HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Joel.Rosenberg@f341.n282.z1.tdkt.kksys.com (Joel Rosenberg)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Stephen Brust's Best
Date: 11 Nov 92 06:10:12 GMT

In a message to All <09 Nov 92 00:50> Ian Sutherland writes in and says:


 IS> In article <1992Oct31.171309.12717@mailer.cc.fsu.edu>
 IS> lalford@fsu1.cc.fsu.edu writes:
 >>And as some have mentioned, you should try reading some of the Vlad Taltos
 >>books.  I think these books represent his best writing, so don't decide
 >>from one book that you don't like the author.

 IS> I'd be interested to hear how many people feel that the Vlad Taltos
 IS> books represent Brust's best.  I'd say that "To Reign in Hell" is his
 IS> best by quite a long shot.

It's an opinion I strongly share -- I think it's head and shoulders above 
the rest of his stuff -- but we are very much in the minority.

 * Origin: Timing is Everything (1:282/341.0)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: arthurc@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu (Arthur Chandler)
Subject: Re: Tim Powers, Deity extroidinaire
Organization: California State University, Sacramento
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 04:12:53 GMT

  I agree with all the comments about Powers. he is a *novelist*, and
writes in the kind of league that "serious" fiction writers belong to.
This may sound condescending; but one of the main features of serious
works is that characters develop from the inside out.  That is, they go
through their experiences, and their tribulations start to reshape parts
of their character -- *experentia docet,* as they used to say.  Most
science fiction and fantasy writers just move their protagonists through
a series of episodes.  They learn nothing, or else they have a series of
transformations forced upon them by the author.
  Powers is very good at getting full use out of his secondary
characters.  They're rounded out, contribute to the plot, and yet have a
life of their own. I have to say that Greg Bear's *Infinity Concerto*
drove me nuts on this score -- as did Zelazny's first Amber novel.
Characters are brought in just to fill a plot role, then dropped.
Cardboard cut-out writing -- just the sort of sloppiness that afflicts
sf&f writers who are too gung-ho to keep the plot moving, and not mature
enough to round out their cast of characters.
From: branwen@cerebus.ccc.amdahl.com (Karen Williams)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: PULP MAG AUCTION: Ellison Fan Letter (1952!)
Date: 16 Nov 92 19:46:08 GMT
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

In article <1992Nov13.200617.1@uwovax.uwo.ca> 4224_5201@uwovax.uwo.ca (Dark Lord of the Sith) writes:

>    I have a June 1952 Thrilling Wonder Stories up for auction. It features a
>FAN LETTER from HARLAN ELLISON, who must have been 17 or 18 at the time, years
>before becoming a legend in books/tv/comics/radio/magazines etc...

There's a new collection of pulp mystery stories out, called MURDER PLUS,
that has an early pulp Harlan Ellison mystery story in it. And the latest
"Dark Horse Presents" comic book has a story in it wherein the character
Concrete visits Ellison Wonderland.

--
                                          Karen Williams
                                          branwen@cerebus.ras.amdahl.com
"Don't whine. Warrior women speak in a husky whisper."
  -- Brat Pack #3
From: C511199@mizzou1.missouri.edu (Pat Flynn)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: release date for _Javan's_Year_
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 13:31:39 CST
Organization: Campus Crusade for Tir na nOg
NNTP-Posting-Host: mizzou1.missouri.edu

Does anyone know the release date for Katherine Kurtz's new book
_Javan's_Year_ ?  I had heard that it was supposed to be out
sometime in November, but the bookstores here have no clue?
Anybody know for sure???
Please e-mail any responses to me.
 
Thanx
Pat
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
|Pat Flynn                   | "Never underestimate the power of        |
|C511199@MIZZOU1.MISSOURI.EDU|  human stupidity"                        |
|                            |   --Lazarus Long                         |
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: abcc@DIALix.oz.au (Adrian Booth Computing Consultants)
Subject: Re: Who Was "The Fisher King"?
Organization: DIALix Services, Perth, Western Australia
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 02:40:22 GMT

In <burt.721507989@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca> burt@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca (Burt Voorhees) writes:

>> The man struck down and whose wounds caused the Wasted Land. He was
>>healed by the Holy Grail.

