Conference noted::sf

This is an aside, but since the note is about nautical works bordering on
SF, I thought I'd point people at The Hunt for Red October, which I was
compelled to read in one sitting.  I think I'll look into this Dirk Pitt
character.

len.

As I mentioned in the Varley-Titanic-Cussler note, I enjoyed "Raise the
Titanic" very much. I haven't read any of Cussler's other work, but in
general, even though it might qualify as SF, I suspect it would appeal
more to fans of the action-adventure-spy genre.

This whole topic did remind me of another sunken-ship story - the made-for-TV
movie "Goliath Awaits". This one is definitely SF (or fantasy, if you don't
like the attempt at scientific explanation, but *I* consider it SF if they
made a reasonable stab in that direction). It concerns a liner, sunken circa
the outbreak of WWII, which is located forty years later by divers who are
understandably shocked to find people still alive. The movie goes on to
describe the rescue operations, the political maneuverings between those
who want to remain below, and some rather irrelevant diplomatic secrets that
are about to - pardon the expression - surface. The film could certainly
have been better, but I did enjoy it, and it appeared to be a rather novel
treatment of the subject.

-b

RE: -1
	I read the book that inspired that movie.. I didn't see the movie
	but the book was ok.. I don't think it was called "Goliath Awaits"
	though.. I'll check..

							mike

re:.0

You left one out, Mike --- NIGHT PROBE!

The Pitt novels form a continuous thread about Pitt's career with NUMA. Each
one picks up almost exactly where the previous one left off. The books are
listed below, in chronological order, and with a short description of story
and any sf element. Of course, as is obvious from Mike's and my little dis-
agreement, what constitutes science fiction varies from person to person. I
mention why *I* think the novels are sf (the higher philosophical point can
be raised in another note).

(1) PACIFIC VORTEX (1982) --- Pitt investigates disappearing ships and ends
	up fighting a proverbial mad (and supposedly-dead) scientist. If I
	am remembering correctly, I believe that the M.S. makes his base in
	some ruins of a sunken Atlantis-type civilization. He also had invented
	some super-scientific method for breathing underwater. That makes this
	one sf, in my book. This was Cussler's first-written novel, fixed up
	and published ten years after it was written.

(2) THE MEDITERRANEAN CAPER (1973) --- While on a salvage operation near Greece,
	Pitt fights a left-over Nazi officer who's now a shipping magnate cum
	pirate. There are no sf elements in this one, a straight thriller.

(3) ICEBERG (1975) --- Pitt gets involved in a conspiracy to take control of
	the various governments of Latin America. It seems to me that there is
	a very minor sf element in this one, but I don't remember what it is.
	Unlike the later novels in the series, which are set very definitely in
	the future, this and the first two above, are not set in any specific
	time, and read like any other contemporary thriller.

(4) RAISE THE TITANIC! (1977) --- The plot is rather obvious from the title.
	I mentioned the sf elements in the earlier note.

(5) VIXEN 03 (1979) --- Pitt races against a petty African dictator to find
	a cache of lethal gas lost in a airplane that crashed into a large
	lake in the Rocky Mountains. The only sf element in this is that it
	is set circa 1990.

(6) NIGHT PROBE! (1981) --- Pitt is asked to salvage a train from the bottom
	of (if memory serves) the St. Lawrence. On the train is a document
	that could have severe implications for future relations among the
	U.S., Canada, and Great Britain. The document is rather embarrassing
	for England, so that country's best agent (a *very* thinly disguised
	James Bond) is brought out of retirement to stop Pitt. Like the prev-
	ious two novels, it's set circa 1990 and the political situations
	involved make this, for me, sf of the near-future political specula-
	tion variety.

(7) DEEP SIX (1984) --- I haven't read this one, but it appears to be about
	Pitt rescuing the President of the U.S., who's been kidnapped. Again,
	it's set circa 1990.


--- jerry

	Yea, I forgot Night Probe.. I was looking thru my bookcase last night
	and realized it.. :-)  It's probably the fact that the majority of
	the Pitt novels are action-thrillers with some sf mixed in here that
	makes me argue against the SF connection.. :-)  Great books though!
	They make great reading on a cold rainy Sunday.. :-)
                                                            
	Good job with remembering the plots Jerry.. :-)

							mike

I read "Deep Six" last night, and while it does make a rather token gesture
towards SF (in the form of some superior mental-control techniques involving
chemical "memory transfer" and microchips), it's still basically a thriller.
Cussler is at his best writing about ships and undersea operations, and the
rest of the story is pretty much filler; standard characterizations,
un-surprising plots. It reminded me of "Doc Savage" more than anything else,
the unbeatable hero who takes a licking and keeps on ticking, his crew of
associates (the Computer Whiz, the Admiral, etc.) who are always on hand
when he needs them, and so on.

I enjoyed the story, especially the very entertaining climax; this one's
right up there among the Most Improbable Confrontations of All Time. Just
keep in mind that this is the epitome of light reading, and put your
brain on hold. Otherwise you'll spend the whole book wondering how the
bad guys can be so clever and diabolical for twenty years and then lose
it all the moment Dirk Pitt shows up. (Hey, how's that for an SF theory?
Heroes exude some kind of psychic radiation that inhibits the thought
processes of evil people!)
                          
