Alt.fan.eddings Frequently Asked Questions List --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 August, 1994 (alpha version) originally created by Anthony Chan respectfully maintained and flushed out by Mike Loux Howdy all! This is my first version of the FAQ since taking it over from Anthony Chan (who at this point in time is far too swamped with schoolwork, and gratefully turned it over to me for continuation). At this point, since the title says "Alpha," I am just releasing what Anthony had at this point, which is actually quite good, when you look at it. He also sent me a TON of extra information, including detailed files on pretty much all of the Eddings books, as well as blurbs on some of them. Now, I'm not sure about copyright laws and all that, but I think I need to get permission from Ellen Key Harris at Del Rey before I can add jacket blurbs to the FAQ. In the mean time, enjoy what's here! I've only skimmed the information, so I'm not entirely sure what's in here, but I felt I should get SOMETHING out the door to tide all you hungry people over until I can do something more permanent. On the topic of mistakes, please feel free to send me:- - corrections - opinions - suggestions - thank you mail - additional questions - answers to FAQ. This FAQ is edited and maintained using Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0a on either a Gateway 2000 486 DX-2/66 connected to a Novell NetWare 3.11 network, or at home on my 386/40 home-brew PC connected to itself. FAQ files are saved to a text file with Line Breaks, and posted to alt.fan.eddings using Trumpet for WinSock on said pc, or mailed to the FAQList using Pegasus Mail for Windows (Shameless plug! Shameless plug!). I just fired Microsoft as official Word Processor of the FAQ. Whenever I save the file as DOS text, I lose all my indents, which I have come to love and all that. Looks like it's just plain DOS Edit for now. The writer of this FAQ is Mike Loux . Send him mail! He's lonely! And starved for affection, especially female affection! And he loves to chat. See the "About the FAQMaster" section at the end of this doc for details. ASCII heading wanted for Eddings FAQ ------------------------------------ Anthony mentioned wanting ASCII art for the FAQ heading. This is a good idea! If you want your work to be immortalized (at least for this FAQ, at any rate), send me ASCII art! I'll decide which one suits me & the FAQ community the best by the time I'm ready to release the FULL 1.0 version of the FAQ. I probably won't use version numbers, preferring dates, but you get the idea. Introduction ------------ This FAQ is, like most FAQs here to help cut down on questions that are asked all the time esp by the typical newbie. (I take it that there are some newbies out there right?) I consider myself to be something of an experienced Eddingsman, having read the Belgariad and Malloreon several times, and the Elenium and Tamuli a few times. I've only read High Hunt and The Losers once each, but I plan to remedy that in the near future. However, having been a newbie once, I can certainly sympathize with you, so this FAQ's for you... I haven't decided on a format yet, but this is what Anthony wanted to use, and it certainly makes sense to go with this. We'll see when I do the full rewrite. Q. A. S. I realise that much of this stuff at the moment is not really "Hard Facts" that can be proven beyound doubt but if many people agree with the statements, I will consider putting them in this FAQ. Evil Comments from the FAQMaster: -------------------------------- Occasionally, I won't be able to resist adding little remarks in of my own, especially regarding other people's info. You'll know them by the brackets in which they are encased, and my initials at the end. [Kinda like this one. Heh heh heh. -ML] MISC things and wants for this FAQ, including: --------------------------------------------- 1. Contact someone from the Elenium MUSH for a FAQ entry. 2. I would like a full address to Eddings if possible. 3. Site or list of places where Eddings related GIF/JPEGs can be found. As I have mentioned on a.f.e, I may have an ftp site to store the FAQ on, and I definitely have a place that you can get the FAQ using mail. I will add this information to the FAQ as I get more details. Common a.f.e Acronyms: --------------------- {all the ones used in articles currently active on my system, in sure the other books won't be hard to fill in...