From: muffy@lll-crg.ARPA (Muffy Barkocy) Subject: Re: Re: The game's afoot! Date: 28 Feb 85 01:46:33 GMT > Fans of both Holmes and SF should check out HER MAJESTIES > BUCKETEERS, which is sort of a SF-Holmes pastich, but set in > not-Victorian not-England not-on- Earth with not-Human's in all > roles. The holmesian nature of the story is not overtly stated, > but is hard to miss. Moriarty with six arms is rather > interesting.... > > -- La musique est une science qui veut qu`on rit et chante et > dance. > -- Guillaume de Machaut > Berry Kercheval Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry) > (415)932-6900 (kerch@lll-tis.ARPA) "THEIR MAJESTIES' BUCKETEERS." Recommendation seconded, as well as any other books by L. Neil Smith, author of TMB. Correction here, *three* arms, segmented into nine limbs (or is it the other way around?)...anyway, everything is in powers of three, not multiples. Muffy Date: Fri, 19 Apr 85 13:23:26 pst From: malloy@nprdc (Sean Malloy) Subject: Re: Book Request The novel 'Their Majesty's Bucketeers' by L. Neil Smith is a book essentially completely about an alien species (there is a short narrative preface tying it into his North American Confederacy novels that can easily be ignored, which bears no connection to the events in the book) that I recommend highly. The lamviin of Sodde Lydfe are an interestingly alien race. Sean Malloy Date: Monday, 22 Apr 1985 08:38:33-PST From: lionel%speedy.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Steve Lionel) Subject: Totally alien stories > From: Catherine Cunningham > I just finished Brunner's "The Crucible of Time" and really > enjoyed the idea of a book totally about an "alien" society. Can > anyone give me pointers to any other novels/short stories in which > there is no human presence? A few years ago, someone in this very digest recommended L. Neil Smith's "Their Majesties' Bucketeers", and I am more than happy to repeat the favor. It may be that this doesn't totally satisfy your requirements, as the prologue is an observation by a human, but the rest of the book is devoid of humans. It is essentially a Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson story with Holmes and Watson as aliens, and the culture is not all that much different from ours, but what the heck - it's fun. Smith is a well-known Libertarian, and his writings reflect this bent. TMB is, in some aspects, a light satire of our society, but this doesn't get in the way. The paperback is published by Ballantine/Del Rey. Steve Lionel Date: Wed 29 May 85 18:44:25-PDT From: randall neff Subject: ABA report I This is the first report on the American Booksellers Convention that was held in San Francisco on Memorial Day weekend. New American Library/ Signet/ DAW The Backman Books by Stephen King October, trade paperback The four previous Richard Bachman novels Angel with the Sword by C. J. Cherryh the first DAW hardcover. September. Cherryh was at the ABA autographing bound galleys of the book, will review later after I read it. Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams November "a magical picaresque story sure to appeal to devotees of quality fantasy as well as to the millions of cat lovers nationwide" July Null-A Three A. E. van Vogt The Song of Homana (Cheysuli book 2) Jennifer Roberson I.A. presents Great SF: 13 ( 1951) The Temple of Truth E. C. Tubb August Changer's Moon Jo Clyton Kelly Country A. Bertram Chandler The Forest of Peldain Barington J. Bayley September Warrior Woman Marion Zimmer Bradley Flamesong M. A. R. Barker Ibis Linda Steele The Dragon of Mishbil B. W. Clough Del Rey David Eddings is working on a new fantasy saga, it will be a Del Rey hardcover about a year from now. With a Tangled Skein Piers Anthony book 3 of Incarnations of Immortality October Starquake Robert L. Forward sequel to Dragon's Egg October The Atlas of the Land Karen Wynn Fonstad map of Thomas Covenant November The King's Justice Katherine Kurtz vol II of King Kelson November THe Mars One Crew Manual Kerry Mark Joels plans of mars voyage November Killashandra Anne McCaffrey sequel to Crystal Singer December The Gnome King of Oz Ruth Plumly Thompson October The Giant Horse of Oz Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz July Vengeance of the Dancing Gods Jack Chalker The Black Ship Christopher Rowley The Remaking of Sigmund Freud Barry N. Malzberg August The Bishop's Heir Katherine Kurtz Procyon's Promise Michael McCollum Red Flame Burning Ward Hawkins September Sentenced to Prism Alan Dean Foster The Misenchanted Sword Lawrence Watt-Evans The Gallatin Divergence L. Neil Smith Doubleday Robots and Empire Isaac Asimov September Bridge The Invaders Plan book one of ten of Mission Earth by L. Ron Hubbard October 100,000 first hardcover printing $1,000,000 promotion and advertising budget Popular Library ( Warner ) July Masters of Glass M. Coleman Easton Doomstar Richard S. Meyers August Darkwar Trilogy 1: Doomstalker Glen Cook Meanwhile Max Handley September Warrior Witch of Hel Asa Drake The Dushau Trilogy 2: Farfetch Jacqueline Lichtenberg Bantam The Dream Years Lisa Goldstein September The Proteus Operation James P. Hogan October The Postman David Brin November (Brin