>There are a variety of versions of this story.  It is bound up in the
>story of Parserval and the Grail, however.  Seems that when P started
>his wanderings he came to the Grail castle,. was treated to a banquet,
>etc. and the Fisher King was the ruler of the castle.  He was carried
>in with a wound in his thigh which would not heal, and because of this
>the land was dying.  Parsival was suppose to "ask the right question",
>which would result in the Fisher King's cure.  Being young and innocent
>and particularly unaware, however, he muffed it and had to spend years
>wandering in the wilderness before finding his way back to the Grail
>castle and setting things right.

The concept of the "Fisher King" goes back to the days when the state of the
King's health (specifically, his virility) was believed to be reflected in the
health (productivity) of his kingdom.

The original texts refer to the Fisher King being wounded "between the thighs",
i.e. infertile. This infertility was reflected by his kingdom, which is why
it became the "Wasted Land".

Percival wasn't too young and innocent to ask the right question. When the
Holy Grail appeared, he was too overcome with awe and religious devotion 
to do anything but worship it. Had he asked the right question, the King
would have been healed, and answers would have been revealed to the religious 
questions we still ask today <according to some interpretations>.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 | Adrian Booth					|	                  |
 | Adrian Booth Computing Consultants		|	Ph: (09) 354 4936 |
 | 7 Glenrowan Pl., Willetton WA 6155		|	abcc@DIALix.oz.au |
 | AUSTRALIA                                    |                         |
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
for a in past present future; do
	for b in clients employers associates relatives neighbours pets; do
echo The opinions in this article in no way reflect the opinions of my $a $b.
done;done
Xref: sparky rec.arts.sf.written:15111 alt.cyberpunk:6017
From: curtis@cs.berkeley.edu (Curtis Yarvin)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: Diamond-hard SF
Date: 21 Nov 1992 22:56:18 GMT
Organization: CS Dept. Snakepit - Do Not Feed.
NNTP-Posting-Host: cobra.cs.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Nov21.200108.223@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca> apace@mta.ca writes:
|
|>Maybe Gibsonism _is_ useful.  For something besides wrapping fish.
|>But do I give the proverbial fuck?  I do not.  All I care is what
|>kind of fiction it makes.  And if it don't measure up, bag it.
|>
|All I can say is that if entertainment is all you are capable of getting out 
|of fiction, then I feel sorry for you.

Our pity, sir, is mutual.

c
Organization: Center for Machine Translation, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 14:40:56 -0500 
From: John Robert Leavitt <jl3j+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Author Poll Correction

It has been pointed out to me (by my predecessor Tom Hyer) that In Alien Flesh
is by Gregory Benford and NOT George Martin, despite what somebody's vote
indicated.  The correct poll results are shown below.  I will endeavor to be
more careful in the future.

-John.

George R. R. Martin
-------------------
 The Armageddon Rag                +  11
 Sandkings                         +   7
 Fevre Dream                       +   6
 Tuf Voyaging                      +   6
 Stone City                        +   3
 Song for Lya                      +   2
 Unsound Variations                +   1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 Patrick Henry, Jupiter, and the   -   1
   Little Red Brick Spaceship
 Dead Man's Hand (Wild Cards #7)   -   1
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: mike@highlite.uucp (Mike Wiik)
Subject: Re: The best sf story ever
Organization: Gotham Communications Research
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 02:29:17 GMT

weverett@jarthur.claremont.edu (William M. Everett) writes:

>In article <1992Nov17.044919.5345@leland.Stanford.EDU> mirage@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dean Joseph Sanvitale) writes:
>>The best sf story ever written, or at least one of the best, in my opinion
>>was PRESS ENTER which appeasr in Wolfheim's 1984 anthology.

>	If you want to read a story that is chilling, insightful, and well
>explained, read 'Blood Music' by Greg Bear. I read that story in a collection,
>put down the book, and wouldn't read another story from the collection for
>a couple of days.

Imho, read the novel version of *Blood Music*. It's one of my favorite
books. You'll dream your very bones are crystalizing overnight...

	-Mike

-- 
   | o==== . : ... :  :  .     |Mail Me Neat Stuff->POB 3703 Arlington VA 22203
 --@-- . o o o ... O -O- o o : |No disclaimers needed: I actually pay for this.
   |           ... :  :        |-----------------------------------------------
mEssAGE fRoM sPAcE ARt stUdiOs |History:ReadItAndRollUncontrollablyWithLaughter
From: goldberg@NYMC.EDU (RANDY_GOLDBERG)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Bradley & Asprin
Date: 19 Nov 92 01:13:35 GMT


 I have enjoyed most of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books - including
 most of the fan fiction.  I should point out that quite a bit of the "fan"
 fiction in the Friends of Darkover books was written by either other
 big-name authors (Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Diana Paxson), or persons who
 have gone on to BECOME recognizable names (Mercedes Lackey).

