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My, these don't seem to be in order, do they? Well, good luck finding a complete set within easy traveling distance, at least, if you are me.
"Introduction," by George Zebrowski. No weird political axes to grind here, just a very brief explanation of things.
"1984 or Against," by Algis Budrys. Oh, the guffaws and backslaps that must have followed when this title was made up. Anyway, this brief overview of science fiction at the time points out the fact that the winning award for best novel went to a first-time novelist (William Gibson) and that the runner-up was also by a first-time novelist. (Kim Stanley Robinson.) It is the cyberpunk/humanist conflict prefigured, though things are still too early for anyone to have quite figured things out yet. (And, incidently, the next book I'll be doing is Nebula Awards 29, by which time nobody cares about boring old cyberpunk. So much for me getting a chance to get all preachy about it.) Oh, and fantasy novels are selling big, says Budrys.
Best Novelette: "Bloodchild," by Octavia E. Butler. Humans and some aliens called Tlic live on a planet and have a very complicated symbiotic relationship, one which, to steal a summary of the story I read on Usenet, is not usually fatal to the human involved. It is about some strange and very unbalanced power ratios, and is very good.
"The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule," by Lucius Shepard. The man in question is actually applying paint to the dragon, rather than making a portrait of it. Or rather, he's leading a team that's applying the paint, kind of like the sculptors of Mt. Rushmore, because this is a very, very big dragon. I am not usually willing to read anything with "Dragon" in the title, thanks to the existence of Anne McCaffery, but this dragon is not what you would expect, and this is mostly about art and artists. Neato.
Best Novella: "Press Enter," by John Varley. The title of this story is actually Press Enter, followed by a solid-colored square like an old command line. In this story there are computers, and they are, like, connected to everything, man! Why, a talented computer user, or "hacker," could rule the world! Or possibly end up dead under mysterious circumstances. Aside from the (perhaps unavoidable in its era) Gosh! Wow! Computers! feel, this is a nice little (or actually, long) story about a Korean War veteran and how he meets a nice younger woman and is then stalked by entitites mysterious and computational.
"New Rose Hotel," by William Gibson. Included here instead of an excerpt from Neuromancer. I don't think the Nebula award anthologies had started printing novel excerpts yet. A story about a double cross, told simply and beautifully.
"The Greening of Bed-Stuy," by Frederick Pohl. This is sort of an old fashioned tale, compared to much of the rest of the book. It's about a fancy and futuristic development project in New York City. Specifically Bedford-Stuyvesant, but NYC geography is lost on me. Anyway, it's about that, as seen by a young boy with mafia ties. Oh, and also an underground prison and a prison break, in which those mafia ties cause nothing but trouble. The prison break is made possible due to the ubiquity of computers. Why, the prisoners are tracked by computer. Imagine what a "hacker" could do! Honestly, this is a minor aspect of what's basically a nice story about a kid coming from a rough background who maybe manages to find something nicer by the end.
"The Lucky Strike," by Kim Stanley Robinson. What if the Enola Gay wasn't the plane assigned to drop the first atomic bomb? This one is about the bombadeer in this alternate history, and what he thinks about dropping such a bomb, and what he does as a result. It's kind of...well, I am not in favor of dropping bombs on people, really, atomic or otherwise. But let's say events seem a bit unfairly weighted here.
Best Short Story: "Morning Child," by Gardner Dozois. "A subtle tragedy of war and friendship." Well, I guess. There is a war, though who is fighting it and why and with what is a complete unknown. But that's pretty interesting in this context, though. And there's a friendship that seems odd, and at the end we find out why. I'm just not sure this is the best of the best, though. It left me unfulfilled. (Insightful criticism!)
"The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything," by George Alec Effinger. A very funny story about the aliens in the title, who may not really know everything, but certainly act like they do.
"A Cabin on the Coast," by Gene Wolfe. A story about a man and how he learns that making deals with fairy folk is not a good idea, though he really has little choice in the matter. My slight description makes it seem like the story left little impression, but Wolfe is a good writer, and this is worth reading.
"Dogs' Lives," by Michael Bishop. Not just a Nebula finalist, we are told, but a story selected for that Best American Short Stories book. It is kind of weird, being about a man who gains the ability to travel around via the minds of dogs, and what he sees, and where his life ultimately leads him, this last including cyborgs and aliens. And cyborg dogs. I'm not sure I see the story's greatness, but it is both unusual and well-told, and I am very forgiving of weirdness.
"The Eichmann Variations," by George Zebrowski. Another alternate history story, this one about Adolf Eichmann, featuring a different end to the European part of WWII, and a different fate for Eichmann, involving cloning and memory duplication and six million deaths, as well as a study into the roots of human evil. I get the feeling this story was an attempt to get Eichmann to really confront himself and his crimes, something which, famously (or infamously), he never did. But perhaps because I'm not all that familiar with Eichmann beyond the bits that get the most History Channel coverage, I can't really say how well it gets inside his head.
Then there are some poems, winners of the Rhysling Award, given out by another body for science fiction poetry. The first is Two Sonnets by Helen Ehrlich, one being "Love Song to Lucy" and the other "Lucy Answers." I like sonnets. The second is "Saul's Death: Two Sestinas," by Joe Haldeman. Some nice soldiering imagery in these, though the sestina form isn't my favorite. It has a twist ending.
