JAFFE@RUTGERS.ARPA (01/07/85)
From: callaghan%pseudo.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Gaylene Callaghan DTN:523-4523) On Somtow Sucharitkul, I've read "Mall World" and found it to be very strange. The book was very scattered (i.e. hard to follow, not much character development, too many loose ends). I'm not going to pass any judgement on his writing just the book in particular. Has he written anything else that I could get a better perspective from? By the way, does anyone have any other information on him, other than what else he's written? (i.e. who is he? where did he come from? is he actually a "he"? or?) Gaylene
robertsl@stolaf.UUCP (Laurence C. Roberts) (01/09/85)
*** REPLACE THIS MESSAGE WITH YOUR LINE *** > By the way, does anyone have any other information on him [Somtow Sucharitkul] > , other than > what else he's written? (i.e. who is he? where did he come from? is he > actually a "he"? or?) I've read _Mallworld_, _The_Aquiliad_ (sp?), _Starship_and_Haiku_, and the first two books of the inquestor trilogy, _Light_On_the_Sound_ and _The_Throne_of_ _Madness_. He's also written a short story collection about the inquest and a mainstream novel, _Vampire_Junction_, under the name S. P. Somtow. The first two are written with Sucharitkul's bizarre sense of humor. Mallword is about an audit of the human race taken by a governing race of aliens, with samples of human life taken from a planet which is a huge shopping mall. _Mallworld_ and ...Thanks_for_all_the_fish_ are the two books I've read most recently, and I liked _Mallworld_ better. So, for humorous sf, read Mallworld. _The_Aquiliad_ is about an alternate universe where the Roman empire does not fall, but discovers the New World. It's not quite so funny, but it has its moments -- for instance, the names of Roman sf authors. (I'm a fan of P.J Agricola.) _Starship_and_Haiku_ is a strange piece of serious sf. It takes place after a nuclear war, and Japan is the only country that survived more or less intact, although the culture has become more traditional. It stuck me as realy strange while I was reading it, but it's still a good book. Finally, the Inquestor trilogy. This is his best work. Included are a game of power and wars, sentinent stars, whale-like intelligent beings which sing songs of light, and utopias both false and true. The Inquestor's job is the investigation of utiopias, and their destruction, since utopias ALWAYS have a flaw. There is, however, a flawless utopia. Inquestors who have visited this utopia are working for the overthrow of the inquest. That's only a basic explanation of the plot -- there's quite a bit more to these amazing books. There is also a book of inquest short stories, published by a different publisher, which I have not read. The third book of the trilogy is due this spring. The Inquestor trilogy is truly great writing, and necessary reading. Some biography -- he is indeed male. I'm not sure of his country of origin or ancestery . Sucharitkul is a composer as well as a writer -- as is fairly evident from his books. He is currently writing an opera with Gene Wolfe. For a picture of Sucharitkul, and a short, strange article by him, see _The_Faces_of_Science_Fiction_ by Patti Perret. This recent book has pictures of just about everyone in sf. It's good, despite a tendency to pose authors with computers, Rubic's cubes, and airbrushed pictures of planets. My personal favorite is one of Thomas Disch reflected in his toaster, with a poem by him. Has anyone out there read _Vampire_Junction_ or Disch's _The_Businessman_ or Wolfe's _Love_Free_Love? (do I have that last turned inside out?) I'd like to hear about them. Sorry if all this is more (or less) than you wanted... Laurence Roberts ihnp4!stolaf!robertsl P.S. The original request for this came from ARPAnet, and I'm not quite sure how to get this there... so could someone please help out? Thanks. "Ifrit first you don't succeed, fly, fly a djinn."
@RUTGERS.ARPA:Purtill.StudentNS@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA (01/10/85)
From: Purtill@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
>is he actually a he?
yes
Besides _Mall_World_ (or is it _Mallworld_?), he has also written a very
funny book called _The_Aquiliad_ about romans, indians and dinosaurs,
and some serious stuff I haven't read, such as _Starship_and_Hiaku_(sp?)
Has anybody out there read this?
Markwombat@ccvaxa.UUCP (01/11/85)
More on Sucharitkul: I believe he is Thai in origin. He does articles for what used to be called *Fantasy Newsletter* but is now something like *Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Review*, a very good review magazine published by the English department of one of the Florida universities. I read the first installment of *The Aquiliad* in *Analog(?)* and wasn't very impressed, but I've heard good things about *Mallworld* and plan to start *Vampire Junction* soon (I love the cover painting). The "S. P. Somtow" is designed to sell more books, since the general public, unlike(?) science fiction readers, apparently won't buy a book by someone whose name they can't pronounce. Saw him wandering through Philadelphia's bid party at LACon in some sort of Eastern garb, and he seemed a decent sort. Wombat "I am not, nor have I ever been, jan howard finder" ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!wombat
mcdonald@smu.UUCP (01/11/85)
Wolfe's newest book is _Live_Free_Live_. It was advertised incorrectly as _Love_Free_Love_. All I really know about it is that the title comes from a classified ad offering free rent and that every time he explains what it's about he says something completely different. It sounds excellent but I'm going to have to wait for the paperback. McD
ag4@pucc-h (Angus Greiswald the fourth) (01/12/85)
And speaking of Somtow, I recall someone asking about a short story last fall
which they had the plot to and wanted to know the title and author. The
story involved the Earth being forced into a time loop which made everyone
repeat the same day over and over again as a study project for a sort of
inter-galactic elementary school. The only reprieve the people on Earth get
is two free hours every day early in the morning. Talk about being stuck in
a rut... Well, anyway, in case that someone is still wondering, I just
recalled those details; it's: "Absent Thee from Felicity Awhile..." by, of
course (ah, that's the connection!), Somtow Sucharitkul. Hope my answer
didn't come too late!
--
" "
Jeff Lewis vvvvvvvvvvvv
{decvax|ucbvax|allegra|seismo|harpo|teklabs|ihnp4}!pur-ee!lewie
^^^^^^^^^^^^@RUTGERS.ARPA:QUINT@RU-BLUE.ARPA (01/12/85)
From: Anne Marie Quint [/amqueue] <quint@RU-BLUE.ARPA>
Somtow Sucharitkul is Indeed Male. He comes from Thailand, and is
in direct line for the throne (although I heard he got slightly bent out
shape recently when they made girls eligible heirs....he dropped a
couple of hundred places). In the dedication to one of his books (I don't
remember which) he thanks a Princess for something...I believe she
is his sponsor. (gives him money and stuff) He is a rather strange
person...I almost met him at last Lunacon...Someone stuck something near
my ear at a party that was saying "More right, use frash"...I turned
and an oriental type was sticking this camera up to someone else's
ear. I was later told this was Somtow. I have also been told that he
sometimes writes columns for Locus, but of this I am not sure.
_Light on the Sound_ is one of the most amazing books I have ever
read. I found _Starship and Haiku_ both fascinating and depressing.
_Mallworld_ I found just plain weird. I haven't had a chance to read the
next Inquestor book, though I *think* I bought it.....
I don't know anything about his musicianship. But if anyone is
interested in hearing any more weird stories about him, send me a
usenet address and I will pump my fen friends for more weird Somtow
Stories.....
hugs on all
/amqueue
-------msj@gitpyr.UUCP (Mike St. Johns) (01/13/85)
I actually ran into him in a book store in DC. HE was living there at
last I knew. Mike
--
Mike St. Johns
Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!msj
StJohns@MIT-Multics.ARPA (404) 982-0035wombat@ccvaxa.UUCP (01/14/85)
/**** ccvaxa:net.sf-lovers / mcdonald@smu / 10:15 pm Jan 10, 1985 ****/ Wolfe's newest book is _Live_Free_Live_. It was advertised incorrectly as _Love_Free_Love_. All I really know about it is that the title comes from a classified ad offering free rent and that every time he explains what it's about he says something completely different. McD /* ---------- */ Closer - actually, it's *Free Live Free*. One of the main characters is named Ben Free, and he places the ad inviting people to come and live in his house rent-free. It was fairly easy to finish, but I don't think it was up to the caliber of *The Book of the New Sun*. I don't think he did a good enough job with his major characters, and the resolution was kind of silly. Wombat "I am not, nor have I ever been, jan howard finder" ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!wombat
@RUTGERS.ARPA:theo@ari-hq1 (01/15/85)
From: <theo@ari-hq1> I THINK HE STILL LIVES IN ALEXANDRIA, VA. HE'S OF THAI ORIGIN. HAS LIVED IN JAPAN FOR A SHORT WHILE. WAS A COMPOSER WHILE IN BANGKOK. HE'S JOKED THAT HIS CON- TEMPORARY STYLE OF COMPOSITION LED TO HIS DEPARTURE FROM THAT CITY. (APPARENTLY THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE WASN'T STOKED ABOUT SOMTOW'S MUSIC.) WELL, THEIR LOSS IS OUR GAIN. THE One and only!_______________________________________________ ------
ayers@convexs.UUCP (01/16/85)
/* ---------- "Somtow Sucharitkul" ---------- */
Somtow Sucharitkul is Indeed Male. He comes from Thailand, and is
in direct line for the throne (although I heard he got slightly bent out
shape recently when they made girls eligible heirs....he dropped a
couple of hundred places). In the dedication to one of his books (I don't
remember which) he thanks a Princess for something...I believe she
is his sponsor. (gives him money and stuff) He is a rather strange
person...I almost met him at last Lunacon...Someone stuck something near
my ear at a party that was saying "More right, use frash"...I turned
and an oriental type was sticking this camera up to someone else's
ear. I was later told this was Somtow. I have also been told that he
sometimes writes columns for Locus, but of this I am not sure.
...
I don't know anything about his musicianship. But if anyone is
interested in hearing any more weird stories about him, send me a
usenet address and I will pump my fen friends for more weird Somtow
Stories.....
-------
/* ____________________________________________________________________ */
Somtow is an old friend of mine -- we met through a mutual friend when I
lived in the D.C. area several years ago. I'd sure be happy to hear how
things are going for him now...
blues, II
(If you meet the Buddha on the road, say hi for me)preece@ccvaxa.UUCP (01/20/85)
I actually ran into him in a book store in DC. HE was living there at last I knew. Mike -- Fond as I am of bookstores, I don't think I'd want to live in one...
@RUTGERS.ARPA:boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (02/04/85)
From: boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Jerry Boyajian)
re: the pronunciation of his name
Others have already replied, though there is a slight
correction necessary:
It's not su-cha-RIT-kul
It's su-ka-RIT-kul
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA)
UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}
!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian
ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA