Non-binding ask for suggestions

[James Nicoll]

Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
to the 3rd anniversary of that series.

The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.


--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My Livejournal at http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

[Kevrob]

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 12:26:41 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>
>

"Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" by Dick, pub'd 1974?

Kevin R

Kevin R

[Lynn McGuire]

On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.

I am currently reading _A World Out of Time_ by Larry Niven, first published in 1976. It is very good so far.
https://www.amazon.com/World-Out-Time-Larry-Niven/dp/162578158X/

Lynn

[mcdow...@sky.com]

Around that time I remember reading Schmitz's Telzey Amberdon stories, and Dickson's Tactics of Mistake and Soldier Ask Not. I have reread both within the past few years and I think they contain interesting ideas.

[Magewolf]

On 4/4/2017 12:26 PM, James Nicoll wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>
>

Perhaps A Shadow of All Night Falling by Glen Cook.

[Lynn McGuire]

+1 on the Dickson books. I need to reread these.

Lynn

[Lynn McGuire]

On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:

> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.

BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?

Lynn

[Lynn McGuire]

BTW2, you are a year younger than me.

Lynn

[art...@yahoo.com]

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 12:26:41 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:

> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.

A Funeral for the Eyes of Fire, Michael Bishop. 1975
Our Lady of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977
Project Pope Clifford Simak 1981

[Kevrob]

+1 on the Leiber.

Kevin R

[Moriarty]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 2:26:41 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.

Did you read "The Sword of Shannara" (1977) in that period? It fits the tears theme very well.

-Moriarty

[James Nicoll]

I *think* for some reason I didn't run into Cook until just too late.

[James Nicoll]

In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,

"Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...

[James Nicoll]

In article <e72f0204-111a-4875...@googlegroups.com>,

No, but I did read the short lived comic strip that ran in the Record.

[Greg Goss]

I always think of that as two works. The first one, Rammer, is so-so.
The second half, The Children of the State, was one of Niven's best.
--
We are geeks. Resistance is voltage over current.

[Kevrob]

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10:39:02 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <e72f0204-111a-4875...@googlegroups.com>,
> Moriarty <blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
> >On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 2:26:41 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
> >> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> >> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> >> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
> >>
> >> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> >> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> >> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
> >
> >Did you read "The Sword of Shannara" (1977) in that period? It fits the
> >tears theme very well.
>

Did everyone else who tried reading that....very thick book-like
object....call it the "Sword of Sha-na-na?" I know Joanna Russ
mentioned that one, back then.

I imagine the tears will come from the eyes of those assigned to
read it. :)

> No, but I did read the short lived comic strip that ran in the Record.

The source material was improved by Gray Morrow's art.

http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com/2009/09/sword-of-shannara-by-gray-morrow-part-5.html

Kevin R

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <bd1ae207-ac5b-4c27...@googlegroups.com>,

Polymath 1974-01-00 John Brunner
A Quest for Simbilis 1974-01-00 Michael Shea
As the Curtain Falls 1974-04-00 Robert Chilson
The Fall of Chronopolis 1974-06-00 Barrington J. Bayley
To Die in Italbar 1974-09-00 Roger Zelazny
The Warrior of World's End 1974-11-00 Lin Carter
The Warriors of Dawn 1975-01-00 M. A. Foster
The Big Black Mark 1975-02-00 A. Bertram Chandler
Dinosaur Beach 1975-06-00 Keith Laumer
Mention My Name in Atlantis 1975-09-00 John Jakes
The Man with a Thousand Names 1975-10-00 A. E. van Vogt
Gate of Ivrel 1976-03-00 C. J. Cherryh
The Second War of the Worlds 1976-10-00 George H. Smith
The World Asunder 1976-11-00 Ian Wallace
Diadem from the Stars 1977-03-00 Jo Clayton
The Gameplayers of Zan 1977-04-00 M. A. Foster
Earthchild 1977-05-00 Doris Piserchia
Wyst: Alastor 1716 1978-11-00 Jack Vance
Spaceling 1979-05-00 Doris Piserchia
Emphyrio 1979-12-00 Jack Vance
--
------
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

[Greg Goss]

t...@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) wrote:

>>> >On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 2:26:41 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> >> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>>> >> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>>> >> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>> >>
>>> >> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>>> >> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
>>> >> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.

>Polymath 1974-01-00 John Brunner
>A Quest for Simbilis 1974-01-00 Michael Shea
>As the Curtain Falls 1974-04-00 Robert Chilson
>The Fall of Chronopolis 1974-06-00 Barrington J. Bayley
>To Die in Italbar 1974-09-00 Roger Zelazny
>The Warrior of World's End 1974-11-00 Lin Carter
>The Warriors of Dawn 1975-01-00 M. A. Foster
>The Big Black Mark 1975-02-00 A. Bertram Chandler
>Dinosaur Beach 1975-06-00 Keith Laumer
>Mention My Name in Atlantis 1975-09-00 John Jakes
>The Man with a Thousand Names 1975-10-00 A. E. van Vogt
>Gate of Ivrel 1976-03-00 C. J. Cherryh
>The Second War of the Worlds 1976-10-00 George H. Smith
>The World Asunder 1976-11-00 Ian Wallace
>Diadem from the Stars 1977-03-00 Jo Clayton
>The Gameplayers of Zan 1977-04-00 M. A. Foster
>Earthchild 1977-05-00 Doris Piserchia
>Wyst: Alastor 1716 1978-11-00 Jack Vance
>Spaceling 1979-05-00 Doris Piserchia
>Emphyrio 1979-12-00 Jack Vance

Of those, I remember reading the two Fosters, and Emphyrio. Some of
the others are vaguely familiar, such as Spaceling , but I'm probably
confusing it with a Tak Hallus supershort. Maybe Dinosaur Beach.And I
remember not a thing about Emphyrio beyond the title. I should
re-read the Zan pair.

Among the rest, I never cared much for Wallace,Vance or Zelazny (other
than Doorways, which my hindbrain filed as a Hallus / Robinette and
refuses to budge for reality). I actively disliked any Van Vogt I've
read. And I can never keep the various George Smiths straight.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <ekjela...@mid.individual.net>,

My favorite Wallace predates the requested period: _Croyd_ & _Dr. Orpheus_.
The Van Vogt is very late VV and not a classic, but I recall it as
"interesting". (I don't think there is any classic VV in that period.
Maybe the opening segment of _The Silkie_). The 70s were Vance's golden
period, and there were a number more I could have listed.
Piserchia's stories of amoral children with psi powers were always entertaining
and I would tip _Spaceling_ over _Earthchild_ which was in her other genre
though not the full on horror she got to sometimes. The Zelazney I don't
recall much about, other than likking it, so I kind of want to see a review
of it.

The Smith is the George with the redheaded Irish witches.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <ekjgfg...@mid.individual.net>,

Oh, and the Laumer may be his best stand-alone, a fast moving time travel
story.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <ekjgmq...@mid.individual.net>,

And well, hey!

To skip to another publisher, I see that the first two books, at least
of Offut & Lyon's Tiana Highrider books are on kindle now:

_Demon In The Mirror_ & _The Eyes of Sarsis_. _Web Of The Spider_ falls
into the period too, but apparently is still just on dead trees.

[David DeLaney]

On 2017-04-05, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
> A Quest for Simbilis 1974-01-00 Michael Shea

> To Die in Italbar 1974-09-00 Roger Zelazny

> The Warriors of Dawn 1975-01-00 M. A. Foster

> Diadem from the Stars 1977-03-00 Jo Clayton
> The Gameplayers of Zan 1977-04-00 M. A. Foster
> Earthchild 1977-05-00 Doris Piserchia

> Spaceling 1979-05-00 Doris Piserchia

I would, I think, most enjoy reading a review of one of these, out of those?

Dave, each of them has their own unique snowflakeness
--
\/David DeLaney posting thru EarthLink - "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>
gatekeeper.vic.com/~dbd - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

[David DeLaney]

On 2017-04-05, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:

> The Zelazney I don't
> recall much about, other than likking it, so I kind of want to see a review
> of it.

To Die in Italbar was, iirc, one of his few books about the guy who built and
terraformed worlds, and who was connected with the alien race's theology who
were the ones who had traditionally done so?

... okay, no, it was about someone else in the theology, and Francis Sandow
makes a cameo, Google tells me.

> The Smith is the George with the redheaded Irish witches.

Hm. Cordwainer Smith was mostly before then, but I see The Queen of the
Afternoon might be something James had read then? Or does it not have to
also be published in that period, in which case almost anything by him might
qualify?

Norstrilia (complete), and three or four collections of his shorts, seem to
have all come out in that time period...

Dave, whose local library system has NO C.Smith, not even the one I donated
to them a couple years back. sad pandaperson face.

[Scott Lurndal]

jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) writes:
>In article <e72f0204-111a-4875...@googlegroups.com>,
>Moriarty <blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 2:26:41 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>>> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>>> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>>
>>> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>>> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
>>> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>>
>>Did you read "The Sword of Shannara" (1977) in that period? It fits the
>>tears theme very well.
>>
>No, but I did read the short lived comic strip that ran in the Record.

We seem to be of an age. _Monument_ by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. was one
of my favorites from that period.

[T Guy]

On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 03:38:15 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> >> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> >> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> >> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
> >>
> >> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> >> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> >> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
> >
> >BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?
> >
> "Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
> like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...

Ah, a bit of Lin Carter, then.

[T Guy]

This is what I had in mind: http://paperback-perils.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lin-carters-zanthodon-journey-to.html

[T Guy]

On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 13:59:34 UTC+1, T Guy wrote:

The other name which occurred to me was Gregory Kern. Here you go: https://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/gregory-kern-and-cap-kennedy.html

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <9fff7718-7c60-4507...@googlegroups.com>,

I put down the first Ganelon Silvermane book in my list.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <c835a856-5472-4c86...@googlegroups.com>,

If you're doing Tubb, do Dumerest. Read something the other day I hadn't
realized about how he was modeled on Brackett's Stark -- obvious in retrospect
though perhaps not if I handn't just read "Queen of the Martian Catacombs".

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <T82dnYbxZc0IInnF...@earthlink.com>,
David DeLaney <d...@vic.com> wrote:

[schnipp]

Do you know, I can't make any recommendations at all here. I've
looked at other people's lists upthread, and none of them ring
any bells, and I can't remember *any*thing I was reading between
1974 and 1981. I was bringing up small children at the time --
my son was born in mid-1974 and my daughter in late 1975 -- and
although I was undoubtedly reading things in my copious free
time, the whole business of living with small children was so
traumatic for me that I don't remember anything from that time
except fragments involving child care, housework, and cats. I
got bits of material for _The Interior Life_ out of it, but they
were softened and attenuated by time by 1983-ish when I started
writing it.

So I'm no help; sorry.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com

[Don Kuenz]

Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>
>> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few

>> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>
> I am currently reading _A World Out of Time_ by Larry Niven, first
> published in 1976. It is very good so far.
> https://www.amazon.com/World-Out-Time-Larry-Niven/dp/162578158X/
>

_Neutron Star_ is currently being read by me, at James' earlier
suggestion. It turns out that _Ringworld_ works better when readers
already know about things such as the reason why puppeteers flee through
space.

There's nine more Nivens (and twenty-eight unread Robin Cooks) on my
shelves waiting for my attention. Reading is done only when the spirit
moves me (or my movie server breaks down), so it may take a couple of
years for me to work through all of that. (James and you read at a much
faster clip, of course.)

_A World Out of Time_ looks like _Neutron Star_ - both are a collection
of short stories. That sort of format appeals to me. It's what makes
_Foundation_ so enjoyable to me.

Because of your followup, AWOfT's now the book next in line to be read
by me. It'll be interesting to read your review. Although you'll
probably finish AWOfT before even _Neutron Star_ is finished by me, let
alone AWOfT.

James and you also have a great book review methodology. Just review the
darned story after you read it. Why wait until the end of the month? (My
end of month reviews are still a work in progress.)

Thank you,

--
Don Kuenz KB7RPU

[Lynn McGuire]

On 4/4/2017 9:38 PM, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>>> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>>> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>>
>>> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>>> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
>>> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>>
>> BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?
>>
> "Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
> like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...

How about "Tarnsman of GOR" ?
https://www.amazon.com/Tarnsman-Gor-John-Norman/dp/B000PC60M0/

"Snicker".

Lynn

[Lynn McGuire]

Ah, my preacher calls those "nine month twins". His kids are ten months apart.

