Wiffle Lever To Full Daleks Death Stars And Dreamyeyed Nostalgia At The Strangest Scifi Conventions

Published March 14, 2008 by Hodder & Stoughton General Division.

ISBN:: 978-0-340-96201-5

(1 review)

He may not have a TARDIS or an X-Wing Fighter, but Bob Fischer is boldly going where, um, lots of men have gone before. And, to a lesser extent, possibly even a few women. Encountering gay Cybermen, obsessive Janet Ellis fans and Douglas Adams devotees hell-bent on destroying Blakes 7 lovers with water-pistols, Bob embarks on a marathon twelve-month journey around the country's sci-fi and cult TV conventions.

Part fun travelogue, part field report, part misty-eyed childhood memoir, Bob freewheels his way from Doctor Who to Discworld, Star Wars to Star Trek and Robin Of Sherwood to Red Dwarf. In space, no one can hear you scream. And don't expect much sympathy in Peterborough, either.

1 edition

David Hughes reviewed Wiffle Lever To Full Daleks Death Stars And Dreamyeyed Nostalgia At The Strangest Scifi Conventions by Bob Fischer

Engaging but shallow

3 stars

Meet Bob. Bob is going to attend Sci-Fi conventions across the UK. At the conventions Bob briefly interacts with other attendees, drinks a lot, participates in convention events and gets autographs from and photos with the guests of honour. Bob explains the origins of his fandom and enumerates the embarrassing events his fandom may have caused. Rinse. Spin. Repeat. Bob comes across well. He's funny and self-deprecating and the growing up in he 70s/early 80s parts are really good (especially if you're of that vintage). The ending is a little poignant too. However, it's really really really shallow. The first paragraph above sums up the book. There's little to explain why Bob and other fans actually like the TV show (and it's nearly always a TV show they do) - for Bob they're Proustian Madeleines and so the opportunity to provide some insight into why fans are fans is missed. …

Meet Bob. Bob is going to attend Sci-Fi conventions across the UK. At the conventions Bob briefly interacts with other attendees, drinks a lot, participates in convention events and gets autographs from and photos with the guests of honour. Bob explains the origins of his fandom and enumerates the embarrassing events his fandom may have caused. Rinse. Spin. Repeat. Bob comes across well. He's funny and self-deprecating and the growing up in he 70s/early 80s parts are really good (especially if you're of that vintage). The ending is a little poignant too. However, it's really really really shallow. The first paragraph above sums up the book. There's little to explain why Bob and other fans actually like the TV show (and it's nearly always a TV show they do) - for Bob they're Proustian Madeleines and so the opportunity to provide some insight into why fans are fans is missed. Given all but one of the conventions is a TV show an the only books mentioned are Discworld and the Narnia series and the blurb mentions his Last of the Summer Wine obsession, it's obvious he's more of a Cult-TV than a science fiction fan. Bob's an outsider and this is all a jolly jape. He never manages to convey any deep enthusiasm for the shows. Meh. A far better paean to science fiction fandom and a cracking coming of age story too is Jo Walton's Among Others which you should go all read instead.