Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Books I'd like to see reviewed

14 views
Skip to first unread message

Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 2:19:53 PM2/21/12
to
E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven

Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation


--
Dan Goodman http://dsgood.blog.com

Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 2:19:53 PM2/21/12
to

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 2:28:19 PM2/21/12
to
On 2/21/12 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time


Interesting.

--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com

James Silverton

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 2:34:43 PM2/21/12
to
On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>
> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>
> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>
>
From Amazon,

The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith

Is that perhaps what you want? There are reviews.

There are also numerous Smith "Skylark" works listed, often in Kindle
format.

"Escape from Heaven" is listed by H Neil Schulman but I don't see
"Beyond the Rim of Creation".

--
Jim Silverton

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

Bill Snyder

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 2:39:29 PM2/21/12
to
On Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:34:43 -0500, James Silverton
<jim.si...@verizon.net> wrote:

>On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>
>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>>
>>
> From Amazon,
>
>The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith
>
>Is that perhaps what you want? There are reviews.

No, this amounts to "books I wish existed."

--
Bill Snyder [This space unintentionally left blank]

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 2:48:54 PM2/21/12
to
On 2/21/12 2:34 PM, James Silverton wrote:
> On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>
>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>>
>>
> From Amazon,
>
> The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith
>
> Is that perhaps what you want? There are reviews.

No, I think this is just an alternative version of "Books I wish Had
Been Written".

Lynn McGuire

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 3:19:30 PM2/21/12
to
On 2/21/2012 1:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>
> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>
> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation

Didn't you do this a couple of months ago ?

Lynn


David Dyer-Bennet

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 3:25:39 PM2/21/12
to
James Silverton <jim.si...@verizon.net> writes:

> On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>
>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>>
>>
> From Amazon,
>
> The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith
>
> Is that perhaps what you want? There are reviews.

Dan isn't that confused; I'm not absolutely sure what joke he's making,
but he's not that confused.

(And anybody actually wants Skylark, get it from Project Gutenberg for
free, in mobi or epub or most any format, no DRM. That version is the
original magazine text, not the hardcover text or the 1960s paperback
text, and that's interesting too.)

> There are also numerous Smith "Skylark" works listed, often in Kindle
> format.

I hope not more than four; that's all there actually are.

> "Escape from Heaven" is listed by H Neil Schulman but I don't see
> "Beyond the Rim of Creation".

--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd...@dd-b.net; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

Wayne Throop

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 3:34:34 PM2/21/12
to
::: E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time

: David Dyer-Bennet <dd...@dd-b.net>
: Dan isn't that confused; I'm not absolutely sure what joke he's
: making, but he's not that confused.

Well, if Skylark of Time is to Skylark of Space
as Legion of Time is to Legion of Space,
then it may be something of a disappointment.

Kip Williams

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 4:06:31 PM2/21/12
to
Asimov, Foundation's Point


Kip W
rasfw

Wayne Throop

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 4:11:04 PM2/21/12
to
: David Dyer-Bennet <dd...@dd-b.net>
: (And anybody actually wants Skylark, get it from Project Gutenberg for
: free, in mobi or epub or most any format, no DRM. That version is the
: original magazine text, not the hardcover text or the 1960s paperback
: text, and that's interesting too.)

Looks like Skylark Three is also available now.
Again, the magazine version.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21051

I see Skylark DuQuesne on amazon in kindle format,
but I don't see Skylark of Valeron there.

If you want, you can get Skylark of Space from Amazon,
and it's listed as costing $0.00. I'm not sure if it's
the same version as the Gutenberg version.

Same with Skylark Three; price is listed as $0.00.

Hm. I also see other kindle editions of Skylark of Space (2 bucks)
and and Skylark Three (5-6 bucks), which are probably book versions.
but SoV, no joy. Well... easily discovered PDF bootlegs, but none
on gutenberg or amazon.

