure out "who
dunnit". Long after you have finished reading this novel you will find
yourself imagining the Kenyan wilderness, vividly, as Ms. McQuillan
has described it. Her writing seems to capture the essence of being on
safari in the untamed Africa many people can only dream about or
recall from nature documentaries.
The only two criticisms I have are that I was a bit disappointed in
the final resolution of Ms. Jasper's relationship with Striker (I was
personally rooting for Inspector Omondi!) and that there isn't a
second Jazz Jasper book available right now, this very minute, to
read!
According to the author's bio at the end of the book, Ms. McQuillan is
working on a new novel. I hope it is a second appearance for Jazz
Jasper (what a name!) and Inspector Omondi, although I suspect the
clientele may not be so eager to go on safari if each outing brings
death to one or more of the group!
______________________________________________________________________
You can talk to Cherie anytime, and get loads and loads of mystery
news and reviews, by having your modem call Over My Dead Body! Mystery
BBS at 415-465-7739.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
***********************
HOT TODDY
by Andy Edmonds
(1989, Morrow)
review by Howard Frye
Thelma Todd was a beautiful blonde film comedienne during the first
years of talkies. She is best remembered for two series' of movies for
Hal Roach, the first paired with ZaSu Pitts, the second with Patsy
Kelly. The last big joke of her life was when she was discovered by
her maid in a garage in her 1934 Lincoln Phaeton with the motor
running, dead. She had bruises around her neck, a broken nose, two
cracked ribs, and assorted other bruises and swellings. The final
punch line was that the verdict at the inquest was "accidental death".
Thelma (called "Toddy", or, by the press, "Hot Toddy") Todd died just
before Christmas of 1935, and as with most strange cases that far
back, there's a definite lack of hard evidence to go on for solving
the crime now. The trail is *cold*. You'll find in Andy Edmonds'
narration of events that the official handling of this case was
anything but professional. This is due partly to the fact that 1935
was before the scientific age of detection, but is also the result of
the corruption in government that was common in those days of Al
"Scarface" Capone and "Lucky" Luciano.
In explaining his version of what happened, Andy Edmonds backtracks to
tell the story of gangsterism in Chicago in the 1920's and 1930's, and
he does a fine job of it, making it into a fascinating narrative. As a
matter of fact, I enjoyed the structure of HOT TODDY as a whole.
Edmonds gets a lot of good reading out of a smallish story. His
handling of the early years of Hollywood is good too---he manages to
be candid about the personalities without being condemning. Ultimately
he makes his case very well, even if his major evidence is from
anonymous sources. HOT TODDY is an enjoyable True Crime story of
1930's Hollywood, and would make great accompaniment to the rash of
gangster movies that are making yet another comeback. (HOT TODDY is
available now in an Avon paperback for $4.95)
***********************
[About A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM:]
"Except that the movie is relocated from Jolly Old to good-old US of
A; the children, mother-in-law, sister-in-law dropped; another murder
added, one omitted, the first murder switched, the house burned down
and the ending altered, the movie is just like the book."
--Don Sandstrom
[NOTE: The book is by Simon Brett and the movie stars Michael Caine.]
***********************
A FATAL ADVENT
by Isabelle Holland
(Doubleday, 1989)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
It's just before Christmas at St. Anselm's and the rector has a very
important guest from England: Alec Maitland, former dean of St.
Paul's. The Reverend Claire Aldington, St. Anselm's pastoral
counselor, thinks no more about the matter after the rector's
announcement, at least not until her husband, who turns out to be an
old acquaintance of the dean's, brings the dean home to stay in their
apartment.
When the dean winds up dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs, the
police discover that he's been murdered, and the plot begins to
thicken. Who was the murderer? Was it the husband of one of Claire's
patients who is known to have a violent temper? Was it Claire's
husband, who had a mysterious relationship with the dean and was seen
arguing with him shortly before he died? Was it the rector himself? Or
was it the Reverend Joseph Martinez, a political activist and St.
Anselm's resident Angry Young Man?
To be honest, I had a tough time caring who murdered the dean. The
dean had a walk-on role in the story, as did everyone else except for
Claire, so it was difficult to get involved with personalities. The
most riveting situation involved Claire's home life, where her husband
and her son both behave badly and refuse to trust her. When she
finally has a small temper tantrum, after having been pushed beyond
all reasonable limits, her husband leaves her in anger and she berates
herself for her loss of control. Anyone else would have blown up about
a hundred pages earlier, and the resolution left me thinking poorly of
all three--Claire, husband, and son. I thought the very best parts of
A FATAL ADVENT were the descriptions of an Episcopal parish.
***********************
A DEATH IN A TOWN
by Hillary Waugh
(Carroll & Graf, 1989)
review by Howard Frye
When the Parkers return home one evening, they find the house dark,
their children asleep, and their babysitter missing. The police
finally discover Sally Anders' body in back of the Parker's house
where she'd been left after being raped and brutally beaten to death.
The shock felt by everyone in the small New England town turns to rage
when they learn that a mysterious stranger had been seen by several
women the day Sally was murdered. Unfortunately for the town, the
stranger turns out to have an iron-clad alibi for the time of the
murder, and now the investigation grinds to a halt. Someone they have
been living with for years is a rapist and a murderer. Soon the
whispers and suspicions are out of control.
A DEATH IN A TOWN is not only a fascinating murder mystery--it is also
inventively told from multiple perspectives and in varying styles. The
focus, through most of the book, is on what a murder does to everyone
around it, not just the immediate participants. About two-thirds of
the way through the story I began to fear that the murder itself was
going to be forgotten, but I shouldn't have worried. The murder is
most definitely NOT forgotten, and the final pages come with a twist
and a surprise that will make any mystery fan happy. Hillary Waugh has
won numerous awards before, but this just might be his best book to
date. (A DEATH IN A TOWN is now available as a mass-market paperback
from Carroll & Graf for $3.95.)
