El Lay

[Jim Parish]

Wilson Gray asked:
> What year was this? I recall an sf story in which Ellay was doing
> battle against another American city. Denver, perhaps? Both cities
> were using missiles. But the author and the title supplied here don't
> ring a bell. The change of Wilshire to "Woolshirt" is also unfamiliar.
> If memory serves, the story of which I have an inkling in the back of
> my thinking cap was told from the point of view of ?Denver. Hence,
> there were few refs to anything specific to Los Angeles. Since I lived
> in L.A. at the time, I was rooting for Ellay. But this is all the
> further - or "farther"? - that I can remember. ;-)

_Dinner at Deviant's Palace_ came out in 1985; the action takes place
entirely in Southern California, so it's not likely to be the story you're
thinking of. (Judging from the responses, the form "Ellay" seems to be a
fairly common one in SF, especially in post-apocalyptic stories.)

Jim Parish