three-time Hugo Award winner, was cited for Lifetime Achievement, and named a Nebula Grand Master. He had scores of novels and short stories published. I just finished Traitor to the Living, which came out in 1978. In reading such fare, it's always fun to see what the author got right and wrong. He has L. A. suffering a dangerous level of smog, which was solved by emission standards not that long after the book hit the market. He cites as the solution the gradual phasing out of the gasoline engine in favor of electric cars. That's at least half right, although air quality is fine these days, at least to reasonable folks. Fortunately, environmentalism is not the focus of the novel. It has a far more interesting theme - communication with the dead. Allegedly, a machine has been invented that enables contact with the deceased, who are reduced to a form of energy. Is it a scam or legit? If the latter, what will it do to religious beliefs? The nation is divided. Violence breaks out. How will it end? Of course, the main question when discussing such a novel is - is it, especially the science, too outrageous, detracting from enjoyment of the story. I don't think so, although science has never been my strong suit. Is it a good novel? Hardly. Is it bad? No. Since it's the only one of Farmer's works I've ever read, I'll leave it to others as to where it fits in his impressive canon. Its 220 pages move quickly, and the theme is engrossing. Upon completion, I experienced the usual sense of dissatisfaction I do regarding almost all sci-fi, in print or on screen. Only four users at Amazon have rated Traitor to the Living, forging to a consensus of 2.1. I'll add my opinion and go a little higher.
There was a nice surprise on my Facebook feed this morning. A former teammate at Lafayette H.S. posted pictures from our senior season, '66. Here's one. I'm number 72. Stu, our center, who posted the pics, is 62. Joe, who was named All-City, is 61, Pasc is 88. Obscured are the LT, Moochie, the RT, Frank, the RE Lenny, and the WB, Carmine. The opponent is, I believe, Lincoln. The game ended in a 0-0 tie. After a long run, Nicky stepped out at the one-yard-line - instead of diving into the endzone. Ralphie fumbled the next play, which he will not live down in this lifetime. Thanks, Stu.
Expecting rain, I brought out only one-third of the floating book shop's wares today. It didn't do anything more than sprinkle. My thanks to the woman who bought a novel in Russian, to the gentleman who purchased Gender Babble: Dumbest Things Men Ever Said by David Olive; and to the other, whom I hadn't seen for a while, who found four DVD's to his liking; and to the young man who donated three highly marketable books.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
Read Vic's Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza
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