I bet the title signifies something
Joseph Nebus
but apparently there's a fresh novel named _The Astounding, The
Amazing, And The Unknown_ by Paul Malmont that forms a bit of secret
history starring Robert Heinlein's little clique of science fiction
writers lured to Philadelphia for the war effort:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul-malmont-the-astounding-the-amazing-and-the-un,58531/
I imagine someday I will read it, or hear enough comments about
it to have a strong opinion anyway.
--
Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Johnston
Nebus) wrote:
> Probably everyone else in the world was aware of this first,
>but apparently there's a fresh novel named _The Astounding, The
>Amazing, And The Unknown_ by Paul Malmont that forms a bit of secret
>history starring Robert Heinlein's little clique of science fiction
>writers lured to Philadelphia for the war effort:
>
>http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul-malmont-the-astounding-the-amazing-and-the-un,58531/
>
> I imagine someday I will read it, or hear enough comments about
>it to have a strong opinion anyway.
There's a Trail of Cthulu game module where you play Robert and Ginny
Heinlein, Anthony Boucher, and Phil Dick, investigating the
"accidental death" of Robert Parsons
Andrew Plotkin
Surely you can work Paul Linebarger and Alice Sheldon into that
somewhere.
--Z
--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
David Johnston
There is a section there giving guidelines and suggestiong for
alternate investigators like Jack Williamson, the Kuttners, and Isaac
Asimov. But Heinlein was chosen for his image as a man of action, and
because he had a red-headed wife. Boucher because he was a mystery
author. And Dick because of Dick's...exploitable issues.
Bill Higgins
> Here, David Johnston <davidjohnsto...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Thu, 7 Jul 2011 15:43:21 +0000 (UTC), nebu...@-rpi-.edu (Joseph
> > Nebus) wrote:
>
> > > Probably everyone else in the world was aware of this first,
> > >but apparently there's a fresh novel named _The Astounding, The
> > >Amazing, And The Unknown_ by Paul Malmont that forms a bit of secret
> > >history starring Robert Heinlein's little clique of science fiction
> > >writers lured to Philadelphia for the war effort:
>
>
> > > I imagine someday I will read it, or hear enough comments about
> > >it to have a strong opinion anyway.
>
> > There's a Trail of Cthulu game module where you play Robert and Ginny
> > Heinlein, Anthony Boucher, and Phil Dick, investigating the
> > "accidental death" of Robert Parsons
>
> Surely you can work Paul Linebarger and Alice Sheldon into that
> somewhere.
You need them to be in Los Angeles circa 1952, when Jack Parsons died
(or, I suppose, to shift the action of the game elsewhere).
By then the Heinleins had already moved to Colorado, so the game must
already be fudging to include them.
--
"There's darkness inside everyone's head-- | Bill Higgins
well, except during trepanning!" | Fermilab
--Jo Walton | hig...@fnal.gov
| http://beamjockey.livejournal.com
David Johnston
<higg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Jul 7, 11:44�am, Andrew Plotkin <erkyr...@eblong.com> wrote:
>> Here, David Johnston <davidjohnsto...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Thu, 7 Jul 2011 15:43:21 +0000 (UTC), nebu...@-rpi-.edu (Joseph
>> > Nebus) wrote:
>>
>> > > � � � �Probably everyone else in the world was aware of this first,
>> > >but apparently there's a fresh novel named _The Astounding, The
>> > >Amazing, And The Unknown_ by Paul Malmont that forms a bit of secret
>> > >history starring Robert Heinlein's little clique of science fiction
>> > >writers lured to Philadelphia for the war effort:
>>
>> > >http://www.avclub.com/articles/paul-malmont-the-astounding-the-amazin...
>>
>> > > � � � �I imagine someday I will read it, or hear enough comments about
>> > >it to have a strong opinion anyway. �
>>
>> > There's a Trail of Cthulu game module where you play Robert and Ginny
>> > Heinlein, Anthony Boucher, and Phil Dick, investigating the
>> > "accidental death" �of Robert Parsons
>>
>> Surely you can work Paul Linebarger and Alice Sheldon into that
>> somewhere.
>
>You need them to be in Los Angeles circa 1952, when Jack Parsons died
>(or, I suppose, to shift the action of the game elsewhere).
>
>By then the Heinleins had already moved to Colorado, so the game must
>already be fudging to include them.
They are in Los Angeles because that is where they debarked on the
tour around the world that Heinlein recounts in "Tramp Royale". They
are visiting Boucher before taking ship from there. The game has
changed their departure time for the trip about half a year.
Dorothy J Heydt
OK, but in reality they didn't go anywhere NEAR Los Angeles. They
took, IIRC, a train from their home near Denver to New Orleans,
and that's where they boarded the first ship. They wound up
stranded in New Zealand (which they hated), and rather than stay
there another day Ginny, who is portrayed as an acrophobe, was
willing to fly home via Honolulu and San Francisco.
They
>are visiting Boucher before taking ship from there. The game has
>changed their departure time for the trip about half a year.
Evidently.
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.
Robert A. Woodward
David Johnston <davidjo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Was El-Ron a suspect?
--
Robert Woodward <robe...@drizzle.com>
<http://www.drizzle.com/~robertaw>
David Johnston
Through the thinnest of paper-thin "We don't want to be sued"
disguises.
Howard C
> Probably everyone else in the world was aware of this first,
> but apparently there's a fresh novel named _The Astounding, The
> history starring Robert Heinlein's little clique of science fiction
> writers lured to Philadelphia for the war effort:
>
>
> I imagine someday I will read it, or hear enough comments about
> it to have a strong opinion anyway.
>
> --
> Joseph Nebus
Here's a review
I liked his "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" and think I'll probably
end up reading this.
William December Starr
Howard C <howard....@gmail.com> said:
> Here's a review
>
> http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/07/review-the-astounding-the-amazing-and-the-unknown-by-paul-malmont/
>
> I liked his "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" and think I'll
> probably end up reading this.
I almost hate to ask, but does _Death Cloud_ end up containing any
actual sfnal elements?
-- wds
Matthew B. Tepper
book, nor even of this author, until two days ago. I was socializing with
friends at the LASFS Clubhouse, and discussed Bill Patterson's Heinlein
bibliography with a friend who has pretty good knowledge of naval history.
For example, I wanted to know some more about the career of RAH's former CO
from the Lexington, Capt. Ernest J. King, particularly after an incident
during war games in which King flagrantly disobeyed a direct order from a
superior officer so as not to endanger unnecessarily the lives of his men.
King was relieved of his command, and it was thought by many that his
career was over. However, President Roosevelt thought differently, and
that was all that mattered.
But I digress. I thought my friend would be interested in seeing a photo
of L. Sprague de Camp, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein from their days
at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. (It's a *different* photo from the more
familiar one that you'll see if you do a Google search on their surnames
and the place name "Philadelphia.")
I then went into the LASFS Library (I really am getting close to a point;
trust me!) to see how much still needed to be packed for the club's move to
a larger Clubhouse in Van Nuys next month. While chatting with one of the
assistant librarians, I spotted Paul Malmont's new book, The Astounding,
the Amazing, and the Unknown, on the shelf, and picked it up for a look.
When I saw what (and who) it was about, I knew I would have to read it.
The following is mildly spoilery, and so anybody who wishes to avoid such
should close this post now.
space
space
space
space
space
space
the final frontier
stop that!
space
space
space
It's 1943, and the Nazis are trying to track down a super-weapon created by
Nikola Tesla. Naturally, our side assembles a team to oppose them:
The angry, chain-smoking CO:
John W. Campbell, Jr.
The suave, authoritative mission leader:
Robert A. Heinlein
The wizard:
L. Sprague de Camp
The bad boy who wants to do things his way:
L. Ron Hubbard
The boy genius/Comic relief kid from Brooklyn (two memes combined):
Isaac Asimov
Apparently "cameos" by or references to other sf authors (and others) are
scattered throughout the book. If Malmont is good, and plays to the
characters' weaknesses in addition to their strengths, it could continue to
be a fun read. And -- this is entirely my supposition -- if he doesn't
have a scene in which the nearsighted Heinlein, his glasses missing or
broken after a fistfight, tries to pilot a seaplane to the island, while
Asimov dangles from one of the pontoons, scared witless and screaming for
his parents in Yiddish, I'm going to be very disappointed.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!!
