Libertas Scriptor by Philip Michael Hamm

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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: Libertas Scriptor by Philip Michael Hamm

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Actually, it occurs to me that the Libertas scriptor movement forgot one important point -- aside from handwritten drafts, even hard copy may represent something radically different from an author's original work. For you younger folk, look up the meaning of the term 'Bowdlerized' ...<br><br>And imagine if the L.S. library consisted only of Reader's Digest Condensed books! :o<br><br>Robert M.
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Re: Libertas Scriptor by Philip Michael Hamm

Post by kailhofer »

At first, I really liked this one. I could just see Seinfeld's Wayne Knight (Newman) as Smith.<br><br>Then, as I thought about it some more, I saw a few jarring things.<br><br>First, his name is Runner, but he never physically runs, although Lee's take on the name would cover it. I know he doesn't have to "run" just because of the name, but it would be very Hollywood and/or marketable. I thought the name might have been picked for a longer version of the story, where he does leave the apartment and then winds up fleeing for greater freedom. That would be a much bigger (but better, IMO) story, as he faces his fears of leaving his only safe place, his apartment, then later, as he finds out his whole way of life is a lie. Heroes with flaws are more compelling than regular folks, and agoraphobia would be right up there. Look how popular USA TV's "Monk" is with his obsessive compulsiveness.<br><br>Secondly, doesn't anybody have fires anymore? If society, not just the hero, is just as shut in, how does one escape a fire? Moreover, how about dating? Send a sample to the lab for mail order by some fellow shut in, or maybe "The Man" sends you what he chooses for your genetic lottery entry.<br><br>Why does the tech know so much about the Scriptors? For never going there, he seemed awfully knowledgeable about what was available and how to get it. Runner had his info screened for him by the Board of Education. How did this guy get in the know?<br><br><br>So, all in all, I thought it had great potential, but it didn't materialize for me, and I thought maybe the author took the easy way out for a quick story rather than a deeper, longer one. Perhaps he was just testing the waters for a later story. In either case, an author with some skill that I'd like to see another one from.<br><br>Nate
Last edited by kailhofer on September 24, 2005, 08:36:18 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Libertas Scriptor by Philip Michael Hamm

Post by PM_Hamm »

I hold my hands up and surrender; yes, I admit this was an extract from a larger work. The theme of the library was only intended as one aspect of a mulititude of reasons for why he won't leave the apartment and not the theme of the whole work. Hence the hasty end. As for the question of meeting and mating in a society where people don't physically meet... Look around at the aging population we have now or the IVF clinics or the on-line suicide pacts in Japan... ::)
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