Old Tea Leaf Reviews 10: 1990 Locus Poll Best First Novel

[james_davis_nicoll]

Cut for length



1 Orbital Decay Allen Steele

I think this involved Deadheads in space fighting the Man.

Allen Steele is both fairly successful and reasonably prolific.


2 Sunglasses After Dark Nancy A. Collins

Horror, featuring the vampire Sonja Blue, I think. I did not
read it.

Writing horror professionally is a bit like trying to weather a
storm by tying onself firmly to the ship's anchor. I am not particularly
surprised to see that most of her novels predate the 21st century.


3 On My Way to Paradise Dave Wolverton

The protagonist finds himself on a mixed-nationality mission
to an alien world. I remember this was vaguely MilSFy, that Wolverton is
a firm believer that nationality defines character and that it was
utterly unsurpising that Orson Scott Card liked his fiction.

He has been reasonably prolific but recently appears to be
published more frequently as David Farland.


4 The Tides of God Ted Reynolds

I did not read this.

As far as I know, this was his only novel. He was getting
published at shorter lengths until at least the mid-1990s.


5 Strange Invasion Michael Kandel

I did not read this.

Kandel is an excellent translator. His novel writing career
appears to be limited to four novels published in the 1990s, although
shorter pieces still appear from time to time.


6 Laying the Music to Rest Dean Wesley Smith

I also did not read this.

Smith is a very prolific author of media tie-in novels.


7 The Gate of Ivory Doris Egan

I did not read this.

As far as I can tell, Egan had four books published and then
left for the more lucrative television production and writing fields.
Her work is seen on such shows as HOUSE and NUMB3RS.



8 Petrogypsies Rory Harper

I have not heard of this book or this author.

This appears to be his only novel. He wrote shorter pieces
until the mid-1990s.


9 Twistor John G. Cramer

A scientist's discovery of a method that allows access to alternate
dimensions makes him a target for a malevolent corporation.

I think he only wrote the two novels (This one and EINSTEIN'S
BRIDGE. I believe his current specialty (aside from his academic work)
is writing pop-science articles for ANALOG.


10 The Grotesque Patrick McGrath

I have not read this.

An online search suggests that although the author produced
two books in consecutive years in the early part of his career, he
two books in consecutive years in the early part of his career, he
prefers a three to four year gap between books. His most recent
book came out in 2008.


11 Silk Road: A Novel of Eighth-Century China Jeanne Larsen

That doesn't really seem like the title of a fantasy novel
and looking at her website, she seems more likely to be writing
historical novels or poetry than fantasy or SF. I hope this isn't
an APOLLO 13 situation, where the voters are apparently too
ignorant to tell a historical account from SF.

If I am reading her bibliography correctly, there was
a gap in her books from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s but she
was busy with shorter works.


12 The Steerswoman Rosemary Kirstein

This is set in what initially appears to be a fantasy world. The
protagonist applies what we would see as a scientific approach to the
many mysteries of her world. This inadvertantly angers the "wizards", who
appear to be malevolent engineers.


There was a looooong delay between the second and the third
book in this series. I don't know what the status is on the fifth book.


13 Child of Saturn Teresa Edgerton

I missed this.

Edgerton is not especially prolific but her career continues
to this day.


14 Julian's House Judith Hawkes

I missed this.

Hawkes appears to have had three novels published in the 1990s.


15 Mermaid's Song Alida Van Gores

I missed this.

As far as I can tell, this was Van Gores' only novel.


16 After Sundown Randall Boyll

I also missed this.

Boyll appears to have been fairly prolific in the 1990s (apparently
specializing in Darkman tie-ins) but I don't see anything after 2000's
KATASTROPHE.


17 Bad Voltage Jonathan Littell

I did not read this.

Littell doesn't seem to have stuck around in SF although his other
writing was considered of sufficient merit to earn him French citizenship
thanks to "a clause stating that any French speaker whose "meritorious
actions contribute to the glory of France" are allowed to become
citizens [...]". He doesn't seem entirely keen on Israel.

His father is Robert Littell (author of THE AMATEUR amongst
many other novels).


18 Contrarywise Zohra Greenhalgh

I also missed this.

I don't see a lot of information on this author. They had at
least two novels published.


19 Empire's Horizon John Brizzolara

I missed this.

This appears to have been his only novel, although shorter works
appeared through the 1990s.

Comments

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Ted Reynolds has writers block but has kept active encouraging other writers in starting their careers and in keeping them going.

At the age of 70 he has been in print since 1953 when he was 15.

