keithl@vice.UUCP (Keith Lofstrom) (07/12/84)
<>
I know the rest of you are too smart to buy "disaster SF", but I know
one of the authors so I bought:
The Sword of Allah by "Richard Elliot"
(actually Portland, Oregon "SF Review" editor Richard Geis and Salem,
Oregon author Elton Elliott)
Mini-Review:
Something this awful has to be intentional.
Review: (Please Laugh - justify my typing this in)
The characters in this turkey are the Pedophilic Evil Scientist,
the Heroic CIA Agent, the Evil Financiers, the Deluded Sister of Radical
Survivalist, and the Woman Vice President. Pedophilic Evil Scientist
(hereafter PES) builds Immensely Powerful Space Plasma Beam Weapon to help
Fanatic Arab Dictator (backed by the EFs) rule world. PES secretly points
IPSPBW at Sun, causing Sun to go crazy. H-CIA-A singlehandedly invades,
gets captured, gets loose, destroys command center. But the laser causes
Sun to emit one hour burst of intense microwaves, roasting the Eastern
Hemisphere (and PES). H-CIA-A returns to US to help WVP establish martial
law and protect US from black market depredations of EFs.
Meanwhile, the DSRS (remember her?) stumbles on a Secret Underground Control
Center (SUCC?) in the southern Oregon mountains. She nearly gets killed
by the guards, but is hospitalized by the benevolent government and given
money to stay quiet. Ungrateful DSRS leaves and goes to Radical Survivalist
Brother, who leads capture of SUCC. WVP is now WP, who has drafted entire
country, and taken over the economy, so that we can survive aftermath of
Eastern Hemisphere Roasting, such as the high winds INTO the heated area
(at all altitudes!). WP escapes Washington, and neads SUCC to continue
controlling country. H-CIA-A single-handedly captures SUCC.
What Can We Learn From This Book?
1) Watch out for Pedophiles (They may be Evil Scientists!).
2) Watch out for Evil Financiers (who fund Pedophilic Evil Scientists).
3) The universe will go out of control at the drop of a technological hat.
4) CIA agents are Heroic and Good.
5) Microwaves penetrate thick metal, but take minutes to do so.
6) Air contracts when it heats.
7) People go crazy in disasters.
8) Totalitarian control is the only way to survive major disasters.
That's most of the jokes. The writing was average pot boiler. Worth
speed reading if you're in a cynical mood and get the book free. Probably
will be a major bestseller.
--
Keith Lofstrom
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