HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kasprj@jacob.its.rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Dreamer Fithp
Date: 13 Sep 92 18:50:31 GMT
Reply-To: kasprj@rpi.edu
Organization: The Big Wedge

In article <1992Sep9.003859.24015@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu>, dave@cs.arizona.edu (Dave Schaumann) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep7.202236.29238@u.washington.edu>, daynem@byron (Dayne Miller) writes:
|> >Niven and Pournelle, in FOOTFALL, mention a Threat Team (the "Dreamer Fithp")
|> >that's composed of several writers of SF that advise the federal gov't. in 
|> >times of unusual crisis. I believe Niven makes reference to a similar group 
|> >in one of his short stories (maybe in the LIMITS collection??).
|> >
|> >Is there any evidence to suggest that such an organization may exist, either
|> >actively or in a contingency-based set-up?
|> 
|> IMHO, this was one of the lamest parts of FOOTFALL, because it's basically
|> self-indulgant aggrandizement to suppose that the only ones that can deal
|> with the alien-invaders scenario are SF writers.
 
 I agree with this. I'm a long-time fan of Niven's, but this was the one 
part of _Footfall_ that made me do a double-take and say "Whaaat!?"
 
 Think about it. When there's an unsolved murder in New York City, does the
NYPD call a conference of mystery writers? Did the CIA consult the spy 
novelists for advice on how to help cold-war defectors to escape? Did George
Bush call Tom Clancy for advice on the Panama and Kuwait campaigns? 
 
 Writers may have to learn a good deal about their subjects in order to write
believable stories, but in the long run, that's what they do: write stories. 
I wouldn't want to trust someone with the security of the United States of 
America, or of the human race in general, just because they could write a 
good story. Many science fiction writers are reputable scientists, and a few
have experience in national government and security matters as well. But I
don't think any of the authors named in _Footfall_ or the posts made here
would be the right people to consult about defending the country or the planet
from an extraterrestrial threat.
------------------------------------------------------------------
     __  Live from Capitaland, heart of the Empire State...
 ___/  | Jim Kasprzak, computer operator @ RPI, Troy, NY, USA
/____ *| Pro-Environment. Pro-Education. Pro-Family. Pro-Choice. 
     \_| Pro-Change. Pro-America. Pro-Clinton.
      ====  e-mail: kasprj@rpi.edu or kasprzak@mts.rpi.edu
From: mforget@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Michel Forget)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Trilogies and Consistancy
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 92 02:11:39 MDT
Organization: Edmonton Remote Systems #1, Edmonton, AB, Canada

ca572@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mark L. Stackpole) writes:

-
-       It's a _good_ thing that these writers are evolving
- and not repeating their act over and over. Especially in
- comparison with the authors who do maintain a consistent tone
- in their series: Piers Anthony, Stephen Donaldson, David
- Eddings...   (*choke*)
-
- Mark L Stackpole      pacnet@rocky.claremont.edu

Normally I would not be the one to poke holes in an argument, but I have to
object to Stephen R. Donaldson being in your list of authors who are glued to
one theme.  In what way has he repeated himself?  The Gap series is completely
different from the Mordant's Need series, which in turn is completely different
from the Covenant set (six books).

Not only are these books different in set and plot, but they are unique when
compared to other books in the same genre.  The only thing I can see that is
simillar across all of the books is that he deals a lot with the motivations of
the human mind.

I have never read anything by Piers Anthony, so I can not comment on that.  As
for Eddings, even though I like his books, I have to agree that he stays with
the same plot a great deal, although his new book called The Losers might be
different.

<<  ------------------------------------------  >>
<<        mforget@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca          >>
<<  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  >>
<<               Michel Forget                  >>
<<   The Key:  Spirit over mind over matter.    >>
<<  ------------------------------------------  >>
From: HISC9016351D@LUST2.LATROBE.EDU.AU (MAMMONE,Robert)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Heroes of Zara Keep
Date: 7 Sep 92 09:29:22 GMT
Organization: La Trobe University
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.22