-b

	As an aside to this..

	It was announced yesterday that the Titanic was found in 13,000
	feet of water off the coast of Newfounland..

	Where's Dirk when we need him.. :-)

							mike

Yippee!!! (Is that the theme from "Twilight Zone" that I hear in the
background? Or is it "One Step Beyond"? Was Mike's earlier slip about
the ship being found a mere coincidence, or could it be - precognition???)

Don't ask me why the finding of the "Titanic" - lost for a mere 70 years
or so - impresses me more than the finding of the "Atocha" or the other
treasure ships, which were down there for centuries...

-b

	I also do fortunes and tarot cards.. hee hee.. :-) :-) 

	BTW, I'm impressed as all hell too.. Especially now that I'm
	re-reading RtT right now.. (for the umpteenth time)

							mike

RE: .9

Have you, by any chance read The Book of Thoth (just curious).  I had read 
about a third of it, but it was stolen from me, and I've had a hard time 
locating another copy.  I have a Thoth tarrow card set designed by Aleister
Crowley, real nice art by someone I can't recall at the moment.

...Rob...

RE: .10

	No.. I'm not really into that stuff.. I was just joking around..
	'course, if anyone wants to read my cards for me I think that'd
	be fun... :-)  ("You are going to do deep into the ocean"  You will
	change your name to something strange like "dirt"")

							mike

.9:

I don;t know where you are, Rob, but I have a copy of the Crowley Thoth book
and the Tarot cards at home. If we can come to some logistical arrangement,
I'm happy to let you borrow it.

Nigel
(we could continue this by MAIL, just wanted to close the path)

If I can't find a copy, that would be great.  I live up in Derry, NH.  I have
a number of bookstores that I'm waiting to hear from about getting another copy
from out of print dealers or something like that.  I also have an idea who has
it, and I'm looking into it.  I'm just about positive as a matter of fact.
Thanks alot for the offer, I'll let you know if all else falls through.

...Rob...

	As a followup to this note...

	I rented "Raise the Titanic" for the VCR over the weekend.. I was
	rather sick so I decided to catch up on some movies that I've missed
	out on.. Needless to say, I would have been better off missing this
	one.  I was really dissapointed..  The movie was a real bastardization
	of the book..  I couldn't identify with the guy who played Dirk Pitt
	at all..  Who is this joker?? Matter of fact, I couldn't identify
	with ANYONE in the movie! So much was left out that the people you
	got to know (and care about) in the book were just dissapointing
	names and easily forgotten faces in the movie..
	
	Here are some of my main gripes..

	Dirk Pitt:  Like I said, who IS this guy?  He did not fit my impression
	of Dirk Pitt AT ALL..  I was expecting someone like Jeff Bridges
	or a young Burt Reynolds or me.. :-) (Albeit, a little taller and
	green eyes instead of blue.. :-) :-)) Dirks dry wit and manner
	was not even brought out in the movie! God, they could have
	done SOOOO much just with him and made it a better movie!

	Jason Robards as Admiral James Sandecker.  Ok but I think this part
	would have been perfect for Richard Basehart.  (I know, he already
	was an Admiral.. :-))

	Gene Seagram: They blew this one.. He was played by a character actor.
	He should have been played by Bruce Dern or someone equally looney.
	Where was his nervous breakdown in the film??  I was waiting for
	that!

	Dana Seagram: A FOCAL point in the book.. Reduced to a little more
	than a bit part in the film. Too bad.. They could have done so much
	with her.. I was waiting to see her naked.. Should have been played
	by Rachel Ward or someone as equally captivating.. 

	The whole movie suffered from a distinct lack of allowing us to 
	get to know the characters..  They could have done a much better
	job..  That was one movie that I won't bother with anymore..

	Really dissapointed..

							mike

I tend to agree on your comments about the cast. Richard Jordan seemed to
play Pitt as if he was a snot-nosed punk kid from Brooklyn. On the other
hand, I really liked Sir Alec Guinness as the old survivor of the sinking.

All in all, I was disappointed by the film, but not as much as some (like
you). I thought it was a fair adaptation of the story (at least it didn't
change the plot or motivations all around, like for instance THE DEAD ZONE).

--- jerry

There's a new Dirk Pitt novel that just came out in hardcover: CYCLOPS.

I think it's about time I got around to DEEP SIX. :-)

--- jerry

	Great!! I'm gonna look for it tomorrow!!

	Thanks Jerry!

						Dir..er..mike

    Anybody seen "Cyclops" in paper yet. I haven't been able to find
    it around Colorado Springs. Saw Clive on PBS the other day 
    plugging it along with a couple of his others.
    
    				Dick
    

	I saw it in paper in July in London but forgot to pick it up.. I 
	ended up searching all over London again but never found it.. Boy,
	was *I* pissed off!  I asked the lady down at the Paperback Booksmith
	and she said not for a while.. I'm looking forward to reading it!
	(My favourite is still RtT)

							mike

    Clive has a new one out called "Treasure". Has anyone read it yet.
    
    				Dick
    
    (Waiting for the paperback or looking for it in the library)
    

    re:.20
    
    I've seen it, but haven't gotten arounf to buying it yet.
    
    By the way, since it was just published the other month, you'll
    have at least a year to wait for the paperback.
    
    --- jerry