HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: news@massey.ac.nz (USENET News System)
Subject: Re: Glen Cook's next Black Company Book
Organization: School of Maths and Info Sciences, Massey University, NZ.
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 02:53:26 GMT

In article <alix.716090714@vincent1.iastate.edu> alix@iastate.edu (Leigh Ann) writes:
>Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
>Path: cc-server4.massey.ac.nz!comp.vuw.ac.nz!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!news.iastate.edu!vincent1.iastate.edu!alix
>From: alix@iastate.edu (Leigh Ann)
>Subject: Glen Cook's next Black Company Book
>Message-ID: <alix.716090714@vincent1.iastate.edu>
>Sender: news@news.iastate.edu (USENET News System)
>Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
>Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 02:05:14 GMT
>Lines: 11

>I'm new to the nets, so I'm not sure if this has been discussed before....

>I've been waiting for Glen Cook's new book (I think it's supposed to be called
>"Glittering Stone" or something like that) to come out for a couple of years
>now.  Does anyone out there know when it's supposed to be out?

>Thanks!

>-Leigh Ann Melloy
>alix@iastate.edu

I just was looking at the first 2 of the Black Company Books, are they any 
good?

Brenden
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: jhildeb1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Jeff Hildebrand)
Subject: Re: HUGO Awards?
Reply-To: hildebra@math.wisc.edu (Jeff Hildebrand)
Organization: Don's Merry Horde of Topologists
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 00:52:50 GMT

ca572@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mark L. Stackpole) writes:
> I've only read the middle two. I suspect Asimov got the win not
> for the quality of the story as the fen paying tribute to the 
> Doctor's life work. 

	Better believe it. Ever since the nominations came out people were
saying that this would happen. This is actually the only winner I haven't
read, but virtually every comment I've seen was "It was ok, but not
Asimov's best." Sounds like a tribute win to me.

> The Kress story is being expanded into a novel to be released
> next April.

	Can't wait. This is the one winner that I can whole-heartedly cheer.
I've said before and I'll say again, this is probably the best story in the
field that I've read in the past several years; it's certainly the best one
I've read this year.

> I couldn't stand the book which Bujold won the Hugo for in 1989
> (_Falling Free_). In fact that book single-handedly (or quadrup-
> pled-handedly) cured me of any illusions that fen voting =
> value & worth. 

	While I happen to agree with you about Bujold (and I know at least a
couple of fairly well-known authors agree as well), I think these awards
show something else fairly clearly. Fen go very strongly for traditional
styles.  Bujold keeps winning for pretty generic space opera, Landis won
with the one short story that was even remotely hard-sf (and a lot of people
said it read like a 50s story), and of course Asimov is about as traditional
as you can get.

	I find it rather depressing that fen refuse to recognize authors who
are willing to experiment unless that author writes a masterpiece (see
_Neuromancer_).

> JWC award - Ted Chang (?)

	I think it's Chiang. While a couple of his stories have really
pissed me off, some others have been well written. Certainly not a
ridiculous award.

	Anyone else know the other minor categories? I assume Dozois won
Best Professional Editor and Locus won Best Semiprozine, but I'd be curious
to see the others.

-Jeff
-- 
Jeff Hildebrand, The Shaggy TA			hildebra@math.wisc.edu
"Join that political superman, secret agent double 0 zero, George Bosh
in his new film, 'Never Just Say No Again.'"      Off The Cuff, R.I.P.
"Did everyone buy that? Good, 'cause I didn't"   The Proof By Snow Job
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: ricardo@colombo.puug.pt (Ricardo Nuno Silva)
Subject: SUMMARY: info on Redshift Rendezvous
Originator: ricardo@colombo
Organization: PUUG - Grupo Portugues de Utilizadores de Sistemas UNIX(tm)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 13:03:16 GMT


Two weeks ago I asked for any info on a sf story called
"Red Shift Rendezvous".

Thanks to the help of many 'netters' I found that...