 As to Asprin's Phule books, another one is planned, but I don't know the
 title or even a projected release date.

 **************************************************************************
 * Randy Goldberg         *  The Road goes ever On and On...              *
 *                        *                        - J.R.R. Tolkien       *
 * GOLDBERG@NYMC.EDU      *  All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to      *
 *                        *      steer her by...   - James T. Kirk        *
 * Compuserve: 76550,1541 *                                               *
 **************************************************************************

Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: jasonr@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Jason F Ralph)
Subject: Re: Julian May: Anthology? Sets?
Organization: University of Sussex
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 09:39:33 GMT

rr@chem.ucsd.edu (Roxanne Rohmann) writes:
: 
: I'm slowly collecting all of her Galactic Milieu books in 
: hardback, too.  After writing to the publisher of one of her
: books, I was sent the following address from which *all* of
: her books can be purchased.  In fact, personal mail can be
: sent to her via this address; she apparently lives near there.
: 
: Starmont House
: P.O. Box 851
: Mercer Island, WA  98040
: USA
: 
: Not only are all of her Intervention and other related books
: available through them, there is also a limited release
: available of a book called "Brede's Tale", a miniature book
: that tells the origin of Brede.  And if you request, the
: books are sent to you with her autograph.

Does this mean that _Diamond Mask_ and the other one (the title of which
eludes me for the moment) are available!?!

: 
: I seem to have misplaced the price list, so you may need to
: write and ask for price lists first so that you know how much
: money to send them.
: 
:    ---Roxanne Rohmann
: 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: steyn@cs.rochester.edu (Gavin Steyn)
Subject: Comments on Baudino's _Dragon Sword_ *SPOILERS*
Organization: Computer Science Department University of Rochester
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 18:03:07 GMT


*SPOILERS AHOY*

I just finished reading Gael Baudino's _Dragon Sword_, and I'm just wondering
if anyone else was bothered by the same thing I am...

  It seems to me that, on the surface, the whole book is trying to say
that if people would just talk things out, they'd discover solutions.  (Yes,
that's a but balder than in the book, but it's close).
  
  However, if we look at the solution to almost every important conflict,
things don't work that way.  For example, peace is only made after the kings
of both sides have been killed off, as well as the wizards.  For that matter,
Mernyl, the only character on the Gryylthan side who wants peace, expends
his last bit of energy in a gratuitous explosion that kills a whole bunch
of the enemy army.  (I say gratuitous, because by that point they're 
ready top make peace anyway).

  At earlier points in this novel, the pattern crops up, too.  How do the
men learn to recognize that women are capable?  When the women help them
with guerilla warfare.  How does Braithwaite come to realize the error
of his ways?  By running after what he thinks is Helen, while shouting
his ire.  And so on...`

  Now, I don't want to get into a discussion of whether all problems can
be solved by talking or not--that's not my point.  I thjink, though,
that the novel pulls in two different directions, and I really doubt,
given the dedication, that this was Baudino's intent.

Comments?

Gavin Steyn
steyn@cs.rochester.edu
"So he's had the lifelong ambition of reversing the polarity of the earth?"
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Subject: Re: Darkover Series
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 20:21:16 GMT

rcr@babbage.u.washington.edu (Rhonda Corcoran):
>I just finished "City of Sorcery" and was wondering if there is a follow-up.

The Darkover series skips back and forth through time.  Further, Bradley
has a habit of ending a story on a positive note and only informing you
in a subsequent novel that things turned out badly.  You can consider
We learn in "The Bloody Sun" how things went for some of the characters in
"City of Sorcery."  In "The Heritage of Hastur"/"Sharra's Exile" we learn
that the optimistic ending of "The Bloody Sun" didn't work out so well
either."

>Also has anyone read some of the short stories by various Friends of Darkover?
>Can they be recommended?

It's fan fiction.  If you are a Darkover fan, and want all the Darkover
stories you can find, these will feed that hunger.  If you're looking
for more of Bradley at her best, don't bother with these, and also
don't bother with her own most recent efforts.  (Different people will
give you different opinions on *how* recent, but that is essentially
a theological debate.)

