THE (ALMOST) UNDELETED

Hunchback Jack

Is it bad that *every* *single* answer in this interview pisses me off?

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

He was 59, and by all accounts, still full of life. As recently as last year, he said he still had a double-handful of Culture novels left in him. It's worth reading the last few posts on Banksophilia by him and his wife. They are fascinating and very heart-felt. Over a week since he passed and I'm ...

Hunchback Jack

I can only agree, Thing. We've lost one of the great SF writers of our generation, and he was still at the top of his game, too. And not to get too emotional, but it's not just the loss of future novels. If Banks had retired from writing to live in Scotland in peaceful - or, more likely, noisy - enj...

Hunchback Jack

I don't have very high expectations for Defiance, either, but I'm leery of TV SF generally. I think it's very hard to do well and be a successful show. It's rare that a show that has good writing and decent SFX, and even rarer that it also gets enough traction to last more than a season. I just wish...

Hunchback Jack

I'm glad SyFy are producing programs that are actually SF. I'd prefer they do something other than this, though.

They have a new series called Defiance that might be okay. It looks a bit Firefly-ish - but more DS9 than TNG, perhaps.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Doesn't he trot this list out every NaNoWriMo?

This guy has recapping down to an art form.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

The sheer volume of science-fiction author Kevin J. Anderson’s oeuvre is staggering: more than 115 novels ... Perhaps I'm a stickler for actual facts, but this 115 number is b.s., isn't it? Could you talk a bit more about the two other books you have coming out at the same time? The other one is ca...

Hunchback Jack

So why was everything in the opening ceremony announced first in French? I mean, I'm as multicultural as the next guy, but it did seem a bit odd.

I thought the opening ceremony was great, but it didn't have as many *wow* moments as Beijing did.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, that's a real shame. One of the greats. Lived to be 92, though, which isn't a bad run.

Not to be morbid, but which Grand Masters of SF are still with us? I know Fred Pohl is. Larry Niven, although he's quite a bit younger (70s?). Anyone else?

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Looking back through this post, I have to thank and congratulate D Pope once again on his thorough research. This is great stuff.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

what a loverly example of the self-absorbed, self-delusional, money-grubbing, tone-deaf, socially inept hacktard that is The Keith .... Isn't it, though? It hits all the main points: the shameless plugs for his own books, the rabid (but clearly in the minority) fans, the fact that *his own* Star Wa...

Hunchback Jack

Wow, Frank really looks like an older version of Brian in that last photo. Just uncanny.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

That marzipan Fremen is really cool.

(Although making a Fremen out of marzipan seems wrong, somehow).

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

And the thinking machines, as well: Artificial intelligence. There is all that, although that's the one where we're working with it in The Butlerian Jihad. When Frank Herbert did that in the sixties, it was a realistic fear that computers would become super powerful and take over, and men would be ...

Hunchback Jack

Christopher Hitchens lost his battle with cancer.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/ ... s-19492011

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

One thing I've noticed on the board lately is that the "View unread posts" seems to have time-shifted back to August. A couple of times I've ended up *pages* behind the current post - and almost replied

.

Did we restore from an old backup at some point?

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Freakzilla wrote:Dar-es-Balat?

Gets my vote.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Freakzilla wrote:I hope y'all know I don't do that all the time.

We know. I was just being a dick.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Sorry, Freak. I didn't mean anything by it.

It's just that your last "happy post fest" over at Jac was so legendary.

Edited to add: Sandrider? Hmm. Maybe "Genius Curmudgeon"?

Editx2: I suspect I'm not making any friends today. Time to log off.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

LLB wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:I'm not the lead singer here.
Humm ...

TΛU Sideman

... Backup singer

... Choirboy

... Page-turner ?
I'm trying to help

Sietch drunk?

(Ducks)

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

LLB wrote:Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ...

Isn't there a rule about not posting in dead languages?

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Love it. The strikethrough one has great potential.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Wow, that's a real shame. She was one of the good ones.

Thanks for letting us know.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Maybe "fluid" means at any given time you're either gay or hetero, but never at the same time?

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

The Killing Stroke by Stephen Donaldson. A novella, actually, but really good.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I'll watch Robert Downey Jr read the phone book

Yeah, likewise. I saw The Soloist a while back, which looked like it was designed to be an Oscar-winning vehicle for Jamie Foxx, with RDJr in a supporting role. RDJr stole pretty much every scene he was in.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, I'd heard about this, and was completely uninterested, as someone other than Scott was attached to it at the time.

With Scott helming it, though, it *might* be okay. Prometheus will be a good indicator.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Some of the comments capture it nicely: Better Than You 16 hours ago I wish we could ban 1984 just so that hack writers who barely understood Orwell's politics at all would stop making stupid hamfisted references to it in their own work. hide 1 reply reply Peter Burman 12 hours ago Hell, I don't tru...

Hunchback Jack

Interesting, but pi is useful when calculating areas of circles and volumes of circle-based solids. So you'd end up halving tau all the time, which would suck.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, the last three were not so good. By the last book, I was so numb with disappointment and detachment that scenes that were supposed to be uplifting or heart-wrenching just left me cold. And the ending was incredibly anticlimactic after six books of build-up. I will read this new one, but not wi...

Hunchback Jack

Very well done, indeed.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Eyes High wrote:The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Heinlein

Another good Heinlein. Actually, the collection by the same name has a number of fine stories, IIRC.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Hope you all had a good holiday. Not many in the military in my family, other than my grandfather who died as a POW during WWII. I never knew him - my father barely remembers him - but raised a glass nonetheless.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Omphalos wrote:Still gotta read these fuckers.

They are well worth it. Some are better than others, but they are all worth the price of admission. There's a reason we still talk about them 20 years later.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I've always had a fondness for By His Bootstraps by Heinlein.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I thought that was a pretty good list, actually. Interesting that the living authors I really admire mostly picked dead authors I really admire

.

Pity about the weak Dune entry, but at least it appeared.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Completely understandable reaction.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Parasites are fascinating. There's a book called "Parasite Rex" which I can recommend, if you "like" that sort of thing. Warning: it can be a bit disturbing.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

There's some other parasite that forces ants to climb to the tops of blades of grass and wave their front legs around. They get eaten by birds, and the next stage of the parasite takes place inside the bird's stomach.

Or something like that. Can't remember the exact details.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

In the movie, it coulda been a time dilation thing, too.

('Cause they were in a spaceship an' goin' fast an' shit)

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

The presenter in blue has the full 80s-era Lady Di thing going on, too.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

SandChigger wrote:They have the same effects... but I'm not sure if it means they're the same thing.

Hmm. Good point.

Ah, fuckit.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

You know, we kind of gloss over this with FH's stuff and assume that because the Holtzmann field stuff is about canceling gravity (in the suspensors, at least) that they can also counteract weightlessness in space, but being able to cancel gravity doesn't necessarily entail that you can create it a...

Hunchback Jack

D Pope wrote:
Omphalos wrote:Wonder if any scholars out there are studying SF porn?
Do you mean something like Heinlein?

See, now you done made me remember To Sail Beyond the Sunset, which was a truly appalling book. Damn you, D Pope.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Haven't read any Heinlein in a long time; probably at least 20 years. Read pretty much everything I could find then, which was most of what he wrote. Didn't see the satirical aspect of Farnham's Freehold at all at the time, but then I may not have been capable of doing so. I liked Moon a lot, though...

Hunchback Jack

[Annoying Pedantry] It's "MacLeod". [/Annoying Pedantry] I like his work, generally. I have The Execution Channel sitting unfinished on a shelf somewhere, having been started in a weak moment when I was reading other books that I was invested in, but out of reach. Must get back to it. HBJ

Hunchback Jack

>> :[SET CONDITION] =ON SCROLL_DOWN(NextPost) AND $USER(x) =" TheSandRider " >> IF " Interest in the SandRider's Ramblings " (= 0) THEN SCROLL_DOWN(NextPost) =True >> IF " Interest in the SandRider's Ramblings " (>0 BUT <1) THEN SCROLL_DOWN(Slow) =True AND RANDOM_SENTE...