Lynn

[William Hyde]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 1:18:35 AM UTC-4, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

> Wyst: Alastor 1716 1978-11-00 Jack Vance

Wyst is Vance's portrait of a "socialist hell". And while Vance was a very conservative(1) man this hell is not without some nuance.

I enjoyed it on a recent re-read.

(1) Let us leave aside the question of whether a conservative in 1978 would be a Bernie supporter now. Pretty sure Vance would not be.

William Hyde

[Kevrob]

Have you heard the term "Irish Twins?"

I have a sister who was born 1 year and 3 weeks after I was. Due to
the vagaries of our school system's cut-off dates for accepting new
students into kindergarten, I was 2 years ahead of her in school.

My Mom made up for the "Year without a Robinson" at our grammar school
by having a pair of _actual_ fraternal twins the following year, and that
was 13 months later. 4 kids in a little more than 3 years, and another
daughter 18 mos after that. 5 kids in 4 1/2 years. This was before
Pampers and other disposable diapers became popular.

For the nine of us, the spacing was:

Year : MO

0 May
1 April
2 Aug
3 July
4 Nov
5 *
6 Jan
7 Feb (twins)
8 Aug

This was how it was done, pre-birth control!

Kevin R

* No birth that calendar year.

[Kevrob]

1978 brought us C.J. Cherryh's "THE FADED SUN: KESRITH," with
SHON'JIR later in the year and KUTATH in 1979. I still remember
how much of a pain in the ass it was to get my hands on all
4 of the GALAXY installments of KESRITH. I was leaving college
in Milwaukee for Long Island that semester, and back on Pomonauk
I did not have immediate access to a good newsstand, nor SF bookshop
nor comics store that might carry it. Getting all, 3 parts of Zelazny's
THE COURTS OF CHAOS* had been a similar pain in the ass, what with frequency
of publication being cut prior to the digest's demise.

Kevin R

* The fen I hung around with were big on Zelazny, as was I, and we
shared our GALAXY ishes with CoC in them like samizdat, until the
Avon paperback release, if we didn't snag the Doubleday hardcover
or borrow it from a library.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <oc3grr$o18$3...@dont-email.me>,

How old are they now?

(Because mine are now forty-somethings and quite tolerable. :) )

[David Goldfarb]

In article <bd1ae207-ac5b-4c27...@googlegroups.com>,
Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:

>Did everyone else who tried reading that....very thick book-like
>object....call it the "Sword of Sha-na-na?" I know Joanna Russ
>mentioned that one, back then.

Yes.

--
David Goldfarb |"I've always had a hard time getting up when
goldf...@gmail.com | it's dark outside."
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | "But in space, it's always dark."
|"I know. I know..." -- Babylon 5

[James Nicoll]

In article <98be0b3d-3597-4b74...@googlegroups.com>,

Oddly, only in his capacity as editor.

I am also weirdly shy on Moorcock and Dick books.

[James Nicoll]

In article <ekk9mi...@mid.individual.net>,

Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:

There has to be a story in having every mopey bastard wandering the
galaxy looking for lost Earth (or at least a lost home world) enter
the same dingy bar on some backwater world at the same time.

[James Nicoll]

In article <T82dnYbxZc0IInnF...@earthlink.com>,
David DeLaney <d...@vic.com> wrote:

>On 2017-04-05, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <t...@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:
>> A Quest for Simbilis 1974-01-00 Michael Shea
>> To Die in Italbar 1974-09-00 Roger Zelazny
>> The Warriors of Dawn 1975-01-00 M. A. Foster
>> Diadem from the Stars 1977-03-00 Jo Clayton
>> The Gameplayers of Zan 1977-04-00 M. A. Foster
>> Earthchild 1977-05-00 Doris Piserchia
>> Spaceling 1979-05-00 Doris Piserchia
>
>I would, I think, most enjoy reading a review of one of these, out of those?
>
>Dave, each of them has their own unique snowflakeness

I've reviewed the second Foster and the Clayton. Not either of the Piserchias,
but a different one.

[Lynn McGuire]

I think that they are 34 and 33 now with five kids between them. Our preacher is quite pleased with himself as "the tough but loving
grandfather".

Lynn

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <onyoz...@kithrup.com>,

David Goldfarb <goldf...@gmail.com> wrote:
>In article <bd1ae207-ac5b-4c27...@googlegroups.com>,
>Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>>Did everyone else who tried reading that....very thick book-like
>>object....call it the "Sword of Sha-na-na?" I know Joanna Russ
>>mentioned that one, back then.
>
>Yes.