***********************
By Sharon McCrumb:
(in alphabetical order)
Bimbos of the Death Sun
Highland Laddie Gone
If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O
Lovely in Her Bones
Paying the Piper
Sick of Shadows
The Windsor Knot
(There's a review of Bimbos of the Death Sun
by Darryl Kenning in RFP #5.)
***********************
POODLE SPRINGS
by Raymond Chandler & Robert B. Parker
(Putnam, 1989)
review by Howard Frye
"I don't have money. I don't have prospects. All I have is who I am.
All I have is a few private rules I've laid down for myself."
Poodle Springs is a wealthy residential community in the California
desert, into which private detective Philip Marlowe has just moved
with his very rich new wife. He's now 42, and is still (despite all of
his wife's money) plying his trade. In fact, he meets his next client
when he goes into town to look for office space. It seems that Manny
Lipshultz runs a gambling establishment outside of town, and he has
unwisely accepted the marker of one Les Valentine. Now Valentine has
flown the coop, leaving Manny in a vulnerable position with his boss,
a guy named Blackstone.
It doesn't take long for Marlowe to discover that Les Valentine lives
in Poodle Springs, not far from the Marlowe house. In fact, there are
a number of similarities between the two men: both are poor men
married to rich wives, and both are having marital problems. In the
course of finding Valentine, Marlowe meets the usual assortment of
sleazy characters: the powerful Clayton Blackstone, the dissipated
Muffy Valentine, the loving Angel Victor, and the aging model Sondra
Lee.
Typically for Raymond Chandler, POODLE SPRINGS takes place on the
cutting edge of money--that thin area where those with it meet those
who want it. At the time of his death, Chandler had only written four
chapters of this story, but Robert Parker has finished it with a
talent for mimicry that I had never known he had. From start to
finish, POODLE SPRINGS is faithful in tone and subject to the rest of
the Chandler output. I am very seldom in favor of the current
publishing fad of squeezing a few more dollars out of a dead author's
good name by releasing books that "continue in the tradition of", but
I must admit that this time it certainly worked out marvelously well.
If you like Raymond Chandler's novels, you'll love this
"collaboration".
NOTE: POODLE SPRINGS is now available in a mass market paperback
edition for $4.95 from Berkley.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you like POODLE SPRINGS, don't miss PERCHANCE TO
DREAM: Robert B. Parker's Sequel to Raymond Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP.
It's due to be a $18.95 hardcover from Putnam in January 1991.
***********************
SISTERS IN CRIME
Sisters in Crime is an organization of mystery readers, writers,
publishers, and booksellers. It is devoted to furthering the careers
of women in the mystery field, correcting imbalances in the treatment
of women, and promoting recognition of women's contributions to
mystery fiction. It now numbers more than 900 members on three
continents.
When Sisters in Crime was formed in May 1987, its founders addressed
three major concerns: (1) that books by women writers were reviewed
less frequently than those by men, (2) that books on the so-called
softer side of the genre were taken less seriously than those
involving graphically portrayed violence, and (3) that the sadistic
victimization of women was a growing and disturbing trend in
contemporary crime fiction.
A survey of mystery reviews in the New York Times for the year of 1985
revealed that while 40% of the mystery novels published that year were
authored by women, they received only 16% of the reviews in the Times.
This imbalance was pointed out to the Times. In 1989 reviews there
more accurately reflected gender percentages. SinC is now analyzing
reviews in other major publications. (Figures for 1989 are available
on request.)
The issue of violence toward women is a far more difficult one to
address since it raises the specter of censorship. In order to better
understand this complex issue, SinC is cooperating with the University
of New Hampshire's nationally respected Family Research Laboratory on
a study of violence against women in crime fiction.
Contact Sisters in Crime at PO Box 9563, Berkeley, CA 94709.
Carolyn G. Hart, currently vice president of Sisters in Crime, has
compiled a Books-In-Print list of the members of the group. This list
is available on the RFP home BBS (The Baudline II, 301-694-7108) for
downloading any time (file name RFP-SC.ZIP).
************************
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
* *
* FRIGHTFUL FICTION *
* *
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Editor: Annie Wilkes
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Frightful Fiction is a division of Reading For Pleasure, published
bimonthly. This material is NOT COPYRIGHTED and may be used freely by
all. Catalogs, news releases, review copies, or donated reviews should
be sent to: Reading For Pleasure, 103 Baughman's Lane, Suite 303,
Frederick, MD 21702.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
STUNTS
by Charles L. Grant
(1990, Tor)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
It's 2 AM in a smallish New England town. It's autumn and the first
chill of winter has your hands thrust in the pockets of your coat.
You're alone, at least you hope you are, and the wind is whistling
around the corners of houses and blowing dead leaves down the middle
of the street. There's a streetlamp, but it's all the way down at the
end of the block, much too far away to do you any good.
Know where you are? You're in Charles Grant country, made famous with
a string of books like THE HOUR OF THE OXRUN DEAD, THE PET, IN A DARK
DREAM, FOR FEAR OF THE NIGHT. In case you're new in town, Charles
Grant is considered by many to be the very best practitioner of what
has come to be called "quiet" horror. STUNTS would make a superb
introduction to Grant-style horror, with a very good chance of sending
you to the used-book store looking for more.