David Dyer-Bennet

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 4:33:26 PM2/21/12
to
thr...@sheol.org (Wayne Throop) writes:

> : David Dyer-Bennet <dd...@dd-b.net>
> : (And anybody actually wants Skylark, get it from Project Gutenberg for
> : free, in mobi or epub or most any format, no DRM. That version is the
> : original magazine text, not the hardcover text or the 1960s paperback
> : text, and that's interesting too.)
>
> Looks like Skylark Three is also available now.
> Again, the magazine version.
>
> http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21051
>
> I see Skylark DuQuesne on amazon in kindle format,
> but I don't see Skylark of Valeron there.
>
> If you want, you can get Skylark of Space from Amazon,
> and it's listed as costing $0.00. I'm not sure if it's
> the same version as the Gutenberg version.
>
> Same with Skylark Three; price is listed as $0.00.

Probably is. Are they DRMed? Although you can presumably get them from
Gutenberg later if Amazon goes out of business.

> Hm. I also see other kindle editions of Skylark of Space (2 bucks)
> and and Skylark Three (5-6 bucks), which are probably book versions.
> but SoV, no joy. Well... easily discovered PDF bootlegs, but none
> on gutenberg or amazon.

The bootlegs I've got are hideous quality, too.

Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 5:24:01 PM2/21/12
to
On Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:34:43 -0500, James Silverton wrote:

> On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>
>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>>
>>
> From Amazon,
>
> The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith
>
> Is that perhaps what you want? There are reviews.

No. I meant what I said.

> There are also numerous Smith "Skylark" works listed, often in Kindle
> format.
>
> "Escape from Heaven" is listed by H Neil Schulman

Wrong book.

> but I don't see
> "Beyond the Rim of Creation".

I still want to see it reviewed.

Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 5:25:39 PM2/21/12
to
Only one of those three.

Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 5:25:39 PM2/21/12
to
On Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:19:30 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:

Only one of those three.




Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 5:26:35 PM2/21/12
to
Yes!

Howard Brazee

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 6:03:42 PM2/21/12
to
On 21 Feb 2012 19:19:53 GMT, Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:

>Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation

Got me to Google that. The only matches were your posts.

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

James Silverton

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 6:14:02 PM2/21/12
to
On 2/21/2012 2:48 PM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> On 2/21/12 2:34 PM, James Silverton wrote:
>> On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>>
>>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>>
>>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>>>
>>>
>> From Amazon,
>>
>> The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith
>>
>> Is that perhaps what you want? There are reviews.
>
> No, I think this is just an alternative version of "Books I wish Had
> Been Written".
>
>
>
Why don't you guys search Amazon for Skylark?

Ahasuerus

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 6:58:29 PM2/21/12
to
On Feb 21, 2:28 pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
<seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> On 2/21/12 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>
> > E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>
>         Interesting.

Er, I didn't think it was all that great. Granted, it's been many
years since I read it and I don't remember the details, but the plot
revolved around some average guy who had to make a seemingly innocent
decision in our time. Depending on his decision, one or the other side
in a millenia old time war would win. Seaton and Co find out about the
war as a result of one of Dick's experiments and naturally side with
the good guys. Blackie DuQuesne, who was spying on Seaton during the
experiment, seemingly sides with the bad guys but also plots to
overthrow them (once they defeat the good guys) and become the Emperor
of the Multiverse. Hijinks ensue.

The bad guys have very advanced technology that seems unbeatable, so
Seaton invents a way to jump sideways in time. He keeps jumping until
he finds a timeline where the locals have extremely advanced but
seemingly unrelated technology. Seaton quickly combines it with a
technology that he previously saw on a third timeline and builds a new
super-weapon to neutralize the bad guys' super-weapon. Naturally, he
returns to the focal point just in time to save the day.

Although the bad guys are soundly defeated, DuQuesne escapes into a
pocket universe and seals it off so that it becomes unreachable.
Seaton says "Oh well, at least this is the last we'll ever hear of
Marc DuQuesne" and everyone goes home.

As I said, nothing special.

Joseph Nebus

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 6:58:35 PM2/21/12
to
In <ji0r8j$4fi$1...@dont-email.me> "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> writes:

>On 2/21/12 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time

> Interesting.

I'll say. I was unaware Evelyn E Smith had even written any
Skylark novels.

--
http://nebusresearch.wordpress.com/ Joseph Nebus
Current Entry: Proving Something With One Week's Counting
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brenda Clough

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 7:13:19 PM2/21/12
to
On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>
> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>
> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>
>


By whom? Assuming you are not hoping for a review from some college
professor or major litcrit figure, why don't you review them?

