I was just reading the book "Heat Wave" by Michael Jan Friedman .

I was really ticked because the author has Superman do a criminally irresponsible thing. He built a "community pool" by digging a hollow in a vacant lot, lining it with rubber by melting abandoned tires then fills it by scooping up "several hundred gallons of water" from the bay.

I wanted to rant about the author having Superman do something so stupid. But I looked up the author. Mr.Friedman was born in 1955, which made him 41 years old when "Heat Wave" was published.

In the series, at the time the book took place, Clark was just 30. So maybe he would do something so stupid. But oh the negative backlash from the Health Department, Fire Department, and Parks department.

I can just see Lois & Clark being handed the story on the backlash.


So does anyone know of some stories where Clark does something so stupid and has to endure the backlash?


Patrick

Maybe it's because I've had a bit of wine and I'm not thinking straight, but how is that a criminally irresponsible thing to do??

(yes, I realize I may be sorry I asked, later on)

I edited the post to include a couple of URLs.

In the book Clark did not add any system to clean the pool's water, no safety features to prevent children from drowning, and so forth.

Some more URLs
Health
Drowning

You know it didn't really occur to me when I read the book and I must have rea it hundreds of times till I lost all three of those books. I didn't really much like them actually real lack of romance I can tell you, but the actually plot line is interesting. Now if only I can find them again...

Actually there are all sorts of health issues in that pool.

1. I would assume it was uniformly the same depth so that would not be particularly safe unless it was more of a splashing pool as oppose to what we think of as a pool.

2. They were used tires. That means there were the naturally contaminents of the tires plus all the "yech" picked up and ground in by contact with the road.

3. As stated no life guard.

4. Bay water which in most places in the '90's was polluted.

5. No filtration system to clean the pool. Plus it was in a vacant lot which means the mess from peoples feet (dirt, stones) would go in the water.

6. No fencing so that in the night little furry animals could fall in and drown. So the danger to wild life, which with them dying in there would further contaminate the pool.

Oh, Superman you better call Constance Hunter looks like a bunch of law suits from City and general public coming your way.

Yup,

The book says four feet.


So does anyone know of some fanfic stories where Clark does something so stupid and has to endure the backlash?


Patrick

Three?

Ok Heat Wave
Deadly Games also by Friedman,
Exile again by Friedman



Yet I seem to recall at least two others but ...


Yes there is one by C.J. Cherryh just titled "Lois and Clark"



But I was thinking there were a couple more of the stock paperbacks but written by other authors.

Actually when I said three, I meant the three written by him.

I've never even heard of these! Are any of them good? Like on the caliber of some of the stories we have here? I suppose if it made it to a publisher they are probably decent so that is probably a dumb question. Maybe what I mean to say is do they have all the angst and waffs that we thrive on here?

~Kristen

In a word - no. There's Superman action, but little romance or WAFF or angst. I've got 'Deadly Games' on order from Amazon, but the other two Freidman books I found unremarkable.

The Cherryh book was a little better, but I found little interaction between Lois and Clark - not as much as in the show.

Frankly, there are quite a few writers in the archives who could have done much better - but they don't have agents.

And the action is sometimes rather brainless.

I found the Friedman books enjoyable, but they were very clearly written for the young adult market and were therefore a little lightweight. I did enjoy some of the Lois/Clark banter, but I wouldn't say they were worth shelling out for. All the free fanfic you can get in FoLCdom is much better.

As for the Cherryh novel - don't talk to me about it. <g> It was clear that Cherryh had never watched the show when she wrote it. In fact, she's on record as saying she just did it for the cash and wrote it over a weekend. There are a lot of details that are based more on the comics than our show and which don't fit with the LNC universe. Lois and Clark spend the vast majority of the book apart and there's a lot of focus on Superman rescues - which never interested me as much as LNC's relationship.

So...stick to fanfic, would be my advice. It's cheaper, its mostly way better written and it's written by fellow fans who know what FoLCs want in a LNC story.

As for Superman being irresponsible - just don't get me started on the fire hydrant issue in Man of Steel Bars again.

LabRat

I have all 4 books and I agree with Labrat. They really aren't worth the effort of getting. They shouldn't even have Lois and Clark on the books any where it should read "Lois and Superman". Clark is barely a character it is Superman. Plus in all of them about the only interaction between Lois and Clark (or Superman) is at the beginning of each book and at the end to wrap up the story. The only book where Clark is really a "character" is in Deadly Games but he only really interacts with Lois at the end of the book.

They were a fast read and a semi enjoyable read but only if you have easy access to them. To spend the time and money on line to order them like I did - they really aren't worth it. The FAN FICTION IS MUCH BETTER, FREE AND EASIER TO GET.

Another thing about the books. They included publicity pictures from the show but they are terrible. They are in black and white and look like someone downloaded them from a site and included them. They don't look like they were reproduced from the original negatives or data files (if digital). Whoever reproduced them for the book did a lousy job.

lol... even though I have never read these books (and I do not recall those authors off the top of my head,

I totally agree...

there are a lot of authors on this site and the archives that could one day be very successful writers/novelists...

perhaps, who knows, maybe our computer hard-drives will be worth $$$$ as we can auction off our favourite stories if any of you actually do become famous writers

For some reason, the photo sections in the Friedman books produced for the UK market were in colour. So if you are tempted to buy them, try and make sure it's a UK rather than a US copy.

LabRat

I had never heard of any of these books until this thread. I did look them up on Amazon.com, and I cannot see how the Cherryh novel could even be for sale for $113 (by outside parties, not Amazon). The comment about the book even said that collectors had speculated the price up to $133 at one point. Does that strike anyone else as a bit strange?

-Em

I bought the Cherryh book for AU$20. I had found it by chance at a comic book store in the city. To this day, I still have not read the book and it's been sitting on my shelf for the last three to four years. The Friedman books while lacking in romance I found were much more enjoyable as a whole. Now if only I can find a place that has them. I've been trying to find those books for the last ten or so years. I think I've just about exhausted all the out of print bookshops in this city and still cannot find them!

EXILE ebay seller in Australia
Heat Wave ebay seller in Australia


Deadly Games Ebay seller (in the USA sorry)

However the same Ebay seller in the USA also has

Heat Wave ebay seller in the USA

Thanks for that Framework!

The Cherryh book was remaindered in the UK, I think I bought the hardcover for a couple of pounds, largely on the strength of her other fiction (fairly hard SF). I re-read it a few months ago, it's pretty poor.