I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I
have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek >Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological
order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as >well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to
read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't
be deduced from isfdb?
I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I
have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek >Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological
order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as >well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to
read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't
be deduced from isfdb?
Thanks for any help,
Tony
In article <10083hn$3s9qp$[email protected]>,
Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I
have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek
Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological
order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as
well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to
read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't
be deduced from isfdb?
Thanks for any help,
Tony
IIRC Calver was a bit of a sad sack and Grimes was much more entertaining. Assuming I am recalling correctly, I would say you can skip those
with no ill effects.
The later, DAW, books let Chandler use a higher page count and were, I think, better for it. _The Big Black Mark_ is probably the most pivotal book
in the series, explaining how the older Grimes came to be a big-shot in
a threadbare pond.
On 5/16/25 15:04, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
In article <10083hn$3s9qp$[email protected]>,
Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I >>> have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek >>> Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological
order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as >>> well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to
read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't
be deduced from isfdb?
Thanks for any help,
Tony
IIRC Calver was a bit of a sad sack and Grimes was much more entertaining. >> Assuming I am recalling correctly, I would say you can skip those
with no ill effects.
The later, DAW, books let Chandler use a higher page count and were, I think,
better for it. _The Big Black Mark_ is probably the most pivotal book
in the series, explaining how the older Grimes came to be a big-shot in
a threadbare pond.
i remember enjoying the Rim novels intensely quite some years ago.
bliss.
In article <10083hn$3s9qp$[email protected]>,
Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I >have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek >Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological >order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as >well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to
read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't
be deduced from isfdb?
As I recall, they were written out of order in an era when books were expected to stand on their own. For the most part, each volume tells
you what you needed to know to enjoy that book. Actually, I don't
remember any that do not.
That said, some do reference previous events. I would not read
the Far Traveller or Star Courier before The Big Black Mark.
In article <10085kh$f7h$[email protected]>,
[email protected] (James Nicoll) wrote:
In article <10083hn$3s9qp$[email protected]>,
Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
As I recall, they were written out of order in an era when books were
I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I >> >have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek >> >Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological
order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as >> >well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to
read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't
be deduced from isfdb?
expected to stand on their own. For the most part, each volume tells
you what you needed to know to enjoy that book. Actually, I don't
remember any that do not.
That said, some do reference previous events. I would not read
the Far Traveller or Star Courier before The Big Black Mark.
In my case, I have not read _The Big Black Mark_ (though I have heard of
it - was it inspired by Bligh's first mutiny?*), but I have read _The
Far Traveller_ and _Star Courier_.
*IIRC, _The Anarch Lords_ was inspired by Bligh's third mutiny. Since I >haven't read all of the Grimes stories, I don't know if there is one >inspired by Bligh's second mutiny.
Paul S Person wrote:
On Fri, 16 May 2025 22:57:57 -0700, Robert Woodward
<[email protected]> wrote:
In article <10085kh$f7h$[email protected]>,
[email protected] (James Nicoll) wrote:
In article <10083hn$3s9qp$[email protected]>,
Tony Nance <[email protected]> wrote:
As I recall, they were written out of order in an era when books were
I was looking at my shelves for something to read next, and I realized I >>>> have roughly a dozen novels set in the Rim universe. A few feature Derek >>>> Calver, set before John Grimes emerges as the main protagonist; and
almost all of my Grimes novels are set early in his career.
Both isfdb and wikipedia give a pretty good in-universe chronological >>>> order, and of course it's pretty easy to figure out publication order as >>>> well.
Any advice on how to go about reading this series? Is it important to >>>> read the Calver stories first? Anything I should be aware of that can't >>>> be deduced from isfdb?
expected to stand on their own. For the most part, each volume tells
you what you needed to know to enjoy that book. Actually, I don't
remember any that do not.
That said, some do reference previous events. I would not read
the Far Traveller or Star Courier before The Big Black Mark.
In my case, I have not read _The Big Black Mark_ (though I have heard of >> it - was it inspired by Bligh's first mutiny?*), but I have read _The
Far Traveller_ and _Star Courier_.
/Mutiny on the Bounty/ was. /Men Against the Sea/, though, it the real winner in the trilogy. IMHO, of course.
My favorite version is, inevitably, the MAD Movie Satire "Mutiny on
the Bouncy".
*IIRC, _The Anarch Lords_ was inspired by Bligh's third mutiny. Since I
haven't read all of the Grimes stories, I don't know if there is one
inspired by Bligh's second mutiny.
The second mutiny is ... hard to find on Bing. "Bligh's second mutiny" mostly brings up articles on the first mutiny, and the one that tells
of it is mostly about the first mutiny.
It was a part of the larger Spithead and Nore mutinies, over pay among
other things, and not particularly due to Bligh. Wikipedia has a brief article on the mutinies, though Bligh is not mentioned.
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