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So I eventually finished Burning Desires, by “Fred Sparkrock”, which I mentioned a while ago might possibly have been an early work by Eric Flint, but was definitely written by someone familiar with SF tropes and fandom. Possible clues as to authorship:
• Multiple references to “Yngvi is a louse”.
• Detailed knowledge of karate, with lots of specific jargon used.
• Some place names that feel like Tuckerizations, especially “Lindakar”.
• A bit that feels like it has to be an in-joke of some sort: a bird called an “ottuff-jay” that makes repeated calls of “jooooo deeee”.
Later: I think I’ve found out what that last thing was in reference to, as well as another possibility for who the real author is. Andrew J. Offutt was a science fiction author from the 1950s to the early 80s. He had a wife whose name was Jodie. AND, most significantly, the author of hundreds of porn novels. I don’t know if Offutt was the kind of person who would self insert as a silly bird, but I’m willing to bet that the author of this book at least knew him.
If you’re interested in reading it yourself, the text can be found online here.
ETA: Over on Facebook, Jack Haringa found two clear references to Fred Sparkrock as a pseudonym of Robert Vardeman.
• Multiple references to “Yngvi is a louse”.
• Detailed knowledge of karate, with lots of specific jargon used.
• Some place names that feel like Tuckerizations, especially “Lindakar”.
• A bit that feels like it has to be an in-joke of some sort: a bird called an “ottuff-jay” that makes repeated calls of “jooooo deeee”.
Later: I think I’ve found out what that last thing was in reference to, as well as another possibility for who the real author is. Andrew J. Offutt was a science fiction author from the 1950s to the early 80s. He had a wife whose name was Jodie. AND, most significantly, the author of hundreds of porn novels. I don’t know if Offutt was the kind of person who would self insert as a silly bird, but I’m willing to bet that the author of this book at least knew him.
If you’re interested in reading it yourself, the text can be found online here.
ETA: Over on Facebook, Jack Haringa found two clear references to Fred Sparkrock as a pseudonym of Robert Vardeman.
