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From: ecl@hocsj.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: re: Re: Looking for a SF book (Russell Hoban)
Message-ID: <130@hocsj.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Sep-84 08:38:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: hocsj.130
Posted: Fri Sep 21 08:38:54 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Sep-84 20:46:51 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 36


> This sounds like "Riddley Walker".  I forget the author's name.
> He doesn't normally write science fiction.  In fact, his next
> book was about a jewish eunuch who gets caught up in one of
> the crusades.  (Perhaps his name is Hoban? or something like it)

The author of RIDDLEY WALKER is indeed Russell Hoban; his latest (refered
to above) is PILGERMANN, in which the main character is castrated at the
beginning of the book by a Christian mob in Germany during one of the
Crusades.  It is *very* good.

A couple of samples:

	...the fundamental flaw in God is that He will say that He
	requires the sacrifice of Isaac/Isma'il; the fundamental flaw
	in man is that he takes his knife in hand to do God's bidding.

and

	Time after time had violent men sharpened the cross into a sword
	and made their silken vestments into banners; time after time had
	they spat out the wafer and the wine and shouted for real blood
	and real bodies.

Hoban started out writing children's books (THE MOUSE AND HIS CHILD, among
others) but has recently switched to adult fiction, generally with some
sort of fantastic (in the sense of fantasy/SF) theme.  His first along
these lines was THE LION OF BOAZ-JACHIN AND JACHIN-BOAZ--not a great novel,
but interesting.  He has also written KLEINZEIT and THE TURTLE DIARY,
which I haven't read yet (they're on my shelf).  I would recommend starting
with PILGERMANN.  RIDDLEY WALKER is written in first-person dialect which
some may find off-putting, but if you're up to it, go for it.

					Evelyn C. Leeper
					...ihnp4!hocsj!ecl