[apis-mellifera.livejournal.com]

Nancy Collins has a YA book coming out in September--I got a review copy of it. As recently as 2002 she was still married to the underground filmmaker Joe Christ, who I had the misfortune of encountering my sophomore year of college.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

I thought about refering to Collins and Christ's attempt to capitalize on the Kramer affair, including their ham-handed attempts to anonymously drum up public anger on USENET at Kramer [1] (someone that the state still has yet to take to court after eight years, which says to me that either their court system is broken and/or the evidence is weak) but this gets posted to rasfw and I could see the discussion going in bad directions.

As far as I am concerned, her career can crash and burn.


1: And SP Somtow, IIRC.

[apis-mellifera.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about the Kramer affair. I do know that Joe Christ is a piece of work--anyone who tries to maneuver two 18 year olds into bed with them and then gets nasty and vaguely threatening when they say no isn't exactly a nice person.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

*The Gate of Ivory* is a gorgeous fish-out-of-water novel, with an anthropologist trapped on a planet where (some forms of) magic work. The contrast between her expectations of the planet and its actual customs is vividly drawn, and continues for the two sequels.

I, and many of my friends, mourn her leaving the next series, with a first volume, *City of Diamond* only. Professionally, moving to TV was the right thing for her to do.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

You know that he misplaced a large portion of his penis at some point, right?

[apis-mellifera.livejournal.com]

I didn't, no. Do tell.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

I believe the official story is deliberate self-mutilation but if I recall correctly, there was some speculation about a cock-ring experience gone horribly wrong.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry -- Kramer affair?

I know nothing, but am curious.


Doug M.

[(Anonymous)]

IMS Egan wrote an excellent time-travel novella in the mid-1980s, which got collected in a "Best of".

It was the sort of novella that implies a much larger universe with lots of more stories in it. Alas, there weren't any.


Doug M.

[(Anonymous)]

"I hope this isn't
an APOLLO 13 situation, where the voters are apparently too
ignorant to tell a historical account from SF."

I will argue that, although APOLLO 13 was based on an actual historical event, it was still SF. I have no idea if that was what motivated the voters.

"Brave astro-pilots on a Moon survey suffer a rupture on their oxygen tanks, and must use all their wits and American know-how in order to engineer a safe return to Earth." You could have sold that story to John Campbell in 1950, especially if you threw in a telepath or two.

[apis-mellifera.livejournal.com]

Hm. I wonder if that was before or after 1993. Because he was definitely angling for a bit of action that evening.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Ed Kramer, a not especially likable guy who used to be a major power at Dragoncon, was accused of child molestation. He's never been tried but the best tradition of below the Mason-Dixon justice has been under house arrest since about 2000.

Christ and Collins were once associates of Kramer's but they spent a lot of time trying to convict Kramer in the court of public opinion before he went to trial. The speculation back when was that they hoped for a True Crime book contract.

[kate_nepveu]

I saw a report that Kirstein had finished a book in the Steerswoman series, _The City in the Crags_, but found the need to write another book before it; however, I cannot find that link now.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

"12 The Steerswoman Rosemary Kirstein
...
I don't know what the status is on the fifth book."

As of a 2005 interview, _The City in the Crags_ was described as "forthcoming". I am impatient.

[tomscud.livejournal.com]

Laying the Music to Rest Dean Wesley Smith

Very odd book, though I liked it. It's a ghost story, and a science fiction story. I expected to find out at the end that the ghost had been created in some way by the sf element, but not so much. (And without the ghost, I'd never have had cause to suspect any supernatural elements in the SF portion, which given the magic-tech involved was straight SF.) The whole thing reminded me of Clifford Simak's stuff, particularly A Choice of Gods.

[von-krag.livejournal.com]

"8 Petrogypsies Rory Harper" Fluff but fun. Bio-engineered alien critters & oil patch w/lots of humor.

Horror as writers' graveyard

[raycun.livejournal.com]

"Horror, featuring the vampire Sonja Blue...Writing horror professionally is"

I understand that the publishing category "Horror" is in serious decline. But aren't the SF shelves full of 'urban fantasy'? "He's a broody vampire, she's a techno-pagan, they fuc... er, fight crime!" kind of thing?

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard of the matter, but a quick google turned up this article. Granted it's one side of the story, but all I can say is: bloody hell.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

a cock-ring experience gone horribly wrong

Now there's a chain of words I could have gone throughout my life without reading.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Really? For me it was the phrase "catastrophic catheter mishap", which I heard from someone working at St. Mary's Hospital.

Oh dear

[(Anonymous)]

That's just an unpleasant story in all sorts of ways, isn't it.

But apparently he was released from house arrest just a few weeks ago --

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/06/02/dragondon_founder_house_arrest.html

-- though he's still under various restrictions while "awaiting trial".

