Article-I.D.: ucbvax.7967
Posted: Fri Jul  9 10:12:22 1982
Received: Sun Jul 11 02:25:08 1982

>From JPM@Mit-Ai Fri Jul  9 10:05:53 1982

SF-LOVERS Digest          Friday, 9 Jul 1982        Volume 6 : Issue 9

Today's Topics:
                     SF Art - Edd Cartier Query,
         SF Books - Ellison Query Answered & Juxtaposition &
              Merchanter's Luck & The Identity Matrix &
               Voyage from Yesteryear & Crystal Singer,
          SF Topics - Hard SF & Brain Use,  SF TV - HHGttG,
    SF Movies - Revenues & Wolfen,  Humor - Genderless Video Games
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2 July 1982 20:12 edt
From: Boebert.SCOMP at MIT-MULTICS
Subject: Whatever happened to Edd Cartier...

 ...who drew all those neat aliens in the 50's?  And is his stuff 
collected anywhere?  My kid came across a couple of his drawings in an
old book of mine and wants more.

Earl

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

Date: 8 July 1982 20:35-EDT
From: Charles F. Von Rospach 
Subject: Query

I THINK they are out of print. If anyone in the Bay area has them, The
Other Change of Hobbit ((415) 848-0413) should somewhere in their used
books. You might want to give them a call and see (they are in
Berkeley).

chuck

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Date: Tue Jun 29 09:17:51 1982
From: npois!harpo!floyd!vax135!lime!houca!houxi!houxo!bdt at Berkeley
Subject: Juxtaposition

Piers Anthony came out with the third book in the Split Infinity trio.
It is called Juxtaposition.  It is the last book in Stile's
adventures. The book was excellent if you like the series and okay if
you don't.

                                         Bonnie Topf, HO 4f-514
					 system orange

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Date: 7 Jul 1982 0416-PDT
From: Barry Eynon 
Subject: Book reviews

Some authors I pick up with no other information than their name. I
just got through the latest stack from the bookstore, thought I'd pass
on my reactions.


"Merchanter's Luck", by C.J.Cherryh (DAW). ***

As can be told from the subtitle ("Rendezvous at Downbelow Station"),
this book is set in sequence with her excellent novel "Downbelow
Station", though one could hardly call it a sequel. Set about 5 years
after the action of the former novel,it tells a story of two of the
merchant families operating in those times. While generally a good
read ( what by Ms Cherryh isn't?), it definitely lacks the scope of
DS, and also the marvelous explorations of non-human societies which
are characteristic of the author's other works.  Perhaps we're going
to see more stories set in this universe ( is it possible "Pride of
Chanur" is the same universe? Imagine the fireworks between Pyanfar
and Signy Mallory...), I'll be interested to see what she does with
it.


"The Identity Matrix", by Jack L. Chalker (Timescape). **

Chalker seems to have a thing about body switching. Add to that the
usual dose of spy/intrigue action, and you've got a pretty similar
Chalker novel to several he's already written. About the only new
twists are that it's set on Earth, and Earth is being invaded by not
one, but two body-switching, mind-controlling alien races. Eh. I'll be
happier when he gets back into larger themes, like Well World or
Worlds of the Diamond.


"Voyage from Yesteryear", by James P. Hogan (Ballantine).****

A pleasant surprize. First, I was surprised that this was NOT a
time-travel novel, as I guessed from the author's previous work and
the title. What it is, is a well-told version of the utopian idea of
what a great world it would be if a generation of kids got to grow up
without getting their parents preconceptions and bad influences. This
happens on Chiron, a planet of Alpha Centauri,when a survey ship is
sent off with only genetic codes and some robots as an ark against an
apparent oncoming war on Earth. Eventually the survivors of the war
get around to checking up on the colony, and arrive in a generation
ship, intent on imposing Earth-normal standards and ways. Of course
the colonists have different ideas...

Hogan is definitely getting to be a better author with increasing
experience. In addition to the expected hard-sf background (including
a pretty slick theory of sub-sub-sub atomic particles and the origin
of the universe that almost seems to make sense - any physicists care
to comment?), there are interesting, well-defined characters , a good
plot, and some intriguing social speculations. Probably the best thing
Hogan has written.