Brenda

--
My latest novel SPEAK TO OUR DESIRES is available exclusively from Book
View Cafe.
http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Brenda-Clough/Novels/Speak-to-Our-Desires-Chapter-01

Bill Snyder

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 7:14:33 PM2/21/12
to
Whut we got heah is failuh to c'municate. <WHACK!>

We know about the Skylark books. Wasp in particular is, IMAO, a
^Wdrooling^Wfanboy great aficionado of Smith's work. What was
asked for was a review of a *nonexistent* Skylark book, one in
which the adventuring presumably involves time travel rather than
space travel.

Dan Goodman

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 7:29:40 PM2/21/12
to
On Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:13:19 -0500, Brenda Clough wrote:

> On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>
>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>
> By whom? Assuming you are not hoping for a review from some college
> professor or major litcrit figure, why don't you review them?

The first one listed has now been reviewed here. I await guidance as to
whether the other two are worth reading.
Message has been deleted

Kurt Busiek

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 7:54:22 PM2/21/12
to
Presumably because they know they won't find THE SKYLARK OF TIME there.

Nonetheless, that's the title Dan meant, not THE SKYLARK OF SPACE. He's
very likely already seen that one reviewed.

kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com -- for all your Busiek needs!

James Silverton

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 8:54:54 PM2/21/12
to
Oh, I guess you would like to have had the books written. It's not a
speculation with which I can help, nor do I see the point. I might say
that a cursory look at one of the "Skylark" books does not inspire me to
know more about them.

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 9:50:29 PM2/21/12
to
Oh, that was one of the ones he did with an unnamed co-author. I wasn't
as impressed by that one.

I was thinking of _Final Lensman_ in which Marc C. DuQuesne decides the
Lensverse is the right place to conquer -- a few universes away from
that annoying prat Seaton.

David DeLaney

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 11:10:36 PM2/21/12
to
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>On 2/21/12 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>
> Interesting.

by analogy with Jack W., obviously

Dave "Giles Habibula vs the Chlorans" DeLaney
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

Ahasuerus

unread,
Feb 21, 2012, 11:17:51 PM2/21/12
to
On Feb 21, 9:50 pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
There was an unnamed co-author? That explains a lot. I guess I'll have
to look him up and update the MSFDB record.

Greg Goss

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 1:04:20 AM2/22/12
to
Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:

>Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven

I'm generally a Niven/pournelle fan, and I loved the first volume.
But this one sucked. There were a few good ideas, but not enough to
carry the story, and the climax didn't make sense to me.
--
"Recessions catch what the auditors miss." (Galbraith)

Greg Goss

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 1:05:19 AM2/22/12
to
James Silverton <jim.si...@verizon.net> wrote:

>"Escape from Heaven" is listed by H Neil Schulman but I don't see
>"Beyond the Rim of Creation".

OK, so I'm tired. I guess all three are manglings.

tphile2

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 5:37:07 AM2/22/12
to
On Feb 21, 1:19 pm, Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>
> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>
> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>
> --
> Dan Goodmanhttp://dsgood.blog.com

Is that the final Amber novel, the one after Prince of Chaos?
How about books One and Three of The Lord of Light Trilogy?
and Jack of Dark Shadows

Kip Williams

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 9:05:27 AM2/22/12
to
Greg Goss wrote:
> Dan Goodman<dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>
> I'm generally a Niven/pournelle fan, and I loved the first volume.
> But this one sucked. There were a few good ideas, but not enough to
> carry the story, and the climax didn't make sense to me.

I was intrigued by their notion that -everybody- (with the stated
exception!) chooses to opt for Hell after a couple of hundred years, but
then they failed to develop it to its logical conclusion and went for an
"action movie" that's as mind-slapping in its way as the ending of
Huckleberry Finn.


Kip W
rasfw

David DeLaney

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 1:42:58 PM2/22/12
to
tphile2 <tph...@cableone.net> wrote:
>Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>
>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>
>Is that the final Amber novel, the one after Prince of Chaos?
>How about books One and Three of The Lord of Light Trilogy?
>and Jack of Dark Shadows

I thought it was Jack of Shadows, Ace of Shadows, Shadows Alef-4004?

