Platt%upenn.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa (03/04/84)
From: Steve Platt <Platt%upenn.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> ...catching up with a month or so of SFL can be tiring! A few things stand out in mind, or at least on the notepaper I keep handy... Stephen King: Avoid "The Werewolf", a novella with illustrations by Berni Wrightson. The illos are moderate quality for "modern comics", the story is at best a *1/2 - ** effort (not one of his best, but maybe one of his worst). I'm not sure which is the worst, the shortness of the text, the quality of the text, or that I wasted $28 on this thing! Stephen King: I just received a notice from Donald M. Grant Publishers (West Kingston, RI 02892) -- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger is going into another printing, still only $20. A ****1/2, but only because I don't give out *****'s. Mark Rogers: Also in the Grant promo: The Adventures of Samurai Cat will be out soon ($20, deluxe edition $50). (Rogers does both the art and the text.) (This is another book for Cat SF people to notice.) If you haven't been following the adventures of Miaowara Tomokato, this is a good place to start. If you don't like Asprin's Myth(ing puns) series, skip this. I'm ordering a copy this week. Larry Niven: His universe. Does anyone remember Niven's pre- Ringworld proposal "Down in Flames"? Can anyone access Niven for permission to upload it to the net? Moon of Endor revisited: At SIGGRAPH last year, ILM showed a short film loosely titled "How we did it with particle systems for SW:RoTJ and ST:TWoK". During the movie, there was a definite and specific reference to "Endor's Moon". It does seem nonsensical to refer to the moon of a planet long out of existence as "the Moon of Endor" (no language barrier here because it really isn't English they are speaking: we can assume that it has been syntactically translated to English as well as psychological reorientation to avoid stupid misconceptions). We can assume they are on the moon of some body, and that body (Endor) still exists. "The Right Stuff": Just saw it last weekend. Go see it. It is probably the only movie up for Academy Awards which makes no pretention of airy artistic qualities, deep character studies, or personal growth. Just fun, mixed in with some semi-history. P.S. This is not a John Glenn film. It's a Chuck Yeager film. Another note: I saw "The Dresser" the following evening. While also an excellent film, I don't recommend the pair as a twin billing. They just don't mesh well. Asprin: "Hit or Myth", the fourth Skeeve book. I like Phil Foglio illos better than Freas illos. I don't think I ever liked Freas illos. Asprin is holding out well -- the fourth volume is no better or worse than the first (which keeps it in the "light reading" category). Quite surprising, considering what happens to most series by this number of volumes Kotzwinkle (William): "Trouble in Bugland". More light fiction -- my dissertation must be going well since I am unable to read anything even remotely dense. "...a tribute to... Sherlock Holmes and... Dr. Watson." "There is, however, one slight divergence from the original--Kotzwinkle's protagonists are all insects." Amusing nonserious tales following Inspector Mantis and his sidekick Dr. Hopper. Anyone else find anything unusual? -steve