I think various people have called it that, over the years. I
never read it; the sight of it repelled me.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <oc45mc$ndn$1...@reader1.panix.com>,

James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>In article <ekk9mi...@mid.individual.net>,
>Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:
>>In article <c835a856-5472-4c86...@googlegroups.com>,
>>T Guy <Tim.B...@redbridge.gov.uk> wrote:
>>>On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 13:59:34 UTC+1, T Guy wrote:
>>>> On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 03:38:15 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>> > In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,
>>>> > Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> > >BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?
>>>> > >
>>>> > "Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
>>>> > like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...
>>>>
>>>> Ah, a bit of Lin Carter, then.
>>>
>>>The other name which occurred to me was Gregory Kern. Here you go:
>>>https://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/gregory-kern-and-cap-kennedy.html
>>>
>>
>>If you're doing Tubb, do Dumerest. Read something the other day I hadn't
>>realized about how he was modeled on Brackett's Stark -- obvious in retrospect
>>though perhaps not if I handn't just read "Queen of the Martian Catacombs".
>
>There has to be a story in having every mopey bastard wandering the
>galaxy looking for lost Earth (or at least a lost home world) enter
>the same dingy bar on some backwater world at the same time.
>

I realized a few years ago that Vin Disel's "Riddick" is Dumerest..

[Greg Goss]

Don Kuenz <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:

>_Neutron Star_ is currently being read by me, at James' earlier
>suggestion. It turns out that _Ringworld_ works better when readers
>already know about things such as the reason why puppeteers flee through
>space.
>
>There's nine more Nivens (and twenty-eight unread Robin Cooks) on my
>shelves waiting for my attention. Reading is done only when the spirit
>moves me (or my movie server breaks down), so it may take a couple of
>years for me to work through all of that. (James and you read at a much
>faster clip, of course.)
>
>_A World Out of Time_ looks like _Neutron Star_ - both are a collection
>of short stories. That sort of format appeals to me. It's what makes
>_Foundation_ so enjoyable to me.

I wouldn't call AWOOT to be a collection. To me it's two short novels
connected to be a long novel.

You comment that Niven's early work makes his later one work better.
Most of Niven's work was set in "Known Space", where he "fixed-up"
three eras of human future history to be one connected timeline. The
world of "The State" only shows up in two to four novels (depending on
whether you think of Integral Trees / Smoke Ring to be one novel or
think of AWOOT as two novels.)

>Because of your followup, AWOfT's now the book next in line to be read
>by me. It'll be interesting to read your review. Although you'll
>probably finish AWOfT before even _Neutron Star_ is finished by me, let
>alone AWOfT.

--
We are geeks. Resistance is voltage over current.

[Moriarty]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 2:26:41 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.

How about Robert Forward's "Dragon's Egg" (1980)?

-Moriarty

[David Johnston]

On 4/5/2017 7:27 PM, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <98be0b3d-3597-4b74...@googlegroups.com>,
> T Guy <Tim.B...@redbridge.gov.uk> wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 03:38:15 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,
>>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>>> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>>>>> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>>>>> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>>>>
>>>>> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>>>>> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
>>>>> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>>>>
>>>> BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?
>>>>
>>> "Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
>>> like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...
>>
>> Ah, a bit of Lin Carter, then.
>
> Oddly, only in his capacity as editor.
>
> I am also weirdly shy on Moorcock and Dick books.
>

That was the time frame when I was reading A. Bertram Chandler.

[Quadibloc]

You mean somebody hasn't already written it?

[Peter Trei]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 11:15:04 PM UTC-4, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <onyoz...@kithrup.com>,
> David Goldfarb <goldf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >In article <bd1ae207-ac5b-4c27...@googlegroups.com>,
> >Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> >>Did everyone else who tried reading that....very thick book-like
> >>object....call it the "Sword of Sha-na-na?" I know Joanna Russ
> >>mentioned that one, back then.
> >
> >Yes.
>
> I think various people have called it that, over the years. I
> never read it; the sight of it repelled me.

There was a TV series of the first couple books broadcast a year or to ago.
I've avoided the books, for all that the author lives a couple miles from
me.