Google provides links in all sorts of interesting directions (fan response pro and con, libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr weighing in) but, well.

Anyway, thanks.


Doug M.

Re: Oh dear

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

That reminds me that Kramer may not have taken advice from the very best sources. Google his name and "Robert A. Hirschfe" aka "nolawyer@nolawyer.com to see what I mean.

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

Ms. Egan also has an LJ: tightropegirl, though she hasn't posted in some months.

[(Anonymous)]

The Wolverton falls into the category of "Flawed but interesting first novels, with subsequent novels having more flaws and less interest".

He's writing fantasy these days, right? And whiny screeds about the wickedness of Literature and how the meanies look down on us fans?


Doug M.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

As am I. I ran across a more recent interview where she said that she needed another book between that one (which is presumably the endgame of the series) and the most recent novel, and that this intermediate novel is currently being written. So, it (thankfully) seems this series will actually continue sometime in the not horribly distant future.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad I didn't skip the comments to this post.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Silk Road is fantasy; various bits of it take place in different Chinese heavens and there are creatures from Chinese mythology and folklore all over it.

Re: Horror as writers' graveyard

[(Anonymous)]

Apparently, if the vampire is chasing the heroine, nobody wants to read it. If the heroine is chasing the vampire, though, it sells like hotcakes.

- Ken

Re: Horror as writers' graveyard

[scentofviolets.livejournal.com]

Groan. My daughter, aged 14, and her friends have recently discovered the 'Twilight' series. This is _not_ a trend I am especially fond of. Is there any sort of hard date on the first 'Vampire as good guy' story? I wouldn't count stuff like 'Varney'.

[tsm-in-toronto.livejournal.com]

"Writing horror professionally is a bit like trying to weather a
storm by tying onself firmly to the ship's anchor."

... it's aweigh to make a living.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Yeah I liked his first novel, but never could get more than one chapter into another book he wrote (I forget the name now). "Paradise" featured a main character who was old and then got rejuved and then became a soldier. Makes me think of Scalzi's "Old Man's War."

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Mermaid's Song Alida Van Gores

I thiiiiiiiiiink I read this (it's ringing a very faint bell) and might even still have my copy lying around. If it's the book I'm thinking of, it's Cinderella Under the Sea, with some environmentalism thrown in.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I've read Orbital Decay and The Steerswoman and have more books by those two.

Actually, I have all of Allen's books and I have new trade paperback editions of the Steerswoman series because I had really ratty mmpb copies before. I'm assuming the last two books will also be tpbs.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Everything I've read makes me think the accusations are false. Ed Kramer wasn't ever my favorite person (he did offer that I could come down and look at Dragon*con's books, since he didn't want to make them public), but there doesn't seem to be any actual evidence that he did anything wrong. In the meantime, he's been mistreated in prison and become a more and more damaged person. I think it would be only fair to drop the case.

Re: Horror as writers' graveyard

[connactic.livejournal.com]

I am sure there was something earlier, but I think the Anne Rice novels paved the way for the whole "vampires are cool" idea that is common now.

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

I had one of Collins' books, and after the whole Kramer mess broke I thought of mailing it back to the publisher. I decided that wasn't worth the trouble, or postage, and just threw it out.

She, and her career, can rot.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

One read, and one author where I've read another book.

[scentofviolets.livejournal.com]

What do you find appealing about them, may I ask? I knew Alan back in the day, actually, ran in the same art circle in Columbia, MO. Good guy.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I actually didn't like Spindrift as well as the others, but I am a fan of space opera. I think it's quite possible spacers will be listening to The Dead in the future. He shows a lot more of the day-to-day life in the future than we see other places, and I think he has interesting ideas. The Coyote series is not in space as much as I'd like, but I like the stories. Did you notice there's a guy posting to Charlie's Diary as Rigel Kent?

And I've known him for a long time -- he was a regular on our SF chat forum in OMNI on AOL (back when he was in MO) and we see each other every now and then at cons. In fact, he very loosely based the character Genevieve in The Tranquillity Alternative on me.

Campbell Nominees

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Nancy Collins
John Cramer
Katherine Neville
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Allen Steele

Re: Horror as writers' graveyard

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but these are not the fluffy chase the guy in hot pants type of stories. Vampires aren't people too. Much more of your horror kill the monsters before they torture, mind control or kill you, in whichever order. :)

[stephenshevlin.livejournal.com]

Out of that lot I've only read the Steele. It's pretty decent, and the focus on blue-collar life is quite refreshing for SF. The other two novels I've read in the same setting didn't work for me (one was in fact quite aggravating), and the other stuff he's done does not interest.