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F&SF that I Read in 2007: V

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James Nicoll

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May 1, 2008, 12:33:24 PM5/1/08
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Title Author Publication
Date

SLAN HUNTER Van Vogt, A.E. & 7/1/2007
Kevin J. Anderson


Why does Anderson get so much work?

If I recall correctly, Van Vogt outlined this novel but was
prevented from actually writing it by the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
Years later Van Vogt's widow Lydia gave the first draft and outline
to Kevin J. Anderson.


THE NEW WEIRD Vandermeer, Ann & Jeff 1/1/2008

I am not entirely certain what makes something "New Weird"
but this includes a fair sampling of the current state of the art.


KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY Vaughn, Carrie

One of Kitty's friends has to deal with an unwanted life-style
change while another is forced to deal with the startling revelation
that killing helpless people is illegal in several jurisdictions in USA [1].

I love the Kitty novels but her friendship with a couple of the
supporting characters is as odd as Barak Obama having a Grand Wizard of
the Klu Klux Klan as a close personal friend. I'm all for having a wide
variety of friends but I draw the line at people whose lifestyle seems to
depend on shooting people like me.

1: Unless you're a cop and the person being shot is black, in which case
it's still OK.
--
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http://www.cafepress.com/jdnicoll (For all your "The problem with
defending the English language [...]" T-shirt, cup and tote-bag needs)

Mike Schilling

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May 1, 2008, 1:39:45 PM5/1/08
to
James Nicoll wrote:
> Title Author Publication
> Date
>
> SLAN HUNTER Van Vogt, A.E. & 7/1/2007
> Kevin J. Anderson
>
>
> Why does Anderson get so much work?

Because he's carved a niche in which he's the pre-eminent member? (Not that
it's not a niche I have much use for.)


William George Ferguson

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May 1, 2008, 5:54:22 PM5/1/08
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On 1 May 2008 12:33:24 -0400, jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:

>
>Title Author Publication
> Date
>
>SLAN HUNTER Van Vogt, A.E. & 7/1/2007
> Kevin J. Anderson
>
>
> Why does Anderson get so much work?
>
> If I recall correctly, Van Vogt outlined this novel but was
>prevented from actually writing it by the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
>Years later Van Vogt's widow Lydia gave the first draft and outline
>to Kevin J. Anderson.
>
>
>THE NEW WEIRD Vandermeer, Ann & Jeff 1/1/2008
>
> I am not entirely certain what makes something "New Weird"
>but this includes a fair sampling of the current state of the art.
>
>
>KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY Vaughn, Carrie
>
> One of Kitty's friends has to deal with an unwanted life-style
>change while another is forced to deal with the startling revelation
>that killing helpless people is illegal in several jurisdictions in USA [1].
>
> I love the Kitty novels but her friendship with a couple of the
>supporting characters is as odd as Barak Obama having a Grand Wizard of
>the Klu Klux Klan as a close personal friend. I'm all for having a wide
>variety of friends but I draw the line at people whose lifestyle seems to
>depend on shooting people like me.

Well, the nice thing about the Kitty Norville books is that Vaughn actually
addresses that. Unlike, say, Edward in the Anita Blake books, Cormac does
not get a free pass.

--
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
(Bene Gesserit)

Alexey Romanov

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May 10, 2008, 4:30:52 AM5/10/08
to
On 1 May 2008 12:33:24 -0400, James Nicoll wrote:

> Title Author Publication
> Date

> KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY Vaughn, Carrie

>
> One of Kitty's friends has to deal with an unwanted life-style
> change while another is forced to deal with the startling revelation
> that killing helpless people is illegal in several jurisdictions in USA [1].
>
> I love the Kitty novels but her friendship with a couple of the
> supporting characters is as odd as Barak Obama having a Grand Wizard of
> the Klu Klux Klan as a close personal friend. I'm all for having a wide
> variety of friends but I draw the line at people whose lifestyle seems to
> depend on shooting people like me.
>
> 1: Unless you're a cop and the person being shot is black, in which case
> it's still OK.

