PINKY AND THE BRAIN TAKE OVER WORLDCON

by "Bryan Porter" <bryan.porter@nashville.com>

 

[Pinky and the Brain make their entrance on the Masquerade stage]

P: "Gee, Brain, what are we going to do tonight?"

B: "Normally I would have to hurt you for asking that question again, but tonight my plan is different.

"Consider this, my maladjusted friend: we are at a Science Fiction Convention.  Not just any SF Con, but *The*  SF Con. The World Science Fiction Convention.  Now listen carefully: It is a little known fact that the fans of this genre run the gamut of social and financial class, from fast food employees, convenience store clerks and lawyers, all the way to respected professions such as engineers, computer scientists, even NASA directors!  Most importantly, the people who run the computer systems of the major corporations of the world are almost without exception fans of science fiction. Why, these people have no idea how much influence they could wield on every level. Once I rule them, I'll use that influence to take over the world.  But first, I have to take over Fandom."

P: "Right.  And how do you plan to do that?"

B: "Simple.  Tonight, we take over WorldCon!"

P: "Great idea Brain!  *Narf!* Um, excuse me, Brain, but doesn't fandom already have its share of megalomaniacs?

B: "Yes.  They're called con chairs.  Amateurs!  They're no match for my intellect.  They're too busy slandering each other and trying to find the cheapest source for Chee-To's for their con suite.  I'll displace them easily."

P: "Right!  I can see it now!  We'll start our own convention.  I'll buy the Chee-To's!"

B: "Shut up before I hurt you.  Nobody gets real influence by starting their own convention. Instead, I'll start by writing a series of science fiction masterpieces.  With my intellect, it should be child's play.  Then, when I have established myself, I will start my own religion.  It will be based on alien intervention and higher planes of existence.  With my established credibility, they will flock to my banner, and then I will use that influence to take over the world!!"

P: "Brilliant, Brain! *Narf*!  Um, pardon me, but doesn't L.Ron Hubbard already own that franchise?"

B: "Who?"

[Enter several lawyers]

L1: "Stop right there, mouse!  We have injunctions, subpoenas and lawsuits. How dare you use our great founder's ideas!??!  Hand over all your assets now and sign this non-compete agreement or we'll tie you up in court so long your grandchildren will be testifying as character witnesses."

B: "But, but, but, I had no idea!"

L2: "That's doesn't matter.  Now sign here.  Use this pen."

B: "Oh, all right." [Stops and looks at the ink on pen tip.]  "Hey, this looks like blood!"

L1: "Yes, yes, whatever.  Give me that and we'll be going now."

       [ He takes the paper and the lawyers exit.]

B: "Oh, Pinky.  Sometimes I despair of ever succeeding."

P: "Cheer up, Brain. Let's go down to the huckster room and see if they have any new buttons. And later, I'll nominate you for TAFF."

B:  Looks up at Pinky. "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

P: "Gee, I think so, Brain, but how are we going to get Jerry Pournelle into a leather mini and a pair of go-go boots?"

B:  Slaps his own head. "You know, I'd ask for an explanation of how you come to some of those conclusions, but I'm afraid you'd answer me.  Come along, Pinky.  It's time to prepare for tomorrow night."

P: "What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?"

B:  "The same thing we did tonight, Pinky. Try to take over this con!"

For Some Strange Reason, We Think This Is Fun

 

There was no first Friday meeting in August.  The Third Friday meeting took place on 8/21 at the Gillilands. The meeting began at 9:15.  Lee Gilliland announced that the club had to be nice to Jim because he'll be hosting the next meeting when the household elders attend Confluence.

"Do we have any money?" $6,490.49.   "Let's have a Disclave!"  "Let's have a Worldcon" yelled someone who was promptly hushed <by the Narn bat squad, probably.>

Sam Pierce said, "Not that Bucconeer is done, attention turns to Disclave.  Elspeth got three responses to her index cards.  I want to email questions about whether we can slide forward or back if I can't get this weekend, which looks likely.  I will hold a convention, name, place, and date to be announced."  Mike Nelson said that he participated on a panel on convention disasters without ever mentioning a Disclave.