Dave

Joseph Nebus

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 4:23:07 PM2/22/12
to
In <slrnjkabf...@gatekeeper.vic.com> d...@gatekeeper.vic.com (David DeLaney) writes:

>tphile2 <tph...@cableone.net> wrote:
>>Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
>>> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>>
>>> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven
>>>
>>> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>>
>>Is that the final Amber novel, the one after Prince of Chaos?
>>How about books One and Three of The Lord of Light Trilogy?
>>and Jack of Dark Shadows

>I thought it was Jack of Shadows, Ace of Shadows, Shadows Alef-4004?

I thought those were by James Blosh.

norrin

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 8:00:51 PM2/22/12
to
On Feb 21, 11:19 am, Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:

> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation
>

I liked it. I think it brought in too many characters from the last
few Merlin books and didn't resolve all the loose ends but that
was probably unavoidable and it was worth it to find out who
Dworkin really was and his relationship to the Darksiders.

Kurt Busiek

unread,
Feb 22, 2012, 8:59:16 PM2/22/12
to
But finding out that it's Patterns all the way down just sets up a lot
of questions for the next set of books…

John Pelan

unread,
Feb 23, 2012, 1:05:54 PM2/23/12
to
On Feb 21, 12:19 pm, Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:


> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>

Glad to help! "This is the sort of book you'll like, if you like this
sort of book!" - Harriet Klausner

Jack Tingle

unread,
Feb 24, 2012, 5:38:04 PM2/24/12
to
On 2/21/2012 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
> E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time

Not being a big Smith fan, I thought the villain forcing a disembodied
intelligence through a time vortex to create a slave-weapon sounded like
fun, but he really didn't do enough with it. Watching Seaton backpedal
when the parthenogenic 23rd century clone maidens suddenly wanting a
stud was good for a laugh, but the ending was telegraphed (or
telepathed) about 2/3rds of the way through. ** p

> Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Escape From Heaven

Better than 'Frozen Angels', but that's not saying much. * e

> Roger Zelazny, Beyond the Rim of Creation

I was glad to see the Steel General get his own book, but really, a
secretly still operational third and fourth station? That really wasn't
needed. I thought retconning in downloads and backups through station 3
& 4 just cheapened the original idea. ** p

My stars:
***** A classic, read it immediately.
**** Very good, you might even buy it in hardback.
*** Good, well worth your time.
** Readable, but I'd wait for a cheap copy.
* A book with at least one redeeming value, even if it's nice cover art.
Not rated - noted, but not rated because it's an anthology, or I
couldn't finish it, or it's obviously good but not to my taste.
No stars (zero, zip, zilch, nada, none, goose-egg) - don't read this book.

e: electronic book; p: paper book

YMMV - seek other opinions, and don't blame me.

Happy Reading,
Jack Tingle

Michael Stemper

unread,
Feb 26, 2012, 1:37:02 PM2/26/12
to
In article <ac60a7a1-2411-4a51...@t30g2000vbx.googlegroups.com>, Ahasuerus <ahas...@email.com> writes:
>On Feb 21, 2:28=A0pm, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seaw...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>> On 2/21/12 2:19 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:

>> > E.E. Smith, The Skylark of Time
>>
>> Interesting.
>
>Er, I didn't think it was all that great. Granted, it's been many
>years since I read it and I don't remember the details, but the plot

[snip]

>returns to the focal point just in time to save the day.
>
>Although the bad guys are soundly defeated, DuQuesne escapes into a
>pocket universe and seals it off so that it becomes unreachable.
>Seaton says "Oh well, at least this is the last we'll ever hear of
>Marc DuQuesne" and everyone goes home.

Thus setting up their next confrontation. Of course, telling how Seaton
ends up marooned in the pocket universe would be a spoiler for the first
few chapters of the sequel -- _The Skylark of Eddore_.

--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
If this is our corporate opinion, you will be billed for it.

Walter Bushell

unread,
Mar 8, 2012, 12:02:20 PM3/8/12
to
In article <4f441a1b$0$79802$8046...@auth.newsreader.iphouse.com>,
Or _Pointless Foundation_

--
This space unintentionally left blank.

Kip Williams

unread,
Mar 8, 2012, 12:39:06 PM3/8/12
to
You got the joke!


Kip W
rasfw

0 new messages