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Conference noted::sf

Title:Arcana Caelestia
Notice:Directory listings are in topic 2
Moderator:NETRIX::thomas
Created:Thu Dec 08 1983
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1300
Total number of notes:18728

1069.0. "Replay and A Study in Sorcery" by BEING::EDP (Always mount a scratch monkey.) Mon Jun 01 1992 14:25

    I'm looking for _Reply_ by Ken Grimwood and _Study in Sorcery_ by
    Michael Kurland.  If anybody has them in paperback in reasonable
    condition, I'll pay full price for them, plus shipping.
    
    I have been watching bookstores for these since _Analog_ first reviewed
    them; now the publisher tells me they are out of print.  Where were
    they?  Anyway, if you have them or know anybody who does, please let me
    know.
    
    
    				-- edp
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1069.1REPLAY16821::MILLERRMy other office is a TARDISMon Jun 01 1992 16:2513
    
    I think you mean _Replay_ by Ken Grimwood.  I have two copies of that
    in Hardback Book Club format that I got from the SF Book Club. 
    It's excellent!  A man replay's his life over many times for unknown
    reasons.  
    
    If you are interested in one of my hardbacks, please send me an E-mail.
    It is also still available through the SF Book Club if you can get it
    that way.  I have never seen it in paperback. 
    
    I'm not familiar with the other book you mentioned. 
    
    - Russ
1069.2Great twist to a common fantasyTLE::JBISHOPWed Jun 03 1992 16:1617
    The great thing about _Replay_ is that it starts with a common
    fantasy and then pulls the rug out.  This is not a spoiler (or
    if it is, it was spoiled in .1):
    
    Haven't you often wondered what you'd do if you woke up one
    morning and it was many years ago, but somehow you had all your
    current memories?  I remember thinking about how to make giga-bucks
    based on my memories of stock market moves, and how to run my life
    better the second time, etc.
    
    Well, the first chunk of Replay is this fantasy: a middle-aged man
    replays his life from 19 and becomes rich, with a beautiful wife and
    so on.
    
    Then he wakes up 19 again.
    
    		-John Bishop
1069.3DPDMAI::MILLERRMy other office is a TARDISFri Jun 05 1992 13:376
    
    Does anyone know if Ken Grimwood has written anything else?  I wouldn't
    mind trying other books by him if I can find them.  Or is that a pen
    name for someone else?  
    
    - Russ
1069.4ReplayMTWAIN::KLAESNo Guts, No GalaxyFri Sep 16 1994 18:1573
Article: 674
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
From: ingram@u.washington.edu (Doug Ingram)
Subject: "Replay" by Ken Grimwood
Sender: mcb@postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch)
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 23:59:46 GMT
 
                              Replay
                         by Ken Grimwood
             Review copyright (c) 1994 by Doug Ingram
 
	I was first loaned a copy of Replay about 7 years ago from a
good friend who often had recommended books to me.  I read through it
very quickly...it's a real page-turner...and then, a while later, when
I wanted to tell someone else about it and loan it out, my friend had
lost his copy.  In addition, it had completely disappeared from the
bookstores.  About six months ago, Replay resurfaced somewhat
prominently in paperback and is now fairly easy to find even in most
mall mini-stores.  So I finally bought my own copy and reread it. 
 
	Replay begins with the death of Jeff Winston.  He dies in
October 1988 of a heart attack.  He then wakes up about 25 years earlier
sitting in his dorm room across from his college roommate.  It takes
a while for Jeff to figure out what is going on, and pretty soon he
convinces himself that it isn't a dream.  He soon drops out of his former
path of life and decides to do it all over again, but this time with a
real appreciation for life and all it has to offer.
 
	He makes a few bets, knowing how the sporting events will turn out,
and pretty soon, he is financially well-off.  He tries making some contacts
with his former life, but he is too different now to make it work.  He
eventually gets married, has kids...and dies in October 1988.  Then he wakes
up again, a little bit later but still in 1963.  By this time, he's not
very appreciative of his fate, but he decides to give it one more go and
tries some new things in life, eventually meeting up with another replayer
and falling in love with her.
 
	These two go on to live their multiple lives together, as much as
possible, and their cycles get shorter and shorter.  All the while, each
is trying to figure out what is really the best way to live their lives
and what it all means.  The shortening of the cycle is an ever-looming
crisis in both their lives and is resolved by the end of the book.
 
	Grimwood does a wonderful job with all of the different alternate
histories he must keep track of, including a chilling sequence that
describes what happens to the replayers when they try to tell everyone
just what is going on.  He also writes his characters very well, and the
reader never grows tired of finding out what will be new this time.  Part
of this is due to the fast-paced plot, and part is due to the always
interesting philosophical ground covered in the novel.
 
	I found the overall message of the book to be very inspiring.  If
this isn't a case for living life to the fullest, I don't know what is.
Not only is it a powerful book on an emotional level, it is an excellent
read...one of those books you just cannot put down.  The genre of time
travelling is rather limited, and this is one of the few such books that
deals with the phenomenon on a reasonable level (without a lot of extra
science fiction ideas thrown into the mix and set in the present day)
in a way that makes it easy for the reader to empathize.  A real gem.
 
%A Grimwood, Ken
%T Replay
%I Ace Books
%C New York
%D 1992
%G ISBN 0-441-71592-3
%P 313pp
%0 pb, $4.99
 
Doug Ingram -- ingram@u.washington.edu // "Carpe Datum"
            http://www.astro.washington.edu/ingram (lots more reviews here)