The entertainment committee went to Bucconeer.  "I was a presenter," said Alexis.  "But my mind dried up and I couldn't think of what to say, but immediately afterwards my mind came back and I worked up a script for the gig, took it to the script review committee.  And they said it was too vulgar, and I said so, then they said it was too long so I said so.  But if it was funnier I would have said it anyway."

Judy thanked Eric Jablow for his work on the WSFA table at Bucconeer. The club applauded his efforts. He thanked Judy, Keith Lynch, George, and Chuck.  "Not only did other people not help," said Eric.  "They didn't stop to say hello.  That I can't forgive.  The computer id not come with a browser.  Only Steve Smith, who downloaded Opera, saved me from carrying a ten pound paperweight.  I can understand those who had to work in offices, but you couldn't have been so busy as not to say hi.  If you want to have a convention you have to care.  It was pretty lonely sitting there.  If you want to have me do things for WSFA, you have to make it worth my while. Some good things came of this.  A couple of people expressed interest in us. A Chicago fan club picked up our fanzines and gave us some of theirs.""         

Joe said it was a bad idea.  Elspeth had no idea about a worldcon.  It would have been better to have a visible T-shirt and make friends by talking."

Sam Pierce said, "Don't judge WSFA by this.  The people who would have volunteered were all busy doing things for Bucconeer."  Mike Nelson said he stopped by on Monday and the table wasn't there.  Joe said there are some people who will never do things. Judy said that some good came of it, people did stop by.

Eric said, "I have problems in my life.  Elspeth said Dan considers me a negative person and was surprised to hear I volunteered.  But it's things like this that make me negative."

Sam Lubell said, "We can't depend on the same people all the time."  Judy replied that "This is a volunteer club. We all are doing this because for some strange reason we think this is fun."  Eric said that Elspeth didn't help even though this was her idea.  Joe said, "You were suckered."

There was some new business.  Joe said that Mike asked him to design a T-shirt like his SMOF design.  "I didn't know that he wanted it for Worldcon. When I found out, I did it quickly. I did it on fancy paper and it betrayed me and smudged.  I propose we make a list of those who want a T-shirt and then we'll find out the price. Is there any interest?" Lots of hands went up.  "I'll redraw it.  And then you guys can buy them.  I don't think a vote is necessary since I'm not spending WSFA money."

Keith Marshall asked if the issue of our soda machine being obsolete has come up.  The soda machine industry is going to the bag in the box design.  I was hard to find soda for Bucconeer.  It doesn't cost that much to convert."  Judy asked if he could research it.  Keith said yes.  Sam Pierce asked if we could get BSFS to pay for part of it."  Bob Macintosh objected to that idea, "No, they already think they own it."  Joe said that our contract with BSFS says they will store it and do maintenance.  Maybe we could have them do the conversion in lieu of the maintenance."  Judy said we should wait to see what it costs.

Mike Nelson took 400 pictures at Bucconeer <and do their owners want them back?>.  Joe thanked the voters and Mike Nelson who gave him the Hugo for the excellent way he presented Joe's art.  "If I had a sense of justice, I'd give it to him, but you'll have to pry it out of my hands."  The Lynches brought cake to celebrate their Hugos.  Joe has a story in the new Aboriginal bought two years ago.  Chuck announced his party the next day and a red dress run at Lulu's.  "Be afraid, be very afraid." The meeting was adjourned at 9:47.

 

Attendance: Samuel Lubell, Colleen Stumbough, Robert Heinlein, Michael Nelson, Winston Matthews, Sam Pierce, Richard and Nicki Lynch, Bob MacIntosh,  Lee and Alexis Gilliland, Judy Kindell, George Shaner, Lance Osko, Eric Jablow, Mike Taylor, Madeline Yah, Bernard Bell, Luciana Lopez, Dick Roepke, Chuck Divine, Geoffrey Drumheller, Kathei Overton, Jon Pomeranz.

