jrrt@hogpd.UUCP (R.MITCHELL) (10/23/84)
[Pass the Quaff...I want to make defiled water.]
Thanks for all the responses concerning the gods and such in THE FLYING
SORCERORS by Gerrold and Niven. I got lots of mail, including some from:
ihnp4!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!alcmist (Fred Wamsley)
ihnp4!decvax!genrad!teddy!mjn (Mark J. Norton)
ihnp4!decvax!ittvax!bunker!bunkerb!mary (Mary Shurtleff)
ihnp4!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!randvax!rohn (Laurinda Rohn)
ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry (berry?)
ihnp4!inuxc!inuxa!rmrin (?)1
Just about everyone proved to be smarter than me by suggesting "Musk-watz"
was Sam Moskowitz, the author/editor/fan/critic/historian.
My lack of familiarity with SF magazines showed itself when lots of
people suggested "Furman", the god of fasf, was spotlighting Ed Ferman,
a former editor of FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION (which can be abbreviated
FASF).
Po, the god of Decay, is most probably Poe, as in Edgar Allen, and not
Pohl as I had originally suggested. Instead, Pohl may be identified
by Fol, the god of Distortion, but I'm still not sure why.
Other suggestions that I have less confidence in include "Yake" as being
Asimov (based on "Ike". I can assure you this is not correct. The
Good Doctor is mentioned in the book, but giving the context would
be a terrible spoiler), or as John Jakes.
One writer suggests "Eccar" is Forrest J. Ackerman. Another offers
Edgar Rice Burroughs, with Tarzan = "The Man".
"Kronk" may well refer to Walter Cronkite, as most people suggested, but I'm
sure a more appropriate diety for The Future could be found among all the
unused SF authors. One person offered Groff Conklin. (What *does* the K in
Ursula K. LeGuin stand for?)
"Poup" *might* be Pournelle, as someone offered, but I don't think
he'd published anything at the time TFS was published (1971). Another
suggestion was that this god of Fertility should be pronounced "pop" as in
"population." Perhaps, but this theory spoils the SF trend of the pantheon.
One person states that at the time they were writing the book,
Gerrold and Niven were active in LA fandom, and immortalized some of
their fellow fans by using variants of their names to christen the
characters in the book. Hence, names like Shoogar and Lant have no
intrinsic puns in them. (A major exception exists in the case of Lant's
offspring...)
There's lots of subtle word play in the book, such as in the names of the
twin suns, some geological features, currency, and so forth. If you've
not read THE FLYING SORCERORS, I highly recommend it as an excellent and
humorous "analysis" of the dramatic effect technology can have on one's life.
Rob Mitchell {allegra,ihnp4}!hogpd!jrrt
Don't get me wrong. Ilike those people and in many ways admire them. They're
the salt of the earth. It's simply that I want other condiments as well.
- Clifford Simak