{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/whorl/437", "note": "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.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "whorl", "thread": { "id": 437, "subject": "Cordwainer Smith", "messages": 5, "voices": 4, "first": "1997-09-11T12:28:01+00:00", "last": "1997-09-11T22:42:00+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Michael Straight", "address": "straight at email.unc.edu" }, "date": "1997-09-11T12:28:01+00:00", "subject": "(whorl) Cordwainer Smith", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Sorry about the non-Wolfe topic, but I've never heard of Cordwainer Smith\noutside of this mailing list, and was wondering if any of his fans could\nrecommend some titles.\n\n-Rostrum" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "m.driussi", "address": "m.driussi at genie.com" }, "date": "1997-09-11T19:14:00+00:00", "subject": "(whorl) Cordwainer Smith", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Reply: Item #2797678 from WHORL at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET01#\n\nRostrum,\n\nalga is queen reader of Cordwainer Smith, so she will give you the\nbest pointers, but I cannot help myself from suggesting that \"Alpha\nRalpha Boulevard\" is his most perfect story and a great introduction\nto his universe. I believe it is widely collected, in various\nanthologies such as the old ARBOR HOUSE TREASURY OF SCIENCE FICTION,\nand it might even been in the one of the volumes of the old SCIENCE\nFICTION HALL OF FAME. Use an internet search engine to find a\nbibliography or maybe alga knows where else you can find this story\n(novella?).\n\n(This discussion is what in the future will go into the \"Wolfe-like\nbut not Wolfe\" category.)\n\n=mantis=" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Greg Montalbano", "address": "greg.montalbano at ucop.edu" }, "date": "1997-09-11T13:06:51+00:00", "subject": "(whorl) Cordwainer Smith", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "There's an old SF BOOK CLUB selection that still shows up in used book\nstores: THE BEST OF CORDWAINER SMITH. Not only does it contain this\nstory, but a number of other interesting works, framed by some interesting\nspeculation on his whole \"Instrumentality/Rediscovery of Man\" future history.\n\n~G~" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Reply: Item #2797678 from WHORL at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET01#\n\nRostrum,\n\nalga is queen reader of Cordwainer Smith, so she will give you the\nbest pointers, but I cannot help myself from suggesting that \"Alpha\nRalpha Boulevard\" is his most perfect story and a great introduction\nto his universe. I believe it is widely collected, in various\nanthologies such as the old ARBOR HOUSE TREASURY OF SCIENCE FICTION,\nand it might even been in the one of the volumes of the old SCIENCE\nFICTION HALL OF FAME. Use an internet search engine to find a\nbibliography or maybe alga knows where else you can find this story\n(novella?).\n\n(This discussion is what in the future will go into the \"Wolfe-like\nbut not Wolfe\" category.)\n\n=mantis=\n\n*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun." } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Jim Jordan", "address": "jbjordan at gnt.net" }, "date": "1997-09-11T15:35:53+00:00", "subject": "Re: (whorl) Cordwainer Smith", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "The New England SF Association publishes two volumes containing all of\nCordwainer Smith. Both nicely bound hardcovers, with annotations. I sell\nthem, so if you don't want to track them down, you can order them from me:\n\nComplete Short Stories: $25.00\nNorstrilia (\"novel\"): $21.00\nshipping: $4.00\n\nJames B. Jordan\nBox 1096\nNiceville, FL 32588\n\n\tAs for what to read first, it depends on where your interest lies. I\npersonally suggest getting both books and reading the stories in\nchronological order, according to the time-line provided. If Christianity\nis your main interest, you can start with his trilogy of long stories: \"On\nthe Gem Planet\" (which is a \"mirror for princes,\" and concerns \"nature\");\n\"On the Wind Planet\" (which concerns redemption, \"grace\"); and \"On the Sand\nPlanet\" (which concerns pilgrimage from Egypt to Eden, and is based on\nDante and Bunyan).\n\n\tAn introductory essay on Smith by yours truly is at:\n\n\thttp://www.wavefront.com/~Contra_M/cm/features/cm02_cordwain.html\n\nNutria" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "m.driussi", "address": "m.driussi at genie.com" }, "date": "1997-09-11T22:42:00+00:00", "subject": "Re: (whorl) Cordwainer Smith", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Reply: Item #4917410 from WHORL at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET01#\n\n. . . and Nutria is king of Cordwainer Smith readers!\n\n(Which makes for an odd couple royale. )\n\n(Those NESFA volumes are really nice, they always do good work, and\nbecause of blood sacrifice to Ashtaronuggoth or some other Big Name\nDevil, NESFA books are even available at Borders Books!! OTOH, that is a daunting prospect, to buy the complete\nvolumes and start from the kinda rough and very early beginning--\ndon'tcha think? On the Wolfe side, I wouldn't start somebody off with\nhis first ever story \"The Case of the Vanishing Ghost\" [1951] nor even\nthe first novel OPERATION ARES [1970]; I'd say FIFTH HEAD [\"if the\nfirst novella don't grab ya, f'gettit\"] or SHADOW OF THE TORTURER\n[\"if the first chapter don't grab ya, f'gettit\"].)\n\n(Gee, ranking the Cordwainer Smith stories. I don't know. For\nexample, \"The Burning of the Brain\" seems very popular but doesn't do\nmuch for me. \"Scanners Live in Vain,\" another biggie, is touching but\na little rough, if I remember my impressions aright--but still I like\nit better than \"The Burning of the Brain.\" And so on.)\n\n=mantis=" } ] } ] }