"Science Fiction Films of 1984," by Bill Warren. Bookended by 2010 and Dune, basically. I'm going to list all the movies he talks about and what the author thought. Maybe this essay will generate some discussion.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: He liked it. I've never seen it. Repo Man: He liked it even more. I've never seen it either. After the Fall of New York: "It is above average for a junk-apocalypse film, though not actually a good film." An Italian-French production, apparently. I've never heard of it. I nuovi barbari, aka Warriors of the Wasteland in the United States: No good. Italian Mad Max clones are apparently way under my cinematic rader. Le dernier combat: He really liked it. An early Luc Besson film, of whom I'm not a fan, though this sounds kind of neat. Iceman: Another thumbs up. This I've actually seen, though it must have been only shortly after it came out on video. In our case, Beta. Anyway, that would make me five or six, depending on the exact release date. Red Dawn: He doesn't like it. Neither do I. I got a headache when it was on once, and the two have become linked in my mind. What if the Cubans invaded the United States? Only gun-owners could save us then! Honestly, Cubans. Well, Nicaraguans and assorted other Latin-American types too, with some nebulous Russian help. Why there would still be a Russia or Cuba standing after such an invasion attempt during the Cold War is left unexplained. The Ice Pirates: Not as bad as some claim, he says. Another film my parents exposed me to as a young child via the magic of outdated video equipment. A friend of mine bought a cheap VHS copy recently, and I was able to sit through nearly five minutes of it. Slapstick of Another Kind: Well-intentioned but inept. Another one I've never heard of. Sheena: Bad. No clue from me. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes: He likes it. I've seen it. Christopher Lambert's first film, I believe. I remember nothing else. Nineteen Eighty-Four: "about as good a film version of that novel as possible" The author really mischaracterizes the book, in my opinion, suggesting for instance that "in one sense, of course, it's not a novel at all; it was a tretise". Never seen the film. (This is the one with John Hurt.) Firestarter: Disliked. Again, never seen it. 2010: Really disliked. I've seen some of it. The "All these worlds are yours save Europa. Attempt no landings there." part is neat. Android: Liked. I've actually seen some of this, on TV somewhere. It didn't appeal to me. The Brother from Another Planet. Liked. Never seen. Night of the Comet: He likes it. This is a terrible movie. Its biggest and most talented star is a young Robert Beltran. It plays with zombie conventions, he says, but in reality (well, my reality) it is just a wall of awful. Unless there are two Night of the Comet zombie movies. The Terminator: "The film is sassy and speedy." Well, sure. Never been one of my favorites, though. Disagree strongly with the contention that Schwarznegger engages in a "sophisticated, funny portrayal". It is Schwarznegger's non-acting that makes this role work. Runaway: Almost as good as The Terminator, he says. A Crichton film. I've never seen it. Not a Crichton fan. Apparently stars Gene Simmons as the bad guy. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: "thin, underdeveloped" He's probably right, though I'm not sure I agree that the scene where David gets stabbed in the back is so badly flubbed that the audience thinks he's not really dead. The Last Starfighter: He likes it. I saw it as a kid and liked it. By playing video games I could be a real hero too! Instead, they have given me nothing but creaky wrists. Speaking of failed dreams, "the special effects are realistic and exciting, and they were entirely computer generated. Now anything can be filmed." Soon man will make his home on the Moon and turn its deserts into fertile gardens! Too bad no one has yet bothered to ask whether "anything" really needed filming. Dreamscape: Not so good, he says. Dream what now, I say? The Philidelphia Experiment: "good summer escapism" I've seen most of The Philidelphia Experiment 2. Pity me. Impulse: Unable to overcome its flaws, he says. Again, I've never heard of it. C.H.U.D.: Above average. Never seen it, though I think I was afraid of the videotape box as a child, as I was with most of the entire horror section. Like that one with the toothy green guys climing out of a toilet. Electric Dreams: "Many have been predicting that the next new batch of directors will arise out of rock videos." Soon, Man will...oh, all right. "glitzy but empty" he says. I don't have a clue. Massive Retaliation: If I'm reading this right, he hasn't seen it. The Airwolf pilot! The Ewok Adventure! We are in TV movie land now. Airwolf takes me back. About the Ewoks, "Reviewers felt director John Korty did about as well with the material as could be expected." Burn. Supergirl: Fast-paced and fun, he says. Better than Superman III, he says. Well, so is dental surgery. I had a big crush on Supergirl for awhile. Starman: "reasonably entertaining" This guy is into damning with faint praise. Dune: Dazzling. A tour de force! "one of the most rewarding SF films ever made" Eh, OK buddy. Sting is outstanding, he says. Watch out, Police, 'cause frontman Sting may have a new career waiting for him in Hollywood! That's what I would have written if I were Bill Warren. I'm not and he didn't, though. He is spot on on Brad Dourif, anyway. "seems like a genuine creature from another world"
I didn't really mean to expend so much energy on the film part. Ignore the films. Everybody talks about films already anyway. And the book isn't finished yet!
"SFWA, the Guild," by Norman Spinrad. What do the Science Fiction Writers of America do? Well, Spinrad tell us. They are not a union, he says adamently. Some SF guys feel strongly about such things.
That was maybe anticlimactic. The best novel award was, as I mentioned, given to Neuromancer, which I have read, unlike some previous winning novels, and which is of course brilliant and well worth reading. The end.
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God, that list of films takes me back. Actually saw a bit of Ice Pirates a few months ago, it was terrible. One of those Corman films that featured the same ship models (and footage) every time. Best bit was a hilarious sequence at the end where the goodies & baddies battle it out in a time anomaly, getting increasingly older and geriatric.
There was a real vogue for post-apocalyptic Mad Max rip-offs in the early 80's. . . I've probably seen some of those listed. People at school would rent them, especially if there was a chance they might have sex or nudity.
John Varley - I really liked his Titan trilogy.
You've never seen Repo Man?! For shame. Dreamscape had nudity. 'Nuff said.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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