HELP! HELP! HELP!  I need to know the name of the author of a novel 
titled The Heroes of Zara Keep.  I think the author's name is Guy
gregory, or Gregory Guy.  Also, has the author of this novel written
anything else, and is the author really someone else, like Guy Gavriel Kay?
Thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.science,sci.bio
From: il@bambam.u.washington.edu (Il Hwan Oh)
Subject: Re: S.R. Donaldson
Reply-To: iho@cac.washington.edu
Organization: University of Washington, Tacoma
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 02:59:23 GMT

julie@MICA.GEOLOGY.UTORONTO.CA (Julie King) writes:
> I purchased Donaldson's new book with much joy, anticipating the wonderful
> 
> more wonderful writing in the style of the Covanent series.  I thought
> it was *horrible* and was extremely dissapointed!  Violence, horror, more
> violence, and sex.  I really don't see this as a villian turned victum but
> rather a study of deranged human lust and abuse.  Any comments?

I, too, had a negative reaction to the first Gap book (though I was not
disapponted).  I was forced to look back on his earlier writings and
evaluate his style.  I realized that his stories always had two very
distinctive things in common.

1) The villains absolutely dripped evil.  The evilness just plain seeped
out their pores.  Just reading about it made me feel dirty.  I think this
is a singular talent of his that comes effortlessly.

2) They always forced me to reexamine my beliefs in good and evil.  They
always challenged any traditional assumptions on the concept I had.

After I thought about it, I decided those qualities were present in
"The Real Story".  With that in mind, I reread the book and even enjoyed
it.

After reading the second book, I don't see how anybody could stop at that
point.  Really, I could kill Donaldson for giving us such a cliffhanger
ending to a book.

-- 
Il Hwan Oh                              | What is "Martinizing",
Computer Facilities Manager             |  and why does it
University of Washington, Tacoma        |   take one hour?
iho@cac.washington.edu                  |
From: weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Good writing (was Re: Piers Anthony)
Date: 15 Sep 92 14:56:07 GMT
Reply-To: weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Organization: The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
In-reply-to: markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder)

In article <1992Sep14.224831.12090@spss.com>, markrose@spss (Mark Rosenfelder) writes:
>>How about:  "Good writing (in fiction) is writing which communicates 
>>effectively, entertains, and does not insult the reader's intelligence."

>As for insulting the reader's intelligence, I think you could make a
>case that Milton, Shaw, Lawrence, Heinlein, and Van Vogt look down on
>their average readers, more or less to the point of insult; [...]

Insulting your readers is not the same as insulting their intelligence.
-- 
-Matthew P Wiener (weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: parmentier@iowasp.physics.uiowa.edu
Subject: PC Hodgell update
Organization: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 19:54:04 GMT


	P.C. Hodgell still does not have a publisher for the third book
in her series.  DAW has had the book, trying to decide whether to print
it, for almost a year.  Anyone who wants to see Jame in print again might
want to write to DAW and ask them to print the book.  As soon as I get
the address I'll be sending of a note.

-- 
"I'm not a programmer, but I play one at work." _/_
 _, .__  _  _,  _,     _   _, .__  ____  _  __  / o _ .__
(_)_/ (_(/_(_)_(_)_   |_)_(_|_/ (_/ / /_(/_/ /_/_/_(/_/ (__
 /|         /|  /|   /|      ___ Gregg  Parmentier ___
|/         |/  |/    |/ parmentier@iowasp.physics.uiowa.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: jlredd@bach.udel.edu (Joshua Smith)
Subject: Re: Melanie Rawn:  Next book?
Summary:  Rawn v. Eddings
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 04:57:50 GMT


Yeah, I just read the 5 books that are out now.  I read them in about 3
weeks total.  Talk about getting carried along in a story.  So far I've
really like what I've read.  Although the DragonPrince was very good, I
think that I even like the 4 and 5th books better.  It is very unusual
that authors go into such detail about characters, and I find it VERY
refreshing.  I guess that I've gotten so used to Edding's relatively
shalow characters (ouch, the flames), that Rawn's depth is very
captivating.  
-- 
"What I need is the company of a charming         | BrightLightBrightLight
 intelligent woman."--Reg Barclay, The Nth Degree | jlredd@ravel.udel.edu
=========================================================================
*I am the Mogster* "But why do they call me Mogwai??" Kappa Delta Rho #1
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: wtangel@well.sf.ca.us (William Thomas Angel)
Subject: Michael Bishop: A Recommendation
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 15:21:40 GMT

There is a Science Fiction writer who has yet to be mentioned in the
postings, and that is Michael Bishop.  I read a story of his in "Full
Spectrum 3" edited by Aronica,Stout, and Mitchell, and published in
1991 by Doubleday.  The story was called "Apartheid, Superstrings, and
Mordecai Thubana", and to me was unusual because of the disparate
elements that the author tried to interweave within one story.  As the
title suggests, the story takes place in South Africa, and contains a
graphic description of the operations of a brutal racist police force. 
The unusual feature to this story is that one of the protagonists
(Thubana) is a black day laborer who is also a student of Superstring
Theory and whose dream is to develop a mathematical TOE (theory of
everything).  There is a white protagonist also, who is transformed at
the beginning of the story into "dark matter" or "shadow matter" by an
auto accident .  The author uses this transformation to explore the
unique position that this white man has now been placed,in terms of the
principles of physics and also in terms of the laws of Apartheid.  This
particular story was nominated for a 1989 World Fantasy Award for best
novella.  
-- Bill Angel
From: lnh@soliton.physics.arizona.edu (sometimes a Wombat)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson
Date: 11 Sep 92 15:57:43 GMT
Organization: Society for the Appreciation of Janni Lee Simner

clc@kepler.unh.edu (Christian L Claiborn) writes:
>
>The only 'cyberpunk' writer with a grain of originality in him, at least in my
>experience, is Bruce Sterling.

Him and, a little less of it, Pat Cadigan.

Sometimes Greg Bear is accounted cyberpunk (tho' why I can't figure out
for the life of me), and he certainly has a grain of originality.

	Larry "Maybe even a caret" Hammer
--

LNH@physics.arizona.edu          \  "People ought to fight for their law as
The insane don't need disclaimers \  for a wall."  -- Heraclitus, #100
From: swf@teradata.com (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Dreamer Fithp
Keywords: scientists, SF writers
Date: 10 Sep 92 00:37:20 GMT
Reply-To: swf@tdat.teradata.com (Stanley Friesen)
Distribution: usa
Organization: NCR Teradata Database Business Unit

In article <1992Sep8.173403.23735@newshost.unh.edu> clc@kepler.unh.edu (Christian L Claiborn) writes:
|
|You know, I happen to remember reading something in N-Space by Niven about
|a group advising NASA on space-travel plans for the future that included
|Larry, Asimov, and I think Del Rey?  Could this be what he's alluding to?

Yes, I believe so.  Pournell and Niven have made reference to this little
advisory group several times in speeches to fan groups.

As near as I can make out, since it meets here in L.A., it must be composed
almost entirely of southern California authors.

They were, according to Pournell anyway, a major factor in starting a
certain low key space project the government is funding (*not* through
NASA either).  [And last I heard it was still active].
-- 
sarima@teradata.com			(formerly tdatirv!sarima)
  or
Stanley.Friesen@ElSegundoCA.ncr.com
From: Fritz.Niespodziany@p4.f41.n2403.z2.fidonet.org (Fritz Niespodziany)
Sender: postmaster@p2.f41.n2403.z2.fidonet.org
From: troly@redwood.math.ucla.edu (Bret Jolly)
Subject: Re: Good writing (was Re: Piers Anthony)
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 02:16:29 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.224831.12090@spss.com> markrose@spss.com 
(Mark Rosenfelder) writes:
>Authors may also want to edify, to outrage, to disturb, to puzzle, to 
>challenge, to indulge themselves, to create pity and terror.  Is your
>main reaction to Joyce or Kafka or Ellison that you feel "entertained"?
                                    ^^^^^^^

   What the hell is Ellison doing in this list?  Are you yanking us?
Or have you never read Joyce or Kafka?

    It was not for nothing that I included Ellison in my infamous list
of the worst saifai writers.  As I said there, "if you are of sound
mind you will inevitably notice while reading the stories that they
make no sense, and that the "intense emotion" is a slick and shallow
Hollywood sensibility."
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: wayne@sw.stratus.com (Wayne Newberry)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Who was Philip K. Dick ???
Date: 14 Sep 92 21:59:09 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

One piece of trivia.....I think that Dick got some early notice for trashing
A.E. vanVogt's work.  He became much more "noticed" after he tore the man's
work to shreds.  I think his theme was that vanVogt's stuff was scientifically
impossible, and therefore not worth reading.

