From archive (archive) Xref: sssab.se rec.arts.sf-lovers:9147 rec.arts.movies:8384 Path: sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!uunet!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: ecl@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Evelyn C. Leeper) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers,rec.arts.movies Subject: SLAVES OF THE VOLCANO GOD by Craig Shaw Gardner Message-ID: <4657@cbnewsj.ATT.COM> Date: 16 Apr 90 21:18:00 GMT Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 41 SLAVES OF THE VOLCANO GOD by Craig Shaw Gardner Ace, 1989, ISBN 0-441-76977-2, $3.95. A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper Roger Gordon is leading a very boring existence in our world. Suddenly his girlfriend is kidnapped by a couple of thugs who disappear in a puff of smoke. With the aid of his handy Captain Crusader Decoder Ring (which just happens to be the key to the universe, or one of the thousands, at any rate), he follows them, only to find himself in the movies. No, I don't mean he ends up an actor in Hollywood; I mean he finds himself in the universe of the movies (the "Cineverse" as Gardner calls it). Most of the story is spent in a bad Western--Roger doesn't get to the South Seas island until almost the end of the book. What is the Cineverse like? Well, for one thing we find out why cowboys always carry guitars. You see, if they had to ride in the normal fashion to the outlaw's hideout, it would take days and days, but with the guitar, they just sing a song and when they finish the last chorus, presto! the hideout comes into view. You also discover some of the pitfalls the movies gloss over. You know how the bad guy's sidekicks have names such as "Tex" and "Dakota." Well, when the gang gets too large, the late-comers apparently end up with names such as "Idaho" and "District of Columbia." (For some reason, Gardner avoids bringing a sidekick named "Georgia" on- stage for the usual bad jokes. Given the rest of the book, it's difficult to attribute this to a sense of subtlety and refinement.) You learn under what conditions a six-shooter can have more than six bullets (whenever it is necessary to the plot) and when a gun will misfire (whenever it is necessary to the plot). This book is, of course, totally ridiculous. It also has a wonderfully tacky cover by Walter Velez--perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the book. And, again in keeping with the spirit of the old movie series and serials, it is book one of a series (book two, BRIDE OF THE SLIME MONSTER, has just come out, and book three, REVENGE OF THE FLUFFY BUNNIES, is threatened, I mean promised, soon). But if you're an old movie fan, this is a golden opportunity to find out what the secret rules of moviedom really are. Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 201-957-2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com From archive (archive) Path: sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!rutgers!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: ecl@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Evelyn C. Leeper) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers Subject: BRIDE OF THE SLIME MONSTER by Craig Shaw Gardner Message-ID: <4876@cbnewsj.ATT.COM> Date: 30 Apr 90 20:36:52 GMT Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 28 BRIDE OF THE SLIME MONSTER by Craig Shaw Gardner Ace, 1990, ISBN 0-441-07950-4, $3.95. A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper This is the second book in the "Cineverse Cycle," Gardner's look at what might happen if someone from our universe suddenly found himself living in a movie world--literally. In the first volume (SLAVES OF THE VOLCANO GOD, reviewed earlier) Roger Gordon found himself traveling between the worlds of western movies, pirate movies, and South Sea island movies, all with the aid of his Captain Crusader Decoder Ring. BRIDE OF THE SLIME MONSTER takes place mostly in the world of beach-party movies, and since I have never been a big fan of beach party movies, and find them even more ridiculous than formula westerns, I found this book less interesting than the first. In addition, since this is the middle of the trilogy (REVENGE OF THE FLUFFY BUNNIES, promised soon, is billed as the conclusion, though one suspects if the first three are successful, more will follow--that is one of the laws of the "Biblioverse"), it suffers from providing neither the background nor the conclusion of the story. In short, I can't recommend this if you haven't read the first one or don't intend to read the last one. And since the last one isn't out yet, I can't give an overall recommendation. Stayed tuned for the next exciting chapter in: "Review of the Cineverse Cycle!" Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 201-957-2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jan 8 11:07:16 1992 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!seunet!mcsun!uunet!think.com!mips!pacbell.com!pacbell!pbhyc!djdaneh From: ecl@mtgzy.att.com (Evelyn C Leeper +1 908 957 2070) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: THE OTHER SINBAD by Craig Shaw Gardner Message-ID: <1992Jan2.205742.11851@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 2 Jan 92 20:57:42 GMT Sender: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Reply-To: ecl@mtgzy.att.com Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Organization: Pacific * Bell Lines: 38 Approved: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com THE OTHER SINBAD by Craig Shaw Gardner A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper Craig Shaw Gardner is known as the author of humorous fantasy. This is perhaps not an entirely new sub-genre (Thorne Smith was writing it before most of today's readers were born), but it seems to have recently acquired a large number of contributors--besides Gardner, we have Douglas Adams, Piers Anthony (though his Xanth series seems to have ended a few years ago), Esther Friesner, Tim Holt, Terry Pratchett, .... Gardner's books seem to come in threes: the Ebenezum Trilogy, the Ballad of Wuntvor Trilogy, the Cineverse Trilogy. So it isn't surprising that at the end of this book is an announcement for A BAD DAY FOR ALI BABA. As far as this book goes, it's relatively self-contained, though it does assume some knowledge of the Sinbad story on the part of the reader. The "other Sinbad" of the title is Sinbad the Porter, who is often confused with the famous Sinbad, Sinbad the Sailor. When he finally meets his more famous counterpart, it turns out to be a good thing, because a demon sent to take Sinbad the Sailor doesn't know which Sinbad to take and so can take neither. But fairly soon I found myself wishing he had taken Sinbad the Sailor--a pompous, irresponsible bore. It's possible you will find this humorous, but I didn't. And the retellings and re-occurrences of his first seven voyages didn't do anything for me either. I can't help feeling my time would have been better spent reading the Burton translation of the original THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS. %T The Other Sinbad %A Craig Shaw Gardner %C New York %D November 1991 %I Ace %O paperback, US$4.50 %G ISBN 0-441-76720-6 %P 248pp Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com