Hacker Chronicles 2/HACKER2.BIN/429.SF018078.TXT

Text File | 1993-02-23 | 18KB | 463 lines

SF-LOVERS Digest            Monday, 8 Feb 1993         Volume 18 : Issue 78

Today's Topics:

                 Books - Anvil (2 msgs) & Asimov & Bear &
                         Bester (3 msgs) & Bradley (3 msgs) &
                         Clarke & Edgerton (2 msgs)

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Date: 5 Feb 93 16:43:57 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Mark L. Olson)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Christopher Anvil

I'm also an Anvil fan from way back.  (It's a guilty pleasure - I *know*
that Anvil is (at his best) a mediocre Analog writer, but I still enjoy
some of his work.)

As far as I know there's virtually nothing by him in print except a couple
of stories "Pandora's Planet" and "Technical Adjustment" (??  on that
latter title) which occasionally show up in anthologies.

I think Jim Mann has mentioned here that NESFA is planning to continue its
NESFA's Choice series of books which bring back into print authors who
shouldn't be out of print.  (James H.  Schmitz and Cordwainer Smith are the
first two.) I'd love to do a _Best of CA_ - does anyone think that there's
enough good material and enough people who'd want to read it to make it
worthwhile?

Mark L. Olson
Bio-Rad
237 Putnam Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-868-4330
[e-mail]

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Date: 6 Feb 93 02:03:29 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Mike Van Pelt)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Anvil's "The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun".

[e-mail] writes:
>Also, has Christopher Anvil written any more books since the disappointing
>THE MIST, THE STEEL AND THE BLAZING SUN?

Wonderful title, mediocre book.

The biggest problem with the book was that it really, really needed the
"prequel" novella that was published in Analog a few years prior.  It set
up the situation, which the book did a very poor job of.  I have no idea
why that wasn't included in the book.

Mike Van Pelt
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

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Date: 6 Feb 93 04:16:48 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Forward the Foundation Release date is March 19.

   I was at the local Dalton's today, picking up the entire set of McMaster
Bujold books (which order should I read them in?) and the new George Turner
book, and I picked up one of their promotional flyers, which lists Asimov's
_Forward the Foundation_ to be released on Mar. 19.  If it turns out that
this message is wrong, blame Dalton's, not me.

   (Among other releases: _Beggars in Spain_ by Nancy Press !!! :) [sic
                                                      ::::::
; It's Kress]
Does anyone know if this is just the novella; a short story collection; or
an expansion of the novella?)

Junsok Yang

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Date: 4 Feb 93 19:14:40 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Cordell)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Greg Bear's Forge of God

[e-mail] (Jason Balicki) writes:
>> I just finished Greg Bear's Forge of God and really enjoyed it.  I have
>> also read his Eon and Eternity and liked both of them also.  I believe
>> these novels fall under the "hard" science fiction heading.  I am
>> looking for suggestions of other authors who fall in this same category
>> as Bear.  I am planning to read Anvil of the Stars but would like to
>> switch to some other authors for a while.
>
>Well, I can suggest that you NOT read _Anvil_.  I was very disappointed
>with it.  It just didn't seem to be in Bear's style, oh well.

Are you suggesting that one should not read Anvil of Stars due to its lack
of Hard Science Fiction, or the quality of writting? I read the book and
enjoyed it immensely, in fact, I enjoyed it more than The Forge of God. As
to whether the ideas which evolve during the story are "Hard" in a Clarkian
sense, I can't say, but they are definitely incredibly interesting,
allowing me to develop a new paradigm of 'reality and how it might work'.

Bruce Robert Cordell
[e-mail]

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Date: 31 Jan 93 06:43:46 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Urban F)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: SPOILERS (Was: Re: The Stars My Destination)

[e-mail] (Leif Magnar Kj|nn|y) writes:
>[e-mail] (James Thomas Green) writes:
>> I just finished reading The Stars My Destination by Bester.
>>
>> Has anyone else read this book?

Of course, it is a classic that's been around since 1955.

>I recently aqcuired and read the book, under a different title ("Tiger!
>Tiger!"), but the very same book.

That's what my copy says too, it is a question of English/USAian editions
(but don't as me why!).

>Does anyone know whether Bester is still alive (or if not, when/how he
>died)?

Alfred Bester was born in 1913. Quoting from my copy of _Starburst_: "...
began writing in 1938 - initially science fiction ... Branching out to
adventure and mystery fiction, he worked for the _Superman_ group writing
comic scripts and later wrote radio material and TV scripts. Apart from
this, and a wide range of magazine journalism he has published six book."
My copy printed in 1977.

From _The Stars My Destination_ illustrated by Howard Chaykin: "... and
despite a long and esteemed reputation as a journalist, he, as Welles, will
be remembered for his youthful triumphs. In 1978, after a long career of
travel writing, he had returned to science fiction ...". This book
published in 1992.

He died in 1986.

