godwin@ICSE.UCI.EDU (10/30/85)
From: Dave Godwin <godwin@ICSE.UCI.EDU> ( Editor, please feel free to hack this up into subject pieces, if that will be a turn-on for you. ) 1. The story about the "man-who-is-captured-by-the-aliens-with-the- nifty-lie-detector-machine-that-causes-pain-when-the-truth-is-not-told-so he-tells-the-truth-and-beats-'em" story is by Randall Garret, of Lord Darcy fame. The story can be most recently found in the 'Best of Randall Garret' collection. Sorry, but I can't quite recall the name, and I don't want to lie to you. ( Yo, JMB ! ) This is actually a very nice collection. Garret does short stories much better than he does novels. I recommed you all go find a copy. 2. James Hogan's new novel, Proteus Project, is his best piece of work to date, ranking above Inherit the Stars, and hanging in with Glass Slippers For a Princess. In pretty much all of Hogan's previous jobs, there have been miscellaneous problems with characters being a little flat, or plots being a little predictable, just minor stuff. None of these problems here. Plot moves very well, characters all work, and the only real complaint I have is that the science wasn't explained all to well. ( No real reason it should have been though; story was seen from viewpoint of non-scientists for the most part. ) Several of the characters in the book are/were actual people, like Sir Winston Churchill, Edward Teller, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and, performing as a young chemistry major from Columbia, one Isaac Asimov. 3. Has anybody read Heinlein's new book, The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, yet ? And what about the so called Richard Bachman books that Steven King wrote awhile back and have been re-issued ? Dave