She's written some good non-Darkover material as well.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

   'T is with our judgements as our watches, none
   Go alike, yet each believes his own
		--Alexander Pope


Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: "gennis emerson" <gemerson@ugly.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: Info on book releases...
Summary: _King Javan's Year_ is out
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:32:21 -0500

In article <alix.721949730@pv7b89.vincent.iastate.edu> alix@iastate.edu (L.A. Melloy) writes:

>Basically, I'm asking y'all out there if anyone has any information about
>when a couple authors' new books would be coming out.

>2)  Kathryn Kurtz's newest _Heirs_of_St._Camber_ book.  It's been a while
>    since _Harrowing_of_Gwenydd_ came out.

I can't answer for the first, but _King Javan's Year_ is out in hardcover
now. It's sitting in my room waiting for Thanksgiving break, though I have
read the first 50 or so pages. I bought it last weekend at a local
bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana.

-- 
Gennis Emerson              "Even if we have done so, how many of us 
gemerson@cs.indiana.edu                  used our sister?"
                             -- "The Theory behind the Programs:
                                   A Theory of Context"
From: shong@gray.UUCP (SzeNam Hong)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re:  SF-LOVERS Digest   V17 #622
Date: 23 Nov 92 20:16:55 GMT

unsubscribe.

thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: cradov@math.umass.edu (Carlo Radovsky)
Subject: Re: Comments on Baudino's _Dragon Sword_ *SPOILERS*
Organization: Statistical Consulting Center, UMass @ Amherst
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 20:15:28 GMT

In article <1992Nov17.180307.8754@cs.rochester.edu>, steyn@cs.rochester.edu
(Gavin Steyn) writes:
|> 
|> *SPOILERS AHOY*
|> 
|> I just finished reading Gael Baudino's _Dragon Sword_, and I'm just wondering
|> if anyone else was bothered by the same thing I am...
|> 
|>   It seems to me that, on the surface, the whole book is trying to say
|> that if people would just talk things out, they'd discover solutions.  (Yes,
|> that's a but balder than in the book, but it's close).
|>   
|>   However, if we look at the solution to almost every important conflict,
|> things don't work that way.
|>     .
|>     .
|>     .
|> Comments?

	Sorry, no comments. Haven't read the book.  But that doesn't stop me from
having observations :> Wheather they're accurate or relevant. . .

	If the surface meaning is in a way contradicted by the play of events,
this may be exactly Baudino's point, not in the sense of pulling two ways and
never the twain shall meet, but that, even with the best intentions and
attention to detail, events rarely allow the best solution.

dani@netcom.com(Dani Zweig) remarks in article<1992Nov17.204537.3336@netcom.com>:
|> Baudino . . . attempts to deal with several red-button topics simultaneously.
|> My subjective reaction . . . was that they were getting in the way of the
|> story -- that characters were acting against internal or plot logic in order to
|> demonstrate the author's points.

	Again, it is a quesiton of tensions being divergent or unifying.


		Just a stray thought . . .

-- 
Carlo Biagio Radovsky
"If it looks like a duck and
quacks like a duck, it's a metaphor."  --  Saul S. Radovsky
From: YANJUNA@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Foundation and Nemesis
Date: 17 Nov 92 04:31:55 GMT
Organization: Yale University


  Asimov himself, in various interviews and editorials, said that _Nemesis_
was unrelated to the Robot/Empire/Foundation stories.  Unless I read that
Asimov, before dying, planned to incorporate _Nemesis_ into the series,
I'll take it to be independent.
 
 
************************************************************************
   "INSANITY IS A VIRTUALLY IMPREGNABLE GAMBIT...
BUT YOU HAVE TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK EARLY IN THE GAME..."
 
    JUNSOK YANG (YANJUNA@YALEVM.YCC.EDU)
 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: urf@icl.se (The Inimitable)
Subject: Re: The best sf story ever
Organization: None. On USENET I speak only for myself.
X-Alt.reply-Address: n.g.u.fredriksson.swe2001@oasis.icl.co.uk
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 11:03:02 GMT

mirage@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dean Joseph Sanvitale) writes:

>The best sf story ever written, or at least one of the best, in my opinion
>was PRESS ENTER which appeasr in Wolfheim's 1984 anthology.  

