Hacker Chronicles 2/HACKER2.BIN/439.SF018085.TXT

Text File | 1993-02-23 | 18KB | 382 lines

SF-LOVERS Digest            Tuesday, 9 Feb 1993        Volume 18 : Issue 85

Today's Topics:

               Speaking Uit - The Hugo Awards,
               Books - Brin & Delany & Edgerton & Herbert &
                       Jeter & Kress & Modesitt (3 msgs) &
                       Kim Stanley Robinson

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

Date: Tue, 9 Feb 93 08:31:25 EST
From: [e-mail] (SF-LOVERS)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: The Hugo Awards

   In January 1992, I had planned to start writing monthly editorials on
certain subjects that I had something to say in a regular column which
later got called "Speaking Uit" - a name chosen to give it more of a
world-wide flavor.  Those editorials drifted off in the latter half of 1992
mostly due to other pressures and the volume of mail that has come in for
the Digest since the start of the 1992-1993 television season.  The flurry
of new science fiction on television this year has kept mail flowing fast
and furious and has kept me way behind on a number of projects I had
originally planned.
   However, this is the start of another new year, and more than that, it
is the time when Hugo nominations are due for the 1993 Hugo Awards to be
presented in San Francisco during the 1993 Worldcon (ConFrancisco).  And
this is a subject on which I have a number of things to say.
   It is my opinion that the Hugo awards are the most important
acknowledgement of achievement in the science fiction community today.
Like most genres, the professional part of the field is driven by profit.
But, that profit will not come if the fans - the readers of the fiction,
the watchers of the films and television shows, the art connoisseurs, the
gamers, the fan fiction writers and all the other fannish activity groups,
are not satisfied with what the field is producing.
   It is only by means of the Hugo awards, nominated, judged and awarded by
the fans at the (usually) largest gathering of fans each year, that the
professionals in the field can truly gain any sort of understanding of what
we, the fans, want from them.  The writers, written works, artists, art and
dramtic presentations that we select each year as the best from the past
year, gives insight to what we consider to be quality in the field.  The
Nebula Awards, while also an indication of quality, are awarded by other
professionals in the field and, while their choices often coincide with the
Hugo choices, do not truly or completely represent the respect and
admiration of the fans nor do the Nebulas serve as an accurate predictor of
what we, the consumers, are likely to buy in the future.
   More important than the professional Hugo awards however, are the
fannish Hugos - those awards given to the fans by the fans.  These include
awards for fan publications, fan writing and fan artists.  Fans are the
backbone of the science fiction industry and those fans who put time and
effort, unpaid, into producing works of fiction, art or fanzines deserve
recognition and encouragement.  In fact, many of today's professionals
started out as fans 10-20 years ago and are still fans today.  I've been
noticing of late that several of my friends from conventions have, in the
last two years become published writers.  One could say that fans grow up
to be professionals, but that's highly misleading - they become
professionals because they received the proper encouragement from their
peers and other professionals and because they love the genre as fans.
   Keep in mind however, that the nominations themselves are as important
as the choice of final winner, if not more so.  The nominations represent
an eclectic diversity from among all of the works selected by all of the
fans who take the time to nominate.  While there can be only one Hugo
winner in each category, each nominee is a clear winner for his or her work
has been recognized as among the best, the cream of the crop, if you will,
from the year's choices.  Those nominated receive encouragement and support
(and egoboo if you will) from the very fact of being nominated.
   This year, for the first time, the Constitution of the World Science
Fiction Society which governs the awarding of the Hugos and specifies the
eligibility requirements, clearly allows for fan writers in the electronic
medium to be nominated and to receive the Hugo award.  And this is part of
my reason d'etre for writing today - over the years that I have been doing
SF-Lovers Digest, I have seen many quality writers here on the net, writing
reviews, doing parodies, putting together fanzines and doing other fannish
activities that, in my opinion, are worthy of mention.  I have seen reviews
in these pages that are at least as good in quality, if not better, than
any review in any published magazine (professional or fannish).  I feel
that many of these fans on the net deserve notice, encouragement and
support.
   If you were an attending or supporting member of the 1992 Worldcon
(Magicon) or you are currently a member of the 1993 Worldcon (ConFrancisco)
you are eligible to nominate for the Hugo awards this year.  When you
receive your nomination ballot, if you haven't already, I encourage you to
nominate those professionals and fans, who, in your opinion, represent the
high quality of professional or fannish activity that you would like to see
more of in the future.  It is with your support and mine that these people
will continue to produce the type of product that we will enjoy for years
to come.  If you are not eligible to nominate, there is still time to
become a member of ConFrancisco before the final Hugo ballot is determined
if you wish to vote for the Hugo awards this year and I highly encourage
you to do so.
   If you have questions about joining ConFrancisco or questions concerning
the Hugo Awards, you can write to [e-mail] for more details.

