Uc.Gds@MIT-EECS@MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP (08/13/83)
From: Greg Skinner <Uc.Gds at MIT-EECS at MIT-MC> Re: rlb's flame about Heinlein, Covenant, Tolkien etc... Since I was the person who touched off the whole issue of names in SF/fantasy, let me clarify a few things. First of all, I never said that "I don't like the TC series", or "I think Tolkien is a saint", or "I think Heinlein is horrible". I was just pointing out the similarities between LotR and the TC series -- not for the sake of criticism but for the sake of comparison. I had noticed a general similarity between works of fantasy fiction and I merely sought information. It will come in useful if I ever decide to write a fantasy novel (which is not an impossibility, since I don't want to do computer science for the rest of my life). At any rate, I have read LotR and the Silmarillion many times over and they are my all-time favorite books. I also happen to like the TC series a lot, now that I have gotten to the second book of the first trilogy. (I even make my INQUIR comments a quote from the TC series!!) And, regardless of how wordy Heinlein was in NotB, I still enjoyed the idea of alternate universes. Now that you know that I am not a Tolkien, Donaldson or Heinlein-hater, I hope the flamage caused by my entry will be expunged. --bo (reply to gds@xx after Aug 22) -------