STUNTS begins in England, with our central character Evan Kendal, a
teacher from Port Richmond, New Jersey, now doing freelance lecture
work in England. We don't find out why Evan left Port Richmond for
many pages, by which time he's returned home. It all starts when his
best friend, Englishman Paul Burwin, disappears. Paul's wife Addie, a
doctor, suspects that her husband is very ill and is avoiding her, and
Evan and Addie provide emotional support for each other as they wait
for Paul to return. He finally does, during a nasty road accident
while Addie is busy attending to the wounded. Evan is the only one who
sees the sickly-looking Paul, and Paul tells him to come to London for
a meeting, and not to tell Addie. All Paul will say by way of
explanation is "Remember New York". Mr. Grant has a talent for the
chilling phrase, which he sets up and pulls off like a well-told joke.
That "Remember New York" resonates with the reader for several
chapters, replaced in London by the even more horrible, "I wasn't
alone."
Before we've resolved Paul's trouble, Evan and Addie have gone to New
Jersey and have found more trouble there. Evan's uncle, John Naze, has
also disappeared, and many personal plotlines locally are all coming
to a head. The high school's hated principal has forbidden the
traditional Halloween pranks, called stunts, so of course various
groups of kids are planning something extra-special in defiance. The
reader can sense that this is not the time for tempting fate, that
powerful forces are about that have no tolerance for foolishness. The
suspense is palpable.
Have you ever seen one of those movies where something horrid happens
immediately, only to have the camera pull back and reveal that it was
only in a movie that the characters were watching? STUNTS is exact
opposite. Charles Grant distracts us with a puppet show, fascinates us
with vague supernatural mythology, enthralls us with concern for the
characters as we turn pages wondering to what magical realm he's
taking us---only to find, when the house lights go up and we're ready
to get our hat and coat and go home, that we never left home at all.
Which, of course, is what makes STUNTS one of the most terrifying
stories published this year: the horror jumps off the page and sits
in your living room refusing to leave. This is Charles Grant's best
yet.
**********************
HAUNTED HOUSES
by Annie Wilkes
Have you ever considered what you would do if you had a supernatural
experience? What if you were in your house looking for the TV remote
control, and suddenly, it pops up from behind the chair where it had
fallen and flies through the air right into your hand across the room?
What would you do? What would you think? Would you immediately doubt
that you had seen it happen? Would you tell anyone? Would they, like
so many characters in fiction, assume you were crazy? Would YOU assume
you were crazy?
Let's take a look at two stories about people in confrontation with
the supernatural. Both were written by masters, and both were made
into movies (one classic, one at least above average). Both tales
illustrate the difficulty of dealing successfully with the unknown
when you insist upon forcing your own preconceived interpretations on
everything that happens.
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
by Shirley Jackson
(1959)
"It was Shirley Jackson's achievement to write THE great modern novel
of supernatural horror. ... This book is a work of art. And it is
still one of the scariest stories I've ever read."
--Lisa Tuttle (HORROR: 100 BEST BOOKS edited by Stephen Jones & Kim
Newman, 1988)
"Shirley Jackson's HILL HOUSE is as nearly perfect a haunted-house
tale as I have ever read..."
--Anne Rivers Siddons (author of THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR, another
fantastic haunted house story)
"By common consent, the single best contemporary ghostly novel is
Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE."
--Keith Neilson (HORROR LITERATURE edited by Neil Barron, 1990)
Dr. Montague has rented Hill House in order to investigate the
supernatural phenomena that are supposedly what has kept anyone from
living there for many years. Two women will be joining him, both
chosen for their association with the paranormal: Eleanor Vance was
involved in an episode of possible telekinesis as a child (it rained
stones), and Theodora has scored high in formal ESP testing. Filling
out the party is Luke, future heir of Hill House, ostensibly there to
keep an eye on his inheritance, but also encouraged by his family in
order to keep him out of trouble for a brief time.
We begin the story almost immediately with Eleanor, and it is through
Eleanor's eyes that we will see and experience most of Hill House. She
has led a sheltered, repressed life of virtual slavery to her mother
and sister, and she sees this trip to Hill House as an escape from an
intolerable existence. Her extensive fantasies on the way to Hill
House alert us that Eleanor has lived most of her life in her head,
and we will see her having difficulty throughout the story in
separating what she imagines from what she sees happening around her.
The moment when Eleanor meets Hill House is powerful and her litany of
"journeys end with lovers meeting" foreshadows future events. The bulk
of the story revolves around the disintegration of Eleanor's
personality, and her inability to make meaningful contact with the
others around her. By the end of the story Eleanor has decided where
she really belongs, and one senses that the other characters will live
out their lives unchanged, soon forgetting both Eleanor and Hill
House.
So was Eleanor the target of Hill House's insanity, or the source? (We
must remember that she might have caused the shower of stones as a
child.) One can't help but think that wherever the truth lies, Eleanor
and Hill House were a perfect match.
"And suddenly we understand that whatever Hill House is up to, its
only victim is a volunteer."
--Leonard Wolf (HORROR: A Connoisseur's Guide to Literature and Film,
1989)
Shirley Jackson's novel, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, is certainly one
of the classics of horror literature. In a sense, instead of putting
the horrors on the page, she puts them in the reader's mind, allowing
the reader to experience Hill House in his or her own way,
shoulder-to-shoulder with Eleanor. In the final analysis, we find that
Jackson has used the supernatural as a tool of characterization,
allowing the human vs. inhuman confrontations to illuminate the
personalities gathered at Hill House. Highly recommended.
"The writing style, with its stark lines and queer angles, is the
verbal equivalent of Hill House, making the house come intensely alive
in a way that few settings do."
--Jack Sullivan (THE PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORROR & THE
SUPERNATURAL, 1986)
"The ending sounds Jackson's characteristic note of ambiguity: we
never know for sure how many spectral occurrences Eleanor really sees,
but her deteriorating psyche is so insidiously welded to the novel's
supernatural scenes that the question of her 'madness' becomes
chillingly irrelevant. ... Yes, Eleanor's lonely life has been a
psychological process of 'waiting for something like Hill House,' but
Hill House is clearly waiting for her too."