}{spellings from memory} Bel/Belg The Belgariad Mal The Malloreon PoP Pawn of Prophecy QoS Queen of Sorcery MG Magician's Gambit CoW Castle of Wizardry EEG Enchanter's End Game GoTW/GoW Guardians of the West KotM/KoM King of the Murgos DLoK Demon Lord of Karanda SoD Sorceress of Darshiva SoK Seeress of Kell TL The Losers HH High Hunt DE David Eddings CoL Child of Light PoL Prophecy of Light CoD Child of Dark PoD Prophecy of Dark/Dark Prophecy - Joe ======================================================================== Here is where things start to change :) 1.x = Stuff about Mr David Eddings himself 2.x = Details about up and comming Eddings books 3.x = Stuff about High_Hunt (Eddings' first book) 4.x = Stuff about The_Losers (another contemporary book by Eddings) 5.x = Stuff about the five book series The Belgariad 6.x = Stuff about the five book series The Malloreon 7.x = Stuff about The Elenium 8.x = Stuff about The Tamuli 9.x = Miscellaneous stuff (might be where we put speculative threads and such). 10.x = About the FAQMaster (for idle prying minds) ======================================================================== Part the First - David Eddings: The Man Himself ======================================================================== (1.0) Q. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT DAVID EDDINGS? A. Here's the Eddings bio from "Contemporary Authors - New Revision Series, Volume 35" Eddings, David: -------------- PERSONAL: Born July 7, 1931 in Spokane, Washington; son of George Wayne and Theone (Berge) Eddings; married Judith Leigh Schall, October 27, 1962. Education: Attended Everett Junior College, 1950-52; Reed College, B.A., 1954; University of Washington, Seattle, M.A., 1961. Politics: "Unaffiliated" Religion: "Unaffiliated" CAREER: Writer. Has worked as a buyer for Boeing Co., as a grocery clerk, and as a college English teacher. Military service: U.S. Army 1954-56. SIDELIGHTS: With the publication of his epic fantasy cycles the "Belgariad" and the "Malloreon", David Eddings has emerged as one of the most popular writers in the field, with his last four novels hitting national bestseller lists. While the plots of his novels follow the conventions of contemporary fantasy, what distinguishes Eddings' work are his interesting characters and his irreverent wit. Calling _Pawn of Prophecy_ "a promising start" to his Belgariad series, a "Publishers Weekly" critic states that "this work demonstrates that Eddings is a good storyteller who never gets bogged down in the cliches and archaic language that often plague contemporary sword and sorcery." In the magazine "Fantasy Review", Dale F. Martin says of _Guardians of the West_: "The plot is not new to anyone who has read much fantasy, but then it doesn't need to be: the real interest is in the characters, who are skillfully presented and deftly developed. Along with sorcery and derring-do, there is wry humor and loving domesticity and credible dialogue." David Eddings himself writes, "My current excursion into fantasy has given me an opportunity to test my technical theories [on writing]. I made a world that never was, with an unlikely theology splattered against an improbable geology. My magic is at best a kind of pragmatic cop-out. Many of my explanations of how magic is supposed to work are absurdities - *but* my characters all accept these explanations as if there was no quibbling about them, and if the characters believe, then the readers seem also to believe. Maybe that's the *real* magic. That's the basic formula for fantasy. Take a bit of magic, mix well with a few open-ended Jungian archetypal myths, make your people sweat and smell and get hungry at inopportune moments, throw in a ponderous prehistory, and let nature take it's course." Apparently Eddings doesn't have any children (at least, none that he's willing to admit to). He also doesn't list any contact address, which means that anyone who wants to write should respect his wishes NOT to be contacted directly. Letters should be sent care of Del Rey, his publisher. (Thanks Amy I. Sheldon) Eddings currently resides with his wife, Leigh, in the Southwest. (taken from Jacket cover of The_Losers) (1.1) Q. WHAT IS DAVID EDDINGS' ADDRESS? A. David Eddings c/o Del Rey Books [NYC address from books.] Always contact authors through their publishers. - Joe ======================================================================== Part the Second - Up and Coming Eddings Works ======================================================================== (2.0) Q. WHEN IS THE NEXT EDDINGS BOOK DUE OUT? A. According