Wayne
From: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Piers Anthony
Date: 14 Sep 92 21:10:08 GMT
Reply-To: djdaneh@PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes)
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA

In article <1992Sep14.183654.23641@newshost.unh.edu> clc@kepler.unh.edu (Christian L Claiborn) writes:

>Instead of asking us to censor ourselves, it is your duty instead to ignore us.

This has got to be one of the best things anyone ever said.


		The Pavlov dog and the Schroedinger cat
		Side by side in my forebrain sat
		With Shakespeare's monkeys crowding in behind. . .
		. . . it's all in your mind.
			-- Visual Purple

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, Net.Roach
My opinions do NOT represent Pacific Bell,
Professional Development, or anyone else.
But I'm willing to share.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Glen Cook's next Black Company Book
From: <CMH114@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 17:16:58 EDT
Organization: Penn State University

Speaking of Glen Cook, his bios still claim that he works in a auto plant in
Cleveland. Is this still accurate? Might explain why he suddenly dried up like
that after that late 80's torrent of stuff.(Laid off for a while?)

Just curious.


Mitch                    Quest Labs: Making The World a Better Place
Quest Laboratories                          to
Terraforming Division                    Dominate
State College, Pa
cmh114@psuvm.psu.edu
From: leue@crd.ge.com (Bill Leue)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Postmodern SF
Date: 8 Sep 92 13:48:27 GMT
Reply-To: leue@crd.ge.com
Organization: General Electric Research & Development

>Speaking of Barry Malzberg, I recommend his critical history of Science Fiction,
>"The Armies of the Night".  It presents the most jaundiced possible view
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>of SF, and is an interesting contrast to Aldiss, the Panshins, and other
>critics in the field.  And, as other posters have mentioned, his writing is
>impeccable.


ARRGGHHH! I meant to write "The Engines of the Night", which is the correct
title.  I know I'll get 10,000 mail messages informing me of the error. :-)

-Bill Leue
leue@crd.ge.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: dstein@rhea.math.ucla.edu (David Stein)
Subject: Re: HUGO Awards?
Reply-To: dstein@rhea.math.ucla.edu (David Stein)
Organization: UCLA, Mathematics Department
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 04:28:59 GMT

In article <18j62kINNkkj@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>,
ca572@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mark L. Stackpole) writes:
|> 
|> Hugo Winners - 1992
|> 
|> NOVEL - Bujold - _Barrayar_ (Baen)
|> NOVELLA - Kress - "Beggars in Spain"
|> NOVELLET - Asimov - "Gold"
|> SHORT STORY - Landis - "A Walk in the Sun"
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

     Grrrrr....  I expected this, but it's still a pain to see
   the story win.  Yeah, it's like a nail on the coffin of my
   faith in the Hugo awards.  Seriously, I think that with the
   exception of a few superb (though usualy traditional) works
   like this year's "Beggars in Spain", too often a win indicates 
   mediocrity these days.  The Nebula awards seems to me only a 
   bit better, though significantly so in the short story category.
 
|> JWC award - Ted Chang (?)

   Oh no.  I read 3 stories by him so far, and they ranged from
   fair to ridiculous.  His "Tower of Babylon"(?) was a competently
   written yarn of null substance, his "Division by Zero" went
   nowhere (a mathematician proves arithmetic inconsistent and
   goes into a depression), and "Understand" topped it all by 
   inducing me into bursts of uncontrollable laughter with some
   of the worst passages I have yet seen in Science Fiction.
   Chang seems to think he comprehends abstract math concepts,
   but "Understand" abounds with hilarious examples of utter
   nonsense wherever a math term appears.  Each story is based
   on a sophomoric premise, and none transcends it.

   Now how about the P.K. Dick award?  Rucker, its first winner,
   might be a terrible writter at times, but there are undeniable
   pluses as well.  Anyone has the list of other winners?  Isn't
   Effinger on it?  He sure impresses *me* from time to time.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not a native speaker of English, so I'm not sure what I wrote.
Flames will be ignored unless you post them in perfect Czech.
================================ - David (the metamathician) - ===
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: David Gemmel
From: cwes1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (Clare West)
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 09:59:35 GMT
Organization: Dept of CompSci, U of Auckland

ecmtwhk@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Thomas Koenig) writes:
>cwes1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (Clare West) writes:
>
>[about David Gemmel]
>
>>I guess he doesn't have a very high profile in America or else readers
>>of this group think him beneath them.
>
>Probably the "Iain Banks" syndrome - unless somebody actually brings out
>the books in the US, hardly anybody on the net is going to take notice...

