From archive (archive) Xref: herkules.sssab.se rec.arts.sf-lovers:15863 rec.arts.books:5456 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnewsj!ecl From: ecl@cbnewsj.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers,rec.arts.books Subject: THE SECRET ASCENSION by Michael Bishop Message-ID: <1990Sep21.153306.28341@cbnewsj.att.com> Date: 21 Sep 90 15:33:06 GMT Followup-To: rec.arts.sf-lovers Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 24 THE SECRET ASCENSION by Michael Bishop Tor, 1989 (c1987), ISBN 0-812-53157-4, $4.50 A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper This book is actually titled THE SECRET ASCENSION OR, PHILIP K. DICK IS DEAD, ALAS. And it is a tribute to Dick in more ways than one. In the world of THE SECRET ASCENSION (which is, to state it up front, an alternate world), Dick has achieved a far greater fame than he did in our world. Yet he has also become known as a subversive author in this world of totalitarian government. We never find out just where things changed, but it was nothing obvious. There are many minor changes (instead of Ted Turner, this world has Tod Turner, for example) that indicate that something happened much further back than the major changes would indicate. But in addition to using Dick as a character, THE SECRET ASCENSION also uses Dick's technique of playing with reality and levels of reality and of asking "What is reality?" The result is unusual, and not quite describable. The best I can do is to say I recommend this novel even if you're not a Philip K. Dick fan (if you are, this recommendation is probably superfluous anyway). Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908-957-2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jun 30 11:13:57 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!psinntp!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: COUNT GEIGER'S BLUES, by Michael Bishop Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Organization: Pacific * Bell Message-ID: <1993Jun29.163642.10479@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 30 Jun 93 01:12:57 GMT Lines: 62 COUNT GEIGER'S BLUES, by Michael Bishop Review by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes Copyright (c) 1992 Dan'l Danehy-Oakes I was fascinated by the book's blurb, which turns out to be completely accurate but completely misleading. Which is just as well, as far as I'm concerned, for COUNT GEIGER'S BLUES turns out to be a far _better_ book than its blurb would have had me believe. CGB is the adventures of one Xavier Throxton, snob. Throxton is the editor of the Fine Arts section of, as the blurb puts it, "a great metropolitan newspaper." [Do you hear the echoes in that phrase? Can you here George Reeves in the background, crying "UP AND AWAY?" Well, I sure hope so. If not, you're in dire need of COUNT GEIGER'S BLUES.] Xavier loathes comic books, sci-fi, rock'n'roll, fast food. . . In short, Xavier loathes pop culture. Xavier goes swimming. Alas, poor Xavier; the clear mountain lake in which he innocently dips his skinny has been used as the site of an illegal medical waste dump. While the results of this are brewing inside of him, several important things happen: 1. He falls in love, with "Bari of Salonika," his home-town's world- famous fashion designer. 2. His nephew, Mikhail, a/k/a "The Mick," moves in with him, paints the walls of his room black, and begins pounding out the sounds of his favorite retropunk band, "Smite Them Hip And Thigh." 3. Oh, yes. There was a leak at the nuclear power plant above the lake he was swimming in, a leak of which the public first became aware a day later. When did it really start? Xavier never really does find out. All these things come to a head as Xavier develops what he calls the Philistine Syndrome: a weird allergy to high art. A high mass at Salonika's Episcopal cathedral sends him into sneezing fits. His hands begin to swell and pustulate at a performance of THE NUTCRACKER. And, to make it worse, the only thing that seems to help is exposure to pop culture: Comic books. Rock'n'roll. Junk food. Wrestling matches! It's dreadful. To explain how this syndrome signals the beginning of Xavier's transformation into the superhero Count Geiger; or how the Count ultimately defeats the evil financier behind the dumping of radwaste in the Salonika area; or how he learns to love "Smite Them Hip And Thigh"; or merely how he loses his job; or even how Tim Bowman, editor-in-chief of Uncommon