"Redshift Rendezvous" is a full-length novel written
by John E. Stith. Published in the US two years ago
by Ace Science Fiction (ISBN: 0-441-71145-6), it was
a finalist for a Nebula. This is the same (paperback)
edition that was distributed in Canada. The only
hardcover or RR is the Science Fiction Book Club 
edition (in the US), where it is still in print, book
number 160199, and costs $7.98 (members price).

The story is about a starship that travels in hyperspace,
inside which the speed of light is slowed drastically 
to 10 m/s, making relativistic effects more pronounced.

The novel is hard to get hold of, since it's out of print.
However, John Stith himself is active on CompuServe
(74375.235@Compuserve.COM) and has available copies of 
this and other books of his, for a quite reasonable price 
and postage.

Now, for all of John's fans out there, fresh news about his
new editions: "Naught Again" is in the November 1992 ANALOG, 
and MANHATTAN TRANSFER is due in May 1993 from Tor Books, 
his first real hardcover.

"Naught Again" features Nick Naught, private eye, in a
dysfunctional near future.  In MANHATTAN TRANSFER, aliens rip
Manhattan loose from the surface of the earth, and it winds up
aboard an enormous starship with a collection of alien cities.)

If you enjoy John's work, keep an eye on those two.


Finally, I'd like to thank the help of the following people:

Adrian Mariano                    adrian@u.washington.edu
Alfvaen                           aaron@space.ualberta.ca
Andrew Clayton                    dac@prolix.apana.org.au
Christopher Neufeld               neufeld@helios.physics.utoronto.ca
Chuq "IMHO" Von Rospach           chuq@apple.com
Gayle Surrette & Paul Haggerty    Haggerty@Porter.geo.brown.edu
Jane Eert                         jeert@ra.RoyalRoads.ca
Jason Bell                        jrbell@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au
Jason John Seaver                 jseaver@wpi.WPI.EDU
Larry "Hope this helps" Hammer    LNH@physics.arizona.edu
Michael A. Burstein               mab@buphy.bu.edu
Sigurd Meldal                     sigurd@ii.uib.no
William Lewis                     wiml@ingalls.cs.washington.edu 

and John "Redshift Rendezvous" Stith himself, who kindly reviewed
this info and gave the latest news about the upcoming editions.

Thanks everyone.

========================================================================
Ricardo Nuno Silva                     | e-mail: ricardo@colombo.puug.pt
Fac. Ciencias da Univ. Lisboa          |
From: jfzeigl@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Jon Zeigler)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Dreamer Fithp
Summary: Oooops. . .
Keywords: scientists, SF writers
Date: 8 Sep 92 01:17:43 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Great Beyond

In article <1992Sep7.202236.29238@u.washington.edu> daynem@byron.u.washington.edu (Dayne Miller) writes:

[. . .]

>If so, who is (or should be) on it? I'd guess Niven, Pournelle, David Brin, 
>Orson Scott Card, Asimov (were he still alive), Carl Sagan (maybe the only
                                                             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>true scientist of the group), Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and a few others
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-------------------------
>(mostly "hard SF" writers, in all likelihood).     I
>                                                   I
>Anyone know anything they want to share?           I
>                                                   I
>     -Dayne Miller                                 I
>        daynem@u.washington.edu                    I

Hmmmmmm. . .Mayhap Brin (the astrophysicist), Benford (the physicist), and
Asimov (the biochemist) would take a little umbrage at this one.  I seem to
recall that Bear is a practicing scientist as well, although I wouldn't stake
my life on it.

Science fiction has come a *long* way since "Doc" Smith earned it a sliver of
respectability by being the only major writer with a doctorate. . .

