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  • The Opiuchi Hotline. John Varley. Was: Nebula finalist 1979

    From Titus G@21:1/5 to Titus G on Thu Apr 25 16:13:59 2024
    On 23/04/24 16:37, Titus G wrote:
    On 18/04/24 07:38, William Hyde wrote:
    Titus G wrote:
    On 17/04/24 14:33, Chris Buckley wrote:
    On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <[email protected]> wrote:

    snip
    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

    The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
    snip

    Read both. _The Persistence of Vision_ collection is on my Favorites
    bookcase
    and may be my top collection there.


    I was annoyed with The Persistence of Vision rating it 2 stars (Just
    OK). It felt empty to me, a meandering woffle. I have read Press Enter
    and The Pusher which I rated 3 stars (Enjoyable) but nothing else by
    him. This is strange because I usually agree with your reading opinions. >>>
    With most SF writers we retreat to the "The short stories are better
    than the novels" cliche.

    With Varley I am not sure that is true.  While the novels are, for me,
    at any rate, a mixed bag, I think that "The Golden Globe" is his best
    work.  I am also fond of the loosely related "Steel Beach" and "The
    Ophiuchi Hotline".


    I was surprised to discover that I obtained a copy of The Ophiuchi
    Hotline in Feb 2023 but have not read it. I suspect that it was probably recommended here. It has now joined the queue on the Kindle.


    I have just finished it and really enjoyed it. I was slightly wary
    because of its age, copyright 1977, but it could have been written last
    week. It was brilliant. There was an airy-fairy chapter or two when the protagonist was in a damaged mental state when I became annoyed
    wondering if the whole book was going off the rails. I also had some
    initial confusion regarding the different clone versions and did not
    understand some aspects of physics and astronomy such as the
    electromagnetism and black hole relationship and black hole detail but
    whether that was realistic or not didn't matter. I loved the
    complication of the slowly revealed plot, the explanations of Tweed's
    devious social organisation and especially the background of this
    fascinating imaginative future, the physical choices available to humans
    and fascinating aspects of commerce such as that of the Hole Hunters.
    I now have a copy of Steel Beach and The Golden Globe. Thank you for
    your opinion and recommendation.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Buckley@21:1/5 to Titus G on Mon Apr 29 21:27:54 2024
    On 2024-04-25, Titus G <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 23/04/24 16:37, Titus G wrote:
    On 18/04/24 07:38, William Hyde wrote:
    Titus G wrote:
    On 17/04/24 14:33, Chris Buckley wrote:
    On 2024-04-15, James Nicoll <[email protected]> wrote:

    snip
    Which 1979 Nebula Finalist Novellas Have You Read?

    The Persistence of Vision by John Varley
    snip

    Read both. _The Persistence of Vision_ collection is on my Favorites >>>>> bookcase
    and may be my top collection there.


    I was annoyed with The Persistence of Vision rating it 2 stars (Just
    OK). It felt empty to me, a meandering woffle. I have read Press Enter >>>> and The Pusher which I rated 3 stars (Enjoyable) but nothing else by
    him. This is strange because I usually agree with your reading opinions. >>>>
    With most SF writers we retreat to the "The short stories are better
    than the novels" cliche.

    With Varley I am not sure that is true.  While the novels are, for me,
    at any rate, a mixed bag, I think that "The Golden Globe" is his best
    work.  I am also fond of the loosely related "Steel Beach" and "The
    Ophiuchi Hotline".


    I was surprised to discover that I obtained a copy of The Ophiuchi
    Hotline in Feb 2023 but have not read it. I suspect that it was probably
    recommended here. It has now joined the queue on the Kindle.


    I have just finished it and really enjoyed it. I was slightly wary
    because of its age, copyright 1977, but it could have been written last
    week. It was brilliant. There was an airy-fairy chapter or two when the protagonist was in a damaged mental state when I became annoyed
    wondering if the whole book was going off the rails. I also had some
    initial confusion regarding the different clone versions and did not understand some aspects of physics and astronomy such as the
    electromagnetism and black hole relationship and black hole detail but whether that was realistic or not didn't matter. I loved the
    complication of the slowly revealed plot, the explanations of Tweed's
    devious social organisation and especially the background of this
    fascinating imaginative future, the physical choices available to humans
    and fascinating aspects of commerce such as that of the Hole Hunters.
    I now have a copy of Steel Beach and The Golden Globe. Thank you for
    your opinion and recommendation.

    Everything Varley writes is at least competent, but the two books on
    my Favorite bookcase are _The Ophiuchi Hotline_ and the collection
    _The Persistence of Vision_.

    I wouldn't worry about differences of opinion on Varley's short stories. Emotional impact stories very often have widely varying opinions. I view
    the entire collection as being a set of excellent emotional impact stories.

    Chris

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)