Andrew Williams <[log in to unmask]> on No Subject
> >>I was referring to the Lensman Series and the Skylark
> Series. They are novels, not short stories. They are
> considered among the best of all of the Space Operas.<<
> >> When hearing the term space opera, I immediately think of
> STAR WARS, but the excellent Lensmen novels certainly
> qualify. <<
> Wow! This is what makes life interesting. It seems like only
> yesterday that several posters in this mail list were
> smacking Doc Smith upside the head for being an awful
> writer. And now we have two practically back to back
> laudatory postings. Go figure. Next someone is going to say
> they liked Heinlein's NUMBER OF THE BEAST other than Spider
> Robinson.
Doc Smith will remain a bad writer anyhow... At least as far as I'm
concerned, suh! And still as far as I'm concerned, somebody else can say
that (s)he liked NUMBER OF THE BEAST. And the worse for him/her.
########################
"Larson, Craig" <[log in to unmask]> on X-Files posts
> What has happened to poor old Stephen King? He used to be
> my absolute, bar-none favorite author, but the stuff he's
> been turning out lately is really devoid of much in the way
> of creativity or talent.
As Mike Resnick so clearly and precisely said, King became editor proof.
########################
"Dan J. Hicks" <[log in to unmask]> on Space and other Operas
> I always considered "Space Opera" a mildly derogatory term--
>sometimes affectionately used--for a type of SF that involved
> a lot of shoot-em-up action, but not a lot of character
> development. Some action-oriented Westerns are called Horse
> Operas. I had just assumed that the term was derived from
> "Soap Opera"--those none-too-classy cereal dramas, aired at
> first on radio, then on TV, to sell soap. This discussion
> has gotten me to thinking, though...
I had the same feeling, but at least spaceopera didn't serve to sell soap.
########################
"Marc N. Pelletier" <[log in to unmask]> on "seminal"
and fairspeak (FAIR NEW WORLD)
> This thread reminds me of the best book I read in all of
> 1997 which was called FAIR NEW WORLD. The title, of course,
> is a take on Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD and the book itself
> attempts to project what this current repression of thought
> called nicely enough, "political correctness" will lead to
> if carried to the extreme it seems to be heading towards (at
> least in the States).
Monsieur Pelletier, s'il vous plait! <G> Who's the author, is it still in
print and who could possibly carry it? I ran a check at Amazon.com, but
found nothing on FAIR NEW WORLD. Just topics as fair world markets and such.
########################
"Munday, James" <[log in to unmask]> on Number of the Beast
> I, too, thought that NOTB was a bit idiotic, but you have to
> admit that it did have some great parts. I especially liked
> the quote "It's amazing what some writers will do for money"
> when refering to "Stranger in a Strange Land" Now that was
> good!
I thought it could be applied best to Heinlein's post-Number of the Beast
novels.
########################
Mike Christopher <[log in to unmask]> on No Subject
> Actually, I really did like Heinlein's "Number of the
> Beast". It was a little confusing, but I believe that the
> primary intention was to allow a set of characters from our
> world to travel to numerous other literary settings:
> Wonderland, Barsoom, Oz, as well as the Lensman Universe to
> name a few. Okay, so it was a little clumsy, but it was a
> great premise.
It was a good premise, yes, but it resulted in a very poor treatment. The
only thing that can be said in favor of Heinlein was that he had an
occlusion of his left internal carotid, so his brain couldn't work
properly, starved for oxygen as it was.
Nicola
[log in to unmask]
Anyone interested in the SF-LIT books-to-be-read lists and the SF-LIT
movies-to-be-watched can request them to my private address. Omissions,
errors, and suggestions can also be sent to the same address.
The URL for the lists on the net is:
http://www.ameritech.net/users/shsilver/sflit.html
|