 

Back to School Dept.

WHY GOD NEVER RECEIVED TENURE AT ANY UNIVERSITY

 

1. He had only one major publication.

2. It had no references.

3. It wasn't published in a refereed journal.

4. Some even doubt he wrote it himself.

5. It may be true that he created the world, but what has he done since then?

6. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.

7. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.

8. He never applied to the Ethics Board for permission to use human subjects.

9. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, he deleted them from the sample.

10. He rarely came to class, just told students to read the Book.

11. He expelled the first two students for learning.

12. Although there were only ten requirements, most students failed his tests.

13. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountaintop.

14.  He kept creating new holidays.

15. He insisted that students worship him. 

The Half-Year In Review

Eric Jablow

July 3, 1998

 

A is for Asteroid,

The movies' new plot.

The physicists annoyed

Want the writers shot.

 

B is for Black Hole,

Destroying all matter.

A giant one is the whole,

Of our galactic center.

 

C is for Cancer,

The eternal scourge.

Drugs are no answer,

'Less the causes we purge.

 

D is Destruction,

Of rain-forests burned.

Of species' extinction,

Our lessons not learned.

 

E is for Estrogen,

Which keeps women strong.

With a milk regimen,

Their bones remain long.

 

F is for Fission,

The bombs nations make.

Proliferation,

Our safety's at stake.

 

G is for Genome,

The DNA mob.

Should State Farm read my tome,

Will I lose my job?

 

H is for Hubble,

Now cured of its squint.

Despite all the trouble,

It is worth a mint.

 

I is for Internet,

Its circuits we cram.

It might be useful, yet

It's surrounded by spam.

 

J is for Judgment,

Our doctors have lost.

HMO management

Only considers the cost.

 

K is for knowledge,

Our students won't get.

Legislators hedge,

Their priorities bent.

 

L is for Linux,

Your PC's best friend.

It costs almost no bucks,

Bill's empire might end.

 

M is for Martian,

Do we have the money?

For one more mission,

To send a dune buggy?

 

N is for Neutrino,

The lepton quiet.

They seem to have mass so,

Do they need a diet?

 

O is for Ocean,

Where fish and sharks swim.

Too-active fishermen

Make their prospects dim.

 

P is Pfisteria,

That pollutes each stream.

It's not hysteria,

Though pig farmers scream.

 

Q is for Quantum,

Mechanics so queer.

Consider Bell's Theorem,

And go have a beer.

 

R is for Risky

Unprotected sex.

Leaving many to be

AIDS-ridden wrecks.

 

S, the Space Station,

Now deserves a mention.

Hyper-inflation,

In Russia causes tension.

 

T is for Tobacco,

Which destroys our lungs.

RJR-Nabisco,

Those damn greedy slugs.

 

U is for Universe,

Always expanding.

There will be no reverse

Of the Big Banging.

 

V is for Viagra,

The drug some men take.

Just ask Bob Dole.  He's a

Republican rake.

 

W is for Windows.

This year's revision.

Despite Janet Reno's

Anti-trust mission.

 

X is for Xeno-

Biology.

Europa or Io,

Is where life might be.

 

Y is for Y2K,

The millennium's done.

No one should fly away,

That January 1.

 

Z is for Zero,

What Congress has done.

To fight 'gainst tobacco,

'Till the war is won.

 

 

Letter from Eric Jablow to WSFA

Dear Judy Kindell and the members of WSFA,

 

I am sending this letter to you and to Sam Lubell because many WSFA members did not attend the August 21st meeting, because I may not left my position clear, and because I do not care to have my words distorted by those with poor memories or who have their own axes to grind.  I wish this could have been a pleasant letter; unfortunately, it is a protest letter.

