From: Tony Gardner 
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 09:46:52 -0800

Dear Doug,
          On your recommendation, I decided to try "Foucalt's Pendulum". I
thought I was excellent. I noticed in particular the excellent job that
the translator did on it. I was somewhat disappointed though to find
that it was still very noticeable as a translation rather than a native
text. Definitely not for the paranoid.
          I also read three of Bujold's "Mles Vorsiktigan" novels, which I
enjoyed immensely.
          May I recommend to you John Steinbeck, an author of whom you have
surely heard, even if you have not read any of his novels. I have
recently read both "Grapes of Wrath" and "East of Eden". They pleasantly
surprised me by being excellent despite the hype. I would describe them
both as being literature, but easy to read nonetheless. Definitely worth
it.
          I can also recommend to you "Fatherland" by Robert Harris. At the
most basic level it's a murder mystery, but has the extra twist of
taking place on an alterntive timeline wherein Hitler won the war. One
of the most interesting sections in it is where it describes the grand
designs Hitler had for Berlin's architecture, which were never realised
in actuality.
          "Magister" by Johnathan Wylie is a book that I can recommend above
all others which I have read recently. Although the name and cover art
may make you think that this is a cheesy book about magic, it turns out
to be a brilliantly creepy mystery, which spirals in towards the central
character. It is set in an alternative London in which, magic is common
and has its sole use in virtual reality performances. The main character
is a student of this concert magic and is employed to write the
biography of a famous past student of his college. Absolutely brilliant.
          I am currently reading The Gormenghast trilogy- "Titus Groan",
"Gormenghast", "Titus Alone", and I can so far recommend tham inasmuch
as they have glorious imagery, and their use of words is a scrabble
player's dream. Amusing but with a touch of sadness, since a proportion
of their fame accrues from the tragic mental illness and depression of
Mervyn Peake, which I believe led him to eventually commit suicide. If
you will accept a recommendation on a half read series, then consider
these recommended.
          I haven't actually worked out if you enjoy the cold war spy thriller
genre. I previously recommended John le Carre to you, and I can now
recommend Frederick Forsyth for his books "The Deciever", "The Fourth
Protocol", and "Icon", his latest. Very good examples of their genre,
they show the result of extensive research and a truly formidible
writing skill. If spy novels are of interest then this is your man.
        Having recently finished the Uplift series, I can say that I agree with
your rating-  briliant idea with some flaws in execution. A fourth book
in the series is out- "Brightness Reef". It gets much better after a
faltering start, but be warned- it does not stand alone like the first
three, but is the first of a trilogy. I'd also ike to say that I thought
the Postman deserved better than 6 overall, although the last two
chapters certainly are nothing to be proud of.
        "Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow" by Peter Hoeg is another translation
which came highly recommended to me. I have not seen the film so I
cannot make any comparison. Let me be quite brutal in my evaluation
here. I probably would have enjoyed this book far more had I ever seen
snow, or had any experience of wild ice (not the stuff in the freezer).
In any case, the X files have jaded my taste for the extraterrestrial
man eaters. My numerical rating? 8 if it was original, 4 because it's
not.
        "The Book of Myst", I found to be a pleasant, if shallow book. I was
pleased to find that David Wingrove did not destroy them as he did his
own Chung Kuo, on which I have previously commented. Easily the best
imagery in a book I have ever read. Unfortunate lack of a decent plot. I
thought the act of creation vs portal theory of the books was unoriginal
and paralleled the Copenhagen Vs many worlds theories of probability
waveform collapse.
          My email address above should now be correct. Your page continues to
be a pleasure to read. I hang on your updates with avid anticipation.
Keep up the good work.

        Tony Gardner
        Brisbane, Australia