psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (07/08/85)
< I can use my magic to change the color to red -- but I don't do windows. >
"1. Mt. Fuji from Owari
"Kit lives, though he is buried not far from here; and I am dead,
though I watch the days-end pinking cloudstreaks above the mountain in
the distance, a tree in the foreground for suitable contrast. The old
barrel-man is dust; his cask, too, I daresay. Kit said that he loved
me and I said I loved him. We were both telling the truth. But love
can mean many things. It can be an instrument of aggression or a
function of disease."
This story appeared in the July 1985 issue of Asimov's; I believe
the August issue just appeared on the stands.=( I picked it up on
the strength of Zelazny's name.
If you haven't liked his other stories involving computers (e.g.,
"Home is the Hangman", and the rest of MY NAME IS LEGION), I
suspect you won't like this one. If you don't like the games he's
played with religions and gods (e.g., LORD OF LIGHT and PRINCES OF
LIGHT AND DARKNESS), you probably won't like this story, though it's
not the same game. If you don't like his writing style (I quoted the
beginning of the story above), avoid this one. And by the way, see if
you can get someone to surgically implant some taste into your soul.
This is a story of a woman undergoing a pilgrimage. She travels through
Japan, visiting sites where twenty-four sketches of Mt. Fuji were drawn
(by a ancient Japanese artist named Hokusai). She dreams. She ponders.
She fights - but not often or long. If you're looking for action, go
watch a re-run of STAR WARS (go ahead, I'll wait).
The first time I read "24 Views", I was startled by the brilliance of
the writing. (The prose is not Zelazny at his best, which is not
brilliant, but blinding). The second time I read it, I was
disappointed at the lack of action, and concerned about some ambiguities
and the nature of a computer net's behavior in reguard to the ending.
(I give him the epigons. I'm generous. Also, ignorant of the term
and any relation to Japanese tradition.) On the third reading, I was
still concerned about the net and the ending, but I came to understand
better what I'd considered ambiguities. (Some are deliberately left
ambiguous; some are merely subtle.)
Not bad. Keep "24 Views" in mind, come Hugo nomination time.
--
-Paul S. R. Chisholm The above opinions are my own,
{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc not necessarily those of any
{mtgzz,ihnp4}!lznv!psc telecommunications company.
"It must be fast, and it must be red, and it must have windows."JAFFE@RUTGERS.ARPA (07/09/85)
From: lzwi!psc (Paul S. R. Chisholm)
< I can use my magic to change the color to red -- but I don't do windows. >
"1. Mt. Fuji from Owari
"Kit lives, though he is buried not far from here; and I am dead,
though I watch the days-end pinking cloudstreaks above the mountain in
the distance, a tree in the foreground for suitable contrast. The old
barrel-man is dust; his cask, too, I daresay. Kit said that he loved
me and I said I loved him. We were both telling the truth. But love
can mean many things. It can be an instrument of aggression or a
function of disease."
This story appeared in the July 1985 issue of Asimov's; I believe
the August issue just appeared on the stands.=( I picked it up on
the strength of Zelazny's name.
If you haven't liked his other stories involving computers (e.g.,
"Home is the Hangman", and the rest of MY NAME IS LEGION), I
suspect you won't like this one. If you don't like the games he's
played with religions and gods (e.g., LORD OF LIGHT and PRINCES OF
LIGHT AND DARKNESS), you probably won't like this story, though it's
not the same game. If you don't like his writing style (I quoted the
beginning of the story above), avoid this one. And by the way, see if
you can get someone to surgically implant some taste into your soul.
This is a story of a woman undergoing a pilgrimage. She travels through
Japan, visiting sites where twenty-four sketches of Mt. Fuji were drawn
(by a ancient Japanese artist named Hokusai). She dreams. She ponders.
She fights - but not often or long. If you're looking for action, go
watch a re-run of STAR WARS (go ahead, I'll wait).
The first time I read "24 Views", I was startled by the brilliance of
the writing. (The prose is not Zelazny at his best, which is not
brilliant, but blinding). The second time I read it, I was
disappointed at the lack of action, and concerned about some ambiguities
and the nature of a computer net's behavior in reguard to the ending.
(I give him the epigons. I'm generous. Also, ignorant of the term
and any relation to Japanese tradition.) On the third reading, I was
still concerned about the net and the ending, but I came to understand
better what I'd considered ambiguities. (Some are deliberately left
ambiguous; some are merely subtle.)
Not bad. Keep "24 Views" in mind, come Hugo nomination time.
--
-Paul S. R. Chisholm The above opinions are my own,
{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc not necessarily those of any
{mtgzz,ihnp4}!lznv!psc telecommunications company.
"It must be fast, and it must be red, and it must have windows."