 

I believe that, on the whole, that the members of WSFA have taken advantage of me and have abused my hospitality.  WSFA asked me to perform a task for them, which I did to the best of my ability.  WSFA gave me minimal support; worse, they ostracized me.  I was betrayed.

 

When you expressed your thanks toward me at the meeting, I felt it hypocritical.  I seek neither your praise or your apologies.  Now, I would like to thank the six people who helped me with the WSFA table, Michael Taylor, Steven Smith, Keith Lynch, George Shaner, Charles Divine, and you yourself.  Some good things happened.  We may get some new members from this.  We have made some contacts with the new Atlanta Science Fiction Association. {Sam, please send them a copy of the last WSFA Journal.} We had Joe Mayhew's marvelous art to display.

 

However, we had no support from the rest of WSFA.  First of all, Elspeth Kovar, who had asked me to do this task, had told me to mirror the WSFA web site so I could load it onto a laptop computer she would lend me. Unfortunately, she gave me a laptop without a browser, and no reasonable way to install one.  I would have been left with a fifteen-pound paperweight to care for had not Steve Smith been able to download Opera, a small and fast web browser that fits onto a single floppy disk.

 

Members of WSFA were quite obnoxious about not helping.  Some didn't think the table would work, and so they made every effort to keep it from working.  Others were simply selfish. These were not the most painful aspects of the situation to me, however. What hurt the most was that few of you ever bothered to stop by and say hello.  You may have thought the table was a bad idea; this did not mean that you needed to repudiate me as your representative. I cannot believe that any of you, even those with heavy duties in the Con Offices or the Con Suite, could not have taken fifteen minutes to stop by and chat.  If your duties were so onerous, the Con would have been much less organized than it had been.  And so, I was left to be in solitary confinement while in the midst of thousands of people. 

Lee Gilliland told me that WSFAns are typical SF fans; they know what they want to do, and if they need help, they ask for it.  Otherwise, they are just independent.  I don't see it that way.  No organization can survive if the people therein have no respect for each other and no responsibility to each other.  Well, the people who could have helped and didn't, who could have visited and didn't, did not feel any responsibility to me although I was acting on their behalf.  They were quite willing to put me on display and to leave me hanging.  They were honor-bound to show some interest in me, or at least in WSFA. Instead, they chose to be dishonorable.

 

I am not the only member of WSFA to feel abused by WSFA's SMOFs. Other members have told me that they do not feel appreciated, that their work is taken for granted, that people assume that they will do the same tasks year after year after year.  Meanwhile, the officials who asked them to do these tasks just go off and abandon them, often leaving messes behind.  I think it appalling. Other people will not work for WSFA again because one of the Con officials has snapped at them one time too many.  I have no intention of doing anything for Disclave or for WSFA again.

 

Since WSFAns have been selfish toward me, I will have to be selfish in return. One thing that saddens me about WSFA is that the relationships between its members are so shallow.  There are people who would consider me their friend, but only within the context of a WSFA event. Were I to pass one of them on the street, he'd just keep walking.  It's quite clear to me that, except for Mike Taylor, Madeline Yeh, and Erica Ginter too the idea of my calling any other WSFA member and suggesting a visit to a museum, or an outdoor concert, or a dinner, is simply absurd.  No one would ever or could ever be interested.

 

For me to remain a member of WSFA, this must change.  If you wish to treat me as a resource, not as a human being, than I shall find some other organization to join.  I will not attend the September 4^th  meeting; you can discuss the contents of this letter there.  I suggest that you do some soul-searching; I am not the only member with reason to be angry.

 

I seek neither your praise nor your apologies.  Your conduct toward me during the Con render your praise meaningless, and your words cannot repair the damage; only your actions can.

