"Paul Di Filippo - Survival of the Fannish" - читать интересную книгу автора (Di Filippo Paul)

this time? Like he needs more goldarned inspiration! So anyhow he uses
this tarp to hide anytime a plane passes overhead.

“Now right here is where I want to call Michael’s parents, Leia and
Luke, to account. They’re the ones who aided and abetted his bookishness.
He would’ve been a normal kid if not for them. Turns out they’re what’re
called ‘fans,’ second-generation fans in fact, making Michael
third-generation. They even changed their family name to one outta of this
here Dune book. The shameful way they raised that boy, without a lick of
reality-based common sense, is almost a crime.

“But back to Michael. He makes his way across the whole width of the
Parched Plateau and manages to get down into the Lonesome Valley.
What’s he do down there? Seems the sight of an anthill, of all things, sets
him off! He decides he’s living in some book named City. He sets up what
he calls a ‘huddling place’ in a little cave, starts building a ‘robot butler’ outta
sticks and vines, and tries training up the ants to do his bidding!

“That’s where me and Peanut find him on day five, thank the Lord. But
even then things couldn’t go easy. When Michael spots Peanut, he flips out.
Why? Well, you see, Peanut’s wearing doggie saddlebags with his
dogchow in it. Michael spots them innocent packs and starts screaming,
‘Puppet master! Puppet master!’ He hightails it for a quarter mile before we
could catch up to him. Guess nearly a week in the Yolla Bolly done
improved his stamina somewhat, because back at Camp
Wanna-Beah-Ledge-Un he never done nothing except lay on his bunk and
read.

“Even when I was taking him outta the Yolla Bolly, he kept on
squirming and fussing, saying his name was ‘Han Solo,’ calling me ‘Darth
Vader,’ and begging me not to ‘freeze him in carbonite.’ That part might be
movie talk, but I bet it’s in a book somewhere too.

“And that, as I might put it, is all she wrote.

“Now, I’ll be happy to take all your questions, if’n you can answer one
of mine

“Any of your reporter-types know a good literary agent for my story?”