--Jack Sullivan (THE PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORROR & THE
SUPERNATURAL, 1986)
The movie adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel is called simply THE
HAUNTING, and is without doubt one of the classic supernatural films.
Watching it always reminds me of why I was drawn to horror stories in
the beginning: for the spine-tingling excitement of confronting the
unknown and, just maybe, conquering fear long enough to reach an
expanded understanding of reality. Here's what some other people have
to say about this movie:
"Although the camera could not capture all the interior undertones of
Shirley Jackson's novel, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, Wise nevertheless
managed to conjure up one of the most effective haunted-house
atmospheres in screen history, most effective when one of the heroines
realizes the hand she has been holding in the dark does not belong to
anybody."
--Les Daniels (LIVING IN FEAR, 1975)
"In a very real way, in spite of fine acting, fine direction, and the
marvelous black and white photography of David Boulton, what we have
in the Wise film is one of the world's few radio horror movies.
Something is scratching at that ornate, paneled door, something
horrible...but it is a door Wise elects never to open."
--Stephen King (DANSE MACABRE, 1981)
"Many of the novel's subtleties are beyond the camera's scope, but
Wise offers some compensatory visuals, including a pounding door that
bulges grotesquely inward. A frisson of Freudianism is provided by
roommates Claire Bloom and Julie Harris, respectively a lesbian and a
repressed virgin, who are tuned into each other's thoughts."
--Gene Wright (HORRORSHOWS, 1986)
And, finally, here's my favorite line from the film, the line that
encapsulates the whole story for me. Eleanor has arrived at Hill House
before the others and is trying to unpack in her room. The creepy
housekeeper, who always leaves before dark, is giving Eleanor her Hill
House indoctrination:
"No one lives any closer than town; no one will come any closer than
that. So no one will hear you if you scream. In the night. In the
dark."
HELL HOUSE
by Richard Matheson
(1971)
HELL HOUSE is an obvious updating of Shirley Jackson's novel. This
time out we have a much more scientific team of supernatural
professionals who prepare to meet the Other Side with the best that
Spiritualism and technology have to offer. In place of Doctor
Montague, we have Doctor Barrett. Instead of Eleanor and Theo, with
their tenuous associations with the occult, we have Florence Tanner,
the finest mental medium, and Ben Fischer, possibly the greatest
physical medium of our day. The fourth is made up by Barrett's wife,
Edith. Barrett, Florence, and Ben have been retained by millionaire
Rolf Rudolph Deutsch to either prove or disprove the theory of life
after death. They will each be paid $100,000, but they are given only
a week in which to investigate. A world-class haunted house has been
provided for their use--the infamous Belasco House.
Emeric Belasco was a sadistic murderer and Satanist, and the plumbing
of the abyssal depths of his personality forms the core of HELL HOUSE.
But Matheson has other topics to address here as well, such as the
rarity of true objectivity, even among scientists. The hypocrisy of
Doctor Barrett's "research" is made plain when he admits, "I've
learned everything I wish to learn", the motto of every closed mind.
Shortly thereafter he is finally forced to admit that the evidence he
has demanded will not change his mind at all, nothing will, ever. We
discover that Barrett's "knowledge" is no more scientific than that of
the Spiritualist.
While HELL HOUSE is, like THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, a truly
frightening novel, it is also reflects changing attitudes toward the
supernatural, and toward supernatural fiction. HELL HOUSE is a much
colder book, and considerably less sympathetic to its characters. The
motivations have changed, as well. No longer do we have amateurs doing
research for the love of it, or for excitement. No, now we have
professionals doing a job for a great deal of money. Also, people
often take a backseat to machines, typical of this period of the
beginning of our love affair with technology. People have had
thousands of years to figure out the supernatural--it's now time to
let the machines answer our questions. But, of course, machines ask
mechanical questions and get mechanical answers, quite unsatisfactory
for human beings. Matheson illustrates this with the clash between
Florence and Doctor Barrett: she is concerned about Belasco, while
Barrett keeps blathering on about electromagnetic somethingorother.
Science is tested and found wanting.
As you might expect, considering that Matheson also did the
screenplay, the film version is remarkably faithful to the book. Names
are changed for some reason, and the plot is necessarily simplified,
but the major scenes are all there, and the cast does a good job of
giving the characters life (without making them one whit more
sympathetic).
In a comparison between the two stories, I find that Shirley Jackson's
story is more truly frightening in both versions than Matheson's. For
one thing, we are in the position of sharing the fear of the
characters at HILL HOUSE, whereas the HELL HOUSE gang aren't so much
scared as they are ill-natured. At one point in the movie HELL HOUSE,
Florence is subjected to some ghostly manifestations in her bedroom.
When she responds only with anger, it turns the scene into comedy
rather than chills. Another slight dulling effect of the second story
is the insistence on explanations. In HILL HOUSE the bizarre is
marveled over and taken at face value, while in HELL HOUSE the effects
are treated as daily occurrences and are passed off with a handful of
jargon. The reader/viewer is allowed to see that the explanations
aren't satisfactory, but the humdrum attitude of the characters is
off-putting. Both books are classics, and both movies are at least
very good, but I call HILL HOUSE a clear winner in book and movie.
What do you think?
[About THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE] "The film is entertaining, sometimes
conceptually daring, but its cool, scientific detective story
mitigates against irrational fear."