to the "Locus" Forthcoming Books listing, "The Hidden City" is due out in hardcover from Ballantine/Del Rey in September, 1994. My experience has been that books normally start showing up in stores the month before the official release, so people in the U.S. should start looking for it in mid-August. I have NO idea when it will trickle out to the rest of the world. (Apparently The_Hidden_City has already been released - in the UK anyway - see below for spoiler!) [And at the time of this FAQ release, it's out world-wide, so this needs to be updated. Look for it in the beta FAQ. -ML] (2.1) Q: What are these next two books David Eddings plans to write? From Newsletter # 9 (October 1993) DEL REY BOOK Internet Newsletter A: _Belgarath_ and _Polgara_. Both are stand-alone stories of these two characters. It is set thousands of years before the Belgariad. _Belgarath_ covers the story of how the sorcerer Belgarath became a disciple of the God Aldur, his romance with Poledra, and the birth of his daughter Polgara-- a saga of seven thousand years in duration. _Polgara_ will tell the story of the sorceress Polgara, her lives, her loves, her adventures, and her crucial role in the epic war of men and Kings and Gods. (Look for these sometime in '95) (2.2) Q. WILL THE FIRST SERIES EVER BE RELEASED IN HARDBACK? A. Del Rey will be issuing them right after _Belgarath_ and _Polgara_ are finished. [Info from David Eddings via a birthday letter to a fan] -Scrufcat ======================================================================== Part the Third - _High Hunt_ ======================================================================== (Taken from a copy of High Hunt) High Hunt Harpers Collins Publishers 1993 (Hardcover) First Published in the USA by G.P.Putnam's Sons 1973 Copyright David Eddings 1973 ISBN 0 00 224281 8 Book Entitled "For Jufelee" The more things change The more they remain the same. A group of friends from Tacoma, Washington State, have set off on a hunting trip in the high country. Going along were Dan Alders, an ex- GI recently returned from Germany, and his big brother Jack, a loser staggering through life between jobs and marriages; McKlearey, a tough ex-Marine sergeant with a deadly secret; Cal, a big-shot wheeler-dealer who bankrolled the parties, booze and women; and finally mild, henpecked, easygoing Stan. In town they had been held together by a mutual taste for beer, spirits and endless arguements - with a little lying and wife-stealing on the side. But now, high in the mountains on a test of endurance to see who could bag the biggest deer, everythings was falling apart. Old jealousies were dusted off and forgotten hatreds revived. Rifles seemed more likely to be turned on men than on deer. Everyone knew an explosion was coming. No one knew who or what would survive. But the tattered shreds of their pride kept them from giving up and returning. It was up to Dan Alders to save them - if he could... David Eddings is known to millions as the author of international fantasy bestsellers such as Domes_of_Fire and The_Shining_Ones, but he has also written highly acclaimed mainstream novels, including The_Losers and High_Hunt, his first novel, which was originally published in the USA in 1973 and is now published in the UK for the first time. ======================================================================== Part the Fourth - _The Losers_ ======================================================================== The following is information taken from DEL REY BOOK Internet Newsletter. From Newsletter # 7 (August 1993) THE LOSERS by David Eddings. Paperback version. Contemporary novel about a gifted young man who loses his lower limbs. While recuperating in Spokane (Washington) he fends off the welfare system and a good friend gone bad as he falls in (of necessity chaste) love with a disadvantaged young woman. On another level, THE LOSERS is a reflection in the "real" world and the struggle between forces of good and evil, angle and devil. Not like any other novel written by Eddings. (Taken from Anthony's personal copy) The Losers Ballantine Books (Hardcover) Copyright 1992 by David Eddings ISBN 0-449-90719-8 Raphael Taylor was a golden boy - blond, handsome, charming, a gifted athlete and a serious student. Damon Flood was a scoundrel - a smooth, smiling, cynical devil, as devious and corrupt as Raphael was open an innocent. The day Raphael met Damon was the day he began his mysterious fall from grace. And the golden boy fell very fast and very