hofmann@AMSAA.ARPA (08/02/85)
From: Jim Hofmann <hofmann@AMSAA.ARPA>
Moshe Eliovson writes that Robert Silberberg is the author
of Guardians of the Flame while my edition says it is
Joel Rosenberg. Unless I wrong, Silberberg does not write
under any pseudonym. This book isn't exactly a transcription
of a D&D game rather the story of 6 games players who find
themselves transported to a parallel universe in which
the rules of D&D are present but they have since given up
gaming since death is all too real. Rosenberg holds no
sacred characters and kills one off early in the book.
I got this one accidently from SFBC when I failed to send in
the reply form and was about to send it back when I read
the blurb. Having no previous experience with the Fantasty
genre (Well, LOtR, Pern, Brust and 1st volume of TC series)
I looked through it to see what it was all about. Soon, I
found myself reading it. At first I wasn't impressed by
Rosenberg's writings (very Heinlein influenced) because the
characters seemed carboard and shallow. It wasn't evident until
the second story in the series that this shallowness was intended
by Rosenberg and after many adventures the characters matured
and deepened. Now I am on the third book, the Silver Crown, and
am enjoying myself. It is not your standard fantasy novel where
good journeys through the evil lands to eracidate the darkness.
Rather the good guys try to wipe-out a system similiar to
America before the Civil War. Enough said.
As long as I'm writing, let me put my two cents into the SF-Music
discussion. I read The Stand by King about 5 years ago and still
remember how he wove the words from rock songs into the story.
For instance, the Led Zep tune "Going to California" has a line
about "There's a lady out there/plays guitar with flowers in her hair"
This corresponded to the old lady who gathered the forces of good
together via their dreams by playing guitar on her porch. There
was also a line about someone blowing their nose in this song that
corresponded to the symptons of the plaugue that destroys 95% of
the population. Other songs used for imagery were:
Jungleland - Springsteen ("they reach for a moment and try to make
a STAND/ but they wind up wounded not even dead")
Evil Woman and Peaceful Easy Feeling - Eagles (describes the bride
to be of the Devilman and their mating in the desert)
A couple tunes by America - (can't remember these - anybody else know?)
I can see for miles - Who (describes the Devilman's ability to project
his eye out and spy on the good guys)
There were lots more - "Stairway to Heaven" was one although I
forget the context. The use of these songs reminded of the lyrics
in Lord of the Rings which were sung by the good guys as they marched
into the Heart of Darkness. A lot of these songs were thinly disguised
propecy and King seemed to be saying a lot of the Rock songs could
be taken as propecy also.
Jim Hofmann