They aren't shooting "people like Kitty" (i.e. werewolves, vampires, etc.)
in general, only the rogue ones. And WVEs kill rogues as well.
--
Alexey Romanov

James Nicoll

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May 10, 2008, 12:10:31 PM5/10/08
to
In article <1jw7tzgrtvfrc.9t5wo5dh14i1$.d...@40tude.net>,

Yeah, and I'm sure if we asked the KKK would have said they
only went after rogue Negroes, Jews and Catholics. There's no reason
to think that properly-briefed cops couldn't deal with the various
spookies that break the law and less reason for a werewolf to hang
out with people who seem to have made hunting werewolves a central
part of their lives.

Ted Nolan <tednolan>

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May 10, 2008, 2:51:46 PM5/10/08
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In article <g04hdn$8a2$1...@reader2.panix.com>,

And Buffy would never fall for Angel, and it sure didn't make sense
that Romeo & Juliet would fall in love..

Contra-logical love matches are a staple of fiction

Ted
--
------
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

James Nicoll

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May 10, 2008, 4:10:59 PM5/10/08
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In article <69mVj.61050$%15.3...@bignews7.bellsouth.net>,
Neither having a mass murdering bigot fall for a self-hating
example of the class the murder kills nor having Romeo, established as
the kind of boy who falls passionately in love with whatever woman
is in his field of view is all that contra-logical.

Buffy and Spike was pretty stupid.

Andrew Wheeler

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May 10, 2008, 8:35:36 PM5/10/08
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James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:

Well, *Kitty* has killed both werewolves and vampires by this point, so
that point is somewhat weakened. Or is that OK, since it's only "those
people" killing each other? (To drag in another sterotype.)

I think that cop (what's her name? ...looks it up... Detective Hardin)
hit the nail right on the head: vamps and weres are essentially
organized crime syndicates. They're conspiracies organized to commit
illegal acts, and the authorities didn't know about them until very
recently -- so people like Cormac (the friendly psychopath) can be seen
as either another gang or as keepers of a kind of rough frontier justice
(depending on how sympathetic one wants to be towards them).

Arguing that "properly trained cops" -- in a world where vamps and weres
are *known* (incorrectly) to be mythical -- could handle the situation
is technically true, but besides the point. The prerequisite for
*getting* cops trained in dealing with vamps and weres is the widespread
public knowledge that they exist, which hadn't yet been met. So there
couldn't possibly be such a thing, and there's no moral requirement to
leave a situation to be handled by something nonexistent.

We don't really know how the Fearless Vampire Hunters operated --
whether they just picked off any they could find, or if they were hired
by one faction to attack another, or if they were self-appointed
comic-book-style do-gooders who only took action when regular people
were threatened or killed. I doubt they were particularly KKK-ish;
that's not the way Vaughan seems to be going.

They were, certainly, people who went around commiting murders for their
own reasons -- but vast numbers of weres and vamps did the same, and all
the members of both of those societies are complicit in the murders
committed by their groups. So nobody has much of a claim for moral
superiority.

The Kitty book have a lot more of the rule of law than most urban
fantasy books, but I'm with you in wanting to see even more of it.

--
Andrew Wheeler
(just finished reading _Holiday_, and thinking about it)

Ted Nolan <tednolan>

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May 10, 2008, 9:20:52 PM5/10/08
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In article <1igqr6f.8edpyf3kpio0N%acwh...@optonline.net>,

That's kind of frustrating me with the "Negotiator" books. I'm
about 2/3 through the second one now, and the protag has made the
logical leap "Hey, I'm black, where would we be if we had all just
tried to pass for white or avoid other people like the 5 races are
doing" in trying to set into motion the reveal to regular humanity,
but she's still willing to say that the dragon lord's crime syndicate
isn't subject to human justice since's he not human and all. (Also
she just did the big reveal to a close friend and I think the author
way overstacked the deck on his reaction).

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