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VarleyLog

We Bought a Tesla!

Here’s what happened. Lee came across what looked like a tiny, yellowing IOU at the bottom of some ancient records. It was from the Tooth Fairy, and she said she was a little short of cash and would pay me a dime the next night. It was dated May 8, 1954. I was seven! She’s still in business, you know, the Tooth Fairy, so Lee tracked her down and demanded payment. The old biddy was not ...

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Looking Back

James Bacon Gets a STAR

When: Friday, April 6, 2007 at 11:30 a.m.

Location: 1637 Vine Street, south of Hollywood Blvd.

She was drinking champagne and straight vodka and occasionally popping a pill, … I said, “Marilyn, the combination of pills and alcohol will kill you.” And she said, “It hasn’t killed me yet.” Then she took another drink and popped another pill. I ...

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Novels

Slow Apocalypse

Despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as 9/11, the United States’ dependence on foreign oil has kept the nation tied to the Middle East. A scientist, bent on revenge for the death of his lover who was waiting for him at Windows on the World when the hijacked airplane hit World Trade Center, has developed a virus that feeds on petroleum, turning it solid. But he ...

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Movie Reviews

Island of Love

You could see this as The Music Man, Part II. Except that there’s no singing and dancing, the setting is the Greek islands instead of Ioway, there’s no boys’ band, it’s in the late 20th century and not the early part, and … okay, all it has in common with that film is Robert Preston and a big scam. Actually, not so much Preston as Professor Harold Hill. It’s the ...

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Collections

The Persistence of Vision

This is Varley’s first story collection — a multiple award winner. It won the Locus Award and the Prix Apollo for Best Single Author Collection. The title story also won a Locus Award and a Hugo and a Nebula. Five other stories were near awards.

PBS turned “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank” into a 3-(out of ...

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Short Fiction

The Black Hole Passes

It may be lonely out in space, but when working out in space, you are never really alone.

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Titan: An Overview

A Short Overview of Titan

Here's a very short but quite impressive video made by Jean-Paul Verne, a fly-through of Gaea from my trilogy. M. Verne wants to be involved if a movie ever gets made. Over the years many, many people have written to me wishing these books would be made into a movie. Naturally, I'd like that, too. Let's hope this is not as close as we'll ever get.

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Accidental Hippies

Accidental Hippies

Sometime not long after my high school graduation I was studying at Michigan State University when my long-time girlfriend dumped me. I entered such a state of depression that I could not continue in college. So I dropped out and decided to hit the road with Chris Kingsley, my best friend in the world. Chris had much more experience of life on the road than I did, had actually hitched to ...

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