low. So begins the mesmerizing, compulsively readable story of _The_Losers_, a tense elemental drama of the struggle between good and evil by David Eddings, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, _The_Seeress_of_Kell_. Damon introduces Raphael to liquor, wealth and a seductive woman, and then he sends him out to his doom. After losing his left leg in an automobile accident while drunk, Raphael goes to recuperate on a seedy backstree in Spokan, Washington. There he finds himself surrounded by "the losers", a nightmarish subculture of violence and despair that is kept going - and kept out of sight - by a band of incompetent social workers. It is a world that horrifies and fascinates Raphael, yet one that he comes to understand. It is a world in which he even finds love. Then Damon turns up on his doorstep, and the world of the losers explodes.... In _The_Losers_, David Eddings enters deeply, sympathetically into the lives of America's outcasts - their fantasies and fears, the daily grind of defeat, the bursts of violence that function as a form of entertainment. Spellbinding in its narrative and profound in its insights into human nature. _The_Losers_ reveals a new and brilliant sie to the storytelling genius of David Eddings. (4.0) Q. WHAT DO THE LATIN CHAPTER TITLES IN THE LOSERS MEAN? A. They just happen to be the titles of the sections of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. These are rough translations, but you should get the general idea... Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi Fortune, Empress of the World ("Fortuna" meaning luck as well as the goddess of luck or fate) Fortuna plango vulnera stillantibus ocellis I weep for the wounds of luck with brimming eyes. Fortune's blows cause lamentations, with wet eyes I view my fate. With wet eyes I lament the wounds Fortuna caused. Omnia Sol temperat puris et subtilis Soothes all things the sun, pure and fine The sun tempers everything, its rays are tender, rare The pure and tender sun relieves everything. In taberna quando sumus When we gather in the tavern. Ave formosissima, gemma pretiosa, ave decus virginum, virgo gloriosa Hail, most beautiful, precious jewel; hail, glory of maidens, radiant maiden. Hail, women most beautiful, precious most prized of gems; Hail, virgins the most treasured, virgins of the glory. Hail to thee most lovely, most precious jewel; hail pride of virgins! Most glorious virgin! Estuans interius ira vehementi in amaritudine loquor me menti Burning inwardly with mighty anger, in my bitterness I speak to my own mind. Raging within, and angry, fired with vehemence, now my bitterness mounts high, I ask my mind for sense. Ardent with anger I speak with bitterness to my heart. O Furtuna, velut Luna statu variabilis. O Fortune, like the moon, changeable in state O, thou Fortune, so like the moon, every changing, varying O Fortune, like the moon everchanging [Thanks to Tami Kimmel and Alexander Biller to the translations.] - Joe ======================================================================== Part the Fifth - The Belgariad ======================================================================== (5.0) - Book Titles [Beta FAQ - I've got the info and everything -ML] (5.1) Q. HEY, WOULDN'T IT BE NEAT IF THEY MADE "BELGARIAD THE MOVIE"? WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD PLAY WHOM? I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE HAS ASKED THIS BEFORE! A. It _has_ been asked before. So many times, in fact, that lots of a.f.e-ers are quite sick of the thread. You'll always find people who are willing to discuss it, of course, if you really want to talk about it. Just don't be surprised to see people scream "NO!!! Not this &%$# casting thread AGAIN!!!" [If someone is really masochistic, and wants to compile a list of possible picks for movie actors for the parts for The Belgariad/Malloreon or Elenium/Tamuli, they're welcome to do so. Don't expect it to show up in the FAQ, but I could put an address in here that POINTS to a location where it can be found. -ML] ======================================================================== Part the Sixth - The Malloreon ======================================================================== (6.0) - Book Titles [see 5.0 -ML] ======================================================================== Part the Seventh - The Elenium ======================================================================== (7.0) - Book Titles [you get the idea -ML] ======================================================================== Part the Eighth - The Tamuli ======================================================================== The following is information taken from DEL REY BOOK Internet Newsletter. [I believe Dey Rey happens to be David Edding's Publisher and so information about his comming books and _ANY_ other book from Del Rey is published in this newsletter. Information concerning how you can abtain the full version of the newsletter below ie at the VERY BOTTOM of this document] Once again I've been told to STRESS that this is a general Del Rey newsletter, not one devoted only to David Eddings. From Newsletter # 15 (April 1994) August books: _The Shining Ones_ by David Eddings (Paperback) Second book of The Tamuli; 345-38866-6 Paperback, 480 pp; cover art by Keith Parkinson (8.0) - Book Titles [yeah, it's me again. -ML] ======================================================================== Part the Ninth - Everything that wasn't in Parts the First to Eighth. ======================================================================== >From Mike Bahr (garion@indirect.com) My collection of text relating to David Eddings... Often in talking about the Belgariad or the Malloreon, or reading through them, one thinks "What do these regional names and words mean? What is there here to understand, and why is the in the book?" The obvious answer is that Eddings says so. More so than that, however, Eddings has left copious quantities of information on the subject. First of all, it's easy to tell that the various nations in Belgarearth (henceforth known as the world) go by one of two different city and regional naming customs, as follows: Predominantly historical nation -------------------------------- Aloria Mallorea Antiqua Ulgoland Maragor Dalasia Nyissa Karanda Melcene Sendaria Gar Og Nadrak Mishrak Ac Thull Named for houses/families ------------------------- Arendia Perivor Tolnedra Cthol Murgos This can easily be proven just by checking out the cities in the lands Eddings has created for us as such: Arendia: ------- * The houses of the Wacites, Asturians, and Mimbrates * The cities of Vo Wacune, Vo Astur, Vo Mimbre * The baronies Vo Mandor and Vo Ebor Perivor: ------- * The baronies of Dal Perivor and Vo Astellig Tolnedra: -------- * The houses of the Vordues, Ranites, Honeths, Horbites, and Borunes * The cities Tol Vordue, Tol Rane, Tol Honeth, Tol Horb, and Tol Borune Cthol Murgos: ------------ * The houses of Goska, Hagga, Gorut, Cthan, Cthaka, Morcth, Araga, Urga, and Verkat. * The cities of Rak (as above). Whereas in the other lands: Aloria: ------ * Riva - named for Iron Grip * Boktor, Kotu, Jarviksholm, Aldurford - named for historical beings. Ulgoland: -------- * Prolgu, Ulgo for "Holy Place" Maragor: ------- * Mar Amon, Mar Terrin, who's to say what they mean. [I'm assuming all the cities are called "Mar-whatever" in homage to the God Mara. -ML] Sendaria: -------- * Camaar, Muros, Darine (the Codex?) - named historically Nyissa: ------ * Sthiss Tor - the major questionmark [Perhaps the hissy-sounding name derives from their fascination with snakes? Maybe they only named the city that on the grounds that: "It sounded snakey?" -ML] Mallorea: -------- 1. Kell, Melcena, Mal Zeth. Quite a variety. [Bear in mind that Mallorea wasn't always a united land. -ML] The problem here comes with the cities that have nothing whatsoever to do with the other cities in their regions. It's interesting to note that these cities are rather important in the books. When you take a look at their names and meanings, Eddings seems to have done a VERY good job on this... Rak Cthol, Cthol Mishrak, Mishrak Ac Thull, Val Alorn... Well, we see Rak in all the Murgo city names, and it can very likely translate to "City", making names like Cthan City and Araga City. This makes perfect sense. But what about Cthol? Well, it's used in "Cthol Murgos". It does NOT mean "country" because the idea of a city called "Country City" is preposterous. However, used with both Cthol Murgos and Cthol Mishrak, Cthol could mean Land in a broader sense than city or region. To call Rak Cthol "City of the Lands" not only makes sense, but the placing of the center of the Angarak religion there makes sense as well. And since Cthol Mishrak is called "City of Endless Night" by the Alorns, it's clear the true literal meaning is "Land of Endless Night". Now we have to figure out what the hell Endless Night is doing in the name of the country of the Thulls! "Mishrak" Ac Thull. Endless Night of the