Well, back to the bookstands..

-Barry Eynon

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

Date: 8 Jul 1982 11:02:24-EDT
From: csin!cjh at CCA-UNIX
Subject: CRYSTAL SINGER

   in fact was written a long time after "Weyr Search". It's one of
the last (and one of the few worthwhile) results of the Elwood
intrusion of the mid-70's; he asked a batch of authors to write four
connected stories, and published one from each author in each of
CONTINUUM 1-4. Considering that it was an Elwood idea \and/ a gimmick
(would you buy a magazine that consisted only of the third of four
parts of a half-dozen serials?)  it's surprising that anything even as
good as CRYSTAL SINGER came out of it.
  By the way, has anyone else seen the revolting advertising campaign
for CS? In 48-point type it calls McCaffrey "Science Fiction's
Sweetheart".  AAUUGGHH!

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

Date: 6 Jul 1982 1938-CDT
From: CS.EMERSON at UTEXAS-20
Subject: Voyage From Yesteryear

I just read James P Hogan's /Voyage From Yesteryear/.  I will
paraphrase the cover blurb:  Prior to a major nuclear war on Earth, a
colonization probe is sent to Alpha Centauri. The colony thrives.
Fifty or so years later, after the war earth recovers and sends
another expedition to A. Centauri to re-assert Earth's dominion over
the colony. Of course, the colonists (who have developed a utopian,
read that anarchistic, society) see things differently...

If you enjoyed Hogan's earlier works such as /Inherit the Stars/ you
will probably like this one as well. I thought it was quite good.  My
principle criticism is that it was a little too didactic, i.e.  laden
with pop sociology and political theory. But since I happen to agree
with Hogan's ideas (for the most part), it wasn't overly offensive.  
Read as sort of a thriller or adventure story, this novel is very 
satisfactory escape reading.

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

Date: 8 Jul 1982 15:01:41 EDT (Thursday)
From: Ben Littauer 
Subject: Hogan & hard sf

Re: SFL V6 #7

I second Dwight Bartholemew's recommendation of Hogan's "Voyage from 
Yesteryear".  I, too, found it quite enjoyable, although I do not rank
it as any kind of masterpiece.  I think that Hogan's work has been 
progressing consistently from good, but rather dry, hard science
fiction with very little drama, to much more exciting, good, hard sf.

I agree that the utopian society that Hogan creates is more believable
than many, and I also appreciated that he didn't bludgeon us with
political propaganda extolling the virtues of the society, but let it
speak for itself, unlike, say, Smith in "The Probability Broach".


    "So I read all of Clarke, Asimov, Sheffield, Clement, Hogan and
    Dragon's Egg (the only thing I have seen by Forward).  I then read
    Niven and Hoyle and ... now where do I go?? "
                                         Laura Creighton

If people do have advice for someone with this problem (me, for
another example) please, Please, PLEASE, send it to SFL immediately.
Another name I can mention (as I have before) is Donald Moffitt, who's
written only one book, to my knowledge, i.e. "The Jupiter Theft".
This one IS some kind of masterpiece, and I only wish that Moffitt
would write more.

                                -ben-

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

Date: 8-Jul-82  2:28:35 PDT (Thursday)
From: jackson at PARC-MAXC
Subject: Re: 6% of brain.

Maybe after i see a coherent explanation of how memory and reasoning
work i will believe that we can start talking about the efficiency of
the process.  Until then, all statements of the form "An average
person only uses X% of their brain" get parsed as noise.

stephen

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

Date: Thu Jul  8 13:28:27 1982
From: decvax!watmath!bstempleton at Berkeley
Subject: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, TV version from England

I have heard a rumor that some episodes of this will be shown on 
public television this weekend, Friday and Saturday nights.

Check you listings HHG fans!

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

Date: 7 July 1982 18:30 mst
From: Harvey.Multics at PCO-MULTICS
Reply-to: "Harvey.Multics@PCO-Multics" at MIT-MULTICS
Subject: ABC version of Hitchhiker's Guide

I just talked to a friend from LA. Her boyfriend tried out for a part
in the series.  The latest word is that the effort has been canceled.

