FACT SF Reading Group

November 2002

November 5: Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David

Eighteen people attended this meeting at Charles and Willie Siros's home. The topic was Sir Apropos of Nothing, a humorous fantasy novel written by Peter David. This book, set in a medieval world of knights and kings, follows the adventures of a young man called Apropos who is the illegitimate offspring of nobility. Apropos tries to lead a low-key existence, but somehow he keeps falling into situations involving duels, princesses, and mythical creatures. Fourteen of us had read the book, and twelve finished it. Five had read prior books by Peter David.

Two of us enjoyed the book a lot. We loved how it made fun of the traditions of fantasy. It covered several standard fantasy bases with a twist and a tongue-in-cheek attitude. One highlight was when Apropos was concerned that he might not be the hero of his own story, so he beat up the guy who seemed ready to take over the role. Although we felt the main character was too whiny, we found the constant humor and inventiveness of the storytelling made the book fun to read.

Four others generally liked the book, but found it needed editing. These people generally liked the humorous tone, the puns, the slick writing style, and the dialogue (particularly between Apropos and the princess he rescued). They felt that the book was too long for this story, and that many sections (particularly Apropos's childhood) should be reduced in page count.

The rest of our group hated the book. Most complaints were about the puns ("hated them!", "very distracting" ) and dislike of the main character ("so whiny and tedious he made me angry", "never grew as a person"). One person who disliked the book said "this is why I don't read fantasy!" and "If I hadn't been on a plane, I would have thrown the book across the room!"

While we came to no agreement about this book, it was a lively discussion. Afterward we had a nice dinner at Serrano's.

November 19: Archangel Protocol by Lyda Morehouse

Thirteen people attended this meeting at Judy and Jeff's home. The topic was Archangel Protocol, a hybrid detective/sf/religious novel set in near-future New York. In this story, a female private detective gets involved in a case that involves the Internet, virtual reality, politics, angels, and the devil. Ten of us had started the book, and five finished it.

We liked several things about this book. The noir atmosphere was unusual and got the detective story off to a good start. We liked the idea of covens of angels living within our world. The story provided a clever twist on the apocalypse.

Unfortunately we found much to dislike. Computer and network technology is an important part of the story, but it is portrayed so inaccurately that it seriously bothered many of the high-tech professionals in our group. The detective element of the story fizzles quickly, leaving us with a standard thriller plot. The characters in the book are generally unsympathetic, not very bright, and uninteresting. We all found the protagonist's romance with an angel to be downright creepy. Many people had a hard time getting involved in the story and staying interested in it, so half of us never finished this relatively short book.

Archangel Protocol is Lyda Morehouse's first novel, and many of the problems we found are common to new writers. We do think this author has some interesting ideas, and we hope she develops her craft as a writer.

At the end of the meeting we had a prearranged phone conversation with Lyda Morehouse. We learned that the author lives in Minnesota but set her book in New York because she felt the story needed a more cosmopolitan setting. She can't decide the genre classification for Archangel Protocol, but her editor considers it science fiction. In her research, she read a shelf full of books about angels and devils. She wrote Archangel Protocol in a year and a half, then spent two years shopping the book to four publishers before she sold it for publication. In her day job she's a web designer for the Minnesota Historical Society. She belongs to writers' group called Wyrdsmiths that also includes novelist Naomi Kritzer. Archangel Protocol is the first in a planned four book series.

We enjoyed our conversation with Ms. Morehouse and appreciated the time she spent with us. After the meeting, we had a nice dinner at Buca di Beppo.

-- A. T. Campbell, III