# Hamilton Academicals *The Urth list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 24 Aug 2001* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Nigel Price *24 Aug 2001, 23:32* >> In "To Nigel", P Morris wrote: >> I realise this group is composed of "Wolfe fans" and also "Wolfe >> professionals", (I count myself among the former, but not the latter) Two distinct groups of contributors? What a chilling thought... No, no, it may appear that way sometimes, but I'm sure it's an allusion. We're all fans really. If I've been more than usually pompous recently, I apologise. >> But why are you wasting your time... Because my real jobs currently (Beta testing software, compiling a concordance to a new translation of the Bible, researching employment issues among Swiss bankers, writing a video script to train shop managers for a national chain of hardware stores) are nowhere near as much fun as discussing Wolfe, whose works I admire and adore in equal measure. >> ...slamming Hamilton for, I guess, lack of >> seriousness, lack of artistry, philosophic shallowness etc???? And there was I thinking that I was praising him to high heaven and trying to persuade everyone to read him! I didn't spend the summer reading the 3,600 pages of "Night's Dawn" and then rush straight onto "A Second Chance at Eden" because I thought Hamilton was bad. He's not, he's brilliant, absolutely brilliant. His books are exciting, horrifying and funny by turns, and tremendously gripping. I think I may be slightly in love with the heroine of the series, Louise Kavanagh, and finally leaving the crew of the starship Lady Macbeth behind was almost like a minor bereavement! >> Anyone who has enjoyed both Hamilton and Wolfe can immediately see they >> are >> trying for two entirely different outcomes. Hamilton is an "adventure" >> writer. You can see that in his lively if somewhat silly "Mindstar" books. >> He is interested in exploring future tech, arranging a sweeping narrative, >> and resolving a somewhat interesting problem (the possession) >> >> Wolfe, as we all know, is interested in religious-philosophical issues, >> and >> working out long, subtle jokes... I agree completely with what you say. The amazing thing as a Wolfe fan, though, is the way that Hamilton uses many of the same themes and raw ingredients which Wolfe uses, but succeeds - wonderfully - in making a completely different type of book out of them. That's why I originally thought that it might be worth mentioning Hamilton on the list. Then I got back from holiday, and found that the subject had already been raised. >> ..that attract the interest of the professional >> unravelers such as yourself. You flatter me. I'm a failed academic who earns his living as a hack writer and consoles himself by pontificating about his favourite SF author. It's mostly harmless, if occassionally tedious for the other list subscribers. >> You seem to be blaming Hamilton for not being like Wolfe. Well, that was certainly not my intention. What I was trying to explore is how he can use similar tropes while being so very different. >> Face it, there's only one Wolfe. Indeed. My very favourite author. >> I count myself among one of his greatest admirers. As do we all, I suspect. Sometimes, Wolfe writes so well that he simply takes my breath away. Nigel in deepest, darkest Minety ---