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From: jss@brunix.UUCP (Judith Schrier)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: The Man who Ruled the World
Message-ID: <8617@brunix.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 4-Jul-84 13:02:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: brunix.8617
Posted: Wed Jul  4 13:02:26 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Jul-84 06:04:47 EDT
References: sri-arpa.1373
Lines: 16



Ah, Michaelmas was a short story that was blown up into a novel. That
explains what has been bothering me about it. The novel, by the way,
was published 1977, by Berkley Medallion Books. It has nice characterization,
and goes along quite well until some point where the author seems to
realize that while he's got a nice, well-worked-out gimmick, he doesn't
have a *plot*. So he tosses in some aliens with no motivation to give
himself an ending.

This is often a problem with otherwise good science fiction (possibly with
non-science fiction, too. I don't read much of it). It is relatively easy
to come up with a "what if", but much more difficult to create a plot.

judith schrier
brunix!jss