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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Feb 8, 2021 19:39:08 GMT
If possible, please give the original titles of the stories, especially "Oversight." I only have the gigantic collection in Italian, SESSANTA RACCONTI. "Oversight" (original title apparently "Un corvo in Vaticano") is not in SESSANTA RACCONTI. Ack! I now imagine it must be the best story ever.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 9, 2021 10:52:38 GMT
No original titles given in book, but will provide those supplied by isfdb from here on. Not sure about best story ever, but 'Oversight; is four pages worthy of anyone's time, I'd have thought.
Thank you for alerting me to Mr. Bowles. Maybe if any bookshops survive lockdown ....
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Feb 9, 2021 15:26:11 GMT
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Feb 9, 2021 16:33:34 GMT
Now I remember reading that thread back when I was a lurker on the Vault!
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Feb 9, 2021 16:47:06 GMT
Now I remember reading that thread back when I was a lurker on the Vault! It is a pretty strange thread, full of allusions to ancient conflicts I know nothing about.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 9, 2021 18:00:37 GMT
Thread title possibly provides strong clue as to why I may have overlooked it.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Feb 9, 2021 18:51:34 GMT
It is a pretty strange thread, full of allusions to ancient conflicts I know nothing about. I didn't understand the backstory, either (I still don't, and that's fine with me). I'd run across the Vault before then, but up until around the time of the "anti-intellectual" thread I'd only experienced the site through internet searches leading me to specific topics rather than the most recent posts. You did make one point in that thread that resonates with me, however: "You are all forgetting that most people never read anything, let alone Guy N Smith novels." Whenever I think of the people who never read fiction at all, I'm reminded of what I have in common with anyone who reads Guy N Smith, or Charles Birkin, or Anne Rice, or Stephanie Meyer, or shifter romances, or fan fiction.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Feb 9, 2021 19:04:47 GMT
It is a pretty strange thread, full of allusions to ancient conflicts I know nothing about. I didn't understand the backstory, either (I still don't, and that's fine with me). I'd run across the Vault before then, but up until around the time of the "anti-intellectual" thread I'd only experienced the site through internet searches leading me to specific topics rather than the most recent posts. You did make one point in that thread that resonates with me, however: "You are all forgetting that most people never read anything, let alone Guy N Smith novels." Whenever I think of the people who never read fiction at all, I'm reminded of what I have in common with anyone who reads Guy N Smith, or Charles Birkin, or Anne Rice, or Stephanie Meyer, or shifter romances, or fan fiction. I may have said this on here somewhere before, but many years ago it suddenly struck me why I find most hotel rooms, even at upscale hotels, a bit creepy. It is because there are no books in them. It is like staying with somebody who owns no books. Except a bible.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 10, 2021 17:51:41 GMT
The Landslide: (La frana). Giovanni drives 130 miles to Valle Ortica to report on a tragedy. "A whole village swept away, probably lots of dead," according to his editor, so evidence of the disaster should be all around him by now. Why can't he find any? Why are the locals messing him about? He came to see the aftermath of a landslide, and by God, he will not be denied! Where have the bastards hidden it?
The Monster: (Il mostro). 28-year-old Gritta Freilaber, a maid in the service of the Goggi family, is understandably terrified to confront a slimy terror in the attic. The caretaker assures Gritta she's mistaken. Her 'monster' is an old bag containing the invalid Doctor's fishing tackle. How embarrassing! And yet ... what if he's only saying that out of loyalty to the family? Could it be that they're joined in a conspiracy of silence, that she is the sole member of the household distrusted with the terrible secret?
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Post by dem bones on Mar 7, 2021 20:14:11 GMT
The Alarming Revenge of a Domestic Pet: (Spaventosa vendetta di un animale domestico, 1946). Reminiscent of Jerome Bixby's It's A Good Life, a bat-like monstrosity standing in for three-year old Anthony. As with the little boy, one must fawn over the creature around the clock. Fail to obey its every petty whim and it gets angry. And the world wouldn't like it when it gets angry.
The March of Time: A dead man awaiting the return of the woman he loves as all around him fades to nothingness. Doesn't sound like much but horribly effective. And Yet They Are Knocking at Your Door: (Eppure battono alla porta, 1940). "Unpleasant things don't concern you, do they? You think it's uncouth to talk about them. Your precious world has always withdrawn from them, hasn't it? Well let's see where your ivory tower viewpoint gets you in the end."
The flood warning is raised, the servants have fled, but nothing must interrupt an evening's bridge at the Gron's villa. Let that young hothead Massigher babble of ghosts and impending catastrophe. No deluge would have the nerve to intrude on an aristocratic family gathering without first seeking permission!
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