From: "David L. Morris" <73151.2071@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 10 Oct 96 17:48:52 EDT

I wanted to write you a quick note after finding your homepage.  First and
foremost, congratulations!  You've put together a terrific page and are the
best-read person in terms of 'speculative fiction' I have encountered in quite
some time.  You have read books no-one else I know has even heard of.  Barring,
of course, those people who trust my opinion and therefore allow me to buy books
for them.

I am writing this from the office (oops) and therefore don't have my shelves in
front of me, but I do have some comments.

Guy Gavriel Kay
I actually felt that the Fionavar Tapestry was his best work.  In Tigana he made
the mistake of having humans, in all their complexity, fighting each other.  I
found it impossible to really sympathize with anyone and found that any ending
at all would be (and was) disappointing.  Song for Arbonne and Lions of
Al'Rassan (sp?) worked past this issue but I continue to think that Kay is at
his best showing 'Good' vs. 'Evil'.  Fionavar is, by the way, an all time
favorite of mine.  And I tout it as a must-read to anyone who will listen.

John Steakley
Wow, I don't know anyone else who has read these books.  I find it impossible to
determine which I prefer -- typically I find whichever I've read most recently
is my favorite.  Question: what do you make of the fact that Jack Crow and Felix
appear in both novels?  Near as I can tell, they are literally the same people
in each; the personalities are striking.  Add in the references in Vampire$ to
the Antwar Saloon and Felix's dreams and I am *very* curious/fascinated.  Sort
of like Saberhagen's Swords Trilogy beginning and ending with the same sentence,
but more interesting than that.  Another must-read.

David Eddings
Minor point -- I actually thought these books were vastly entertaining.  Not
fine literature, but fun stuff.  Of course, that whole Diamond Throne series was
really annoying.

Piers Anthony
Well, we were all thirteen once. . .

Glen Cook
Wow, you found the Empire books?  I only managed to track down the last
two-three and was intrigued.  Given your recommendation I may look for the rest
( I don't know where).  The Black Company continues to be a terrific series; I
assume you know the next one has come out.  It retraces recent events from a new
viewpoint so it doesn't break new ground but is interesting.  For sheer
complexity, as well as wonderful villains (so that's why you should be afraid of
a lich) the Black Company wins big.  Yet another must-read.

Recommendations
Not many at the moment, since you've read most of my major hot-button authors

There is this Anita Blake series out about modern-day vampires, etc.  It should,
by all rights, be total crap but I pounce on one every time it comes out.  Seems
like just plain fun stuff to me.  That is, however, one of my deepest, darkest
secrets.

Simon Greene (sp?)
Blue Moon Rising(?), Hawk & Fisher series, and others.  Very fun stuff, and if
you pay close attention the heroes in Hawk & Fisher seem strangely familiar if
you have read Blue Moon.  As you may notice, I am interested in connections
between books.

Moby-Dick
OK, so I wanted to be an English teacher.  Doesn't change the fact that I think
this is the greatest novel ever written.  The clash of two epic traditions; Ahab
as the great, failed classical epic hero, the direct descendent of Achilles,
Turnus, Aeneas, and others; Ishmael as the triumphant Christian hero from
Paradise Regained -- Adam done good, if you will.  You have to suffer through
the 'all about whales' sections in the middle but I can't recommend it highly
enough.  And I also have pet theories about the whale section which I'd love to
drone on about.  Point of interest: Moby Dick never bleeds.  All through the
novel the whales spout blood, but they harpoon Moby Dick and he *never* bleeds.
A brutal portrait of a great man gone bad and dragging everyone around him down
with him.

The Faerie Queene (Spenser)
Sorry, I'm not trying to show off my education.  However, the first book of the
Faerie Queene is really fun stuff.  Contains one of the all-time great poetic
barfs.  The other books can bog down quite a bit.

Ayn Rand
I thought her two 'big books' were very well written.  I was totally absorbed by
both of them.  She does, obviously, get awfully pedantic and is about as subtle
as a stormtrooper, but still terrific stuff.

Well, that finishes off my initial comments.  I'd love to hear any reactions you
might have, and plan on being a frequent visitor to your page.  Thank you for
creating it.

	David Morris