My nominations. . .Vernor Vinge might be a decent choice -- as a computer
scientist he might have something to contribute by way of information theory.
And then there's Paul Hogan, if the nature of the "Threat" would allow the
government to overlook his "alien" origins. . .:-)
-- 
* Jon F. Zeigler (jfzeigl@afterlife.ncsc.mil)                           *
*  "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Emerson    *
* The US Government and the Department of Defense are not responsible   *
* for my opinions.  In fact, I try not to let them know I have any.     *
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc,rec.arts.sf.fandom,rec.arts.sf.announce,alt.individualism,alt.fandom.cons
From: kfl@access.digex.com (Keith F. Lynch)
Subject: Prometheus Awards
Organization: Express Access Public Access UNIX, Greenbelt, Maryland USA
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 04:03:23 GMT

At the 50th World Science Fiction Convention, Magicon, in Orlando
Florida, Brad Linaweaver of the libertarian Futurist Society presented
the Hall of fame award in absentia to Ira Levin for _This Perfect Day_,
and the Award for the Best Libertarian SF novel of 1991 to Larry Niven,
Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn for _Fallen Angels_.
From: lnh@soliton.physics.arizona.edu (sometimes a Wombat)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Tad Williams
Date: 7 Sep 92 19:30:00 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Society for the Appreciation of Janni Lee Simner

adrian@csugrad.cs.vt.edu (Adrian Jones) writes:
>Anyone know when Tad William's will put out the next book to the series that
>includes the Dragonbone Chair and The Stone of Farewell and what that book
>will be called?

TO THE GREEN TOWER is scheduled for a Mar '93 release in herdcover.  It
should finish the trilogy.

	Larry "Glad to be of service" Hammer
--

LNH@physics.arizona.edu          \  "What can be seen, heard, and learned, 
The insane don't need disclaimers \  this I prize." -- Heraclitus, #13
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: andrew@mks.com (Andrew Hamilton-Wright)
Subject: Re: Dreamer Fithp
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 13:18:17 GMT

In article <1992Sep8.203230.1133@qualcomm.com> glane@athena.qualcomm.com (George Lane) writes:
>
>>Niven and Pournelle, in FOOTFALL, mention a Threat Team (the "Dreamer Fithp")
>>that's composed of several writers of SF that advise ...
    (Stuff Deleted)

Sorry - joining the discussion somewhat late - has anyone yet mentioned
Dean Ing (see "Firefight 2000" - cheesy name, but he speaks of being in
a military "Think Tank" to dream up ideas for new weaponry/defense)

- also part of the Niven/Pol/Zelazny.... crowd


-- 
    /||  // // ,'/""\'   Andrew Hamilton-Wright  andrew@mks.com  (519)884-2251 
   / ||/// //\' `\\\     Database(Admin),        Mortice Kern Systems Inc.
  /  |/ /_//  \\___/     56 Scottsdale, Guelph,Ont.   
o/ "Everything is possible except skiing through a revolving door"
From: stan@shakespeare.uucp (Stan Heller)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Arthur Clarke quote (help!)
Date: 10 Sep 92 00:16:14 GMT
Organization: Network Equipment Technologies

I apologize upfront for the off-the-wall nature
of this question...

I am trying to track down a quote attributed to
Arthur C. Clarke-
	" The past is prologue..."

Does anyone out here have a clue what the origin 
of this quote is and where I may find the rest of it??

Much thanks.

			=stan


-- 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Stan Heller
Systems Administration
Network Equipment Technologies
From: slg7m@cc.usu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Fourth Giants book out
Date: 10 Sep 92 21:13:34 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

In article <MATT.92Sep10105929@physics.berkeley.edu>, matt@physics.berkeley.edu (Matt Austern) writes:
> In article <1029@tdat.teradata.COM> swf@teradata.com (Stanley Friesen) writes:
> 
>> The Giants trilogy was complete as it stood.  No sequel was either needed
>> or desirable.
> 
> Actually, _Inherit the Stars_ was also complete as it stood, and _The
> Gentle Giants of Ganymede_ almost so.  Each of the two later books in
> the "trilogy" spent the first chapter or so creating puzzles where
> there had been none before, and then spent the rest of the book
> solving them.
> 
> I haven't read the fourth book yet (and I'm not sure that I will), but
> it is entirely conceivable to me that if someone started reading Hogan
> right now, without any knowledge of the history of publication, they
> might see the fourth book as no more unnatural than the second or
> third.
> --
> Matthew Austern                   Just keep yelling until you attract a
> (510) 644-2618                    crowd, then a constituency, a movement, a
> austern@lbl.bitnet                faction, an army!  If you don't have any
> matt@physics.berkeley.edu         solutions, become a part of the problem!