Saul

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

Date: 7 Feb 93 20:53:10 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Andrew Solovay)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Brin: Progenitors a mugwump?

Here's an idea I had about the Uplift series. I'm been thinking that the
fleet of ships found by Creideiki et al. probably isn't connected with the
Progenitors at all; just a fleet of some powerful Patron race that, owing
to some mischance, got stuck off in the cosmic boonies. In other words, the
"progenitors" issue is a mugwump; something which spurs plot action, but
turns out not to be relevant in and of itself.

The significant thing would be this: Streaker found a lost fleet, and
broadcast a message about it. A number of the most powerful patron-lines
promptly went into a religious fervor, convinced that the Progenitors had
returned. Some of these patron-lines committed graver offenses against
Galactic propriety, because they believed that Big Things were happening,
and that the only important thing was getting to the Fleet first and they
decided this based on the say-so of an infant species which was client to
wolflings! To me, this indicates that the Galactic civilization was on the
verge of upheaval already.

I think we're going to see massive civil war in the Five Galaxies.
Terragens will end up as a big player, not least because of the fleet.
After all, while I don't think there are Progenitors on those ships, it's
still a huge fleet of powerful Galactic ships, which is enough to make
Terragens a lot more respectable.

Andrew Solovay

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

Date: 7 Feb 93 20:56:21 GMT
From: [e-mail] (AMERIKA MARK)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Samuel R. Delany's Black Ice Connection

For those interested in Delany's new work check out the latest Black Ice
Book anthologized by Larry McCaffery (author of "Across The Wounded
Galaxies: Interviews With Contemporary SF Writers").  It's called
"Avant-Pop: Fiction For A Daydream Nation" and I have info on how to get it
(bookstores are balking at the chance to stock the book because of its
contents.  When will they get it?).

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

Date: 8 Feb 93 22:43:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (hari ramachandran)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re:  Theresa Edgerton

[e-mail] (Sabrina Chase) writes:
> 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.

The blurb describing the third Celydonn book claimed it was retelling
Arthurian legends ;^>

There were two inconsistencies I couldn't help noticing in her latest book
(Silver Wheel). First, Tryffin tells the old witch that he knows that his
fate and Gwenlliant's are bound inseparably but, how does he know that?  It
is Garanwynn who is given this knowledge, and his two cousins are chased
out of the room before the prophesy.

Second, Tryffin chases all round to find out about the truth of his
great-grandfather's murder and gets the truth from Diaspad's giant. Who
learnt it from ... Bron! Which meant that Tryffin's papa knew the truth all
along. Makes no sense. How could the true story about Mochdreff treachery
come from one who is not even a native of Mochdreff, but only a spy, in the
service of Tir Gwyngelli (sp?) ?

The true pleasure of reading fantasy books lies in picking at the nits!

Hari

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

Date: 6 Feb 93 18:09:32 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Mike Rogers)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: The White Plague, was Re: Frank Herbert

[e-mail] wrote:
>[e-mail] (Christopher J. Lentz) writes:
>>I'd suggest "The White Plague".  It's about a genetic engineer that
>>creates a plague in response to the IRA's killing of his family.
>
>[...] even close to real.  In fact the women were silly, insipid and
>lifeless.  To

So were the Irish characters. Everyone, *everyone* I know who has read it
and happens to be Irish finds it demeaning, degrading, patronising, and
facile.

Mike Rogers
Box 6, Regent Hse
TCD,EIRE
[e-mail]

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

Date: 7 Feb 93 19:40:18 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: K.W. Jeter

[e-mail] wrote:
>[e-mail] (Michael I. Lichter) writes:
>> I bring this up mainly because I was curious about _The Glass Hammer_.
>> I have _Farewell Horizontal_ by Jeter, but haven't been able to locate
>> _Hammer_.  Does anybody know if it's any good, and worth continuing to
>> scour used book stores for?
>
> _The Glass Hammer_ is mediocre.  I thought Dr. Adder to be far superior
> (but much sicker, definitely.  If a book offends my sensibilities, it
> makes me aware of what they are.)
>
> It's somewhat slow-paced, and just doesn't hold together all that well.
> There's some memorable stuff in it, but not enough.  I got lucky and got
> the book for nothing, the wonderful "Stars Our Destination" bookstore in
> Chicago gave away remaindered trade paperbacks at the first few cons they
> attended.  Frequent them!!!

