HW:Damnation Alley

[Kevin Perry]

It felt to me that it was written by about a 10 year old.  The description
of when Hell Tanner meets the girl (it's been a while since I read it and I
can't recall names) is just incredibly bad for example and stands out as the
worst piece of characterisation ever:

"...  Her favourite colour was green"

I mean...kindergarten stuff or what?

Bad science is OK as long as it doesn't take itself too seriously - I don't
think RZ does, which is OK.

---
Kevin Perry
Sonic Energy Authority
http://www.mountaingrill.co.uk/

"It is the business of the future to be dangerous;
and it is among the merits of science that it equips the future for its
duties."

----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew Apold <mordru at FLITE.NET>
To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: HW:Damnation Alley


> At 07:40 AM 3/14/01 -0000, Kevin Perry wrote:
> >Well, I've read the book and haven't seen the film yet (sitting on video
> >waiting).  If the book's better, then the film must be truly, truly
awful.
> >I love Zelazny's Amber series, but Damnation Alley must be one of the
worst
> >written books of all times.
>
> Hrm?  It was based on a shorter story, novella length, that got lengthened
> into novel length to set up the movie deal (at the request of Zelazny's
agent
> IIRC).  Not sure why they bothered having him do that as they didn't use
much
> of the book at all.
>
> Worst ever written?   Zelazny's had far better (Lord of Light, This
Immortal,
> The Dream Master, etc) but DA he pretty much set out to do something and
> then did it pretty well straightforward.  While I agree with Z's statement
> that
> the novella was better, I can surely find worse things even sticking only
to
> Zelazny's own stuff...   What specifically did you dislike about it?
It's
> hard to take up a contrary position without much to base it against.  As
> matter
> of simple refute, though, I'll offer up "Madwand", "Dilvish the Damned" or
any
> of number of other non-Amber fantasies by Zelazny.  Heck, some would argue
you
> could just as easily toss "Prine of Chaos" or the entire "Merlin" series
in
> there as well (I am not one of these).
>
> I enjoyed DA.  Didn't take it for what it wasn't.  Remember this predates
> Mad Max, Car Wars, and most cheesy movies of that genre that have followed
> it.  Not
> sure whether this predates ADF's "Why Johnny Can't Speed".
>
> If it was science that bothered you, Zelazny has always been a very
> unscientific
> SF writer, at least in terms of hard physical sciences.  He does his work
> in the
> "soft" sciences, psychology (you can line up the entire house of amber as
> straight
> Jungian archetypes and mythology especially.
>
> Sorry to digress, but when you say "worst written books of all time" you
> gotta
> expect some flak on it.
>
> I would stand by the statement that "Lord of Light" is one of the best
written
> books of all time.
> =============================
> "To dwell within Samsara, however, is to
>  be subject to the works of those mighty
>  among dreamers."
>
>  - Mahasamatman, in Zelazny's "Lord of Light"
>
> Andrew Apold