Buried Treasures: Star Wars - From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker

Karen: I didn't realize it had been just over a year -last November -since we last ran a Buried Treasure post. But categories never stay dead forever here, and with the new Star Wars film coming out in a few weeks, this seemed more than appropriate. I had rediscovered my copy of the Star Wars novelization last year but had just put it on the shelf until now. A little detective work tells me this is the second printing, which came out in May 1977 -and I do recall getting it not long before I saw the film, but as I have mentioned in the past around these parts, our town didn't actually get Star Wars until July 1977! So here I had this absolutely amazing book, chock full of photos and the entire story of the film, and it tortured me. Oh, how it tortured me. I did look at all of the pictures and read the captions -heck, I had been reading articles about "The Star Wars" in Starlog for a year or so, so I knew some of the details already. But somehow, I pulled together every ounce of willpower I had and did not read the novel until after I saw the film. And then I had questions. Like -how come we didn't see Luke go to Mos Eisley and meet Biggs in the film? We never saw Jabba in the movie. And so on. Of course, all those scenes that were cut have now been shown in out takes or, sadly in some cases (Jabba), reworked and put back in the films. But you get the idea. I have read that the novel was ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster from George Lucas' script and notes. Re-reading some scenes, it's interesting how they differ from the film - certainly, the dialog seems even worse in the book than the film, and that's saying something. Look, I love Star Wars, but dialog was never Lucas' strong suit.

Karen: If you have never seen this early movie tie-in, it's a beauty. I wish I could show you all of the color photo mid-section (16 pages of photos, as the cover says), but my poor copy is falling apart. I could barely hold it open to take a few pics. But it still looks great. It has photos of all the major characters along with brief bios. I like how Darth Vader is described as using his "extrasensory powers" to keep the Emperor in power -it's the Force, not ESP! Also, R2 and C3PO are called robots, not droids. I can just imagine some low-level copywriter going through all the notes from the studio  and trying to make it sound less weird. No one back then knew what the heck the Force or a Jedi was. Also interesting is that in the pages describing the production of the film, American Graffiti is referenced no less than four times. I know it was popular, but still! Then again, what else did Lucas have going for him at that point? Well, certainly he has a few other things on his resume now.

Discuss: Isaac Asimov

Karen: It's been some time since we ran any posts on science fiction and/or fantasy authors, so I thought I'd pull the subject back out of the mothballs to see if we have any interest. In the past we've discussed Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, John Christopher, Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Phillip Jose Farmer, Frank Herbert, and J.R.R. Tolkien. If you go to the tag cloud on the left-hand side of the screen and click on "author," they should all come up. If we've somehow missed tagging a post, somebody please feel free to speak up.

Today let's talk about one of the grand old men, Isaac Asimov. Although I can't say he is a favorite of mine, he was my big brother's favorite for many years, so I have some familiarity with his work. I did read some of his robot stories, but never the Foundation books, I'm afraid. By the time I began getting into SF, I was gravitating towards Roger Zelazny, Joe Haldeman, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the like, and not so much the 'hard SF' types like Asimov. But he certainly is a giant in the literature, and his Three Laws of Robotics have had tremendous impact on not only SF but society as a whole. He also took on the role of science ambassador, perhaps less than Carl Sagan, but he still was a witty guest on talk shows. Let us also not forget the magazine that bears his name and has published some wonderful short fiction for many years.

The floor is open...

Discuss: Elric of Melnibone

Karen: Perhaps 15 years ago, I picked up a collection of Elric of Melnibone stories by Michael Moorcock in a used book store and read the entire thing straight through. I enjoyed it well enough, but it didn't become a favorite of mine, and I haven't read any more Elric since, although lately the albino sorcerer has been on my mind. Our discussions of Adam Warlock brought him back to me -they both have a vampiric weapon that is both boon and bane. In Elric's case, it is his sword Stormbringer. 

Karen: The character first appeared in novellas published in Science Fantasy magazine in 1961, but it was through novels published in the 70s that Elric really took off in popularity. I recall seeing those paperbacks from Daw -they had some great covers, all by Michael Whelan I believe.

Karen: Comics is where I was actually introduced to Elric though -in the pages of Conan the Barbarian #14. Roy Thomas and Barry Smith brought Moorcock's brooding anti-hero into Conan's world for two issues -two issues you won't find reprinted in the Dark Horse TPBs, by the way (and most unfortunately). I thought Elric looked pretty weird with the funny headgear Smith put on him, but still, he seemed like a pretty cool cat and the comics did inspire me to get the books -even if it took 20 years or so! 

Karen: So who's a fan? Thoughts on the character and his journey?

Discuss: Dune

Karen: I know I read at least the first two books, maybe three...but it was a long time ago. I was impressed with Herbert's world creation in book one, but I felt like there really wasn't a sympathetic character to root for, not even Paul. I have a few other vague memories about the books, some of which are now over-laid by the film 1984 film with Sting, which I don't really consider a good thing. Any thoughts on Dune, Frank Herbert, the series carried on by other writers, the David Lynch film, or even the SyFy Channel mini-series?

Discuss: Harlan Ellison

Discuss: Philip Jose Farmer

Karen: Philip Jose Farmer is probably best known for his Riverworld series of novels, where every person who ever lived is reincarnated on an artificial world, and his Wold Newton stories, which unite a vast number of pulp heroes under a large family tree. Farmer's works are definitely unusual and in some cases provocative.

Karen: I was introduced to him by one of his most spectacularly bizarre novels, A Feast Unknown, which I read on a road trip with a friend when I was in college. I thought I would be getting a pastiche of Doc Savage and Tarzan -little did I know what I was getting myself into! Despite the unpleasant sexual situations, the action and adventure intrigued me, and I gave his Riverworld series a go years later, and was well rewarded as a reader. Farmer was inventive and fun. I've yet to read his World of Tiers novels, but perhaps I'll give them a try one of these days. I also just discovered recently that other writers have been expanding upon his Wold Newton universe. Any other fans of this writer and his work?

Discuss: Robert Heinlein

Karen: I was introduced to the works of Robert Heinlein when I was a pre-teen by my older brother. I started with books like Orphans of the Sky, The  Door into Summer, then onto Starship Troopers, The Puppet Masters, and then to the really odd stuff, like Stranger in a Strange Land. Heinlein didn't become a favorite of mine, but I appreciated much of what I read. He's certainly not without controversy amongst the SF community though, particularly his final novels. Any thoughts on this writer?

Discuss: The Hobbit (the book)

Karen: Since the film is out, let's discuss the book (and let's stick with just this book, and save Tolkien's other works for later posts). I first  read The Hobbit when I was about ten years old. It was yet another book I was introduced to by my older brother. It was the first real fantasy book I'd ever read and opened the doors to a lot of others. I'll always consider The Hobbit to be the icon, the one that set the standards and conventions of fantasy fiction for the decades to come (and you can argue whether that was for good or ill). I still try to read it every few years, and I still enjoy it. 

Discuss: Andre Norton

Karen: Since we had  some interest expressed in discussing some science fiction and fantasy books and authors after the Tripods post, let's start with an author that has already been mentioned: Andre Norton. She's well-loved for her many juvenile novels. While I haven't read her extensively -I never got to the Witch World books for example -I did really enjoy her Time Trader series, and other books like Star Man's Son. Please share any thoughts you have on this prolific author.

Discuss: Tripods

Karen: John Christopher's Tripods series just popped into my mind the other day and I thought I'd see if there's any love for it out there in BAB-land. It may be more familiar to our British contingent than our other pals. The three books in the trilogy (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire) were favorites of mine as a youngster, right there with Andre Norton. Cracking good adventure with some very solid commentary on freedom, individuality, friendship, loyalty, etc. Just great stuff to read while growing up. A few years ago I discovered that the books (the first two anyway) had been made into a TV show by the BBC, but other than a few clips on the internet, I've never seen it. I'd be interested in anything you might have to say on the subject!