Dr Adder was wonderful - quite probably sick, but definitely unforgettable
and very strongly imagined. Definitely a novel worth reading. PKD rated it
(and K W Jeter) very highly and it's easy to see why... (particularly like
the radio station KCID in Dr Adder - nice reference to Phil and a veiled
acid joke?)

Unfortunately The Glass Hammer was almost unreadable. I can remember almost
nothing of it, despite having ploughed through it twice. It seemed to be an
attempt to do a sort of Cyberpunk version of Barry Malzberg... didn't work,
unsurprisingly...

Peter Fenelon
University of York
York, Y01 5DD
(+44/0)904 433388
[e-mail]

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

Date: 7 Feb 93 17:13:12 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Glen Cox)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Forward the Foundation Release date is March 19.

[e-mail] writes:
>   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?)

In the Jan., 1993 LOCUS (Newsmagazine of the Science Fiction Field), Kress
says that the book is an expansion of the novella.  I'm interested, as
well.

Glen E. Cox
[e-mail]

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

Date: 5 Feb 93 20:01:25 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Christopher Blakeley)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Recluce etc.

Despite any comments to the contrary by critics, Magic of Recluce has been
the only (yes, ONLY!) fantasy book that I have been able to not put down.
The characters were believable, as was the setting.  The fact that magic
wasn't an instant event (as in "he was hurt, but then he healed himself"),
and there WAS a definite good and evil.

As for the written sound effects, well I guess that some people are too
*ding*ing held to their ways that this isn't possible.  The FX worked,
people!

Chris
[e-mail]

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

Date: 5 Feb 93 20:55:18 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Julie Kangas)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Recluce etc.

[e-mail] (Christopher Blakeley) writes:
>Despite any comments to the contrary by critics, Magic of Recluce has been
>the only (yes, ONLY!) fantasy book that I have been able to not put down.
>The characters were believable, as was the setting.  The fact that magic
>wasn't an instant event (as in "he was hurt, but then he healed himself"),
>and there WAS a definite good and evil.
>
>As for the written sound effects, well I guess that some people are too
>*ding*ing held to their ways that this isn't possible.  The FX worked,
>people!

Yes, I felt Magic of Recluce was one the best fantasy books I've read.  The
sound effects didn't bother me at all, and in many places, such as
Gairloch's whinneys, I thought they worked quite well.  The magic system
was extremely interesting and well thought out.  It's one of the very few
books I read in paperback and then went out and bought in hardcover.

But.

There always has to be a but.  The Towers of Sunset, a prequel to Magic of
Recluce, was horrible.  The sound effects were annoying and the story
stunk.  I'm being very harsh here, but it just doesn't compare with MoR.

I *would* like to see a sequel when Lerris goes back to Recluce.  Or find
out just what the Brotherhood knows.  One of his instructors mentions
things like "police state" and "universes" which neither Lerris nor anyone
has ever heard of.

Julie

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

Date: 7 Feb 93 23:26:12 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Chris Miller)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Recluce etc.

[e-mail] (Christopher Blakeley) writes:
>As for the written sound effects, well I guess that some people are to
>*ding*ing held to their ways that this isn't possible.  The FX worked,
>people!

If you liked this, then I suggest that you try some of Modesitt's other
books.  The sound effects would seem to be a personal style-signiture of
his.

Chris
[e-mail]

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

Date: 7 Feb 93 13:26:33 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Patrick Nielsen-Hayden)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

[e-mail] (no label) writes:
>Anyway, my argument is that Robinson did indeed do a fine job of creating
>a multi-faceted political and social situation on the newly colonized
>planet.  Complaints about him not showing more support for the Reds seem a
>bit odd.

No disagreement here.  In fact, it's quite ironic to see people suggesting
that Robinson slights the "Reds'" arguments in RED MARS, since the
analogous position in the present day - radical environmental
preservationism, is the one that Stan tends the most toward in temperament.

But temperament isn't everything.  A lot of writers use SF as a stage to
set up overdetermined morality plays in which People Like Them are always
right, and everyone else gets tossed out of the airlock _and deserves it._
A lot of SF writers need to grow up.  Stan Robinson is a grownup.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden
senior editor
Tor Books
[e-mail]

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

End of SF-LOVERS Digest
***********************