Conference noted::sf

    Bimbos of the Death Sun just isn't that weird.  If it didn't take
    place at a con, it wouldn't be sf at all.
    
    I think Illuminatus is pretty weird.
    
    Merryl
    

    "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle has a coherent plot, but also a
    fair number of surreal elements.  The characters often know they are in
    a fairy tale.  We have a cheap and shoddy version of Robin Hood who
    tries to arrange for legends about him to grow greater and more
    glorious until he can have his authenticity doubted.  We have a
    butterfly singing "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?"  Etc.
    
    How about "The Thirteen Clocks" by James Thurber, which includes
    passages such as: "Something very much like nothing anyone had ever
    seen before crawled out from behind the curtain and scuttled across the
    floor.  `What was that?' asked the Count. `I don't know,' said the
    Duke, `but it's the only one there is.'"
    
    Then there's "The Pedant and the Shuffly," by John Bellairs: "Once upon
    a time, in a forest of rotten crab-apple trees and quaking aspens dying
    of Parkinson's disease, there was an evil logician named Snodrog the
    Pedant..."
    
    I guess I'd call this stuff "surreal fantasy."  Lewis Carrol's "Alice"
    books and "The Hunting of the Snark" probably fit in the same category.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    I should post my SO's little epic about "Joey the Wonder-Slug"
    here...then again maybe I shouldn't.
    
    I like the term Surreal Fantasy.  Let's keep it.
    
    Thanks, Earl, for the reminder of why I liked 'The Last Unicorn' so
    much.  Think I'l re-read it.
    
    Additionally, Beagle's other books might fit here as well.  I remember
    reading some vampire stories you might like -- unfortunately all
    I can recall to identify them is that there are at least two in
    the series and the cover art consisted of silhouettes on pastel
    backgrounds. Author and titles forgotten. And if I think a while,
    I know there are others...
    
    Sherry

      
    
      If you are looking for a *weird* bunch of books, try the 'vampire'
    series by Ann Rice:
    
    		Interview with The Vampire
    		The Vampire Lestat
    		Queen of The Damned
    
      In that order.  There is also (I have heard) a fourth volume in
    the works.
    
    jc
    

    re:.0
    
    If you liked PASSING FOR HUMAN, try Jody Scott's other novel,
    I, VAMPIRE.
    
    If you liked the movie of BUCKAROO BANZAI, try the novelization
    (which is really just a novel written concurrently with the film,
    like Clarke did with 2001). It's a scream; even better than the
    film.
    
    Generally, anything by R.A. Lafferty is funny and a little bit
    surreal.
    
    Another vote for ILLUMINATUS!
    
    WHO CENSORED ROGER RABBIT? by Gary Wolf. This is the original novel
    upon which last year's film was made. It's weak in spots (especially
    the resolution to the mystery), but the gimmick keeps it going.
    It's different enough from the film (it's oriented around comic
    strips rather than cartoons) to be enjoyable in its own right.
    
    Somewhat obscure, and not likely something you'll find in Scotland,
    but WORLD WAR III, by <mumble> Stanley, is hilarious. Not all that
    surreal, but definitely on the weird side. It's a parody of war
    movies, featuring the strangest set of stereotyped characters you'll
    ever run across, including (of course) "the Sarge".
    
    As for movies in this vein, check out BRAZIL and REPO MAN.
    
    --- jerry

    .0 referred to Hitchhikers Guide,
    
    well there's a series of fantasy books out by a guy by the name
    of Terry Pratchett called the Discworld series.
    
    The Color of Magic,
    The Light Fantastic
    
    and a couple of others,
    
    they are really light and complety off the planet,
    
    regards
    	Mike

    I second the vote for R. A. Laferty, especially "Past Master."
    
    ESW

    The mention of a butterfly reminded me of one which may apply:
    Chester Anderson's THE BUTTERFLY KID.  It was successful enough
    for Michael (the Theodore Bear) Kurland the write a "sequel" 
    (THE UNICORN GIRL) and a 3rd one by T.A. Waters called THE 
    PROBABILITY PAD.
                  
    I liked KID very much but the latter two were carried by the
    characters/events of the first.
                                   
    (THE BUTTERFLY KID was just that; he generated drug-induced 
    butterflies.)
    
    		 				Don

    I think Rudy Rucker's "The Master of Space and Time" qualifies,
    and "Software" and "Wetware" may as well.
    
    There's also "Glory Lane" (unbearable pun on Heinlein's "Glory Road")
    by Alan Dean Foster.
    
    These are somewhat "off the wall" science fiction.
    
    len.
    

    Alan Dean Foster's "To the Vanishing Point"

Robert A. Heinlein's "Glory Road" comes to mind in this genre...

					-mjg

re: .7

I liked _Past Master_ but _Fourth Mansions_ is better (and loonier).
Actually just about anything by Lafferty will do.

John Crowley's _Little, Big_ and _Aegypt_ might be the sort of thing
you're looking for also.

Or, in a less obvious vein, Thomas Pynchon's _V_ and _The Crying of
Lot 49_.
							paul

    Many of the stories of J. G. Ballard are surreal.
    