Hunchback Jack

Freakzilla wrote:
SandChigger wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:I finally broke down and bought a laptop.
Congratulations! Welcome to the world of portability!
This is fucking awesome! I can jack off practically anywhere now.

Er, Freak, a laptop doesn't make you invisible, you know.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I can't see it - I'm using whatever the dark skin is ... Who's "the dark skin"? :? [edit] also: why does the author of this thread read "Hyppo" ? I thought the word-filter was set to render Hyppo as "Hyppo" ... does that only apply to text ? [/edit] [edit_2] this is in...

Hunchback Jack

Free. It's a nice app. I have no iPad, but I run it on my iPhone.

I used to use Stanza, but iBooks seems to format stuff better. Much more readable. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Mac or PC version, though, unlike Stanza, where you can basically read everything everywhere.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Omphalos wrote:I think someone told him when he was working on this: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1089&hilit=expert

Bingo.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

BH: Margaret Mitchell said it best. Forgive me for paraphrasing. It went something like this: "Writing is accomplished by applying the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair for long periods of time." As opposed to stumbling along gently-inclined, well-manicured trails while wheezin...

Hunchback Jack

There's a threat of a second (third?) series where they bring back the actress (and character) of Diana from the original series. No idea how that plays with continuity since I thought there wasn't supposed to be any. ie. this was a reboot, not a sequel. Not that I really care. I haven't seen any of...

Hunchback Jack

Well, he appears to be doing *both* - blaming Frank for constraining them with his damn pesky outline they had to follow, *and* claiming that despite the initial unpopularity, Hunters and Sandworms will be considered classics in time.

In the same paragraph.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Hmm. That's very interesting. And confusing. Are there any other references to Paul of Dune in the other nu-Dune books, Chig? IIRC, the Hacks Twain were originally planning to do the Paul trilogy before Dune 7. So I wouldn't put it past KJA to put in a reference to it in the Legends series. (Not tha...

Hunchback Jack

KM: And the big finale is going to be two big books, is that right? That is huge! Are they both based on the outline and notes left by Frank Herbert? KJA: We have Frank Herbert's outline for Dune 7, which is his grand climax for the series. When Brian and I read the outline, we were blown away, suc...

Hunchback Jack

and notice the Frank ass-sucking from ten years ago ... Keith doesn't talk with this kind of reverence about Frank anymore ... Yeah, no kidding. I guess he was still reeling from the shock of actually getting the gig. Now, though, he's had ten years of listening to the Rot/Gorge publicists tell eve...

Hunchback Jack

They say they found the Dune 7 outline after "plotting" the first prequel trilogy. I don't think they ever say exactly when the notes were found. But If you're saying you think HA was written without the benefit of any FH material, then I won't argue

.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

The best bit up there is HBJs transcript of the 2006 Hunters of Dune Audiobook Interview. Even from the text alone, I feel like he decided to be clever and flex some authority in some twisted passive agressive way, even SB tries to get him back on track. Thanks again for doing that Hunchback! You'r...

Hunchback Jack

IIRC, the FH chapters were a mix. Some were clearly early drafts of scenes that were later dropped or re-imagined, while others were consistent enough with the finished novel that they could have been included.

I thought they were great, either way. Not canon, though.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Actually, as the orbital goes around its star, there would probably be seasons. The way I've shown it, though, it looks like "spring" and "fall" might be completely dark (or perpetually twilight?), with the far side in the shadow of the near. :shock: So the axial tilt would have...

Hunchback Jack

I'd like to see it modeled after Freak's reading group, with minimal bullshit and off-topic tomfoolery, but as you know, I'm not a real respecter of rules ... Ah, sorry. I turned one of the posts into a typical KJA hate fest. I'll try to keep my comments more along the lines of scholarly comparison...

Hunchback Jack

I'm guessing that if the safety deposit box is real, it didn't just happen to turn up. I think BH, his agent, or whoever were trying to track down any random Dune material left by Frank, in preparation for the new Dune work - the anthology, the KJA-partnered prequels, or KJA-initiated Dune 7. If FH ...

