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Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth

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David Johnston <davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> wrote:
> This short story is a combination of the Wizard of Oz and Heinlein's
> Magic Incorporated, a brief look at a world built on the "Sufficiently
> reliable magic is indistinguishable from technology." lines.  Flying
> carpets instead of cars, skyscrapers, chemical factories producing magic
> potions and what have you.  And like Magic Incorporated organized crime
> has moved in, although unlike Magic Incorporate organized crime won.
> And unlike Thirteen O'Clock. Magic Incorporated didn't suck so hard it
> could be used to remove chrome from bumpers.
>
> Seriously Thirteen O'Clock is awful from the moment the protagonist
> decides he loves the "witch" he meets based on a minute's acquaintance
> to the ending where he mutilates her because no self-respecting man can
> tolerate his wife being more dangerous than he is.  He cuts off her
> finger to remove her power to blast things and they live happily ever
> after having left the crapsack magical world not one iota better than
> when he arrived.  Spare me.

Crapsack infrastructure made of half-stuff that vanishes if the bums
ever get voted out of office. That sounds about right. Strive to make
the majority of voters dependent upon the status-quo.
    And a winner-take-all wrestling bout near the end. Shades of
_Dune_!

Thank you,

--
Don

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Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth David Johnston <davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> - 2018-04-15 09:19 -0600
  Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-04-15 16:35 +0000
    Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth Carl Fink <carlf@panix.com> - 2018-04-15 20:45 +0000
      Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-04-15 15:36 -0600
      Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth Wolffan <akwolffan@gmail.com> - 2018-04-15 17:39 -0400
        Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2018-04-15 21:43 +0000
        Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-04-15 22:33 +0000
        Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2018-04-15 21:43 -0700
    Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth Bill Gill <billnews2@cox.net> - 2018-04-16 08:07 -0500
      Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-04-16 13:26 +0000
      Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth nance@math.ohio-state.edu (Anthony Nance) - 2018-04-16 14:47 +0000
        Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-04-16 21:59 +0000
          Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2018-04-16 22:29 +0000
            Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-04-16 23:42 +0000
            Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth nance@math.ohio-state.edu (Anthony Nance) - 2018-04-17 14:07 +0000
              Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2018-04-17 16:07 +0000
  Re: Thirteen O'Clock by Cyril Kornbluth D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-04-16 15:13 +0000

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