When I first disvcovered the books, I picked up Gentle Giants, not knowing
it was second in a series.  There was no problem reading it by
itself sl..although it did refer to the other book.  I then read
Inherit the Stars and later when it came out a few years later
the GIant's Satar.  I don't think GIant's Star would easiyly be 
read without the other 2 first.  We'll have to see about the 4th...

Tanya Olsen
From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Upcoming in June
Date: 13 Sep 92 21:17:58 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@pmax1.cis.pitt.edu

In article <BuJ6ou.4oF.1@cs.cmu.edu> tmohler+@cs.cmu.edu (Tim Mohler) writes:
>Sea wasp, can you quote or state any SPECIFIC parts of ANY of the
>Darover books you consider radical feminist? We can discuss that at least.

	Well, I'll have to go back and re-read them now. It's been
many years since I read them. After I re-read them (if you're still
interested) I'll find the instances that bothered me.

>Rmember, folks, in the real world, us men DO have some things to apologize
>for (and if you can't see them on your own accord, I don't think I can
>point them out.)

	"US MEN"???

	I am not some member of some faceless group. I am myself. I did
not hold slaves or oppress women, and I have nothing whatsoever to apologize
for either to any racial group or to the opposite sex, despite any 
claims to the contrary.

	Please don't fall into this silly trap of holding the children
guilty of the sins of their forebears. What has happened to women
in the past has no connection to me. I can only be held responsible
for whatever actions *I* take with respect to the women that *I* 
encounter in the course of my life.

	Sorry to get so vehement, but I really get annoyed by this
attitude that I can somehow be held responsible for something that
(in many cases)es) happened before I was even born.


					Sea Wasp
					  /^\
					  ;;;


Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: alix@iastate.edu (Leigh Ann)
Subject: Glen Cook's next Black Company Book
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 02:05:14 GMT

I'm new to the nets, so I'm not sure if this has been discussed before....

I've been waiting for Glen Cook's new book (I think it's supposed to be called
"Glittering Stone" or something like that) to come out for a couple of years
now.  Does anyone out there know when it's supposed to be out?

Thanks!

-Leigh Ann Melloy
alix@iastate.edu

Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: robertm@alumni.cs.colorado.edu (MONTGOMERY ROBERT PH)
Subject: Hubbard stories ?
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 03:03:08 GMT

Would someone please provide pointers to the following,
supposedly by L. Ron Hubbard, e.g., a book the story may
be found in.

1. "Eye of Argon"

2. "Eulogy for Lisa"

Thanks,

Rob
From: goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Gold
Date: 13 Sep 1992 03:58:36 GMT
Organization: The Sinister Icy Black Hand of Death Club
Reply-To: goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb)
NNTP-Posting-Host: lightning.berkeley.edu
Originator: goldfarb@lightning.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Sep9.191540.24145@walter.bellcore.com> mdl@phelixsalt (Michael Lynch) writes:
)What's a fen?

	The plural of "man" is "men".

	The plural of "fan" is "fen".