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, this interview is pretty extraordinary, I think. Not in the basic conclusions - BH is a well-meaning imbecile and KJA is an ass - but in the details they revealed. Clearly they hadn't yet finalized the Dune 7 creation myths.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

DI - Let's begin with a topic that will interest every Dune fan: Dune 7. By now, the first part of this climax to the Dune Saga, "Hunters of Dune", has been published, and the second, "Sandworms", will be released in August. Could you give us any further hints about these conclu...

Hunchback Jack

INTRODUCTION Finding such a wealth of notes was just one step down the road, but the fresh material, ideas, clues, and explanations suddenly crystallized many things in the chronology of the Dune epic. It rekindled in us a kind of honeymoon excitement for the whole universe. We photocopied boxes of ...

Hunchback Jack

PREFACE A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct. — FROM FRANK HERBERT'S Dune It was like finding a buried treasure chest. Actually, they were cardboard boxes stuffed full of folders, manuscripts, correspondence, drawings, and loose notes. Some of the b...

Hunchback Jack

< We have this text because Hunchback Jack took the time and trouble, Thanks Jack, you're the best!> I never met Frank Herbert, but I knew him well through the words he wrote. I read DUNE when I was ten years old, and reread it several times over the years; then I read and enjoyed all of the sequels...

Hunchback Jack

1999: Afterword from Dune: House Atreides Brian Herbert For more than a decade there had been rumors that I would write another novel set in my father's Dune universe, a sequel to the sixth book in the series, Chapterhouse: Dune. I had published a number of acclaimed science fiction novels, but was...

Hunchback Jack

Scott Brick: This is Scott Brick, the narrator of the Dune audiobooks. I’m in the studio today, and we’ve just finished recording Hunters of Dune , the latest in the epic Dune saga, and I’m very pleased to be taking on the phone with the authors, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Brian, Kevin, t...

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, Feersum is very good, but not representative of Banks' SF work, really. TPoG is a much better starting point.

Enjoy UoW. It was my first Banks novel, and I picked it up after a long period of not reading anything. It reminded me why I had enjoyed reading so much.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Assuming the "three book deal" is for dune 5, 6 and 7, that is. I suppose we'd need to read the article to confirm that.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Many, many thanks to you and Mr. Prosser, Omph! This is a great find. Edited to add: from this link: http://sffrd.library.tamu.edu/search/subject/853/?q=HERBERT,%20FRANK&page=1 ... there's the entry: $2 million+ for Frank Herbert in three book deal No author listed Science Fiction Chronicle 3(8)...

Hunchback Jack

IIRC, Consider Phlebas was published first, but I've heard that Player of Games is a better novel to read first, since it introduces aspects of the Culture more clearly. Banks wrote it first too, I think.

I actually read Use of Weapons first, which is my personal favourite.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Can't tell you how pleased I am to see so many enthusiastic Banks readers here.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I'm not even sure what I just read. KJA spends half the document saying how awesome he is, and then gives his opinion on the legality of someone else's work using little more than analogy?

Not worth the paper it's written on.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Great review Omph. I think it's hard to overstate the greatness of this book. I truly think everyone should read it. Sadly, during the eighties (around the year in the title, in fact) it was too often referred to by commentators as a screed against Communism. Orwell was actually commenting on distur...

Hunchback Jack

Nice review, as usual. Looks like a great collection. Willis, Bear, Varley.

I like Willis a lot, btw. Waiting on her next novel.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, Inversions is a good one.

HBJ,
avoiding another "Banks is God" rant.

Hunchback Jack

You could try "Mordant's Need" by Donaldson. Vaguely medieval setting with swords and magic, but some pretty original ideas and a cool story. A lot of people don't like Donaldson's prose, though, so be warned - it may not be your cup of tea.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Don't sell yourself short, Omph. Your reviews rock - and not just because I agree with most of them ;) . What is difficult is reading I, Robot and not understanding what the hell you're reading. Or writing a review of I, Robot without showing a bit of fucking respect for the author. (Oh, and thanks,...

