Lee Hoffman (1) (1932–2007)

Doomsman Review:
Juanito Montoya was a wild child of the streets until AmericaState agents, known as Seekers, captured him and brought him to the School to be trained as an assassin. AmericaState's mission is to destroy all of the petty monarchies that had formed within its boundaries after the War. One such target was a man known as Eskalyo. After a mind probe, it is learned that Juanito is the son of Eskalyo and as his first assignment, he must kill the man.

However, in order to do so, Juanito must find Eskalyo. In doing so, he learns a number of things that lead him to doubt the integrity of AmericaState and the School. When a dying fellow agent reveals the truth in his final moments, Juanito's loyalties begin to vacillate. What will he do when he finds Eskalyo, his father and enemy of AmericaState? Will he kill him as he was trained to do or join him in rebellion against the almighty AmericaState?

The first few paragraphs of this novella, and a few scattered others, hold to true Ellison style. Everything else reads as if it were a high school freshman's embryonic attempt at fiction. Redundant wording, clunky prose, over description of objects and settings to the point of cliché. While the pacing was satisfactory and the story well-conceived, it is plainly and painfully obvious that Doomsman had been altered.

It is no wonder that Harlan was on a seek and destroy mission. A brief Google search produced reports by other convention attendees who watched as Harlan purchased copies of Doomsman from fans at his autograph table and tore up the copies right on the spot.

In fact, I had my own experience with my favorite speculative fiction author at I-CON back in 1999. Doomsman was among the stack of books and Starlog magazines that I brought along to be signed. That particular copy was an ACE double. When Harlan noticed that I had Doomsman, he offered to buy it. As I had not yet read it, I said "No".

You never, EVER say "no" to Harlan.

In response, he flung the book across the table at me and said, "Then I'm not signing the f****' thing." I carry that moment as a badge of honor. For those that known Harlan or have seen interviews with him or watched the documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth, then that moment was classic Harlan.
In the end, I traded Doomsman for a copy of the anthology, Ellison Wonderland, after which Harlan stood up, held up the controversial book over his head, and shouted, "I got a Doomsman!"

Fast-forward to 2013 and lo and behold, what do I find in the dealer room of Balticon 47 but a copy of Doomsman, this one published by Belmont. At least I finally know the reasons behind the drama.

Telepower review:
In a dystopian future, the city of Cleveland is protected by a massive concrete wall surrounding the city. Inside, the residents live a life of tranquil seclusion. Their only contact with the outside world are with the caravans of merchants that occasionally arrive to trade goods.

Just beyond the wall lies the city's garrison, filled with obedient soldiers whose only purpose in life is to protect Cleveland from the hoard of mutant, wild rats living in the fields and ruins of the surrounding area. The rats attack the city at random intervals, seeking to feast on human flesh.

The soldiers are considered by the residents to be little more than insensate, mindless drones They are not permitted inside the city's walls or even to communicate with the civilian population. Further, any soldier who displays self-awareness or questions the rules is viewed as potentially insane, a crime punishable by incineration.

Thus, when Beldone begins to dream about the attacking rats, he fears for his own life. Even more so when he realizes the very emotion of fear, which leads him to question the world around him. Surely, this is madness! Soldiers question nothing, they fear nothing. They simply obey. Beldone keeps his newfound concerns to himself, else risk incineration.

Little does Beldone know that one disgruntled resident inside Cleveland's walls has finally decided to act on her telepathic ability. Bored with her life of isolation, Illyna has watched the soldiers defeat the rats time and again. She has joined her fellow citizens on the parapets of the walls to sing the traditional song to the fallen rats after every battle. Quite honestly, she would like to see the rats win for a change.

It is not long before she realizes her telepathy allows her to control the soldiers…and the rats. She focuses her power on Beldone, turning the living automaton into a sentient man, willing him to help her escape, even if that means breaching the city's wall and murdering a civilian. After her successful departure from Cleveland, Illyna joins the rats, living among them almost as their queen. She gathers thousands of them to mount a massive offense against the city.

Meanwhile, Beldone is sentenced to death by incineration for his depraved acts. Held in a cage overnight, Beldone manages to escape captivity by convincing the guard to set him free. Somehow, his interaction with Illyna has awakened his own latent telepathic powers. Now, Beldone must hunt her down and determine a way to stop her attack.

Lee Hoffman skillfully constructs Beldone's character arc and his adjustment to new and strange experiences. However, I'm still not entirely clear why Beldone suddenly gained telepathic powers of his own, other than his exposure to Illyna. It is not clearly explained. Overall, however, Telepower is a fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable dystopian novella.… (mehr)

I admit I bought the book for the Chandler collection on the other half, but this collection of selections of Hoffman's fanzine writing was interesting in its own right. The more the delivery of fannish content changes, the more it stays the same--other than details that were obviously from the era they described, nothing would be dreadfully out of place if it appeared as a LiveJournal entry. Or, for that matter, from the zine I write today for the APA I belong to. (Considering I'm only 4 years older than this book and the content is older than that....)… (mehr)

I bought this book solely for Doomsman, which is a classic SF short with exceptional writing and social commentary that is applicable to modern day. The ending of the story is fabulous and plays to many theories about people being a product of their society and when that society is evil, they are beyond reintegration to a utopia like state.

Telepower, though readable, is not quite the match to a treasure such as Doomsman. The novel starts out very strong and gets you excited but has an ending that leaves much to be desired. The last half dozen pages or so are vague as to near the point of absolutely losing the reader in regards to what is taking place. This muddies the book sadly.

On their own I would give Doomsman a 5 star review and Telepower a 3 star. Still definitely worth the purchase simply for Doomsman.… (mehr)