Thulls? Something's not quite right about this. Cthol Murgos = "Land of the Murgos". Rak Cthol = "City of the Lands". Cthol Mishrak = "Land of Endless Night". It's clear using Mishrak with Ac Thull must be a misnomer... [Well, no one said Thulls were noted for their intelligence. -ML] As for Val Alorn, it's the only example of the Alorns naming a city the way the Tolnedrans and Arends do, thus, Val is "Old Alorn" for "City". -Thanks to Mike ================ What about sorcery? And why isn't there a Beldurnik? Well, besides having Beldurnik sound stupid, it's possible he just isn't ready for it. Sendars are notoriously stubborn. Why not shorten that and call him "Beldur" in both fealty to Aldur and the tradition of the irrepressible Beldin? It's a thought... but until Poldaran comes back to life, why worry. And the orb on the shield? Naturally, they put the shield on the orb. Of course, we'll know exactly what happened when _Polgara_ comes out after _Belgarath_, sometime in mid-1995. Back to Beldaran just briefly... Bel means Beloved in Belgarath's original tongue... Belgarath says Pol is the female version of it... perhaps Belgarath didn't have very good eyesight when he made it back to the vale after stealing the Orb? The sensible explanation is that Polgara's white lock revealed her potential to Belgarath, and he gave her a prefix accordingly, while the Bel in Beldaran means 'beloved' and nothing more. ================= Questions to ponder... 1. Is Hettar the heir to the "throne" of Algaria? 2. Will Belgarion abdicate? Kith-Kanan did in the TSR Elven Nations trilogy... [What the hell does THAT have to do with anything? -ML] 3. Who was that flute boy? I thought he was a cousin of Lelldorin but for the life of me I cannot remember where I read that. [My personal opinion was that he was originally put in there to prove a point to Lelldorin, and then he was used again to prove a point to us as the reader, in showing that was is truly hell by having a Murgo kill him in cold blood. -ML] 4. Who will rule Gar Og Nadrak when the childless Drosta dies? [Does anyone in the book seemed bothered by that fact? -ML] 5. What about Cherek? What the hell happened to Anheg's sons (if any)? [Hey! That's not fair, putting two questions in one like that! -ML] 6. Will Belgarath and Poledra pull a Belsambar/Belmakor on us? [Well, considering that Belgarath's carousing days are over with Poledra back in the tower, I'd say he might want to after a few hundred years. Polgara, I imagine, will be around for quite some time to come, probably with a ton of kids, too. -ML] 7. Will Beldin, Vella, Belgarath, or Poledra ever morph to humans again for good? 8. What will the immortal Belgarion do when Ce'Nedra dies at ~1000? Remember, the dryad Xantha lived a millenia, then her tree began to die. 9. Do the dryads have satyrs to mate with, as in typical lore? [I think it's explained somewhere that they use human men for that. - ML] 10. Am I the only one who thinks Tolnedra was rather overrated? [Make that "Is Anthony the only one who thinks Tolnedra was rather overrated?" For the record, I agree with him. -ML] 11. With only one city, how does the Nyissan border stay sovereign, and for that matter, how does their economy stay afloat? 12. The vast land of Aloria only has five major cities, while Cthol Murgos and Mallorea Antiqua have dozens. Why? And to complete the question: WHY THEN were they thought to be evenly matched adversaries? The "endless armies of Mallorea" could smash the Alorns in a fair fight. They proved it at Thull Mardu. [Better strategy, perhaps? Technology, maybe? With the exception of the Melcenes, the Malloreans seem to be a bit on the backwards side. Look at the Karandans, for example. -ML] 13. What of Perivor? Will Arendia learn to build ships after all? 14. Instead of messing around in the middle of the map we see in the books, couldn't Belgarion or Zakath visit each other via a relatively short hop from Melcena to Riva by boat? How big IS the world? [Or, how about having Garion transform into an Albatross and *glide* to Mal Zeth? Things that make you go "hmmm." -ML] 15. Is there a North Pole and if so, is there ice there or sea? [And a Morindim version of Santa Claus? **shudder** -ML] 16. Is there anywhere the heroes (tm) failed to go in their journeys? :) Like Dal Finda or something? [I don't think they made it to Hemil, although Zandramas hung out there a great deal. And come to think of it, I don't think they went to the Thull capital, either, although Agachak did. So