 

"Words without deeds never to heaven go." - Claudius

 Hamlet, William Shakespeare

 

Atlanta Goes SF

 

The Atlanta Science Fiction Society was kind enough to share their newsletters with us.  They had their first official meeting February 1, 1998 with 12 fans present. They put out a 5 page newsletter in March with three contributors.  Since then they have:

run videos at meetings, held a barbecue con, organized get-togethers to see Godzilla and X-Files, made club t-shirts, purchased chocolate snacks for Bucconeer staff, helped a breakfast social at Dragoncon.  Their last newsletter had 7 pages and contributions from four people.  All of their artwork and articles are original.  Eric said they picked up a few copies of our newsletters from his table.

The Cat in the Hat

by Dr. Seuss, 61 pages. Beginner Books, $3.95

Review from the Internet

 

The Cat in the Hat is a hard-hitting novel of prose and poetry in which the author re-examines the dynamic rhyming schemes and bold imagery of some of his earlier works, most notably Green Eggs and Ham, If I Ran the Zoo, and Why Can't I Shower With Mommy?  In this novel, Theodore Geisel, writing under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, pays homage to the great Dr. Sigmund Freud in a nightmarish fantasy of a renegade feline helping two young children understand their own frustrated sexuality.

The story opens with two youngsters, a brother and a sister, abandoned by their mother, staring mournfully through the window of their single-family dwelling. In the foreground, a large tree/phallic symbol dances wildly in the wind, taunting the children and encouraging them to succumb to the sexual yearnings they undoubtedly feel for each other. Even to the most unlearned reader, the blatant references to the incestuous relationship the two share set the tone for Seuss' probing examination of the satisfaction of primitive needs. The Cat proceeds to charm the wary youths into engaging in what he so innocently refers to as "tricks." At this point, the fish, an obvious Christ figure who represents the prevailing Christian morality, attempts to warn the children, and thus, in effect, warns all of humanity of the dangers associated with the unleashing of the primal urges. In response to this, the cat proceeds to balance the aquatic naysayer on the end of his umbrella, essentially saying, "Down with morality; down with God!"

After poohpoohing the righteous rantings of the waterlogged Christ figure, the Cat begins to juggle several icons of Western culture, most notably two books, representing the Old and New Testaments, and a saucer of lactal fluid, an ironic reference to maternal loss the two children experienced when their mother abandoned them "for the afternoon." Our heroic Id adds to this bold gesture a rake and a toy man, and thus completes the Oedipal triangle.

Later in the novel, Seuss introduces the proverbial Pandora's box, a large red crate out of which the Id releases Thing One, or Freud's concept of Ego, the division of the psyche that serves as the conscious mediator between the person and reality, and Thing Two, the Superego which functions to reward and punish through a system of moral attitudes, conscience, and guilt. Referring to this box, the Cat says, "Now look at this trick. Take a look!" In this, Dr. Seuss uses the children as a brilliant metaphor for the reader, and asks the reader to re-examine his own inner self.

The children, unable to control the Id, Ego, and Superego allow these creatures to run free and mess up the house, or more symbolically, control their lives. This rampage continues until the fish, or Christ symbol, warns that the mother is returning to reinstate the Oedipal triangle that existed before her abandonment of the children. At this point, Seuss introduces a many-armed cleaning device which represents the psychoanalytic couch, which proceeds to put the two youngsters' lives back in order.

With powerful simplicity, clarity, and drama, Seuss reduces Freud's concepts on the dynamics of the human psyche to an easily understood gesture. Mr. Seuss' poetry and choice of words is equally impressive and serves as a splendid counterpart to his bold symbolism. In all, his writing style is quick and fluid, making _The Cat in the Hat_ impossible to put down. While this novel is 61 pages in length, and one can read it in five minutes or less, it is not until after multiple readings that the genius of this modern day master becomes apparent.

 

Reader's Best Novels.

 

Recently Modern Library created quite a stir when it created a list of the 100 best novels of the century. They received lots of coverage even after they admitted that their selectors didn't really rank the books but rather chose a set number and the rankings were determined by the overlap. Their list did feature some science fiction and fantasy including #5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley,  #13 1984 by George Orwell, 18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut, 31.  ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell, 41.  LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding, 65.  A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess, 90.   MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie, 93.    THE MAGUS by John Fowles.  Eight books sf or borderline.  Only one, the Vonnegut, by a science fiction writer.