The TV series was ...odd. It's set 1000 years after the fall of civilisation,
and somehow they've still got some electronics that works, and have evolved
several variant human races. Not enough time for latter, too much for the former. Not to mention magic....


pt

[Peter Trei]

Its a worthy candidate in my opinion. A bit harder SF than I think James usually reviews. It would be interesting to review 'A Mission of Gravity' (much older) in parallel.

pt

[art...@yahoo.com]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 11:00:06 AM UTC-4, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:

> Do you know, I can't make any recommendations at all here. I've
> looked at other people's lists upthread, and none of them ring
> any bells, and I can't remember *any*thing I was reading between
> 1974 and 1981. I was bringing up small children at the time --
> my son was born in mid-1974 and my daughter in late 1975 -- and
> although I was undoubtedly reading things in my copious free
> time, the whole business of living with small children was so
> traumatic for me that I don't remember anything from that time
> except fragments involving child care, housework, and cats. I
> got bits of material for _The Interior Life_ out of it, but they
> were softened and attenuated by time by 1983-ish when I started
> writing it.
>
> So I'm no help; sorry.

I will note that of the three books, I have recommended to be reviewed, I have only read one. The other 2 are by authors I like and I think may be available at local used book store.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <6ee816c7-96e1-4299...@googlegroups.com>,

Well, I have no local used book stores. Vallejo has one
bookstore worthy of the name; I've been there once; it
specializes in naval history. (Vallejo used to have a very large
US Navy presence on Mare Island, but they left a while back.)
There are also a couple of "Christian" bookstores where
"Christian" means way-right-wing-evangelical Protestant.

There are bookstores in plenty down in Berkeley, but you'll recall
that I am old and weak (75 this summer, 30+ of those years with
CFS) and I live atop a hill, and I don't drive. So if I buy a
used book, I get it from Amazon. Occasionally.

IIRC the last used book I bought was last year, a picture-book on
the Bayeux Tapestry with the images at only half the size of the
original (rather than shrunk down to comic-strip size, which is
what we usually get), so you can see the details of the stitches.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <06a912ca-1ccb-4685...@googlegroups.com>,

Now, there is an excellent book. I have a copy.

[art...@yahoo.com]

On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 11:15:15 AM UTC-4, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:

> There are bookstores in plenty down in Berkeley, but you'll recall
> that I am old and weak (75 this summer, 30+ of those years with
> CFS) and I live atop a hill, and I don't drive. So if I buy a
> used book, I get it from Amazon. Occasionally.

Is The Other Change of Hobbit still in existence? I loved that place when I was a college student.

[Kevrob]

I was going to also suggest Gilliland's "Rosinante" trilogy, but I saw
that JN reviewed it here:

http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/there-is-no-god-but-god-and-skaskash-is-its-prophet

I wish I had not sold these on. I'd enjoy a re-read.

Kevin R

[Jerry Brown]

If I understood it correctly there was some sort of nuclear and/or
biochemical apocalypse, following which the elves(who had been around
all along) took the opportunity to come out of hiding, while the other
races are basically different strains of mutants created by the
nuclear and/or biochemical apocalypse.

--
Jerry Brown

A cat may look at a king
(but probably won't bother)

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <a9d44cb1-e03f-42fd...@googlegroups.com>,

They still exist, but they're in financial trouble (again).

http://www.otherchangeofhobbit.com/

They get less foot traffic in their current location so they're
dependent on mail-order. You could look at their site and order
something.

[-dsr-]

On 2017-04-06, James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> In article <98be0b3d-3597-4b74...@googlegroups.com>,
> T Guy <Tim.B...@redbridge.gov.uk> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 03:38:15 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,
>>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >On 4/4/2017 11:26 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> >> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>>> >> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>>> >> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>> >>
>>> >> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>>> >> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
>>> >> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>>> >
>>> >BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?
>>> >
>>> "Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
>>> like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...
>>
>>Ah, a bit of Lin Carter, then.
>
> Oddly, only in his capacity as editor.
>
> I am also weirdly shy on Moorcock and Dick books.

So, *had to have read it* or "could have read it" at the time? Because
I assume the suck fairy has visited the Lin Carter 'Zarkon' series,
four of which were published in that time period.


