Robert Hoskins (1)Rezensionen

F/SF

ISFDB 51928. OCLC 7441686.

ISFDB 18239. OCLC 2620041.

ISFDB 299953.

Just finished this and it was really nostalgic read for me this is the type of SF I used to read as a kid back in the 70's and as you can see from below it has some of the great SF writers of the time. There are more books of short stories in this series so I'm going to be looking out for them.

Contents
INTRODUCTION: The Fun In Future Fun - Isaac Asimov
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
THE PLEASURE OF OUR COMPANY - Robert Silverberg
3 Fables: One
THE ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE INVENTION - Stephen Barr
3 Fables: Two
Xp
3 Fables: Three
THE MAN ON THE HILL - Michael Fayette
THE STAR - Arthur C. Clarke
ECHO - Katherine MacLean
THE GREAT CANINE CHORUS - Anne McCaffrey
PACEM EST - Kris Neville and K. M. O’Donnell
KEEPING AN EYE ON JANEY - Ron Goulart
THE PACKERHAUS METHOD - Gene Wolfe
THE WATER SCULPTOR OF STATION 233 - George
Zebrowski
OPERATION P-BUTTON - Gordon R. Dickson
THE TIGER - Miriam Allen deFord
HANDS OF THE MAN - R. A. Lafferty
NIGHTMARE GANG - Dean R. Koontz
THESE OUR ACTORS - Edward Wellen
INSIDE MOTHER - Pat De Graw

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This is supposedly the second book in a series, except that this book has nothing to do with the first book. I can't really even see that it is 'in the same world' as this book.

The writing in this book is not much better and the story is another throwaway adventure masquerading as scifi.

Hoskins does introduce an interesting 'stargate' system that is suprisingly like the one you've heard of, even that it is very old and has been rediscovered by earth some time in the past. BUT, the idea is only the backdrop. The story itself is boring, shallow and over too quickly and easily.

There is a third book in the series, but I don't know that I'll even bother. I've now read 3 Hoskins books and rated them all 2s.

In the future you must earn citizenship through gladiator games. Case is the best, but is cheated and framed and kicked out. Now he has to find out why!

A silly old-school sci fi book that's more cheesy action than any real scifi. But, it is fast paced and the action stays interesting.

I'm more interested in the following two books that look like Hoskins has evolved as a writer and will further and perhaps better flesh out the character and world.

UPDATE: The next book, has nothing to do with this book. I can't really even see that it is 'in the same world' as this book. The writing is not much better and the story is another throwaway adventure masquerading as scifi. There is a third book in the series, but I don't know that I'll even bother. I've now read 3 Hoskins books and rated them all 2s.

Continuing my recent trend of reading classic speculative fiction anthologies, Infinity Two brings us stories from Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, James E. Gunn, J.F. Bone, William F. Nolan, and more. For this reader, the gems of the collection include...

Adam and Eve prepare to restart the human race under strict guidance from God, until Adam starts looking behind the scenes in Michael Fayette's "The Monster in the Clearing."

J.F. Bone takes us across the galaxy to a world where humans go into business with a species of cannibalistic, but highly civilized crustaceans. While labor relations seem to be precarious at first, a pheromonal discovery leads to a new and profitable venture in "The Scents of IT."

Surrounded by technology's modern conveniences, Sara begins to recall her grandmother's luddite attitude toward machines, just before every appliance in Sara's house seems to conspire against her in "The Technological Revolution" by James E. Gunn.

In "The Other Way Around" by Howard L. Myers, a cantankerous Merlin reluctantly takes on a pupil, Raedulf, on his way to Stonehenge. As Raedulf soon learns, Merlin might just be a man out of time...

After surviving a near-fatal accident, a middle-aged man is restored to physical health by a radical series of procedures, one that leaves him in mental and emotional turmoil in "Legion" by Russell Bates.

"GORF! GORF! GORF!" is the name of the operation when a bullfrog swallows a crateful of experimental growth pellets, eats a Corvette (complete with driver), and traverses 50 miles at a leap! William F. Nolan leads us on a whimsical hunt that includes the military, government bureaucrats, and pellet inventor's own lovely daughter.

Robert Silverberg leaves us "In Entropy's Jaws" as we follow wealthy telepath and businessman John Skein on a quest back and forth through time to find the panacea to the psychological breakdown that cost him his career as Communicator. Skein knows his answer lies on a planet with purple sand, blue leaves, orange seas... and a withered skullfaced man with all the answers. Will Skein find the correct world before his fugue episodes destroy him?

A very odd book. The first half is a very interesting take on the evolution of a human species. The second half is a mediocre modern day sci fi creature story. I had to skim back through to remember that much, so it's hard to recommend it.

I believe my 2 star rating is from an interesting 3 stars for the first half and then a boring less than 2 stars for the second half.

It's a mixed bag, this one, but there are still very good stories in it, including "Caliban" by Robert Silverberg, and "Beech Hill" by Gene Wolfe. The seventies were a marvelous time for science fiction, and for short stories.

Despite the fact that this book revolves around the use of "stargates," it has nothing to do with the movie or television series of that name, as should be obvious by the publication date. Published in 1977, the book has a very "seventies" feel about it, though it is set a bit more than a thousand years in the future. Even in the seventies, it would probably have been considered little more than a collection of the standard SciFi ideas: Earth as only one planet of an ancient, fallen Empire; stargates that allow instant travel between planets; a shady, quasi-governmental conspiracy to seize control; the plucky, newly-graduated hero the conspiracy tries to silence because he Knows Too Much; etc. The writing isn't bad, just mediocre. This isn't a book that will change your life, but if you are bored it will kill a few hours relatively painlessly.
The sequel, "To Escape the Stars," is quite a bit better, both darker and yet more hopeful.

From the back cover:
Surrounded by armed, watchful soldiers, Shan and Luvici followed the priests down the low-ceilinged corridor. The smell of damp was everywhere. As they turned the corner, the two men had their first glimpse of the room where they would be offered as human sacrifices in some ancient, savage ritual.
"Look!" Shan cried. "The shrine -- it's a gate!"
The Stargate itself was unlike any construction he had ever seen; it was framed by twisting pillars of translucence. What was a Stargate doing here in this primitive place?
How could these barbarians have one of the gates...the very gates which enabled Shan's civilization to move instantly from any one of their 3000 worlds to any other? How could a Stargate possibly be in this dungeon which reeked of human blood and superstition?
Shan followed the steps down, down, down...his eyes riveted on the gate. Would the gate still function? That was his only hope...

(Duplicated from my Amazon review.)

Gar Wilson

Don Pendleton's & Gar Wilson

Gar Wilson

Don Pendleton's & Gar Wilson