-- 
   David Goldfarb          | "I am the mad blind energy of the universe,
goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu  | I vacuum under the beds!"
goldfarb@UCBOCF.BITNET     |            -- Kim Stanley Robinson
From: ajmiller@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Arkayn)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Piers Anthony
Date: 15 Sep 92 05:25:57 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Purdue University

One thing that no one seems to have pointed out here is that people like
Mr. Anthony and other fast writers, and thus buy books. This gives bookstores
and publishing houses the money required to try new authors. Admittedly, many
will try and stick with tried and true, but I feel that anything that fights
the encroaching TV culture with reading (which is almost ALWAYS more thoughtful)
is AUTOMATICALLY good.
-- 
"How dare they demand merit in return for a raise?!!" Modern Educators Magazine
"What? Lie? Me? The truth is FAR too much fun!" -- James Hook
Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
Andy Miller   ajmiller@sage.cc.purdue.edu	ajmiller@ecn.purdue.edu
From: dpn2@po.CWRU.Edu (Damien P. Neil)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: What is good writing? (was Re: Piers Anthony)
Date: 14 Sep 1992 23:52:24 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: dpn2@po.CWRU.Edu (Damien P. Neil)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, curtis@cs.berkeley.edu (Curtis Yarvin) says:

>If we're to get anywhere in this argument, we'd best have a definition of
>"good" and "bad" writing.
>
>I'll offer four:
>
>(1) Good writing is writing with good characters, plot, prose, etc.
>This is a wonderful show definition but, being vague, it doesn't
>much lend itself to argument.
>
>(2) Good writing is writing that a lot of people like.  A
>utilitarian definition, but lacking that "je ne sais quoi" that
>brings true verve to a USENET debate.
>
>(3) Good writing is writing that I like.  Now there's a definition.
>It's both objectively applicable and prejudiced as all hell - the
>Tabasco sauce of spirited conversation.  But some, I fear, may
>find it unpalatable.
>
>(4) Good writing is writing that's read by intelligent, tasteful,
>literate folks like me; bad writing is writing that's read by
>swinish, callow, dimwit geeks like you.  While it may strike the
>cultured mind as uncharitable, this, I suspect, is the definition
>most people use.
>
>So what's it to be?  The woolly academicism of (1)?  The
>mammonistic libertarianism of (2)?  The sheer egotism of (3)?  Or
>the gratuitous bigotry of (4)?  Let's set some standards around
>here.  We must all hang together, or fersure we all goin to be
>hangin separate-like.

This is a good question. Both those of us who like Anthony and
those who don't should work on answering it. (I renamed this thread to let
anyone who has already put the Anthony thread in their killfile jump in.)

I don't have any solid definition of 'good writing' myself, but here are a
few things that I think should be in any such definition:

      * The plot should be consistent.
      * The characters should make sense. Not necessarily great 
        characterization...IMHO Tolkien was not the greatest at developing
        his characters. However, his characters were believable, which can
        be enough if there other good things in the book.
      * The setting should make sense. Same comments about characters go
        here. (Except that Tolkien has an excellent setting.)
      * ORIGINALITY!!!!! No cloning other authors... Look what the AD&D
        books have done to Tolkien. (My roommate, Matt, insists that some
        of these books are original and will kill me if I don't say so.)

That's all I can think of right now... Also, none of these are absolutes.
That's what makes a definition so hard... A book can have no plot, shallow
characters, and an illogical setting and still be good.
-- 
+-------------+------------------+---------------------------------+
| Damien Neil | dpn2@po.cwru.edu | Case Western Reserve University |
+-------------+------------------+---------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: clc@kepler.unh.edu (Christian L Claiborn)
Subject: Re: Ya can't keep 'em down!
Keywords: Heinlein, Conspiracies, JFK, Armenians, Atlantis
Organization: University of New Hampshire  -  Durham, NH
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 18:05:14 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.165136.17289@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov> puckett@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (Jim Puckett) writes:
>Would that be 'Delilah and the Space-Rigger?'
>
>Wait a minute - that can't be it, as the resolution to _that_ story was
>to co-ed the space construction workers...

_Let There Be Light,_ I think.  I was home this weekend and picked it up.
Lots of men dragging women around by their hair and squirmy fuzzy girls who
just wanna settle down, get married and do Heinleinesque things.

					clc
-- 
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Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written