--Kim Newman (NIGHTMARE MOVIES)
THE HAUNTING (1963)
Director/Producer: Robert Wise
Screenplay:Nelson Gidding
Photographer: David Boulton (Panavision)
Special Effects: Tom Howard
Art Director: Elliott Scott
Music: Humphrey Searle
Eleanor: Julie Harris
Theodora: Claire Bloom
Dr. Markway: Richard Johnson
Luke: Russ Tamblyn
also: Rosalie Crutchley, Lois Maxwell, Fay Compton, Valentine Dyall
THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973)
Director: John Hough
Screenplay: Richard Matheson, based on his novel HELL HOUSE
Photography: Alan Hume
Special Effects: Roy Whybrow
Music: Brian Hodgson, Delia Derbyshire
Florence Tanner: Pamela Franklin
Ben Fischer: Roddy McDowall
Dr. Lionel Barrett: Clive Revill
Mrs. Barrett: Gayle Hunnicutt
A Few Haunted Houses
THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES (1851) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
THE CASTLE OF EHRENSTEIN (1847) by G.P.R. James
THE HAUNTERS AND THE HAUNTED; or THE HOUSE AND THE BRAIN (1859) by
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
THE UNINHABITED HOUSE (1875) by Mrs. J.H. Riddell
THE GHOST OF GUIR HOUSE (1897) by Charles Willing Beale
BASIL NETHERBY (1926) by A.C. Benson
THE HOUSE (1926) by Richmal Crompton
UNEASY FREEHOLD (1941) by Peter Davies (filmed under the U.S. title,
THE UNINVITED)
A PLACE OF ONE'S OWN (1941) by Osbert Sitwell
WITCH HOUSE (1945) by Evangeline Walton
DEW AND MILDEW (1916) by P.C. Wren
COLD HARBOUR (1924) by Francis Brett Young
LETTERS FROM THE DEAD (1985) by Campbell Black
THE WELL (1980) by Jack Cady
THE MANSE (1987) by Lisa Cantrell
THE KING'S GHOST (1985) by R. Chetwynd-Hayes (U.S. title, THE GRANGE)
HOBGOBLIN (1981) by John Coyne
GOLGOTHA FALLS: An Assault on the Fourth Dimension (1984) by Frank
DeFelitta
THE BROWNSTONE (1980) by Ken Eulo
WILDWOOD (1987) by John Farris
THE MAGIC COTTAGE (1986) by James Herbert
THE WOMAN IN BLACK (1983) by Susan Hill
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (1959) by Shirley Jackson
THE SHINING (1977) by Stephen King
THE SENTINEL (1974) by Jeffrey Konvitz
THE CELLAR (1980) by Richard Laymon
BURNT OFFERINGS (1973) by Robert Marasco
HELL HOUSE (1971) by Richard Matheson
USHER'S PASSING (1984) by Robert R. McCammon
MAYNARD'S HOUSE (1980) by Herman Raucher
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR (1978) by Anne Rivers Siddons
SOULSTORM (1986) by Chet Williamson
THE KEEP (1981) by F. Paul Wilson
FAMILIAR SPIRIT (1983) by Lisa Tuttle
Two of the above titles that I would particularly recommend are Jack
Cady's THE WELL and Anne Rivers Siddons' THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR.
**********************
NIGHTMARE NEWS
* Has anyone seen Dark Harvest's NIGHT VISIONS 8? This annual volume
should have been out by now, and I haven't even gotten the
announcement that they're taking orders yet. It's supposed to have new
fiction by John Farris, Joe R. Lansdale, and Stephen Gallagher, with
an introduction by Robert R. McCammon. While we're wondering where
NIGHT VISIONS 8 is, how about Dark Harvest's Dan Simmons collection,
PRAYERS TO BROKEN STONES? Let's all send letters and telegrams to Dark
Harvest and drive them nuts.
[Late breaking news: I just got the announcement for the Dan Simmons
book: $21.95 for the trade edition, $55 for the limited edition, $1
for insured delivery. Dark Harvest, PO Box 941, Arlington Heights, IL
60006.]
* If you're a Stephen King completist, you'd better buy Santana's new
album, SPIRITS IN THE FLESH, because King does some narration on it.
He doesn't make things easy for you, does he?
* Watch out for: DARK CHANNEL by Ray Garton; IMAJICA by Clive Barker;
COLD BLOOD edited by Richard T. Chizmar (with stories by Richard
Matheson, Richard C. Matheson, Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, and
with an intro by Douglas Winter); COLD SHOCKS edited by Tim Sullivan
(with stories by Ed Bryant, Graham Masterton, and Gary Brandner, among
others); THE SHAPE UNDER THE SHEET: The Complete Stephen King
Encyclopedia by Stephen Spignesi (contact The Overlook Connection, PO
Box 526, Woodstock, GA 30188); HOME by Matthew J. Costello, a
psychological horror novel.
* I hear that Tim Powers (THE STRESS OF HER REGARD) is now working on
LAST CALL, a contemporary occult novel set in Las Vegas.
* LIGHTS OUT!, the Robert R. McCammon Newsletter, has moved yet again.
The new address is:
Hunter Goatley, Editor
LIGHTS OUT!
PO Box 9609
Bowling Green, KY 42102-9609
* I don't know about you, but one of my favorite horror authors is
David J. Schow. His first novel was THE KILL RIFF, and he's had two
paperbacks full of short stories published: SEEING RED (Tor) and LOST
ANGELS (NAL). You can catch more short stories in BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH
II (edited by Ellen Datlow) and PSYCHO PATHS (edited by Robert Bloch,
a Tor hardcover for March 1991). His latest novel, THE SHAFT, should
be available (in hardcover) in England by the time you read this. I
haven't heard anything about an American edition yet.
* Remember last issue, I mentioned that Richard Christian Matheson's
first novel, CREATED BY, is on its way? Well, I did. And now I've got
good news and bad news. The good news is the plot of CREATED BY. It's
about Alan Jason, a writer who's created an exciting and controversial
TV show, which happens to contain TV's most terrifying character. The
horror starts when his creation goes out of control and fantasy turns
into reality. Bantam, who will be publishing CREATED BY as a
mass-market paperback original, is very excited about it (and we've
heard that Clive Barker has given them a killer quote for the cover).