I didn't know that. (That Gemmell isn't published in the US). He ought
to do something about that. I mean to say they publish Eddings in the
UK et al :-) they could at least publish Gemmell in the US. (I don't
wish to make any sort of comparison between these two authors)

clare

-- 
Oh, why didn't I listen when they said "Never do a   |  cwes1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz 
 masters and try to have a life at the same time"?   |  clare west
                 BigSis to Chris, Eric and Kristiina
                    Official Welcomer of the RFA
From: mcb@resnais.postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Bland Prejudice
Keywords: WOTF, Scientology
Date: 10 Sep 92 00:27:05 GMT
Organization: Postmodern Consulting, San Francisco, California USA

In the referenced article, ddb@tdkt.kksys.com (David Dyer-Bennet) writes:
>  CY> Come on, now, be reasonable.  "Share space?"  Okay, Bridge
>  CY> Publications are scum.  But are they that much worse than
>  CY> your average publishing company?
> 
> As a publisher, don't know.  I only know people with stories in their
> WOTF anthologies, which appear to be handled at professional
> standards.  However, if they make a profit off of you that money is
> being funneled into the scientology organization.  I think it's
> perfectly reasonable to say "no".  

My understanding of the economics of WOTF is that sales revenues from
WOTF books go toward the support of the WOTF contest, awards,
publicity, etc.  This is what WOTF, Bridge, and Author Services, Inc. staff
will tell you, and I have not seen any reason to believe otherwise. 
I do not know if the same is true of the sale of other Bridge SF books, 
specifically the reprints of L. Ron Hubbard works. 

It is conceivable that Scientology money is flowing the other way,
*into* WOTF, in order to promote WOTF/Bridge/ASI in the SF/publishing
community as a "legitimate" entity.  However, I have been told
personally on several occasions by Algis Budrys, who until this year
was the director/editor/majordomo of WOTF, that WOTF and the Church of
Scientology are completely separate both financially and editorially.
Mr. Budrys is not a Scientologist, and is a man of unimpeachable
personal integrity, and I believe him.

Undeniably there are informal connections with Scientology that result
in economies for WOTF and hence for Bridge's WOTF books, along the
lines of "sharing space", and the fact that a number of Bridge/ASI
staff may be Church members and thus may work as part of an internship
or something.  But the idea that WOTF writers are somehow made a profit
off of for Scientology does not seem likely.

--
Michael C. Berch  
(Writers of the Future, Vol. 7, 1991)
mcb@postmodern.com
From: markf@atlastele.com (Mark Ferris)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: List of all (not just 1992) Hugo winners
Date: 11 Sep 92 22:47:11 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Atlas Telecom Inc.
Disclaimer: Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of my employer.

[ Gee is that line eater still hungry out there somewhere?]

Is there an ftp site somewhere that has or could somebody mail me a
list of all Hugo award winners (from inception of award to present).

Thanks, and I'll summarize results if the net would so like.

-- 
Mark Ferris                         EMAIL: markf@atlastele.com
Atlas Telecom                       VOICE: [USA] 1+503.228.1400 x242
4640 SW Macadam Ave.                FAX1:  [USA] 1+503.225.5518
Portland, OR 97201                  FAX2:  [USA] 1+503.228.0368
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: nick@bustard.inmos.co.uk (Nick Haydock)
Subject: Want Titles and Author
Reply-To: nick@inmos.co.uk ()
Organization: INMOS Limited, Bristol, UK.
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 11:39:27 GMT


	Hi
	    I was wondering if anyone could help me identify
	some books I read as a child. They where a sequence
	of novels about visits to the moon, and then the planets,
	I think that by the end most of the solar system had been 
	visited, the main characters where, I think, five brothers
	who were the astronauts. In the later books the method of 
	communication to earth was via twin girls, both in some sort 
	of supended animation, one on earth and on on the spaceship.
	These books were all for children ( I was 7..9 ) and where
	available in the library in 1966 .. 68.

	    Can anyone identify the series and the author.


					Nick


" Now look, I speak 34 languages fluently, 
  gibberish isn't one of them.             " - D.Mouse