Comics, plays a vital role. . . to explain any of these things would be to give away some of the delightful surprises Bishop has piled into COUNT GEIGER'S BLUES at the rate of about one every ten pages. So instead I'll tell you that CGB is an incredibly funny, incredibly sad satire of modern America; that it successfully, and without any intellectual hoohaw deconstructs the invisible boundary between high and low art; that it is full of characters you will love and hate; that it's some of Michael Bishop's best just plain *writing* ever; and that if you don't go out and buy this book you will hate yourself for ever and ever, become a social outcast, grow hair in embarassing places, and never succeed with members of the appropriate sex. Say no more! %A Michael Bishop %C New York %D 1992 %G ISBN 0-312-85199-5 %I TOR books %O Hardcover %O $19.95 %T COUNT GEIGER'S BLUES From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Apr 12 12:05:45 1994 Xref: liuida rec.arts.sf.reviews:551 rec.arts.books:82687 alt.books.reviews:3045 Path: liuida!sunic!EU.net!Germany.EU.net!netmbx.de!zib-berlin.de!news.th-darmstadt.de!terra.wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de!zeus.rbi.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de!news.dfn.de!scsing.switch.ch!swidir.switch.ch!univ-lyon1.fr!ghost.dsi.unimi.it!batcomputer!hookup!news2.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: Evelyn.Chimelis.Leeper@att.com () Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.books,alt.books.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: BRITTLE INNINGS by Michael Bishop Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9404110933.ZM4665@mtgpfs1.mt.att.com> Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 22:26:26 GMT Lines: 55 BRITTLE INNINGS by Michael Bishop Bantam Spectra, ISBN 0-553-08136-5, April 1994, 502pp, US$21.95. A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1994 Evelyn C. Leeper I am not a baseball fan (or indeed, a fan of any sport), so whenI first heard that Michael Bishop was writing a novel about minor league baseball in the South during World War II, my ears didn't immediately perk up. But I kept hearing recommendations and praise for it, so when it arrived, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes I make the right decisions. BRITTLE INNINGS is good--very good. Though baseball is the background, BRITTLE INNINGS is not about baseball; it is about what makes us human, what makes us the same--and what makes us different. To do this, Bishop uses not only the metaphor of baseball, but all the parallels of his theme in the racial segregation of the era. The various characters each have his or her place in society, and this place is often independent of any rationalbasis. That may sound trite, but in Bishop's hands, it is not, and he skillfully uses the hidden true nature of background of his characters to show how we often make decisions based on incomplete or incorrect assessments of people. The story takes place in 1943, when Danny Boles, fresh out of high school in Oklahoma, is signed for the Highbridge (Georgia) Hellbenders, a class C farm club. When he arrives, however, he has been struck muteby an incident on his journey and is forced to begin his stay as more of an observer and less of a participant than might normally be the case. His interaction with his teammates, especially Jumbo Hank Clerval, form awindow into the world of human relationships. There is more I could say about BRITTLE INNINGS, but I don't want to reveal too much of the plot. Bishop also conveys a wonderful sense of time and place--you feel as if you are in the hot and dusty 1940s South as you read BRITTLE INNINGS. And in addition to the main part of the novel (written as Danny's first-person narrative), there are also sections written from another voice, in a totally different style, which describe a totally different time and place. These, too, are excellent, and the combination of the two provides yet another level of meaning. I heartily recommend this book, not only for now, but also as a strong contender when Hugo time comes around. %T Brittle Innings %A Michael Bishop %C New York %D April 15, 1994 %I Bantam Spectra %O hardback, US$21.95 %G ISBN 0-553-08136-5 %P 502pp -- Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | ecl@mtgpfs1.att.com / Evelyn.Leeper@att.com "Remember, high-tech means breaks down next week, while cutting edge means breaks down this afternoon. -Bruce Sterling