"How Much For Just The Planet?"

[TGTheodore]

No, it's the sound of me begging someone else to volunteer. Like I said, I've only ever been able to figure out two of the songs and I've forgotten one. This is me we're talking about -- if I could compile the list myself, I'd repost it every time the question came up.

So ... would such a volunteer merit a redshirt or an insignificant little alien named after him or herself?

--Ted

 

[Amaris]

^ Opportunism, thy name is...um, opportunism.


J.

 

[Bacl]

I couldn't get through it either, but I usually get my books from the library for just this very reason.

 

[Amaris]

^ Oh, I lucked out. I won these books off of eBay. More than 78 books for $10.48 plus shipping, which came to $24 and change, give or take a few pennies. It was one of the books in that win.

J.

 

[TGTheodore]

Okay, I dug out my copy and here's what I get from a quick flip-through.

The first and last song (P.75 & P.250) are the same, based on a to-be-determined Gilbert & Sullivan tune

P. 87 - I suspect it's a big band tune with the description and reference to "Stompin' at the Savoy" at the end
P. 94 & P.106 - Same song, but no idea at first glance
P. 124 - Obviously the theme from Rawhide
P. 128 - No idea yet
P. 129 - No idea, but I thought it might be "Bless My Beautiful Soul" from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, but the scansion falls apart too soon
P. 138 - Oddly enough, it fits the verse of "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", but since there's a couplet stuck in the middle of it ruining that possibility, I suspect it's another G&S patter tune
P. 165 - Not sure, but the word "monochrome" might be a help. (No, it doesn't fit "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon)
P. 161 (First Song) - Obviously "Falling in Love Again" popularized by Marlene Deitrich
P. 161 (Second Song) "I Ain't Got Nobody". The gimme is at the end. David Lee Roth did a cover with "I'm Just a Gigolo"

When I have way too much time on my hands, I'll take a second look.

--Ted

 

[WendellM]

There also seem to be numerous references to SF/F writers as characters. I read the book years ago and partially enjoyed it - I sort of "got" what it was and could recognize a few of the song sources, so it wasn't too bad.

Ishmael, though... It was recommended by a friend who loved it, but I'm unfamiliar with TV westerns. Thus I missed all the main references, had no idea what was going on, and didn't enjoy it. So, I empathize, J. Allen. I might give HMFJTP another go based on this thread and equipped with more knowledge.

 

[TGTheodore]

There also seem to be numerous references to SF/F writers as characters.

Most of them were identified in an earlier thread about this book. (Or an off-topic off-ramp in another thread).

--Ted

 

[Stevil2001]

Ishmael, though... It was recommended by a friend who loved it, but I'm unfamiliar with TV westerns. Thus I missed all the main references, had no idea what was going on, and didn't enjoy it. So, I empathize, J. Allen. I might give HMFJTP another go based on this thread and equipped with more knowledge.

I don't feel as though you need to know anything about Here Come the Brides to enjoy Ishmael; I read it and enjoyed it many times before I had The Internet to tell me What It Was Really All About.

 

[Steve Roby]

I don't feel as though you need to know anything about Here Come the Brides to enjoy Ishmael; I read it and enjoyed it many times before I had The Internet to tell me What It Was Really All About.

Same here -- well, aside from the read it many times part; I read it in the summer of 1985 and that's it so far. But for me knowing that it's a crossover makes it seem gimmicky rather than original, because the author didn't actually create the characters and locations I thought she'd created.

 

[Christopher]

I don't feel as though you need to know anything about Here Come the Brides to enjoy Ishmael; I read it and enjoyed it many times before I had The Internet to tell me What It Was Really All About.

Same here, except the way I learned about HCTB was that it was mentioned in Bjo Trimble's book On the Good Ship Enterprise. (HCTB's cast included Mark Lenard, Robert Brown, and David Soul, so its fandom had a degree of overlap with Trek fandom. Which is no doubt why Hambly chose to cross it over with Trek.) I read in Trimble's book about this show with characters named Joshua Bolt and Aaron Stemple and so on, and I realized, "Heyyy, wait a minute -- you mean Ishmael took all that from a TV Western?"

 

[WendellM]

Well, I guess I should give Ishmael another look, too.