plw@panda.UUCP (Pete Williamson) (04/16/85)
Yes !! There is more than one James P. Hogan fan in NetLand !! Read "Code of the Lifemaker" last summer. It was very well written and quite humorous. Since then, I have read all his other novels. I find his stories imaginative and fast moving. His technical backgrounds, especially in the artificial intelligence realms, are very realistic. I like the philosophy and attitudes his main characters espouse. I.E. ... [Don't ask astronomers about the validity of UFO sightings. Astronomers aren't experts in this ... lawyers are ] etc. For me, I'd put him right up there with Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein. As for whereabouts, I don't know. He used to live in my neck of the woods in the Sudbury, Hudson, Maynard, Acton area of Massachusetts. -- Pete Williamson "All Glory is Fleeting"
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (10/08/85)
>In article <1178@mtgzz.UUCP> leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) writes: >> >> THE CODE OF THE LIFEMAKER by James P. Hogan >> Del Rey, 1983, $2.95. >> A book review by Mark R. Leeper >> >> Also interesting is the main character. By profession he is a mass- >>media-psychic and charleton of the Uri Geller variety. In the early parts >>of the novel you see how Zambendorf is able to hoodwink audiences in >>creative ways. That also makes for intriguing reading but what is even more >>intriguing is the question: if we discovered intelligent robotic aliens in >>our solar system, why would anyone want to use devious means to get a Uri >>Geller to the first contact? Particularly if those people are convinced >>that the psychic is a fraud. When you do find out, it does make sense, but >>that puzzle certainly kept me anxious. > >If I read you right, I think you missed the point of why Zambendorf >was there. He was there *not* to make first contact, but to send >back reports on the Taloids (the mechanical inhabitants) which would >have credibility with the masses due to his mass popularity. His >making first contact was completely unforseen. I knew why he was there but I didn't want to say what the reason was in my review. He WAS there as part of a first contact expedition but Hogan wants to leave you in suspense as to why. I think you just let the cat out of the bag. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper