From archive (archive)
Subject: Recycling the dead (Heroes in Hell series)
From: chuq@SUN.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Date: 26 Jun 86 04:50:39 GMT



I just finished the second volume of the _Heroes in Hell_ being put out
by Baen (don't let quality get in your way) Books. Phegh.

> I was recently reading one of the "heros in hell" stories, and felt a
> considerable flash of annoyance over the recycling of historic
> personalities.  When Farmer first (?) did it in _Riverworld_, it was
> interesting, but he kind of wore it out (to me anyway) with the
> continual flashbacks to Richard Burton's past in the later volumes.

I liked the way Farmer did it (sort of) although like most series it
went waaay toooo lonnnnggggg... HiH, unfortunately, is primarily a
_Thieves' World_ ripoff, using a cute but poorly executed gimmick.
There is absolutely no justification for the people who are IN Hell,
except that they are convenient to the story.  Most of the characters
are famous names from history with convenient personalities written
around them -- any resemblance to the REAL historical characters is
purely coincidental.

Each volume has the same general format.  Janet Morris (creator of the
series) buys reprint rights to a top line story from a good author (in
_Heroes in Hell_ Greg Benford does a good story on Hemmingway; in
_Rebels in Hell_ it is Silverbob on Gilamesh.  Both are wonderful.
Both were also prepublished in the SF Magazines the month the book came
out).  The rest of the material is Journeyman at best, mainly by lesser
known authors.

_Rebels in Hell_ had a second good story: _There are No Fighter Pilots
In Hell_ by Martin Caidin.  Between that and the Silverberg story, RIH
is marginally worth buying.  HIH should be avoided.  What is really
disappointing is that there are a number of Cherryh stories in these
volumes, all of them drek.  She should definitely be lending some class
to the book, and isn't. sigh.

If you want to read some good collaborative anthologys, read the two
books in the _Liavek_ series:  _Liavek_ and _Liavek:  The Players of Luck_
edited by Shetterly and Bull.  Great stuff, well thought out, and fun.

chuq


From archive (archive)


		     "Beyond Sanctuary"
                            by
     		        Janet Morris
		         Baen Books
	       Science Fiction Book Club edition

                        reviewed by
		      Carlo N. Samson
              U09862%UICVM.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU

     The first "Thieves' World" novel, "Beyond Sanctuary"  deals with Tempus
and the Stepsons as they battle Roxane and the archmage Datan for control
of Wizardwall. The first two chapters, "Wizard Weather" and "High Moon",
first appeared in "Storm Season" and "The Face of Chaos", respectively. The
story picks up from the end of "High Moon", when the Stepsons leave Sanctuary
to follow Tempus to Wizardwall.
    I couldn't get into this book. The plot moved rather slowly, the writing
was bland, and the characters, supposedly fleshed out in the previous novels,
seemed like flat images on a television screen.
    Perhaps the reason for my lack of enthusiasm for this book stems from
my confusion about certain plotlines in the series (What is the current state
of the Empire? What's so important about Wizardwall? What *is* Wizardwall,
anyway?). Or maybe its the writing itself (What's the deal with Vashanka?
What's the story behind Roxane? Behind Ischade? Behind Tempus?). Or maybe
the series itself (Why did the city suddenly break out into war in "The
Dead of Winter"? What are the Beysib gonna do next? Where's Shadowspawn?
Who really runs Sanctuary, anyway? Whatever happened to Jamie the Red? Does
anyone have the faintest idea what the heck is going on in Thieves' World????)
    As you can probably guess, I seem to have suffered a cerebral meltdown
somewhere along the line which affected my recollections of the TW series.
But if you have read the previous books and you know what's going on, then
buy the book for the sake of completeness, if nothing else. Otherwise, skip it.

Carlo Samson
U09862 @ uicvm