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Pastimes : Metaphysics and Spiritual Practices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Harmattan who wrote (430)	1/31/1998 8:17:00 AM
From: Crocodile	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 650

"Stranger In A Strange Land".... ghunk, That is quite a classic from the 60s. I am wondering if your friend was thinking of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" by Stephen R. Donaldson, published in the mid-70s. It was a trilogy about a man who is crippled by leprosy and who repeatedly finds himself in another world where he is looked upon as a somewhat defective and enigmatic savior. The question for the reader is always whether the adventure is occurring at all, or whether it is entirely the delusional wanderings of a mind in crisis (a point which seems to be something of a postmodernist-type conundrum now that I think of it). If this is the trilogy that you seek. The books are: 1.) Lord Foul's Bane; 2.) The Illearth War; and 3.) The Power That Preserves. Make no mistake, they are of the Swords and Sorcerer genre and not to everyone's liking. I believe that, from a literary point of view, they are probably a cut above the rest in a genre which tends to be somewhat uneven. They should be easy to find as I believe they enjoyed some popularity in their time. Croc

To: Harmattan who wrote (430)	1/31/1998 3:53:00 PM
From: Yorikke	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 650

Ghunk, I don't particularly regard Hard SF as fine literature. But if you are after some well written weird work go after Clark Ashton Smith's stuff. (Xiccarff, Zothique, Hyperborea, Poseidonis) Ballentine had a fantasy series in the '70's that reprinted a lot of old works. Lord Dunsony, (Well at the Worlds End) did a few that are beautiful. H.Rider Haggard (She, King Solomon's Mines) occasionally comes up with some poetic work. My collection is in a box somewhere so I can not peruse it to get the names and titles. I'll look. It is mostly collector stuff now, even the reprints, and hard to find however. I read Phil Farmer, Jack Vance, David Drake.... A lot of this stuff is for 12 year old boys, but getting by that some of the places these guys manage to create are bizarre and entertaining. Larry Niven did some good stuff in the 70's and he and Gerry Pournelli teamed up for a few good ones. I don't much care for where they have gone now. I've been reading this stuff for so long its hard to pick out authors...if you like Hienlien there are a boat load of reprints of his works out now. Again, he had a market to satisfiy...boys, 12 years and older. So some of it can be page turning stuff. Starship troopers was actually a pretty good tale. I don't really recall the book having much of a resemblance to the movie. David Drake has worked with another author on a few stories that take place in the time of the roman empire...which I liked. I stay away from anything with pixies, fairies, wizards, or young girls with crystal balls in their hands pictured on the cover. In today's market that pretty much limits the choices. I also try and stay away from anything that is part of a series. If you want that stuff go read the real one...pick up Lord of the Rings. Its well written and you can get your fill of charming little dwarfs in a few books.....and since it was so 'in' for so long there are always copies around in used book stores! Like I said before I buy based on the amount of violent action, strange places, and bizarre thought. I'm not interested in finding a revelation in the pages of pulp science fiction. I prefer they shoot each other and get on with the War. regards, mnmuench