those sort of count. -ML] ================ Q. WOW! HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT THIS COUNTRY FROM THE BELGARIAD SEEMS TO BE JUST LIKE THIS OTHER COUNTRY FROM OUR WORLD?! A. Yes, we have. The following list of equivilencies was compiled by Donal Fellowes, with input from Jon Brater (among others) in February, 1994, and seems to be the general consensus of opinion among a.f.e. readers. CHEREK - Norway/Sweden DRASNIA - Hanseatic League/Dutch Netherlands RIVA - Iceland ALGARIA - American Indians / Mongols SENDARIA - England/Ireland/Canada/America/South Germany ASTURIANS - Robin Hood MIMBRATES - Feudal Knights TOLNEDRA - Roman and Byzantine Empires MARAGOR - Carthage (sacked by Tolnedran Rome) or Aztecs/Incas ULGO - Hebrews (Chosen People of the Almighty God) GAR OG NADRAK - Central and Northern Canada MORINDLAND - Klondike/Alaska/Western Canada/Gold Rush California MISHRAK AK THULL - Poland or Lebanon (Sovereignty Violated) CTHOL MURGOS - Arabia and Persia MALLOREA - Russia MELCENA - China [Or perhaps Japan, due to the Island bit] DARSHIVA - Japan/Taiwan/Singapore [Korea? Laos? Vietnam? -ML] DALS/KELL - Dalai Lama/Himalayas/Tibet/Mt. Everest [Nepal. -ML] GANDAHAR - India (Elephants) KARANDA - Siberia ======================================================================== The following is from: Number 15 (April 1994) I will tell you how you can obtain the full version on the DRIN (newsletter). I cannot print the full details (about 10-15 lines) of each book by Eddings because I have not been granted permission to reproduce portions of the newsletter. DRIN Availability (Lots of ways to get the DRIN online) 1. read it the first few days of the month on rec.arts.sf.written, GEnie's Del Rey topic on the SFRT, or CompuServe's SF Library 5*; 2. send your e-mail address to ekh@panix.com to be added to the subscriber list and have the DRIN delivered to your mailbox the first or second working day of the month; 3. get a copy from the Del Rey fileserver* (delrey@tachyon.com) by sending e-mail with "SENDME newsletter.current" as the body of the message (or send "HELP" for full instructions); 4. read it on the Panix gopher* (gopher.panix.com; choose the Del Rey Books directory); 5. read it at the Internet Book Information Center (WWW address: hhtp://sunsite.unc.edu/ibic/IBIC-homepage.html) *Back issues also available [The Del Rey Internet Newsletter is (c)1994 by Del Rey Books, except for the IN DEPTH section, which is (c) by the author. The DRIN may be reproduced only in its entirety, and not for profit.] ======================================================================== Received From Ellen Harris (editor of the Del Rey newsletter) I think that below is part of the HELP document that you would receive in step 3. of the above instructions. The Del Rey Internet Newsletter is a monthy electronic publication for science-fiction and fantasy readers. It includes publication data on Del Rey books, hype-less descriptions of books new in the stores, selected Del Rey bibliographies, special publishing announcements, a Q & A section, a behind-the-scenes editorial about some aspect of sf/f publishing, and an "In Depth" section written by authors, cover artists, designers, and other people in different parts of the publishing industry, who talk about their jobs in an entertaining, interesting, and/or witty way. The DRIN is _not_ a promotional tool devised by marketing and publicity departments, but an editorial project designed to make contact with readers, share information, and provide a forum for two-way dialogue. As such, it doesn't list prices, avoids hype and marketing language, and tells the truth. You may redistribute the DRIN in its entirety, and may wish to post it on the Eddings newsgroup in months when it covers Eddings books. However, please don't quote bits of the newsletter (though of course you can pass along the information those bits contain) as I'm trying to keep it an integral publication. Thanks.) Fileserver info: To get back issues of the Del Rey Internet Newsletter, send a request to the Del Rey file server: delrey@tachyon.com All you need is e-mail capability to use the file server. Commands are sent in the body of the message you send to the file server. Several commands may be sent at one time; just use one command per line. File server commands: SENDME newsletter.current sends current issue of the DRIN SENDME newsletter_yy sends all issues of the DRIN for the year 19yy SENDME newsletter_yy_zipped sends all issues of the Del Rey newsletter for year 19yy as a multipart uuencoded zip file. Requires unzip and uudecode. SENDME newsletter_yy.month sends a particular issue of the DRIn, where "month" is the month of the issue you want and "yy" is the year in two-digit format (93). Commands are not case-sensitive. LIST provides a listing of the issues available, with brief table of contents LIST newsletter_yy_zipped same as LIST newsletter_yy, but includes decoding instructions. ADDRESS specifies an address that is to be used instead of the "From:" address for any files requested below the ADDRESS command. Useful when addresses arrive in an invalid format. QUIT tells the server all valid commands have been processed and that it should stop scanning. This is useful for those who have automatically-generated "signatures" appended to all mail messages. Use of the QUIT command prevents the server from trying to process the signature lines as commands. HELP sends a help file similar to this one. A transaction log is sent to you for each request you make, indicating the status of the request. Large files are sent only during off-peak hours. Problems, questions, and comments about the file server service on this system should be directed to wayne@tachyon.com, with a copy to ekh@panix.com. File-server access to the DRIN is made possible by the kindness and know-how of Wayne Sewell of Tachyon Software Consulting, who hereby gets supplied with current Del Rey titles instead of having to buy them in a store. Thanks, Wayne! Back issues are also available on the Panix gopher (gopher.panix.com) along with other cool Del Rey stuff. Thanks for your interest! ============================================ For further information contact:- Ellen Key Harris Editor Del Rey Books ekh@panix.com/E.Harris on GEnie ============================================ ======================================================================== Part the Tenth - About the FAQMaster ======================================================================== What? You're still here? Don't tell me you want to know a little bit about ME? Well, you're in for it. Remember, you asked for it...You can stop reading at any time... Okay, that was your last warning. Here goes. Michael John Loux Jr, was born one cold Christmas Eve in 1970 (that's 12/24/70 to be exact), in New London, CT. He was supposed to arrive on Epiphany 1971, but he switched places with his southern cousin, who was supposed to arrive by Christmas. Mike grew up in East Lyme, CT, graduating 22nd in a class of 300 from East Lyme High school. He attended college first at Northeastern University in Boston, which he soon discovered he couldn't afford, and then later at the University of Connecticut, where he is now slowly creeping towards a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, which he should have earned two years ago, but seeing as there aren't any jobs out there anyway, speed really isn't a problem. Mike currently works as a Network Administrator for the University of Connecticut Computer Center, where he devotes his time to Internet Surfing, Novell Troubleshooting, and most recently, FAQMastering. He enjoys reading fantasy, some science fiction, Tom Clancy, Sara Paretsky, and tons of Spenser books (Robert Parker). He enjoys computer games such as Links 386 Pro and Doom, and absolutely loves to sit down in front of a James Bond flick, or any of the following series: Babylon 5, Highlander, Star Trek, Larroquette, SeaQuest, and Walker: Texas Ranger (believe it or not). He also enjoys camping, and the outdoors (although he will admit to being horribly out of shape), and likes to write fiction on the side, although he hasn't touched the story he was working on for two years, and has by now forgotten most of it anyway. Mike's other works include a really cool hacker's guide to cheating on Eye of the Beholder II, and the fantasy "epic" (well, sort of), LightHammer, which he has mostly forgotten, as mentioned before. Mike's musical tastes run to progressive (Marillion, Genesis, IQ, Pendragon, etc), but he'll listen to about anything, provided it isn't Rap or Country (sorry guys), or anything by the Dentist Office Choir (heard a Muzak rendition of "Beat It" once. That was enough to gray my hair permanently...). And he's damn good at Lurking on UseNet. Also, as you can see, he's too prolific for his own good. Somebody help him cut down on his message lengths!!! That is all... *end of line* ---------------------------------------------------------------------------