More info will be coming if there is more to get...

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

Date: 8 Jul 1982 1404-PDT
From: Robert Amsler 
Subject: 50 Top-Grossing Films (week ending June 23) (source: Variety)

Ranks:  Last-week  =>This week
   Film Name (Rank Change + = up 1, - = down 1)
     Total to Date
        Weeks on Chart

1 => 1.  E T - The Extra-Terrestrial       $11,688,128 (2 weeks)
3 => 2.  Rocky II (+)                      $19,014,725 (4 weeks)
2 => 3.  Star Trek II-Wrath of Kahn (-)    $12,322,620 (3 weeks)
4 => 4.  Poltergeist                       $ 9,574,672 (3 weeks)
     5.  Firefox                           $ 2,492,300 (1 week )
12=> 6.  Annie (++++++)                    $ 3,867,932 (5 weeks)
5 => 7.  Grease 2 (--)                     $ 2,222,507 (2 weeks)
     8.  Author Author                     $   843,650 (1 week )
16=> 9.  Bambi (+++++++)                   $ 2,949,081 (13 weeks)
7 =>10.  Porky's (---)                     $17,398,969 (14 weeks)

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

Date: 6 July 1982 21:18-EDT
From: Charles F. Von Rospach 
Subject: wolfen (probable spoiler)

movie: Wolfen

Pico-review: feh

General review:

Wolfen could have been a lot of things. Unfortunately for the movie,
it never quite decided what it should be. It could have been a good
detective story.  It could have been a good SF film, a good horror
film, or a good social commentary film. What it is is a 'Nightstalker'
clone. Kolchak and Co.  could have done it much better.

There are two major problems to the story. First, they took a
reasonably good 'Nightstalker' story and stretched it to almost 2
hours. There was enough material for a good 60 minute (with
commercials) script, but not the whole thing. Second, there is very
little continuity. I was continually losing track of time in the
movie. It was night outside, there was sun streaming through windows,
it was day outside, it was night outside, almost seemingly at random.
Add to this the problem of 'wolf vision'. This was an interesting 
effect in which the camera takes the viewpoint of the animal stalking
the city (I don't think it would be a spoiler to call it a wolf). From
this viewpoint, things become monochrome, although at times they also
become multi-colored in simulated infrared; it seems that wolves see
in black and white unless it is more dramatic to look at their victims
blood coursing through their veins. When in 'wolf vision', sound is
also distorted to simulate what wolves actually hear. This makes any
dialog said during 'wolf vision' unintelligible. An added problem of
'wolf vision' is that wolves are constantly swinging their heads from
side to side, causing motion sickness for the audience. Trying to give
the audience the viewpoint of the wolves was a great idea, but it was
an effect that was terribly overused, and in the end the effect was
boring, disorienting, and irritating.

There are 'interesting' sub-plots: Navajo 'shape-shifter' indians (are
these wolves live? or just in your mind?); politicians looking for
terrorists; the inevitable sex scene (seen through wolves eyes, no
less *sigh*); and all sorts of other inane twists that show up and go
nowhere.

If all this wasn't enough, the ending is one of the best endings I
have seen since 'The incredible shrinking man'. Without giving away
too much, the wolves and the detective smoke a peace pipe (what about
the rest of the city?), and as the police burst through the door, they
disappear. not leave, disappear. were they ever there? (see
'shape-shifter', above). there is a fair amount of mumbo-jumbo about
hunter, hunted, ruling the earth, and who are the really intelligent
beings on the planet. End of movie. Leaving intelligent wolves to
continue eating people in peace forever (remember, he smoked the peace
pipe).

All in all, when I wasn't bored, I was disappointed. The movie came
rather heavily recommended, and I can't see why.

Rating: mediocre. Stay up and watch 'Nightstalker' instead.

chuck (chuqui@mit-mc)

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

Date: 8 Jul 1982 1713-PDT
Subject: Humorless video gender
From: Mike Leavitt 

What do you call the degree for someone who has successfully completed
the first four screens of PACMAN?

The Paccalaureate?

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