 

In response to the outcry they created a web site  (http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/ 100best/) where people could cast their votes for the best books.  I don't think they were quite prepared for the number of science fiction and fantasy (and Ayn Rand) that people supported.

 

Title                                                                  Author                                      Number of votes

1.  ATLAS SHRUGGED                                 by AYN RAND                       2414

2.  THE FOUNTAINHEAD                            by AYN RAND                       2024

3.  WE THE LIVING                                       by AYN RAND                       1452

4.  ANTHEM                                                   by AYN RAND                       1450

5.  THE LORD OF THE RINGS                     by J. R. R. TOLKIEN              778

6.  TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD                   by HARPER LEE                     728

7.  BATTLEFIELD EARTH                             by L. RON HUBBARD           703

8.  THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS     by ROBERT HEINLEIN         662

9.   ULYSSES                                                 by JAMES JOYCE                  658

10.  1984                                                         by GEORGE ORWELL           656

11.    TOWN LIKE ALICE                             by NEVIL SHUTE                   604

12.  GRAVITY'S RAINBOW                         by THOMAS PYNCHON      587

13.  MISSION EARTH                                   by L. RON HUBBARD           561

14.  ABSALOM, ABSALOM!                        by WILLIAM FAULKNER     506

15.  THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN by JOHN FOWLES            460

16.  WISE BLOOD                                         by FLANNERY O'CONNOR 448

17.  CATCH-22                                              by JOSEPH HELLER              448

18.  SHANE                                                    by JACK SCHAEFER448

19.  FEAR                                                       by L. RON HUBBARD           412

20.  UNDER THE VOLCANO                       by MALCOLM LOWRY        365

21.  STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND     by ROBERT HEINLEIN         352

22.  AS I LAY DYING                                    by WILLIAM FAULKNER     349

23.   THE SOUND AND THE FURY             by WILLIAM FAULKNER     344

24.   THE STAND                                           by STEPHEN KING               339

25.   A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY        by JOHN IRVING                   336

26.   MOONHEART                                       by CHARLES DE LINT          315

27.   ONE LONELY NIGHT                          by MICKEY SPILLANE         301

28.   ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE

by ROBERT PIRSIG               291

29.   GONE WITH THE WIND                      by MARGARET MITCHELL 282

30.   THE GREAT GATSBY               by F. SCOTT FITZGERALD  280

31.   SOMEPLACE TO BE FLYING by CHARLES DE LINT          279

32.   ANIMAL FARM                                     by GEORGE ORWELL           268

33.   STARSHIP TROOPERS                         by ROBERT HEINLEIN         263

34.   THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by JOHN IRVING                 263

35.   SALEM'S LOT                                        by STEPHEN KING               261

36.   DUNE                                                     by FRANK HERBERT            261

37.   TRUSTEE FROM THE TOOLROOM by NEVIL SHUTE 252

38.   IT                                                             by STEPHEN KING               249

39.   YARROW                                               by CHARLES DE LINT          241

40.   THE THORN BIRDS                              by COLLEEN MCCULLOUGH  240

41.   CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY                  by ROBERT HEINLEIN         233

42.   BRIDESHEAD REVISITED                    by EVELYN WAUGH            232

43.   THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE      by SHIRLEY JACKSON        231

44.   THE CUNNING MAN                           by ROBERTSON DAVIES     223

45.   DOUBLE STAR                          by ROBERT HEINLEIN         221

46.   ILLUSIONS: ADVENTURES OF A RELUCTANT MESSIAH  by RICHARD BACH 220

47.   THE DOOR INTO SUMMER                by ROBERT HEINLEIN         219

48.   ON THE BEACH                                    by NEVIL SHUTE                   212

49.   THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by CARSON MCCULLERS 212

