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  • Re: Highlights and Lowlights - January 2025

    From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Feb 3 04:55:52 2025
    In article <vno4od$o7q5$[email protected]>,
    Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:

    ( ++ 1/2 ) The Best Time Travel Stories of all Time - ed. by Malzberg
    This is a pretty good anthology of many pretty good time travel stories. >Malzberg’s intros add very little of interest. Here’s the table of >contents:
    https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?35927
    Note: My edition, though purchased new, did not come with a comic book >adaptation of A Sound of Thunder.

    As I recall, I got two Best Time Travel Stories anthologies almost
    back to back. One was this one, and the other was The Best Time
    Travel Stories of the 20th Century ed by Martin H. Greenberg and
    Harry Turtledove. Only two story overlap, and I think I preferred
    the Greenberg/Turtledove to the Malzberg.
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

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  • From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Feb 3 06:28:56 2025
    In article <vno4od$o7q5$[email protected]>,
    Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
    Highlights and Lowlights - January 2025

    Happy Groundhog Day!

    http://columbiaclosings.com/pix/memes/pogo_groundhog.png


    January 2025

    ( ++++ ) House of Suns - Reynolds
    Holy cow, this was excellent. Perhaps my favorite Reynolds? Thanks to
    those of you who recommended this one. The scope, the ideas, the
    incredible timespans (still featuring our main characters), the
    sensawunder - wow.

    For some reason I have not tried Reynolds. I think now perhaps I will.


    ( ++ ) Ambassador of Mars - Stewart [Starship’s Mage #15]
    Better than the previous one, not as good as the early ones. More >importantly, though, might possibly be avoiding (or ignoring) the stupid >Jump-the-Shark direction it was heading. This one is Roslyn-based, and
    there are a few new characters here. The hornets’ nest that was kicked
    in #14 blossomed in this one, leaving the Martian forces undermanned, >stretched thin, and far from home. I will read #16.


    Also for some reason I've gotten into Stewart's "Duchy Of Terra" setting,
    but have not tried the series he's most known for. I think I've said before that I will, glad to hear he may be going under the shark. (He does drop
    some head-shaking stuff into DOT from time to time.)

    ( +++ ) Cast in Conflict - Sagara [Elantra #16]
    Yet another very good entry in this enjoyable series. There’s just a
    little over-explanation in some places, but otherwise spot on. In the >previous book, we learned a lot about the border zones, one Tower lost
    its captain, and the Academia gets re-established. This book picks up on
    all of that, including a meeting of the other Tower captains, mostly
    about Shadow and Ravellon, and replacing the lost Tower captain is also >front-and-center.

    Yet another series I need to get back to.

    Now Reading:
    Long work - Vandals of the Void - Vance

    My (vague) memory is that this is very early non-Vance Vance, like _The Five Gold Bands_.


    Collection - Flatlander - Niven


    I know I have read this, but am not bringing up anything about it now.
    I'm sure I enjoyed it as it was Niven, Known Space & pre-brain-eater.

    Tony


    Thanks for these as usual!
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

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  • From Titus G@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 4 16:41:44 2025
    On 3/02/25 19:28, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <vno4od$o7q5$[email protected]>,
    Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
    Highlights and Lowlights - January 2025

    Happy Groundhog Day!

    http://columbiaclosings.com/pix/memes/pogo_groundhog.png


    January 2025

    ( ++++ ) House of Suns - Reynolds
    Holy cow, this was excellent. Perhaps my favorite Reynolds? Thanks to
    those of you who recommended this one. The scope, the ideas, the
    incredible timespans (still featuring our main characters), the
    sensawunder - wow.

    For some reason I have not tried Reynolds. I think now perhaps I will.


    Great.
    My first exposure to Reynolds was the short story or novella, Diamond
    Dogs which was clever, suspenseful and shocking. Brilliant. Next, the Revelation Space series with the first four books being all four or five
    star reads. I have since read all his adult novels. The only one not
    great was terrible; Doctor Who. Harvest of Time.
    "House of Suns" was just brilliant for me for the reasons Tony covered
    but also because I love Reynolds' writing style, the extensive
    scientific terminology, (and pseudo scientific terminology), and plotting.
    His short story collection, Galactic North, was great, my favourite
    being the story of betrayal, A Spy in Europa. Of other short stories, I disliked Merlin's Gun, (too short) and The Iron Technician was just OK.
    In the Science Fiction genre he is probably my favourite author for consistently enthralling reading replacing Iain Banks and M.

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  • From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to All on Mon Feb 3 14:29:38 2025
    In article <[email protected]>,
    Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:

    I know I have read this, but am not bringing up anything about it now.
    I'm sure I enjoyed it as it was Niven, Known Space & pre-brain-eater.

    Wasn't it a mix of old classics and new crap?
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

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  • From Default User@21:1/5 to Tony Nance on Tue Feb 4 06:29:05 2025
    Tony Nance wrote:

    Highlights and Lowlights - January 2025

    Happy Groundhog Day!

    Kind of a slow reading month, especially compared to past Januaries.

    Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
    “+” are good, and more “+” are better
    “-” are not good, and more “-” are worse

    I’m happy to answer questions about anything here.

    Highlights - House of Suns - Reynolds

    Lowlights - nothing “low” enough to put here

    January
    ( ++++ ) House of Suns - Reynolds
    ( ++ 1/2 ) The Best Time Travel Stories of all Time - ed. by Malzberg
    ( ++ ) Ambassador of Mars - Stewart [Starship’s Mage #15]
    ( +++ ) Cast in Conflict - Sagara [Elantra #16]

    Now Reading:
    Long work - Vandals of the Void - Vance
    Collection - Flatlander - Niven

    ===========================================
    January 2025

    ( ++++ ) House of Suns - Reynolds
    Holy cow, this was excellent. Perhaps my favorite Reynolds?

    There was a short set in the universe in the recent anthology, New
    Adventures in Space Opera (Jonathan Strahan ed). It doesn't have the
    sort of scope as this novel, but the book is well worth getting if you
    enjy that sort of tale.


    Brian

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