actors – Locus Online

An itch that had to be scratched

April 6, 2010September 6, 2017 locusmag 6 Comments acting, actors, double star, Heinlein, Heinleiners, Hildy, re-read, Smythe, The Golden Globe, Valentine, Varley

After my recent reread of Heinlein’s Double Star, I couldn’t resist revisiting John Varley’s The Golden Globe.*

Like Star, Globe is about a down on his luck actor. Kenneth “Sparky” Valentine made his nut on Luna as the kid star of a kid show. Right as Valentine is transitioning into adult roles, he is entangled in a crime and forced to run to the outer planets, where he works under

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Insert “Star” Pun Here

February 11, 2010 locusmag 5 Comments acting, actors, Dak Broadbent, double star, Heinlein, re-read, Smythe

Thanks to yesterday’s northeastern Snowmageddon, I was able to plow through a re-read of Heinlein’s Double Star. In short: More than 50 years past initial publication, this Hugo Award Winner holds up and remains an enjoyable read.*

Most of its endurance can be explained by the book’s focus on one character, the Great Lorenzo Smythe, rather than on the technology around him. Smythe is a down on his luck actor,

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