OK, now for the bad news: Bantam won't be releasing it until "early
1992". What are we supposed to do until then?
* KEEPING UP WITH ANDREW NEIDERMAN: His horror novel, THE DEVIL'S
ADVOCATE, is in the development stage of being made into a movie.
Latest information has Larry Cohen (CARRIE, GHOST STORY, and the
TV-miniseries IT) writing the screenplay. Another Neiderman book,
ILLUSION (a romance/suspense novel) has been optioned by Martin
Sheen's Symphony Productions for a movie of the week. Yet another
Neiderman novel, SIGHT UNSEEN, is being filmed in Canada by Victor
(SCANNERS) Solnecke. Look out, in 1991 I hope, for his new hardcover
novel, THE NEED. It's an erotic Jekyll-Hyde story involving a
female-male metamorphosis.
* I hear Michael McDowell is doing a screenplay of THINNER by Richard
Bachman (aka Stephen King).
* The latest novel by John Skipp & Craig Spector, THE BRIDGE, is
supposed to be released "late this year". That's as specific as I can
get so far.
* I just heard that Tor is dropping their horror line as of January
1991. After I breathed in a bag for a few minutes and the dizziness
went away, I heard the rest of the story: The books won't really
change, they will just be marketed as General Fiction instead of
Horror. Thank goodness. I don't care if they market them as cookbooks
as long as they keep publishing them. Most bookstores don't have a
Horror Section anyway.
* Coming soon (well, sort of) from Peter Straub: THE THROAT, a novel
about trauma and violence, the last of the "Blue Rose" trilogy.
**********************
THE STEPHEN KING QUIZ BOOK
by Stephen Spignesi
(1990, Signet)
There are 107 different quizzes (not questions, you understand, 107
whole quizzes). Instead of trying to describe what they're like,
here's a random sample of questions culled from all over the book. The
answers are somewhere else in this issue of Frightful Fiction.
1. True or False: Jim Gardener was the first person to find the
spaceship in the earth.
2. Who designed the dam in the Barrens?
a. Richie Tozier
b. Bill Denbrough
c. Ben Hanscom
3. Who was "Arnie's first love...his only true love"?
4. What was the name of Carrie's high school?
5. What was the name of the writer who returned to Jerusalem's Lot to
do a book about the Marsten House?
6. Who was the King of Delain?
7. What was the name of the woods behind Louis Creed's house?
8. What was the name of the killer flu?
9. What was the name of Thad Beaumont's "dark half"?
10. What was the name of the maniacal Presidential candidate who
Johnny tried to kill in order to stop him from destroying the
world?
**********************
HAUNTS
Tales of Unexpected Horror and the Supernatural
Summer 1990
Editor: Joseph K. Cherkes
review by Peter Quint
Another great issue of this fiction magazine, and the look of the type
has improved too. As usual, there are plenty of great stories, and on
your trip through this issue you'll find: a war story, the spirit of
an Egyptian prince, the Antichrist, ancient curses, a modern Burke &
Hare, an old-fashioned European vampire, a touching story about
early-American witchcraft, a new use for subliminal tapes,
revenge--Scottish style, a M*A*S*H rerun that turns out to be VERY
different from the original, and more, along with poetry in a wide
variety of styles. A something-for-everyone approach that works very
well. Cherkes does a fine job of walking the tightrope between the
self-consciously "literary" and the boring and predictable.
Send $3.50 (plus $1.25 postage/handling) for one issue, $13 (postage
paid) for a subscription of 4 issues to: Nightshade Publications, PO
Box 3342, Providence, RI 02906-0742.
**********************
INIQUITIES
The Magazine of Great Wickedness and Wonder
Autumn 1990 (Premiere Issue)
Editors: Buddy Martinez, Bill Furtado, J.F. Gonzalez
review by Peter Quint
This magazine couldn't have come along at a better time, at least as
far as I'm concerned. Over the last year or so we've lost three of the
best horror periodicals: Twilight Zone, The Horror Show, and
Horrorstruck. I was afraid that all the big money had been scared out
of the horror magazine market. But now we've got INIQUITIES, and may
they have a very long life, 'cause this is one great magazine.
First off, the thing is beautiful--110 of the slickest, heaviest pages
I've ever seen. With a $4.95 price tag, I don't know how they manage
to pay the bills--just mailing this sucker must cost major bucks. But
that's their problem; all we have to do is pay up and enjoy.
The philosophy behind INIQUITIES is to provide a true cross-section of
the horror field, mixing all the varieties they can find (loud, quiet,
contemporary, surreal). You can see what they're getting at with the
fiction in the very first issue; the stories cover a lot of ground and
the quality is uniformly high. The biggest of the big-name offerings
is Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack", a humorous story from the
first of the Books of Blood, which is presented along with some
original artwork by Clive Barker specifically for this occasion. The
only other reprint is "Witch War" by Richard Matheson, the first of a
regular department called Resurrections, where they will pull classic
short stories back from the brink of obscurity.
Of the new fiction, my favorite is the novella "Pitt Night at the
Lewistone Boneyard" by David J. Schow, both touching and funny, kind
of a cross between Night of the Living Dead and Our Town. David Schow
hasn't done anything yet that I haven't enjoyed. There's also a great
gothic piece by Chet Williamson ("His Two Wives"), who shows greater
versatility every time he tells a story. On the louder side there's
"Midnight Glider" by Tim Sullivan, "Apostate In Denim" by Roberta
Lannes, and "Reward And Punishment, Ha Ha" by John Shirley; polished,
well-told stories that may, however, be a bit extreme for some tastes.