"I don’t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable
than left-wing social engineering. I don’t think imposing radical
change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free
society to operate. I think we need a national conversation to get
to a better Medicare system with more choices for seniors." Former
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich on "Meet the Press" 15 May 2011
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers.
Howard C
> In article <d1336d4b-7684-425e-b145-e5fe0a049...@x10g2000vbl.googlegroups.com>,> >http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/07/review-the-astounding-the-am...
>
> > I liked his "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" and think I'll
> > probably end up reading this.
>
> I almost hate to ask, but does _Death Cloud_ end up containing any
> actual sfnal elements?
>
> -- wds
I don't think it does, though it's been a while.
William December Starr
"Matthew B. Tepper" <oy兀earthlink.net> said:
> For example, I wanted to know some more about the career of
> RAH's former CO from the Lexington, Capt. Ernest J. King,
> particularly after an incident during war games in which King
> flagrantly disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer so
> as not to endanger unnecessarily the lives of his men. King
> was relieved of his command, and it was thought by many that
> his career was over. However, President Roosevelt thought
> differently, and that was all that mattered.
Hmm, there's no mention at all of that in
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_King>, just:
On 20 June 1930, King became captain of the carrier USS
Lexington - then one of the largest aircraft carriers in the
world - which he commanded for the next two years. During his
tenure aboard the Lexington, Captain King was the commanding
officer of notable science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein,
then Ensign Heinlein, prior to his medical retirement from the
US Navy. During that time, Ensign Heinlein dated one of King's
daughters.
I rather liked this bit from later in the W'pedia entry:
There was a tongue-in-cheek remark about King, made by one of
his daughters, carried about by Naval personnel at the time
that "he is the most even-tempered person in the United States
Navy. He is always in a rage." Roosevelt once described King
as a man who "shaves every morning with a blow torch".
-- wds
Steve Coltrin
wds...@panix.com (William December Starr) writes:
> In article <Xns9F20CE7AD39...@216.168.3.70>,
> "Matthew B. Tepper" <oy兀earthlink.net> said:
>
>> For example, I wanted to know some more about the career of
>> RAH's former CO from the Lexington, Capt. Ernest J. King,
>> particularly after an incident during war games in which King
>> flagrantly disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer so
>> as not to endanger unnecessarily the lives of his men. King
>> was relieved of his command, and it was thought by many that
>> his career was over. However, President Roosevelt thought
>> differently, and that was all that mattered.
>
> Hmm, there's no mention at all of that in
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_King>
It's discussed in the recent biography.
--
Steve Coltrin spco...@omcl.org Google Groups killfiled here
"A group known as the League of Human Dignity helped arrange for Deuel
to be driven to a local livestock scale, where he could be weighed."
- Associated Press
Tim McDaniel
Matthew B. Tepper <oy兀earthlink.net> wrote:
>and discussed Bill Patterson's Heinlein bibliography with a friend
>who has pretty good knowledge of naval history. For example, I
>wanted to know some more about the career of RAH's former CO from the
>Lexington, Capt. Ernest J. King, particularly after an incident
>during war games in which King flagrantly disobeyed a direct order
>from a superior officer so as not to endanger unnecessarily the lives
>of his men. King was relieved of his command, and it was thought by
>many that his career was over.
That was something that I found annoying about the Heinlein biography.
As I recall reading it, the part about the incident outright said that
King had destroyed his career. Morison's one-volume distillation of
his official history of the US Navy in WW2 has more lines in the index
for Fleet Admiral King than for Fleet Admiral Nimitz.
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
James Nicoll
indeed, many other kinds of experts:
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/08/patterson-heinlein-biography-not-to-be-trusted-on-details
--
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
http://www.cafepress.com/jdnicoll (For all your "The problem with
defending the English language [...]" T-shirt, cup and tote-bag needs)