gordonl (03/31/83)
I'm not looking to pick a fight, but I thought "Destination: Void" by Frank Herbert stank! I seem to recall that Herbert had picked up a bunch of computer terminology without understanding it... he has one character "search" a core memory by holding it up to the light and looking closely... (or so my recollection goes, I havent read the book for a long time) Does anyone else have an opinion? Is this book considered good or bad? gordon letwin microsoft
mjs (04/01/83)
I agree; it was pretty poor. Definitely not worth the paper it was
printed on.
Martin Shannon, Jr.
Phone: (201) 582-3199
Internet: mjs@mhb5b.uucp
UUCP: {allegra,rabbit,alice,mhb5b,mhb5c}!mjs
USPS: 600 Mountain Avenue Room 5F-120
Murray Hill, NJ 07974donald (04/01/83)
Re: Gordon Letwin's assessment of Frank Herbert's "Destination: Void". Agreed. I thought it stank. A totally unrealistic plot without the redeeming characteristic of being interesting. Turgid dialogue and paper characters. Steeped in murky Herbertian mysticism. Filled with vacuous statements (e.g. "God equals infinity"). The sequel, "The Jesus Incident" was a little bit (but not much) better. Above comments apply. Highly pretentious nonsense. Since we're on the topic, does anybody think that Frank Herbert has written anything really good before or since (the excellent, but anomalous) "Dune"? I sort of liked "Dragon in the Sea" (a.k.a. "Under Pressure") and the weird but interesting "Hellstrom's Hive", but then there's the slew of trash like "The Green Brain", "The Dosadi Experiment", and the Dune sequels. Herbert really hit the pits with "God Emperor of Dune". As the Ship learned, Flattery will get you nowhere... Don Chan
bcw (04/03/83)
From: Bruce C. Wright @ Duke University Re: Herbert & Destination: Void All of Herbert's books are, as far as I can tell, essentially the same yarn re-told in a different way. The first one may read well, the second OK, the rest like trash. Which one(s) you think are trash appears to depend on the order you read them in - let's discuss some *interesting* authors instead of hacks. Bruce C. Wright @ Duke University
turner (04/03/83)
#R:microsof:-634000:ucbesvax:1700001:000:586
ucbesvax!turner Apr 2 20:54:00 1983
SINCE Dune? Not much. BEFORE Dune? Yes: "The Saratoga Barrier"
is a small, quiet and convincing SF/thriller novel. Also, a very
strange one called "The Eyes of Heisenberg".
Dune is anomalous because it's coherent. Most Herbert (even the
ones I recommend above) is pretty muddled and very melodramatic.
The actual WRITING in Dune Messiah was about the best I have seen
from him, but as to his claim that he had planned the whole trilogy
(or is it four, now?) before Dune was even published: totally
unconvincing.
Michael Turner
ucbvax!esvax:turnerhdj (04/03/83)
Could you SF-philes move the discussion of Science Fiction books to net.sf-lovers, where it belongs? That goes for the discussion of computers in books, as well. When net.books started up, I was hoping it would generate discussion about works of literature. I submit that the vast majority of SF is no such thing - comic books sans pictures might be a more accurate description. Now then, are there any people out there interested in: Borges, Pynchon, William S. Burroughs (NOT Edgar Rice Burroughs), Joseph Conrad, Poe? Hunter S. Thompson, anyone? Really, I'm not picky. But let's move the SF stuff where it belongs... "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." - Dr. Johnson I parses 'em as I sees 'em, Herb Jellinek
eric (04/05/83)
#R:burdvax:-65700:whuxlb:13700002:000:1347 whuxlb!eric Apr 4 23:08:00 1983 << Napalm ignition >> Open letter to burdvax!hdj: Who died and left you boss?? SF not ''works of literature?? Hah. If it weren't for SF, i probably wouldn't read as much as i do now. The first books i ever read and really enjoyed were SF. I, for one, think that is IS literature. << Fail safe button pressed >> I happen to think that some of what is considered REAL literature (Shakespeare, Conrad, Mencken, etc) could just as well be trashed and moved elsewhere. I have read enough of this to be able to form my own opinion. << End of nuclear blast, napalm still running >> In case you hadn't noticed, SF is sold bookstores, is written on PAGES, consists of WORDS, and can be READ. I think that makes it a BOOK. Amazing. This newsgroup happens to be net.BOOKS. Hmmm. Why can't we discuss books here??? << Extinguish napalm. Light Bic >> Is your 'n' key broken?? If you don't want us SF junkies to intrude upon you, don't read our stuff. net.sf-lovers is for books, movies and etc open for discussion. net.books is mostly reveiws of BOOKS in general. I think book reveiws would be inappropriate in net.sf-lovers, while discussion would be appropriate. Similarly, reviews would be appropriate here, discussion of 'STAR TREK II TWOK'' would not. << Extinguish Bic >> I flame when nessecary, Eric Holtman harpo!whuxlb!eric
leichter (04/05/83)
Re: Call for other things to be discussed; included a list of authors, one of whom was Borges. Yes, by all means lets talk about Borges! Marvelous author. For those of you who don't know him: His full name is Jorge Luis Borges. He's an Argentinian, born in 1899. He's now blind, but still writes a little. Most of his work is in the form of short stories and essays, and some poetry. Most of it has been translated into English. Borges is interested in what you might describe as fantasy and philosophy. The best collection of his stories, inclu- ding some of his best work, is "Labyrinths" (New Directions, 1964). Another favorite of mine is "Dreamtigers" (E.P. Dutton, 1970). One thing to watch out for though: Grove Press has published a number of collections with over- lap from volume to volume; you buy a new book and find that you already have half the stories. Also, some of their translations are not as good as others I've seen. (This is a comment on the English, only; I don't read Spanish.) In the last couple of years, E.P. Dutton has been publishing a lot of his stuff; their editions are good. By all means, if you haven't read Borges give him a try. I'd recommend either Labyrinths or Dreamtigers as a good start. -- Jerry decvax!yale-comix!leichter leichter@yale