FACT SF Reading Group

March 2010

March 1: Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley

Eleven people attended this meeting at the North Village library. Our topic was Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley. The book is a humorous novel about what happens when a conservative, bowtie-wearing television talk show host is abducted by aliens. Two of us had read Buckley before. Nine of us started the book, and all nine finished it.

Several of us loved the book. We laughed all the humor about Washington DC and those who live there. The satirical approach to television, government, and UFOs just worked for us. This book made government conspiracies quite plausible. We loved the scenes where the protagonist visited a UFO convention in Austin. The theme song for the protagonist’s show, “Fanfare for a Self-Important Man”, delighted us. We loved Ample Ampere, the electrical company that sponsored his show, and their amusing commercials for products including the electric chair.

While some characters in the book were clearly based on real-world people, we were unclear on the model for the protagonist. Some of our group felt he was based on George Will, others supported Tucker Carlson, and a few felt he was based on William F. Buckley, the author’s father. We also appreciated that the main character’s initials were J.O.B., since he underwent a series of ups and downs reminiscent of a biblical figure.

One person had read the book when it was first published in 2000, and felt that it showed how dysfunctional Washington was back in the late 1990s. He thought the book was witty and well-done. He did not feel this was as good as the political humor of Terry Southern, who wrote Dr. Strangelove. He thought that the UFO element of the story was not well handled, and that people familiar with the UFO community would be disappointed in the book.

Some of us who enjoyed the book wished for more. Some us felt the overall story was thin, merely providing a framework to string a bunch of jokes together. And others wished the sf element of the story was more fully realized.

A couple of readers commented that this book simply did not work for them. One felt the book was boring, had little story, and no elements she found humorous. She plans to avoid the author’s work in the future. Another reader said the while the writing was decent, the story held no interest to him. Both of these readers said they enjoyed listening to our discussion more than reading the book.

After the meeting, many of us had a nice dinner at Fuddrucker’s.

March 16: On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

Twelve people gathered at the Milwood library to discuss On Stranger Tides, the pirate novel that will serve as the basis for the next Pirates of the Caribbean film. Eight of us had read Tim Powers before. Nine of us started the book, and seven finished it.

One reader totally enjoyed the action-packed story filled with swordplay, and plans to see the movie. She learned some history from the book. She liked that this book had elements of Caribbean magic, but felt that that Nalo Hopkinson handled this element better (in Brown Girl in the Ring, written much latter but recently discussed by the Reading Group).

Another member had read the book when it was new. He found that it was a quick, enjoyable read. He was amused by the puppetry element and the book’s gratuitous references to pirate movies and novels.

One member enjoyed the book a great deal. His favorite character was the pirate captain. He thought it was clever how everyone had ulterior motives in the story, but it all came together in the end.

A couple of us commented that Powers’s writing is just not enjoyable to read, with a prose style they felt did not flow naturally to them. They kept finding things to distract them and set the book down every few pages. One of these people commented that he’d enjoyed his first Powers novel (The Anubis Gates) but had started and not finished at least four others since.

One person struggled with the book initially because she tried to read it as a Pirates of the Caribbean novel. (The book was years before the first Pirates movie.) When she gave up on the Disney mold and started reading the book on its own terms, reading went much better. She’d read the book while waiting for jury duty.

Other readers were big Powers fans but felt this was the author’s weakest book. One found it interesting to reread in the context of “How are they going to make a movie from this?” Another liked the surreal flashbacks.

Near the end of the meeting, we discussed other good pirate novels. Recommendations included the work of Jeffrey Carver, Jack Vance, Robert A. Heinlein, Elizabeth Moon, David Weber, Steven Barnes, Gene Wolfe, Greg Keyes, Robin Hobb, Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, Kage Baker, and Nalo Hopkinson.

After the meeting, many of us had a nice dinner at Culver’s.

--A.T. Campbell, III