Books by him I know about:

?      The Rat Race
1951   The Demolished Man                        Very good
?      The Dark Side of the Earth
1955   The Stars My Destination / Tiger! Tiger!  Very good
1958   Starburst (short stories)                 Mostly OK
?      The Life and Death of a Satellite (non-fiction)
1974   Extro / The Computer Connection (serialized as
       The Indian Giver in Analog)               Good
1980   Golem ^100

Urban Fredriksson
[e-mail]

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Date: 6 Feb 93 10:51:31 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Ross Smith)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re:  The Stars My Destination

[e-mail] (Dani Zweig) writes:
>[e-mail] (Pally Hoffstein):
>>I love the book and can never resist an invitation to recommend this book
>>highly to anyone.
>
>>The book is a space opera and it certainly goes over the top in it's
>>pacing and tossing a score of SF ideas into one book. But I think Bester
>>pulled it off masterfully.
>
>I second the recommendation; it's an excellent book that has stood the
>test of time.  I would not call it space opera, though.

I third it...

BTW, Bester's later novel, "The Computer Connection", was also published as
"Extro" and (in a shorter version, as a magazine serial) "The Indian
Giver".  It was awful, alas. He also wrote two other novels after that,
"The Deceivers" and "Golem 100", which were even worse :-(

Ross Smith
Wanganui, NZ
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 6 Feb 93 14:38:23 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Keith Warren Rickert)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: The Stars My Destination

[e-mail] (Ross Smith) writes:
>BTW, Bester's later novel, "The Computer Connection", was also published
>as "Extro" and (in a shorter version, as a magazine serial) "The Indian
>Giver".  It was awful, alas. He also wrote two other novels after that,
>"The Deceivers" and "Golem 100", which were even worse :-(

Yes, I have read the Deceivers and Computer Connection, and they were kind
of dismal...

They certainly don't stand up to The Stars My Destination, or my personal
Bester favorite, which hasn't been mentioned in this thread that I've
seen - The Demolished Man.

Keith

------------------------------

Date: 5 Feb 93 19:37:00 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Marion Zimmer Bradley

An excerpt from a letter to the editor of "Writer's Digest", March, 1993.
The letter was written by Marion Zimmer Bradley:

Begin excerpt

". . .While in the past I have allowed fans to 'play in my yard,' I was
forced to stop that practice last summer when one of the fans wrote a
story, using my world and my characters, that overlapped the setting I was
using for my next _Darkover_ novel.  Since she had sent me a copy of her
fanzine, and I had read it, my publisher will not publish my novel set
during that time period, and I am now out several years' work, as well as
the cost of inconvenience of having a lawyer deal with this matter.

"Because this occurred just as I was starting to read for this year's
_Darkover_ anthology, that project was held up for more than a month while
the lawyer drafted a release to accompany any submissions and a new
contract, incorporating the release.  I do not know at present if I shall
be doing any more _Darkover_ anthologies.

"Let this be a warning to other authors who might be tempted to be
similarly generous with their universes, I know now why Arthur Conan Doyle
refused to allow anyone to write about Sherlock Holmes.  I wanted to be
more accomodating, but I don't like where it has gotten me.  It's enough to
make anyone into a misanthrope."

End excerpt

I don't understand why MZB said this could make her a misanthrope.  From
what I read here, the fan didn't do anything wrong, it was just a sad
coincidence that the two of them were working with the same characters in
the same timeframe.  This would appear to be a hazard of the way MZB did
her work.  I'm also not sure what she was saying about the lawyer.  Was she
planning on suing the fan, the publisher, or what?  Was it just that the
lawyer was needed to draw up the new anthology contract?  Couldn't she just
work out a deal with the fan so that the fan would sign an agreement not to
sue, or something, so that the book could be published?

Rick Kitchen
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 5 Feb 93 23:35:39 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Marion Zimmer Bradley

[e-mail] writes:

[Sad tale of addled fan vs. MZB ....]

>I don't understand why MZB said this could make her a misanthrope.  From
>what I read here, the fan didn't do anything wrong, it was just a sad
>coincidence that the two of them were working with the same characters in
>the same timeframe.

This has been discussed on this group before; let me give just a bare
precis.  The fan had submitted a fan-story with an interesting minor idea
involving some of the characters.  Marion wrote back, "Hey, that's
interesting, mind if I use it in one of my stories?  I'll give you
credit...."

The fan wrote back and said, "If you use my idea I want half the proceeds
on the book and my name on it as co-author."

And her husband hired a lawyer to try and make this stick.

Marion now has a novel sitting in limbo somewhere, which she can't publish,
because even though she struck out the fan's interesting idea, the book is
set in the same time period and the fan's husband's lawyer is just waiting
for it to come out so he can start picking it apart.

>... Couldn't she just work out a deal with the fan so that the fan would
>sign an agreement not to sue, or something, so that the book could be
>published?

But the fan wasn't willing to agree not to sue or something.  The fan, and
her husband, and her lawyer, were swimming around in circles waiting for
the feeding frenzy to begin, and so far as I know, they still are.