50.   THE HANDMAID'S TALE                     by MARGARET ATWOOD    210

51.   TUNNEL IN THE SKY                          by ROBERT HEINLEIN         210

52.   LIGHT IN AUGUST                               by WILLIAM FAULKNER     210

53.   TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE                 by ROBERT HEINLEIN         209

54.   RULE OF THE BONE                            by RUSSELL BANKS            209

55.   LORD OF THE FLIES                            by WILLIAM GOLDING        209

56.   FOOL ON THE HILL                             by MATT RUFF                      204

57.   THE BROTHERS K                                by DAVID JAMES DUNCAN 202

58.   GALACTIC PATROL                             by E E SMITH                         197

59.   THE PUPPET MASTERS                       by ROBERT HEINLEIN         196

60. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE                   by KURT VONNEGUT          193

61.   NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE      by TIMOTHY FINDLEY        189

62.   THE GRAPES OF WRATH                    by JOHN STEINBECK           188

63.   THE CATCHER IN THE RYE                by J.D. SALINGER                 184

64.   INHERIT THE STARS                            by JAMES P. HOGAN            183

65.   THE MOVIEGOER                                 by WALKER PERCY             183

66.   MEMORY AND DREAM                      by CHARLES DE LINT          183

67.   SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES by RAY BRADBURY 179

68.   FIFTH BUSINESS                                  by ROBERTSON DAVIES     178

69.   BLOOD MERIDIAN                              by CORMAC MCCARTHY  177

70.   LEST DARKNESS FALL                       by L SPRAGUE DE CAMP    175

71.   THE QUINCUNX                                   by CHARLES PALLISER       175

72.   PNIN                                                       by VLADIMIR NABOKOV   175

73.   WAY STATION                                     by CLIFFORD SIMAK           174

74.   THE RAZOR'S EDGE                             by W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM        174

75.   TRUE GRIT                                             by CHARLES PORTIS           174

76.   THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER         by TOM CLANCY                 173

77.   COURTSHIP RITE                                 by DONALD KINGSBURY   173

78.   OF HUMAN BONDAGE                       by W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM   173

79.   V.                                                            by THOMAS PYNCHON      172

80.   SEWER GAS & ELECTRIC                   by MATT RUFF                     172

81.   HAVE SPACE SUIT -- WILL TRAVEL by ROBERT HEINLEIN         172

82.   CASH MCCALL                                    by CAMERON HAWLEY      171

83.   WHISPERING SMITH                           by FRANK SPEARMAN        170

84.   COLD COMFORT FARM                     by STELLA GIBBONS           170

85.   ELMER GANTRY                                  by SINCLAIR LEWIS             169

86.   TRADER                                                 by CHARLES DE LINT          168

87.   THE STARS, MY DESTINATION         by ALFRED BESTER              167

88.   ARROWSMITH                          by SINCLAIR LEWIS             166

89.   ENDER'S GAME                                    by ORSON SCOTT CARD    165     

90.   SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION        by KEN KESEY                      165

91.   BRAVE NEW WORLD              by ALDOUS HUXLEY           164

92.   AT SWIM-TWO-BIRDS                        by FLANN O'BRIEN              163

93.   HEART OF DARKNESS                        by JOSEPH CONRAD            161

94.   AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS by H. P. LOVECRAFT           160

95.   FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS by HUNTER S. THOMPSON 159

96.   SUTTREE                                                by CORMAC MCCARTHY   158

97.   THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS                   by JOHN BUCHAN                158

98.   THE WOMAN WARRIOR                     by MAXINE HONG KINGSTON 157

99.   TO THE LIGHTHOUSE                         by VIRGINIA WOOLF           156

100.   THE RECOGNITIONS                         by WILLIAM GADDIS           156

 

By my count 42% of these books are science fiction.  Cult authors Rand and Hubbard placed high.  Heinlein probably had the most (10) and DeLint with four and Matt Ruff with both his books did surprisingly well.