Hunchback Jack

(By the way, the Hack has posted a blawg called "Reading Shelf", about what he's "reading" now. Shows again how skewed his opinions of other writers' works are. :roll: ) "I have been a fan of Orson Scott Card since his first stories appeared in Omni magazine." Translat...

Hunchback Jack

The only Effinger I've read is the Maureen Birnbaum short stories. Fun, but hardly hard-core SF

.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Sounds interesting. How do avoid spoilers? A separate thread for each chapter?

Hunchback Jack

In the future, there will be more books available to people, but perhaps only just as many books "in circulation" as there are now. That is, books and authors of today will be forgotten tomorrow, and be replaced in people's minds with other books and authors. For example, I'd be interested...

Hunchback Jack

The Algebraist , Feersum Endjinn , and Against a Dark Background . Any recommended order for those? ;) They're all completely unrelated to each other, so no specific order is required. I'd agree with inhuien's recommendation. GP, agree with you about Banks' SF vs. non-SF. Banks seems to write his S...

Hunchback Jack

There are still 3 or 4 "no M" Banks I haven't read yet; they're sitting on my shelf. I've read all the "M" Banks. I find the "No M" Banks to be a bit more variable than "M" Banks. Not so much in writing quality (although there is a bit of that as well), but ju...

Hunchback Jack

I'll readily agree that Olympos is a struggle to get through after Ilium. But I enjoyed the series as a whole very much. Hmm, Drood. I'm tempted but it looks pretty damn long, and I'm not convinced it really needs to be. Simmons is good, but he can be wordy. Right now, I'm reading The Crow Road by I...

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, I've been getting a bit nervous the last couple of days. They do minotor my usage where I work, and sooner or later they're going to notice how many accesses there are from my office desktop to Jacurutu or here. I've been a bit of a post whore this week. I need to dial it back for a few days I...

Hunchback Jack

I found and read your Legends review after posting this one, Omph. Your disappointment in the series definitely came through. :) I try to review every book I read, but my reviews aren't nearly as analytical - or, frankly, as good - as yours, Omph. Going back and reading this review was interesting f...

Hunchback Jack

I guess what I meant was that the first half of the first book didn't have any elements that made it feel like a Dune novel. It just read like any sub-par SF book for teens. Not having read any further, I didn't get to the parts where all the Dune-era elements sprang into existence with little or no...

Hunchback Jack

This is a short review I wrote on Amazon about 5 years ago, just after I read (or didn't read) TBJ. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Awful. Just plain awful., August 20, 2004 [*----] I found the House prequel trilogy to be entertaining enough, even though it lacke...

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, but edited by Pohl. One of the "top 15" guys, IIRC.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Dude, that cover pretty much sold me. A redhead in a bikini with a gun in her hand, wading through a swamp? And the first sentence in your review mentioned "zombies"?

Where do I sign up?

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

It would be fantastic to use all that material to write a "history of middle-earth"-type analysis of Herbert's work. Getting someone who could actually *do* it would be tough, though.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I'm dividing my time between "American Gods" by Gaiman, and "The Fire" by Neville. Liking them both so far, but not very far into either.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

and here's what I found there: http://i24.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/05/0f/0578_1.JPG http://cgi.ebay.com/KEVIN-J-ANDERSON-writing-chapbook-Pulphouse_W0QQitemZ400035398769QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAntiquarian_Collectible?hash=item400035398769&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A...

Hunchback Jack

Mandy, that's a fun, fun read. I enjoyed those two books immensely.

I hope you have Olympos waiting on the shelf for when you finish. You'll want it.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

Yeah, there are some familiar faces here, to be sure. Good to see you all.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I registered a while back but only just started posting. So Hi everyone.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack

I can only read words when drunk. Not sentences, and certainly not paragraphs, chapters or books.

I read Use of Weapons before any other Culture novels, and it's fine. Ideally, you might read Player of Games first, but you really don't need to.

HBJ

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