Apr

26

Dinner with Elizabeth Moon

Posted by : atcampbell | On : April 26, 1997

Category: Uncategorized

Dinner with Elizabeth Moon

Since we’d discussed two of Elizabeth Moon’s books, we decided it was high time to take her out to dinner. On April 26, ten of us gathered at Cafe Serranos to honor Ms. Moon and her work. She told us that she considers Remnant Population to be “the most Texan SF novel” she’s written. The main character was based on people she knew while growing up in South Texas. To make sure that her depiction of the elderly was correct, she read several fiction and nonfiction books about the subject, and she hired a “70+” writing teacher to help edit the manuscript. We learned about Moon’s “3 Step Revision Process.” She shared some of her experiences collaborating with Anne McCaffrey, which she found “a valuable learning opportunity.” Ms. Moon was a gracious and entertaining dinner guest, and we’re glad she found time to share with us.

–A. T. Campbell, III

Apr

15

Remnant Population

Posted by : atcampbell | On : April 15, 1997

Category: Uncategorized

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

Our largest group ever, twelve people, assembled at Adventures in Crime and Space on April 15 to discuss Elizabeth Moon’s Hugo-nominated Remnant Population. The book is a first contact story involving an old woman left by herself on an alien planet. It was humorously (and accurately) termed “a coming of age novel for little old ladies.” The characterization of the woman is complex and well-executed, and the alien society she encounters is an intriguing concoction. We found the prose quite readable, and one person pronounced it a “compulsive page-turner.” Another person had particularly strong feelings for the work, since “this is the book that got me reading again after finishing college.” In addition to the main story of the first contact, the book examines family dynamics and the roles of the elderly in human society. One person felt that this was “Elizabeth Moon’s first literary novel.”

–A. T. Campbell, III

Apr

01

The Phoenix Guards

Posted by : atcampbell | On : April 1, 1997

Category: Uncategorized

The Phoenix Guards by Steven Brust

On April 1, seven of us gathered at the FACT Office to discuss Steven Brust’s The Phoenix Guards. The book is a swashbuckling romp in the tradition of Dumas and Sabatini, with a few minor fantasy elements thrown in. We all enjoyed the book immensely. Brust’s prose style was a clever and humorous pastiche of classic adventure writing (The multiple-page discussion of “brevity” was particularly amusing) . We loved the book’s clever forward and afterward, supposedly written by a fictional narrator. The book is set in the distant past of Brust’s well-known Vlad Taltos series, so the story definitely does not take place in our world. Various races of people have lifespans ranging from decades to millennia, and gender roles in society are different. Brust’s four main characters all have distinctive and enjoyable personalities, although it goes without saying that each is a master fighter. There are so many wonderful and clever touches to this book that I can’t even begin to mention them all, so let me repeat the recommendation of our group: “Read This Book!”

–A. T. Campbell, III