But then that's what loud horror is all about--pushing edges.
Feature articles include an essay by Lisa M. Feerick about what
Splatterpunk is REALLY all about, no matter what the lunkheads will
tell you. There's also an interview with John Skipp, which was a
delight from start to finish. I was going to include a few quotes
here, but then I figured they wouldn't play quite as well out of
context, so you'll just have to get INIQUITIES and see for yourself. I
thought the Skipp interview was worth the $4.95 all by itself. And
we'll hear the other shoe drop in the next issue, when the interview
will be with Craig Spector.
In the regular departments, INIQUITIES also scores high. For their
book review section they got the very best: Ed Bryant. His commentary
is always engaging and illuminating. They have two pages of news,
movie commentary by Bill Warren, a humor section that defies
description, and S.P. Somtow has resurrected his "A Certain Slant of
'I'" column from the old Fantasy Review magazine (another great
departed genre magazine).
Send $19.95 right away to: Iniquities, 167 N. Sierra Bonita Ave.,
Pasadena, CA 91106; and be sure to tell them to start your four
quarterly issues with #1 so you don't miss something wonderful.
**********************
MINE
by Robert R. McCammon
(Pocket Books, 1990)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
"You know," he said quietly, "I wonder about some of those people from
the sixties. You know the ones I mean: they hated everything and
everybody, and they wanted to break the world apart and start it all
over again in their image. They fed on hate, day and night. They
breathed it, in their attics and cellars, while they burned their
incense and candles. I wonder what they did with that hate when the
candles went out."
---from MINE
Robert R. McCammon's latest novel, MINE, got me to thinking about his
books, specifically as they compare to the other horror author he's
usually compared to: Stephen King. One of the serious criticisms that
have been leveled at King over the years has been his lack of facility
with female characters--he's obviously much more comfortable writing
about men or boys. Reading MINE finally forced me to realize how well,
and how often, McCammon creates strong female characters. MINE is a
story of two women; the male characters are just a bit of filler and
window dressing. Whenever anything really important is going to
happen, the men are shoved aside and the women take action. McCammon
might be our very first feminist horror writer, which might also have
something to do with why he's one of my favorites.
In any case, MINE is about a political radical of the 1960s, now a
complete psychotic, who has this particular problem with babies. She
buys babydolls at the toy store and they become real to her. She
treats them just like a real baby, until her psychological tension
explodes and she "kills" the doll. We find out early in the story that
she has a whole closet full of these dead "babies". The other lead
character is also a former radical of the 1960s, but one who has
managed to integrate herself into the passing timeline. She is a
full-scale yuppie now, with a workaholic executive-type husband who's
having an affair, a nice house in the best of neighborhoods, and a
good career going for herself. She is also pregnant. She just happens
to give birth right before our psycho realizes how to get a real baby:
disguise yourself as a nurse and steal one from the hospital. What
follows is a chase story to end all chase stories as the two women
travel towards the showdown. The trapped-in-time mentality of the
psycho and the unresolved hippie-to-yuppie evolution of the mother
provide depth to this page-turner of a suspense novel. Particularly
recommended for all of you who left at least a small part of
yourselves back in the 1960s.
**********************
Answers to THE STEPHEN KING QUIZ BOOK Questions:
1. FALSE. It was Bobbi Anderson.
2. C. Ben Hanscom (IT)
3. Christine, a red 1958 Plymouth Fury.
4. Ewen High School
5. Ben Mears
6. Roland the Good.
7. The North Ludlow Woods
8. Captain Trips
9. George Stark
10. Greg Stillson
**********************
HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa
a H
H THE LAUGH'S ON US a
a H
HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa
Editor: Name Withheld By Request
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Laugh's On Us is a division of Reading For Pleasure, published
bimonthly. This material is NOT COPYRIGHTED and may be used freely by
all. Catalogs, news releases, review copies, or donated reviews should
be sent to: Reading For Pleasure, 103 Baughman's Lane, Suite 303,
Frederick, MD 21702.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BIG BOOK OF NEW AMERICAN HUMOR
The Best of the Past 25 Years
edited by William Novak & Moshe Waldoks
review by Cindy Bartorillo
This is a huge trade paperback crammed full of some of the funniest
material created by our funniest people over the last quarter century.
And, unlike other humor collections, this is not just reprints of
humorous essays, or chapters from amusing books. Novak & Waldoks have
assembled material from magazines (even Mad magazine), TV scripts
("Chuckles Bites the Dust" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show), essays,
quizzes, poetry, music, movie scripts (part of ANNIE HALL), and social
commentary. They've provided transcripts of standup routines: George
Carlin's "A Place For Your Stuff"; Steven Wright's loose weirdness;
excerpts from Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner's "Two Thousand Year Old Man";
Emily Litella--aka Gilda Radner--'s "The Deaf Penalty"; Jerry
Seinfeld's "No Pockets". All this is liberally sprinkled with
cartoons, humorous quotes and many, many anonymous jokes. At $15.95,
this is *definitely* the Best Buy in humor in a long time.
A partial list of wits represented: Woody Allen, Russell Baker, Dave
Barry, Sandra Bernhard, Bob & Ray, Billy Crystal, Delia Ephron, Nora
Ephron, Jules Feiffer, Larry Gelbart, Bill Griffith, Matt Groening,
Cathy Guisewite, Rich Hall, Garrison Keillor, B. Kliban, Ann Landers
(Ann Landers?!?), Gary Larson, Fran Lebowitz, Jackie Mason, Martin
Mull, Philip Roth, Garry Trudeau, John Updike, Bill Watterson,
(Really? Ann Landers?), Gahan Wilson.