Dorothy J. Heydt
UC Berkeley
[e-mail]

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Date: 6 Feb 93 00:41:44 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Wilson Heydt)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Marion Zimmer Bradley

[e-mail] writes:
>An excerpt from a letter to the editor of "Writer's Digest", March, 1993.
>The letter was written by Marion Zimmer Bradley:
>
>Begin excerpt
>
>". . .While in the past I have allowed fans to 'play in my yard,' I was
>forced to stop that practice last summer when one of the fans wrote a
>story, using my world and my characters, that overlapped the setting I was
>using for my next _Darkover_ novel.  ....
>
>End excerpt
>
>I don't understand why MZB said this could make her a misanthrope.  From
>what I read here, the fan didn't do anything wrong, it was just a sad
>coincidence that the two of them were working with the same characters in
>the same timeframe.  This would appear to be a hazard of the way MZB did
>her work.  I'm also not sure what she was saying about the lawyer.  Was
>she planning on suing the fan, the publisher, or what?  Was it just that
>the lawyer was needed to draw up the new anthology contract?  Couldn't she
>just work out a deal with the fan so that the fan would sign an agreement
>not to sue, or something, so that the book could be published?

You've got roughly the right idea but, from the wrong direction.  The
reason for the involvement of the lawyer is that the fan (or more properly
from what the grapevine says, the fan's husband) was threatening to sue
Bradley.  By being generous and not only allowing but encouraging new
writers to use her background settings and characters while they developed
their writing skills, Bradley created a situation where fans could actively
interfere with *her* ability to make a living off that universe.  The
releases that were drafted amouonted to what you note - an agreement that
the characters and universe belong solely to Bradley and the others writing
there are doing so with her (revocable) permission.

The damage done is that other established authors are now warned that there
are sharks out there who do not understand that *ideas* cannot be
copyrighted and that ideas are common and cheap.  Making noises about suits
defeats the very purpose of older writers helping newer ones.  Potential
markets and easy paths of entry for new writers close off.

If Bradley *does* do more any more Darkover anthologies, it will (if I
guess right) be only by invitation to those she has found she can trust to
show professional judgement in matters about copyright and she will
probably flatly refuse to read unsolicited manuscripts in order to preserve
a solid *legal* defense against charges of swiping someone else's ideas.

If you've ever wondered why it's so hard to break into screenplay writing,
there's the basic reason.  Folks who think any resemblance between their
efforts and something that actually sees the light of day just *must* mean
that someone stole their all to common idea...

Feh!

Hal Heydt
Analyst, Pacific*Bell
510-823-5447
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 4 Feb 93 22:22:25 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Chris Meadows)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: New Clarke novel

[e-mail].z (Ross Smith) writes:
>A recent issue of "New Scientist" (16-Jan-93) has a letter from none other
>than Arthur C Clarke, in which he mentions a forthcoming novel, "The Hamm
>er of God". Apparently it's about the attempts to intercept an asteroid
>that's about to hit the Earth.

Hmmm, it's been done.  "Lucifer's Hammer," by Niven and Pournelle, and even
a pulp series from Gold Eagle books called "Survival 2000."  But it'll be
interesting to read Clarke's book.  Can't wait.

Chris Meadows
CHM173S@SMSVMA
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 6 Feb 93 08:36:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (harishankar ramachandran)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Theresa Edgerton

Hi all,

I have just finished re-reading all of Theresa Edgerton's novels and want
to know what others think of her books?

For myself, I liked her 'Child of Saturn' books the best. Her new book in
the world of Ynis Celydonn - "The castle of the silver wheel" was a let
down. The main reason there was that both the hero (Tryffin) and the
heroine (Gwenlliant) are too good natured and easy going for an intersting
story. The earlier books had Ceilyn and he was stormy enough to carry the
story to a strong conclusion.

She has written to date <that I know of>:

   Child of Saturn
   The moon in hiding
   The work of the Sun

(These are the story of Teleri ni Pendaren and Ceilyn mac Cuel.  Apparently
a retelling of Arthurian tales, though I have to admit I didn't recognise
them. Can someone say which stories are being retold?)

   The Castle of the Silver Wheel

(Tryffin's adventures while he works off his penance in Mochdreff)

   Goblin Moon
   The Gnome's Engine

(Very nice stories set in a world where magic is mainly alchemical, trolls
are scholars of black magic, and the hero is a drug addict ... which means
the heroine has to do most of his work of coming to her rescue:)

Enjoy.

Hari
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 6 Feb 93 18:38:58 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Theresa Edgerton

Yes indeedy, Theresa Edgerton writes good stuff.  I have not come across
anything other than the ones mentioned, (the three Ynys Celadon, the two
Goblin moon books, plus "Silver Wheel"), and I agree for the most part with
your assessment.  What I admire in her writing is the completely different
_feel_ she produces in her two different worlds.  Characters think and
speak differently, etc.
   I don't think there is any Arthurian retelling in the Ynys Celadon
books, though.  There seems to be a slight Celtic flavor, perhaps some hint
of the Mabinogion, but the story is entirely new.
   I hope she writes some more real soon.

Sabrina Chase
Penn State University

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End of SF-LOVERS Digest
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