autographed bound gallleys of the book) The bad news is that Brin's Uplift War is delayed until spring 86. Randy NEFF@SU-SIERRA Date: Wed, 28 Aug 85 14:47:44 CDT From: moorel@EGLIN-VAX Subject: CULTURE CLASH STORIES On the subject of books which concern the clash between very different cultures, I would like to point out several books that illuminate clashes between very different human cultures as well as between humans and aliens. The first is a fairly serious book by Suzette Haden Elgin, called _Native_Tongue_. This book has as its premise that the only way to be completely fluent in an alien language is to learn it as a child from a native speaker. This provides the child with another "native tongue" in which they are able to "think" like a native speaker. The story is set in the near future on Earth, and the culture of the humans in the story is provided with a "history" that gives a reasonable idea of how it might have grown out of our present day world. The interactions between humans and aliens and with other humans are very powerfully depicted, and the book makes some very intense and thoughtful statements about what might happen when humans are more alien to one another than real "aliens". The other books that I would like to recommend are basically a delightful, easy reading set of books by L. Neil Smith, the Probability Broach series. The books are independent of each other for the most part, but in (story) chronological order are: _The_Probability_Broach_, _The_Nagasaki_Vector_, _The_Venus_Belt_, _Tom_Paine_Maru_, and in the same universe, _Their_Majesties'_Bucketeers. These books concern the contact between two very similar parallel universes, one of which is a near-future America very similar to ours and the other is an America in which the Whiskey Rebellion succeeded. The two worlds have very different philosophical outlooks on government, personal responsibility, the environment, space, etc., etc., and the difficulties experienced by people from "our" world in adapting to their culture are fascinating. The books are very light in tone, frequently quite humorous, and read very fast. They're great for any rainy afternoon or just when you're a bit blue. The last book, the one about the bucketeers is not about the human cultures, but is styled after the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and is set on a very well developed world inhabited by trisexual aliens. Read and enjoy! Lynne C. Moore (MOOREL@EGLIN-VAX.ARPA) Date: Wed 4 Sep 85 12:07:28-PDT From: Evan Kirshenbaum Subject: Re: L. Neil Smith There is a new book out in the Probability Broach series. It is called The_Gallatin_Connection and it fits sort of at both ends of the time-line (40 years after Tom_Paine_Maru and 210 years before The_Proability_Broach. Those of you who read TPB, will realize that it puts it right at the Whiskey Rebellion. It's not bad, but I don't think it's as good as the others (definitely not as good as TPB). Smith takes what I consider to be some unwarranted cheap shots at historical figures whom he doesn't like. Evan Kirshenbaum Date: 20 Sep 85 18:50:23 EDT From: JoSH Subject: L Neil Smith and Alexander Hamilton Not too long ago, there was a message about a new L Neil Smith book. The title is actually "The Gallatin Divergence", not "... Connection". More interestingly, there was a comment about Smith's portrayal of historical characters, which one assumes referred to the sexual hi-jinks ascribed to Hamilton in the book. It turns out that the real Alexander Hamilton was actually involved in a sex scandal. We do not know the physical details of his dalliances, so it is impossible to confirm (or discredit!) Smith's conjectures. However, there was quite a row about it at the time. The implication by Smith that Hamilton's sexual and political proclivities went hand in hand is *not* unhistorical: There is a surviving letter by John Adams claiming that Hamilton's excessive ambitions were due to "a superabundance of secretions." JoSH From: mtgzz!ecl@topaz.rutgers.edu (e.c.leeper) Subject: THE GALLATIN DIVERGENCE by L. Neil Smith Date: 2 Oct 85 05:12:45 GMT THE GALLATIN DIVERGENCE by L. Neil Smith Del Rey, 1985 A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper This is apparently part of a series of books by Smith set in the same universe, or rather, set of alternate universes. (other books in the series include TOM PAINE MARU, THE NAGASAKI VECTOR, and THE PROBABILITY BROACH). This one is set at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion in a universe in which was formed the North American Confederacy instead of the United States. I really wish I liked Smith's writing style more--he has such interesting ideas, but I find his books agony to read. The first-person, "slangy" style in which he writes does not flow well (at least to me) and attempting to follow the various speaking styles of the characters (one of whom is a dolphin--what is it with dolphins these days? Every third author seems to feel he should include intelligent dolphins in his novels) is not an easy task. If you can take the style, I would recommend it, but it's not for everyone. Evelyn C. Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl