John Brunner by Jad Smith

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars

A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> John Brunner by Jad Smith
>
> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars
>
> A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.

Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for me. What chess player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The Squares of the City"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand on Zanzibar" and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had an influence on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing long-held beliefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.

As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange Land" for New Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I had already backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece was so shoddy, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's reputation as a critic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely, threw it out. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.

William Hyde

On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> > John Brunner by Jad Smith
> >
> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars
> >
> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for me. What chess player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The Squares of the City"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand on Zanzibar" and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had an influence on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing long-held beliefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.
>
> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange Land" for New Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I had already backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece was so shoddy, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's reputation as a critic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely, threw it out.. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.
>
> William Hyde
I am going to guess that this link is relevant: http://david-drake.com/2010/platt/

Andrew McDowell <mcdowell_ag@sky.com> writes:
>On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:=
>=20
>> > John Brunner by Jad Smith=20
>> >=20
>> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars=20
>> >=20
>> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for me. What che=
>ss player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The Squares of the C=
>ity"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand on Zanzibar"=
> and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had an influen=
>ce on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing long-held be=
>liefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.=20
>>=20
>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange Land" for Ne=
>w Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I had alread=
>y backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece was so shoddy=
>, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's reputation as a crit=
>ic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely, threw it out=
>. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.=20
>>=20
>> William Hyde
>I am going to guess that this link is relevant: http://david-drake.com/2010=
>/platt/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Platt_(author)
http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html

In article <486f796e-565a-4eb3-b38f-2913b7807aefn@googlegroups.com>,
Andrew McDowell <mcdowell_ag@sky.com> wrote:
>On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James
>Nicoll wrote:
>> > John Brunner by Jad Smith
>> >
>> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars
>> >
>> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for
>me. What chess player could ignore the books of the man who wrote
>"The Squares of the City"? While of course I read and reread his
>big novels, "Stand on Zanzibar" and it's cousins, lesser known
>works like "The Long Result" had an influence on me. People
>thinking before acting, for example. Changing long-held beliefs
>in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.
>>
>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange
>Land" for New Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's
>part. Though I had already backed away from my former admiration
>for SIASL, this piece was so shoddy, so mendacious that as far as
>I was concerned Platt's reputation as a critic was ruined. I even
>wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely, threw it out. It was
>even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.
>>
>> William Hyde
>I am going to guess that this link is relevant:
>http://david-drake.com/2010/platt/

See also the Spider Robinson Heinlein fanfic that includes this
line:

"A machinist named C. Platt got careless with a torch and became
our first death. He was not widely mourned."
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

In article <2DnQK.21608$elEa.3727@fx09.iad>,
Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
>Andrew McDowell <mcdowell_ag@sky.com> writes:
>>On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
>>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James
>Nicoll wrote:=
>>=20
>>> > John Brunner by Jad Smith=20
>>> >=20
>>> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars=20
>>> >=20
>>> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
>>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for
>me. What che=
>>ss player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The
>Squares of the C=
>>ity"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand
>on Zanzibar"=
>> and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had
>an influen=
>>ce on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing
>long-held be=
>>liefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.=20
>>>=20
>>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange
>Land" for Ne=
>>w Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I
>had alread=
>>y backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece
>was so shoddy=
>>, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's
>reputation as a crit=
>>ic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely,
>threw it out=
>>. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.=20
>>>=20
>>> William Hyde
>>I am going to guess that this link is relevant:
>http://david-drake.com/2010=
>>/platt/
>
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Platt_(author)
>http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html

That second link 404ed for me but it's still on the Wayback
Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20041104042703/http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html

Sadly, doesn't seem to have the interview in which Pournelle admits
to having been a communist, which of course naturally leads one to
wonder to what degree he and his associates were in the Kremlin's
pocket.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Friday, September 2, 2022 at 10:12:21 AM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <2DnQK.21608$elEa...@fx09.iad>,
> Scott Lurndal <sl...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> >Andrew McDowell <mcdow...@sky.com> writes:
> >>On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
> >>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James
> >Nicoll wrote:=
> >>=20
> >>> > John Brunner by Jad Smith=20
> >>> >=20
> >>> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars=20
> >>> >=20
> >>> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
> >>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for
> >me. What che=
> >>ss player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The
> >Squares of the C=
> >>ity"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand
> >on Zanzibar"=
> >> and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had
> >an influen=
> >>ce on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing
> >long-held be=
> >>liefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.=20
> >>>=20
> >>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange
> >Land" for Ne=
> >>w Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I
> >had alread=
> >>y backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece
> >was so shoddy=
> >>, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's
> >reputation as a crit=
> >>ic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely,
> >threw it out=
> >>. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.=20
> >>>=20
> >>> William Hyde
> >>I am going to guess that this link is relevant:
> >http://david-drake.com/2010=
> >>/platt/
> >
> >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Platt_(author)
> >http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
> That second link 404ed for me but it's still on the Wayback
> Machine:
>
> https://web.archive.org/web/20041104042703/http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
>
> Sadly, doesn't seem to have the interview in which Pournelle admits
> to having been a communist [snip]

_Dream Makers: Volume II_ (1983) is at
https://archive.org/details/dreammakersuncom00plat/page/n9/mode/2up
The part of the Pournelle interview where he talks about his
Communist period as an undergraduate (after he came back from
Korea) is on pp.7-8.

On the fiction side of things, I remember reading Platt's _The Gas_
(1970). It was very much a New Wave novel:

"...the British countryside has exploded into an uncontrollable
nightmare of lust, perversion, violence and insanity, as men,
women, and children act out their deepest and weirdest
obsessions and compulsions in Charles Platt's unique and
explicit underground novel of sex and degeneration."
(https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/797218)

It wasn't the most shocking "épater le bourgeois" book that I
had read, but there are some scenes that I can vividly recall
decades later, so presumably it did something right.

On Friday, September 2, 2022 at 3:12:21 PM UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <2DnQK.21608$elEa...@fx09.iad>,
> Scott Lurndal <sl...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> >Andrew McDowell <mcdow...@sky.com> writes:
> >>On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
> >>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James
> >Nicoll wrote:=
> >>=20
> >>> > John Brunner by Jad Smith=20
> >>> >=20
> >>> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars=20
> >>> >=20
> >>> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
> >>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for
> >me. What che=
> >>ss player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The
> >Squares of the C=
> >>ity"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand
> >on Zanzibar"=
> >> and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had
> >an influen=
> >>ce on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing
> >long-held be=
> >>liefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.=20
> >>>=20
> >>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange
> >Land" for Ne=
> >>w Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I
> >had alread=
> >>y backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece
> >was so shoddy=
> >>, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's
> >reputation as a crit=
> >>ic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely,
> >threw it out=
> >>. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.=20
> >>>=20
> >>> William Hyde
> >>I am going to guess that this link is relevant:
> >http://david-drake.com/2010=
> >>/platt/
> >
> >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Platt_(author)
> >http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
> That second link 404ed for me but it's still on the Wayback
> Machine:
>
> https://web.archive.org/web/20041104042703/http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
>
> Sadly, doesn't seem to have the interview in which Pournelle admits
> to having been a communist, which of course naturally leads one to
> wonder to what degree he and his associates were in the Kremlin's
> pocket.
> --
> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

If you are repeatedly worrying that prominent people are in the Kremlin's pocket, perhaps you should be supporting those who have been publicly investigated for this without success, by people who have every possible motivation to find evidence for control from the Kremlin. I believe the most prominent of these is an American politician called Donald Trump.

On Friday, 2 September 2022 at 18:13:59 UTC+1, mcdow...@sky.com wrote:
> On Friday, September 2, 2022 at 3:12:21 PM UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> > In article <2DnQK.21608$elEa...@fx09.iad>,
> > Scott Lurndal <sl...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> > >Andrew McDowell <mcdow...@sky.com> writes:
> > >>On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
> > >>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James
> > >Nicoll wrote:=
> > >>=20
> > >>> > John Brunner by Jad Smith=20
> > >>> >=20
> > >>> > https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars=20
> > >>> >=20
> > >>> > A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
> > >>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for
> > >me. What che=
> > >>ss player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The
> > >Squares of the C=
> > >>ity"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand
> > >on Zanzibar"=
> > >> and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had
> > >an influen=
> > >>ce on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing
> > >long-held be=
> > >>liefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.=20
> > >>>=20
> > >>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange
> > >Land" for Ne=
> > >>w Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I
> > >had alread=
> > >>y backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece
> > >was so shoddy=
> > >>, so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's
> > >reputation as a crit=
> > >>ic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely,
> > >threw it out=
> > >>. It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.=20
> > >>>=20
> > >>> William Hyde
> > >>I am going to guess that this link is relevant:
> > >http://david-drake.com/2010=
> > >>/platt/
> > >
> > >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Platt_(author)
> > >http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
> > That second link 404ed for me but it's still on the Wayback
> > Machine:
> >
> > https://web.archive.org/web/20041104042703/http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
> >
> > Sadly, doesn't seem to have the interview in which Pournelle admits
> > to having been a communist, which of course naturally leads one to
> > wonder to what degree he and his associates were in the Kremlin's
> > pocket.
> > --
> > My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> > My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> > My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> > My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
> If you are repeatedly worrying that prominent people are in the Kremlin's pocket, perhaps you should be supporting those who have been publicly investigated for this without success, by people who have every possible motivation to find evidence for control from the Kremlin. I believe the most prominent of these is an American politician called Donald Trump.

No. Micky Dolenz, of "The Monkees".

On 9/2/2022 10:13 AM, Andrew McDowell wrote:
> On Friday, September 2, 2022 at 3:12:21 PM UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>> In article <2DnQK.21608$elEa...@fx09.iad>,
>> Scott Lurndal <sl...@pacbell.net> wrote:
>>> Andrew McDowell <mcdow...@sky.com> writes:
>>>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 6:40:31 PM UTC+1, William Hyde wrote:
>>>>> On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 9:48:34 AM UTC-4, James
>>> Nicoll wrote:=
>>>> =20
>>>>>> John Brunner by Jad Smith=20
>>>>>> =20
>>>>>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-those-old-time-stars=20
>>>>>> =20
>>>>>> A brief examination of SF author John Brunner's life and career.
>>>>> Brunner was definitely "Buy on sight" in the 60s and 70s for
>>> me. What che=
>>>> ss player could ignore the books of the man who wrote "The
>>> Squares of the C=
>>>> ity"? While of course I read and reread his big novels, "Stand
>>> on Zanzibar"=
>>>> and it's cousins, lesser known works like "The Long Result" had
>>> an influen=
>>>> ce on me. People thinking before acting, for example. Changing
>>> long-held be=
>>>> liefs in the face of evidence. It's a nice fantasy.=20
>>>>> =20
>>>>> As for Platt, he wrote a hit piece on "Stranger in a Strange
>>> Land" for Ne=
>>>> w Worlds Quarterly" - bad judgement on Moorcock's part. Though I
>>> had alread=
>>>> y backed away from my former admiration for SIASL, this piece
>>> was so shoddy=
>>>> , so mendacious that as far as I was concerned Platt's
>>> reputation as a crit=
>>>> ic was ruined. I even wrote a letter of rebuttal, but, wisely,
>>> threw it out=
>>>> . It was even worse written than Platt's piece, albeit more honest.=20
>>>>> =20
>>>>> William Hyde
>>>> I am going to guess that this link is relevant:
>>> http://david-drake.com/2010=
>>>> /platt/
>>>
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Platt_(author)
>>> http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
>> That second link 404ed for me but it's still on the Wayback
>> Machine:
>>
>> https://web.archive.org/web/20041104042703/http://www.davidpascal.com/charlesplatt/interviews.html
>>
>> Sadly, doesn't seem to have the interview in which Pournelle admits
>> to having been a communist, which of course naturally leads one to
>> wonder to what degree he and his associates were in the Kremlin's
>> pocket.
>> --
>> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
>> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
>> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
>> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
>
> If you are repeatedly worrying that prominent people are in the Kremlin's pocket, perhaps you should be supporting those who have been publicly investigated for this without success, by people who have every possible motivation to find evidence for control from the Kremlin. I believe the most prominent of these is an American politician called Donald Trump.

Actually the finding there was that Trump and his campaign tried to work
with Moscow but were basically too incompetent to actually do so.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.