    There's also a collection by David Ely called "Time Out".  Ely is
    not noted as an SF writer, but this collection is definitely surreal
    SF.
    
    len.
     

       Then there's SILVERLOCK which has its characters taken from
       every myth/fairy tale you've ever known. It gets into some rather
       strange plot lines working all these beings into the story. liesl

And also ......

The Butterfly Kid
The Probability Pad
The Unicorn Girl

by Chester Anderson/Mike Kurland and ?????

Based in Greenwich village (at some time in the future) the three books
chart the adventures of the (above) band of three, who (when not
saving the world) are playing in a rock band/predicting the future/ plotting
how music will take over the world (?!)/having strange party's

Brief outline follows

The butterfly kid 
.................
These six foot tall deep blue lobsters are trying to take over the world
by providing pills that make your visions real, IE you think of
a 60 ft high T Rex dinosaur, then you get a ........

also, one of the three is caught by the lobsters, and is *_tortured_*,
unfortunately (due to a slight error in the torture machines) the torture
consists of the 3D full colour disney adventures!


The Probability Pad  
.................
Again creatures are trying to take over the world, but these creatures
have no fixed shape but can assume _any_ shape, so the plan is
to appear as many strange shapes/people/objects (IE a second
you, that turns into a WW1 biplane ) so as to destroy peoples
idea of reality (not a common thing in Greenwich village at the best
of time)

also, a nice subplot  where the three meet Mr Holmes & Dr Watson,
and help them to kill Count Dracula (then go on to meet the
cheshire cat (who smokes dope))

The Unicorn Girl   
................
Haven't seen this one for (about) 15 years and so cannot remember
much about it (other than the use of the word BLIP a lot!)




If anyone has either 'The Probability Pad'   or "The Unicorn Girl'
(or any other in the series that I don't know about) I'll buy
them ....

    re: -.1
    
    See .8  :-)
    
    They're around; I see 'em once in a while.  I pass 'em by as I have
    all three (he said), but I'd be happy to pick up what I find.
    
    							Don

< Note 745.16 by STRATA::RUDMAN "P51--Cadillac of the Skies!" >


>    See .8  :-)


_sigh_ thats what I get for losing my notebook

    
>    They're around; I see 'em once in a while.  I pass 'em by as I have
>    all three (he said), but I'd be happy to pick up what I find.
    
If you could, that would be great...

ta

peb

    THE BUTTERFLY KID is relatively common. THE UNICORN GIRL less so,
    but still findable. THE PROBABILITY PAD is a bitch to locate. I
    didn't used to think so until a friend mentioned trying to find
    copies. Since then (about 10 years ago), I've yet to see a copy
    in a used bookstore.
    
    --- jerry

    Bookstores, Jerry?  What a novel idea!
    
    						Don
    

    Back to the original function of this note - has no one read 
the Terry Pratchett discworld series , the Colour of Magic , the   
Light Fantastic , Mort , etc . These must come under the heading   
"surreal fantasy" or something . They're absolutely brilliant -    
all well written and all with great plots .                


                                          PETE <8-'
    

	See note 470.

	And I'd agree with your appraisal!

	Mat.
	*:o)

	PS  Anyone going to be at the signing on June 10th?

	Re: -.1

>	PS  Anyone going to be at the signing on June 10th?

	See note 470.11:  TP will be signing books at the Forbidden
	Planet bookshop in London, UK.

	Mat.
	*:o)

For an interesting bit of beautifully surreal fiction, try "Built Up Logically."
Jerry might be able to help here: it appeared in the mid-to-late 1950s in 
F&SF.  The central character was Hilburt Hooper Aspasia, BridSmith and Author,
but for the life of me I can't remember who wrote the thing.  Another, though
not as surreal F&SF short story of roughly the same periof was, "An Egg a Month
From All Over."  Can't remember who wrote that, either.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

I need help finding a book I just recently read about...

The storyline is that there is a guy that has the ability to stop time. He then
does so at various times and has his way with people. He'll be on the highway
and see a driver that he thinks looks interesting, stop time, walk to her car
and leave her in an unusual state when he restarts it (being polite here). My
wife mentioned it to her SF professor and he is interested in getting it as an
unusual blending of SF and other topics. We believe that it was a book club
blurb in the last two months. Does anyone have a title/author from this poor
description?

    _The_Fermata_, by Nicholson Baker, I believe.
    
    I'm more sure of the title than the author.
    
    		-John Bishop

It also sounds like "The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything" by John 
D. MacDonald. 

-- Ken Moreau

    Re .27:
    
    It's the same basic gimmick as "The Girl, the Gold Watch, and
    Everything," but the time-stopping in that story was done with an
    ingenious invention, and the protagonist was a much nicer person than
    the one described in .25.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

I appreciate the replies and mail. My wife is off to investigate and I will
report back when/if she finds it.

Thanks!

"Dragon Tears" by Dean R Koonitz (sp) has a (very) bad person able
to do such things

Just to update people on my wife's search...

The name of the book is Fermata and it is by the same author as Vox. my wife
found it and completed her paper. I showed enough interest in it that I recieved
it for my birthday yesterday. I read about 40 pages last night and it's pretty
poorly written.

Thanks for the pointers since they did help find it. It is copyrighted 1994.

Jim