Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site umcp-cs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!israel
From: israel@umcp-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Characters with a life of their own
Message-ID: <1638@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Aug-83 18:05:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.1638
Posted: Mon Aug  8 18:05:44 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Aug-83 04:27:40 EDT
References: <3888@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: Univ. of Maryland, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 41


	From:  WMartin at Office-3 (Will Martin)

	.  .  .                                        Does anyone
	recognize this "fiction as mental perception of other realities"
	concept as something printed or discussed in SFdom?  Or did I
	make it up myself (or steal it from the brain of a dolphin
	scientist on Earth MMMMLXXVII)?

This is a major point in Heinlein's "Number of the Beast".
In NotB, someone discovers that there are six dimensions to
the universe, and that there are 6**(6**6) accessible universes
(hence the name; according to the bible 666 is the number of the
beast).  An inter-dimensional traveler is built, and our four
intrepid heros sail off into the cosmos in their ship to screw around
and argue among themselves.

The majority of the book is actually the four characters arguing among
themselves (You see, they alternate as captain of the ship, and the
three who aren't captain don't take the discipline easily and end up
giving the captain alot of guff, and ... anyway, you get the idea).
It is an extremely long-winded book and it is written for SF fans
only.  There are a lot of references to other works and meeting
other fictional characters (i.e. Barsoom, Lazarus Long, Lensmen, Jubal
Harshaw, Alice in Wonderland, OZ etc.).  There are also some inside
SF jokes (one of my favorites was a character saying something
like "'Stranger in a Strange Land'? Ugh.  What some writers will
do for money!"  Which I thought was cute in a book written by Heinlein).

Anyway, it's got too much discussion, not enough action, the plot is
muddy and elements are left unresolved and shrugged off, and it ends
with the wierdest conglomerations of characters from Heinlein's books
and other books all going to a pan-universe convention on solipsism.

I recommend it only if you enjoy seeing characters that you've met in
other books.  I enjoyed it for that reason.
-- 

~~~ Bruce
...!seismo!umcp-cs!israel (Usenet)
israel.umcp-cs@Udel-Relay (Arpanet)