***********************
LOOSE TALK: Rumor has it that Garry Trudeau has been so impressed by
the classy handling of Matt Groening's THE SIMPSONS on television that
he may finally, finally allow his Doonesbury characters to come to TV.
***********************
THE WISDOM OF CALVIN & HOBBES (as told to Bill Watterson):
"That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad
that it can't get worse."
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want."
"People who get nostalgic about childhood were obviously never
children."
"What do you think is the meaning of true happiness? ... Is it money,
cars and women? ... Or is it just money and cars?"
***********************
BACK ISSUES
ELECTRONIC EDITION: Check the BBSs in the Distribution Directory
first. If what you want isn't available, you can get any (or all)
issues directly from RFP. Disks you get from us will be formatted
using PC/MS-DOS (for IBM clones). Specify 3-1/2" or 5-1/4" floppy,
high or low density. Send $5 for one disk's worth (4 issues in low
density, all issues in high density), and add $2.50 for each
additional disk.
PRINT EDITION: We have print copies of all issues except #1 and #2.
Send $1.50 for each issue.
Checks: Make checks payable to Cindy Bartorillo.
Address: Reading For Pleasure, 103 Baughman's Lane, Suite 303,
Frederick, MD 21702. On CompuServe leave a message to 74766,1206. On
GEnie leave a message to C.BARTORILLO. Best of all, call our BBS, The
Baudline II at 301-694-7108 (1200-9600 baud HST) where all RFPs are
available for downloading on your first call.
ISSUES AVAILABLE:
#1: Premier issue: 1988 World Fantasy Awards; Books I'm Supposed to
Like, But Don't; Pronunciation Guide to Author's Names; Christie
Characters on Film; Featured Author: Richard Matheson; Baseball &
Cricket Mysteries; Stephen King Checklist; Time Travel Books
#2: Summer Reading Issue: Award Winners & Nominees; Beach Bag Books;
Featured Author: Stanley Ellin; Splatterpunk; Murderous Vacations; The
Psychology of Everyday Things; The Shining; SF Fan-Lingo; Pseudonyms
#3: Books About Books Issue: Two-Bit Culture; Christopher Morley; 84
Charing Cross Road; Assorted References; Bibliomysteries; Deep Quarry;
Featured Author: Harlan Ellison
#4: Hollywood Issue: Recent Awards; About Hollywood; Silver Scream;
Death of a Salesman; Joe Bob Briggs; The Hollywood Mystery; Featured
Author: Fredric Brown; The Dark Fantastic; Darryl Kenning Reviews
#5: Halloween Issue: Hugo Awards; Year's Best Horror Stories XVII;
Tracy Kidder; Supernatural Mysteries; Thomas Harris; Falling Angel
Heart; Ray Garton; New From Underwood-Miller; Featured Author: Robert
R. McCammon; The Modern Halloween Shelf; Darryl Kenning Reviews; The
Ultimate Stephen King Character Quiz
#6: Computers & Robots Issue: 1989 World Fantasy Award Nominations;
Donald M. Grant, Publisher; Cyberpunk & Neuromancer; Computer Books;
Digital Delights; Nightmare On Elm Street, The Comic; Banned Books;
Featured Author: Josephine Tey; Mystery Terminology; Darryl Kenning
Reviews; Books On A Chip; New From Carroll & Graf; Computer Cowboy
Reading; and the usual
#7: Happy Holidays Issue: New From Carroll & Graf; Featured Author:
Charles Dickens; A Christmas Carol; Religious Reading; An Incomplete
Education; Great Endings; New From Simon & Schuster; New From
Underwood-Miller; Christmas Mysteries and Other Yuletide Reading; On
Line With Steve Gerber; The Last Christmas Trivia Quiz; and the usual
#8: True Crime Issue: New Age Books; Amazing Stories; True Crim in
Paperback; Steve Gerber; Bluffers Guides; The Onion Field; Mysterious
Press; Lizzie Borden; John E. Stith; Darryl Kenning; Bestselling
Children's Books; Awards; Carroll & Graf; and more
#9: Time Travel Issue: Bestsellers of the Christmas Season; Obscenity
Ruling Reversed; The Turner Tomorrow Awards; Roc Books; Carroll &
Graf; Meadowbrook; Time Passes For Baby Boomers; Darryl Kenning; Time
Travel Reading List; Simon & Schuster; Featured Author: Jack Finney;
Reviews; and all the usual
#10: Earth Day Issue: Environmental Reading; Featured Author: Thomas
Berger; reviews by Darryl Kenning, Robert A. Pittman, Fred L. Drake,
Jr., Ollie McKagen; Book lists: The Civil War, India, The Middle Ages;
Sharing The Wealth; My Favorite Books of 1989; and the usual.
Supplemental Issue #1: Baseball Books of Spring 1990. Distributed
along with #10.
#11: Magazines: Special Coverage of Magazines; Featured Author: Dean
R. Koontz; reviews by Darryl Kenning, Fred L. Drake, Jr., Cherie Jung;
Rotten Rejections; Bram Stoker Awards Nominations; Recent Releases.
#12: Featured Authors: George Alec Effinger and Evan Hunter (aka Ed
McBain), with bibliographies; reviews by Cherie Jung, Sue Feder,
Robert A. Pittman. This is our first mini-mag issue, with separate
sections devoted to Science Fiction, Mystery, Horror, and Humor.
#13: Halloween 1990 Issue: Featured Author: Dan Simmons (including
bibliography and interview); The Brains of Rats; SoftServ Books on
Disk; Sand Castles: Step-by-Step; Self-University; Mysteries for
Halloween; Loosen Your Grip on Reality (our SF&F section); and lots of
news and reviews.
#14: Holidays 1990 Issue: The one you're reading now.
#15: Groundhog Day Issue: Available February 1, 1991
********the**end********
