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| Title: | Arcana Caelestia |
| Notice: | Directory listings are in topic 2 |
| Moderator: | NETRIX::thomas |
|
| Created: | Thu Dec 08 1983 |
| Last Modified: | Thu Jun 05 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1300 |
| Total number of notes: | 18728 |
566.0. "The Moon Goddess And The Son" by SPMFG1::CHARBONND (What a pitcher!) Thu Jan 21 1988 08:49
The Moon Goddess And The Son by Donald Kingsbury
----------------------------
What do Russian history, Diana the Huntress, SDI, Boskone, games
theory, Vax, lunar colonies, archeology, Mongols, role-playing,
Soviet shuttle designs, Afghanistan, expert systems, Marxist
theory, computer war games, and World War Three all have in
common ? The answer is, they are all woven into an excellent
book by Donald Kingsbury. You may recall the short story version
of this novel, published in Analog in '79. It was reprinted in
Jerry Pournelle's collection Endless Frontiers II a few years back.
The author has updated the story and added several subplots which
serve to enhance the original. His approach to peace with Russia
is truly innovative, and amusing at the same time. I hope someone
in government discovers this book.
There are some priceless scenes, such as the one where a games theorist
vows to get his employer on hand and knees literally kissing a cow
pattie. How he achieves this, and the subsequent results, are the
products of a master storyteller. Who else could prove that according
to Marxist theory, Soviet Russia is a capitalist state, overdue for
a workers revolution. I couldn't put the book down, except when
laughing had me bent over.
You may remember Kingsbury's Story titled "To Bring In The Steel."
He is adept in hard SF and creating interesting characters. His latest
book, now in paperback, is highly recommended.
Dana Charbonneau
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 566.1 | great descriptions | NOETIC::KOLBE | into the ragged meadow of my soul | Wed Mar 23 1988 15:34 | 16 |
|
I'm in the middle of TMGATS and just had a great experience showing
what a good author can do. I have never seen Petra and knew it only
by the description in the book. Then the other day I was watching a
PBS special about horses. They were showing some Arabs being ridden
through the desert when suddenly I had a bad case of Deja'vu. I knew
where they were! The description in the book was so acurate it was
as if I'd seen it before.
The time sequence shifting seems appropriate to learning how to
be a Russian (traveling back through the unconcious universal memory
of mankind perhaps?) but I'd prefer more concurency in the description
of the other characters. They seem to jump back and forth in flashbacks
from chapter to chapter too much for my taste. The ideas for the plot
fascinate me, I like the thought of making nuclear weapons obsolete
through gamesmanship. liesl
|
| 566.2 | Now I know where I've read it! | SNDCSL::SMITH | Macrotechnology! | Wed Aug 10 1988 14:13 | 9 |
| I knew the story sounded awfully familiar! Good book but so far
I think I like the short better. Only thing is I can't figure out
how they are going to use the leoport rings to kill ICBMs....
When someone expands a short into a novel, aren't they supposed
to put somewhere in the copyright page something about this novel
having appeared (in substantially different form) elsewhere?????
Willie
|
| 566.3 | | AKOV11::BOYAJIAN | Copyright � 1953 | Wed Aug 10 1988 15:50 | 14 |
| re:.2
"When someone expands a short into a novel, aren't they supposed
to put somewhere in the copyright page something about this novel
having appeared (in substantially different form) elsewhere?????"
While that is the usual form, there is no legal requirement to do
so. Unless someone other than the author (like, for instance, the
magazine) still has control of the copyright on the short version.
It's like retitling a novel. Most of the time, they tell you what
the original title was, but they don't *have* to.
--- jerry
|