24 — Wednesday, March 13, 1991 -- North St.ore News

its roots the clarms) be in
Wagner s Der Ring des
Nibelungen making Donaldson at
See Sliver pave 92

TYepaate ataensord ay aha bh heat
Tempts to unpress readers with the
manag and inspination tor Fhe
Real Story.

future point OF human misery
when male chau enust has diy
reached the asteroid belt

Inthe test tite The Real Story,

ENJAMIN DISRAELL.

the 19th century

English prime
minister, took a decidedly
dim view of books. They
were, he insisted, “the
curse of the human race.”

“Nine-tenths of existing books
are nonsense, and the clever
books are the refutation of that
nonsense. The greatest misfortune
that ever befell man was the in-
vitation of printing.”

There are, tadmit. times wnen
this condemnation doesn’t sound
as ridiculous as it should. This past
week has been one of them.

Fantasy-fiction fans who have
eagerly awaited Stephen R.
Donaldson’s debut volume of his
new series are in for a major

2

MIKE {2
STEELE gh

book review

disappointment -— and very prob-
ably a sense of outrage. if not be-
trayal.

The Real Story (Bantam; 229
pp: $23.95) is such an utter waste
of paper, time and money that one
at those “fans” recently describ-
ed it to me as an “adolescent,
masturbatory rip-olf’ — or words
to that effect.

This time around, Donaldson
has embarked on a five-book
science-fiction series, set in some

the author portrays his chiet te-
male character as the ultumate stes
abject: Morn tiviand who, thanks
tothe implantation ofa device in
hor brain. serves the perverted
procliaties oF her captor, Anus
Thermopvle.

Thermopvle s nemese i Nick
Succoro, a regular swashbuckler
whose “good humor — Re his
unmistakable virthty. = was intec-
tous.”

Qhkav: ['m prepared to admit
that sorne males may evidence
“unmistakable virility’ even with
their thes Gone up: but since when
is it infectious? And just how tntec-
tious is it, anyway? Are women at
risk? Kids? Impressionable pets,
maybe?

Given the thought that evidently
went into Donaldson’s successtul
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
books, it’s hard to imagine that
this extraterrestrial trash was even
written by the same author.

More difficult to swatlow still is
Donaldson's gleeful and immodest

3 Every year, 3 out of 10
Canadian students drop out
before finishing high school...
And they realize all too soon
that it isn't. as easy as they
thought.

The fact is, over the next few
years, the majority of new jobs
will require a high
school education as
a minimum.
Without it, young
people simply won't

Dropping
out Is no
have the choices, the way out.

opportunities or freedom
they're looking for.

When 30% drop out...over
100,000 students a year...it
affects everyone — parents,
educators,employers,
Canadian society as a whole.

Making sure that young
people stay in
school is important
for all of us...and
more important
today than ever

before.

Let's do something about it.

Gouvernement
du Canada

Government
a + a of Canada
Ministre d'Etat
aia Jeunesse

tMinister of State
tor Youth

Canada {

en

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