gek@ihuxa.UUCP (Glenn Kapetansky) (11/16/83)
i just read piers anthony's Dragon on a Pedestal and his Bio
of a Space Tyrant. following are my ratings:
DoaP--charming. far better than any xanth book since Castle Roogna.
ivy, the daughter of dor and iris, explores xanth while still
a mere 3 years old (there! i think i said that without giving
away anything!). i hope further xanth books are as entertaining.
BoaSP--i'm sorry. i cannot accept this book as worthwhile. anthony's
expressed goal in this book is to apologize for the likes of
hitler. no flames, please, PA says so in the intro. PA sets up
the reputation of the space tyrant as a hitler-class monstrosity,
then spends the whole book excusing him on the basis of a
tough childhood. horse plop! such excuses are no excuse! i'm
reminded of PA's G-d of Tarot series, an attempt to excuse
blasphemy as holiness. such doublethink is not acceptable
from PA, in view of his considerable talent.
glenn kapetanskynotes@ucbcad.UUCP (11/19/83)
#R:ihuxa:-33300:ucbcad:23400007:000:1696 ucbcad!moore Nov 18 23:19:00 1983 Hold on. Your are damning Bio. of a Space Tyrant, Part one, on the basis of what you guess Part 2-3 are going to contain? Slow up. The intro of the book describes the tyrant as being regarded BY MANY as a man on par with Hitler. The only explicit excuse offered in the book for his behavior is in the epilogue, where the fictional author explains that this chapter explains his ruthlessness against the pirates. Given the heavily stressed ignorance of the general population to the actual behavior of the pirates, and the blackest of black portrayal of the pirates, you disagree with the tyrants alleged future treatment of them? I think you are projecting your own straw men on the novel. If anything, the book is to be damned for its' heavy-handedness. It seems pretty obvious to me that we are going to see the tyrant as an almost pure white hero, but forced (through circumstance and disregard for personal reputation over what he knows to himself to be right) to earn a reputation of utmost evil while doing, in fact, good. This is certainly the way Part 1 worked out. The plot is sort of similar to a recent book entitled something like 'The Man who Betrayed the Earth', except in Bio. the motivations are anything but a mystery. I didn't mind the book, but I grew rapidly uncomfortable with the continuous theme of rape. Part of this is certainly due to my personal difficulties with this subject, but it seems as well that we are an (unwilling) audience to Anthony's working out of this difficulty for himself. This is an important subject, but it seems at times he is wallowing in it, to the service of none. Apologies for the flame-like nature, Peter Moore
leff@smu.UUCP (11/26/83)
#R:ihuxa:-33300:smu:17400002:000:323 smu!leff Nov 25 08:53:00 1983 Reminds me of a book entitled 'TAMBU' on the theme of a fighter of space pirates who was frequently misunderstood. The presentation is told by means of talks with a reporter whom he selected to interview him and flashbacks. It was in the top ten per cent of the Sf books I have read. Sorry, I forget the author.
hector@princeton.UUCP (11/28/83)
The book TAMBU is by Robert Asprin. Asprin also is the editor of the
four 'Sanctuary' anthologies, author of a novel 'The Bug Wars', and
a very funny novel called 'Another Fine Myth' (s-fantasy), which has
a sequel 'Mythconceptions' that I've tried unsuccessfully to locate a
copy of.
Asprin also happens to be the commander of the Dorsai Irregulars, a.k.a.
the Klingon Diplomatic Corps. This, to the uninitiated, is an amateur
military clan which has been known to provide security at conventions.
For a great introduction to their antics, try to find Phil Foglio's
convention report cartoons, reprinted in paperback in 'Startoons', ed.
Joan Winston, by Playboy Press.
Stewart Wiener
{harpo, allegra}!princeton!flakey!stewartisrael@umcp-cs.UUCP (11/29/83)
the book "Tambu" was by Robert Asprin.
--
^-^ Bruce ^-^
University of Maryland, Computer Science
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