Well, John Varley _is_ good, but this is hardly his best. The
reason, I think, is that there is too little 'science' and too
much 'horror' for my taste. It's just not plausible enough.

But I do recommend the collections of John Varley's short stories.
--
 "Failure requires effort. That's why some people never fail." -Bengt Anderberg
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: julie@eddie.jpl.nasa.gov (Julie Kangas)
Subject: Re: Any idea when sequel to 'Magic of Recluce' will be out?
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 19:12:49 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.082216.9821@doug.cae.wisc.edu> shen@cae.wisc.edu (Tan Shen Hsiao) writes:
>  On the last few pages of my paperback version of 'The Magic of Recluce'
>  it states that the hardcover sequel would be out in August this year.
>
>  Has anyone seen it yet? I believe it is called 'Towers of Sunset'.
>  Checks with the local university bookstore and Waldenbooks have
>  turned up empty.

It's been out for quite a while ago so while it's not in paperback
yet it is probably not being stocked in hardcover by most bookstores.
They should be able to order it though.

It's not a sequel to 'The Magic of Recluce' -- it deals with events
happening *much* earlier.  I have the book but haven't read more than
the first few pages.  I keep finding something I'd rather read 
instead.  I really wanted a *sequel* not a prequel.

Tell me, for those of you who have read it, is it worth it?

Julie
DISCLAIMER:  All opinions here belong to my cat and no one else.
From: mab@buphy.bu.edu (Michael Burstein)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Asimov, Forward the Foundation
Date: 17 Nov 92 20:51:27 GMT
Organization: Boston University Physics Department

Thought this would be of interest:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From ASIMOV-L%UTDALLAS.BITNET@BUACCA.bu.edu  Tue Nov 17 15:41:37 1992
From: ardai%DESHAW.COM@BUACCA.bu.edu
Subject:      News
X-To:         asimov-l@utdallas.edu
To: Multiple recipients of list ASIMOV-L <ASIMOV-L@UTDALLAS.BITNET>

I have finally gotten my hands on a complete copy of FORWARD THE FOUNDATION
(the galleys).  Even though Isaac projected at 5-chapter book, he was only
able to finish 4 chapters; the book therefore only contains 4 chapters.
(It's still a pretty hefty book at 500+ pages.)  It is not clear whether
Isaac actually wrote the last chapter or only sketched it out; and if the
latter, who did the final polish.  Doubleday ain't talking.

Chapter 3 will be published in ASIMOV'S in 1993.  Chapter 4 will remain
unpublished until the book comes out.

More as I find it out.

--Charles
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


-- 
Michael A. Burstein
Physics Department, Boston University         mab@buphy.bu.edu
590 Commonwealth Ave.                         (617) 353-9437 (o)
Boston, MA 02215                              (617) 735-9433 (h)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: agc@bmdhh286.bnr.ca (Alan Carter)
Subject: Re: Source for Card's original Ender's Game
Organization: BNR-Europe-Limited, Maidenhead, England
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 13:13:19 GMT

In article <92322.163100ROMAN@wvnvm.wvnet.edu>, <ROMAN@wvnvm.wvnet.edu> writes:
|> Could someone please provide me with the source for original
|> "Ender's Game" story by Orson Scott Card?  I'd like to track
|> down the original magazine issue(s) and would like the name of
|> the magazine, year and issue number.  -- Roman Olynyk

The novel (which I have just bought) opens:

   Acknowledgments
   
   Portions of this book were recounted in my first published science fiction
   story, "Ender's Game", in the August 1977 Analog, edited by Ben Bova; his
   faith in me and this  story are the foundation of my career...

I distinctly remember reading the story, a mere 15 years ago. It certainly
sticks in the mind!

   Alan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To arrive at the simplest truth, as Newton knew and practised, requires years
of contemplation. Not activity. Not reasoning. Not calculating. Not busy 
behaviour of any kind. Not reading. Not talking. Not making an effort. Simply 
bearing in mind what it is one needs to know.

   George Spencer-Brown, Laws of Form
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
From: arthurc@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu (Arthur Chandler)
Subject: OS Card: Child Abuse stories?
Organization: California State University, Sacramento
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 20:14:36 GMT

  Someone on the Internet once wrote me that Card's stories have an
inordinate amount of child torture and suffering.  The longer i thought
about that, the truer it seemed.  Anyone out there agree, and/or have an
explanation as to why children are made to suffer so much in his tales?