-dsr-

[Robert Carnegie]

I hope the suck fairy hasn't visited Moorcock
and Dick.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <slrnoedf0s.b...@randomstring.org>,

That was his "Doc Savage" series?

I wonder how his Van Vogt book _Time War_ holds up.

I recall my favorites of his were the Ganelon Silvermane books
and _Tower At The Edge of Time_ though I read many others: Green Star,
Callisto, Thongar etc..

[David DeLaney]

I see what you came to do there...

Dave, you'll go blind, you know
--
\/David DeLaney posting thru EarthLink - "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>
gatekeeper.vic.com/~dbd - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

[Anthony Nance]

James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>

Some suggestions, not knowing what you've already reviewed:


Le Guin - The Dispossessed (1974)
Zelazny - Doorways in the Sand (1976)
Vance - The Book of Dreams (1981) (finish of Demon Princes series)
Budrys - Michaelmas (1977)
Clement - Nitrogen Fix (1980)
CL Moore - Best of CL Moore (1975)
Simak - Fellowship of the Talisman (1978)

Tony

[Default User]

On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 10:15:15 AM UTC-5, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:

> There are bookstores in plenty down in Berkeley, but you'll recall
> that I am old and weak (75 this summer, 30+ of those years with
> CFS) and I live atop a hill, and I don't drive. So if I buy a
> used book, I get it from Amazon. Occasionally.

Locally, the St. Louis County Library system has senior services for "housebound" patrons. That mails materials with postage-paid return labels. Possibly your library system has something similar.


Brian

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <fc1487fc-737a-4a10...@googlegroups.com>,

Well, the library system in Vallejo doesn't have anything worth
reading anyway. It contains

(a) multiple copies of the latest best-sellers,
(b) a stack of self-help books, and
(c) a comprehensive collection of histories of Solano County
(where Vallejo is), which I think must have been somebody's
private collection, and in which I have no particular interest.

It's the UC Berkeley library I'd like to be able to get at, but
fatigue and transportation difficulties as above.

And I don't think it has a mailing service; it's for the
University community, whicch AFAIK implies you're able to get on
campus.

Fortunately, I can find all sorts of stuff online. Of course,
one has to have a nose for alternate facts. But that's the case
even with books.

[Carl Fink]

On 2017-04-07, Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:

> Well, the library system in Vallejo doesn't have anything worth
> reading anyway. It contains

Interlibrary loan is your friend, if you can get to your local library.

My own local (15-minute walk) library also has the Overdrive and Flipster
services allowing me to read various e-books and e-magazines. You could
check about your own.

> It's the UC Berkeley library I'd like to be able to get at, but
> fatigue and transportation difficulties as above.

I also am taking a distance-learning program via Empire State College, State
University of New York. Gives me access to ESC's online library, with more
scholarly books and journals. You could maybe audit a course at California's
(?) equivalent once a year to get library access?
--
Carl Fink nitpi...@nitpicking.com

Read my blog at blog.nitpicking.com. Reviews! Observations!
Stupid mistakes you can correct!

[Kevrob]

On Friday, April 7, 2017 at 8:42:32 AM UTC-4, Anthony Nance wrote:
> James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> > Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> > to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> > to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
> >
> > The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> > turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> > books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
> >
>
> Some suggestions, not knowing what you've already reviewed:
>
>
> Le Guin - The Dispossessed (1974)
> Zelazny - Doorways in the Sand (1976)

I'd be interested in the Social Media Generation's
reaction to Zelazny's collection "My Name Is Legion,"
featuring the 1976 Hugo winning novella, "Home Is
The Hangman." The unnamed hero with no digital footprint
might seem strange to them?

> Vance - The Book of Dreams (1981) (finish of Demon Princes series)
> Budrys - Michaelmas (1977)
> Clement - Nitrogen Fix (1980)
> CL Moore - Best of CL Moore (1975)
> Simak - Fellowship of the Talisman (1978)
>
> Tony

Kevin R

[-dsr-]

Yes. Zarkon is a genetically engineered human from the future who has
been sent back to Knickerbocker City to fix things up. He acquires a
gang of colorfully nicknamed assistants who are all personally loyal
to him, and then they fight crime with both fists.

-dsr-

[Tim McCaffrey]

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 12:26:41 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>
> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>

Several Dorsai books by Gordon R. Dickson
Anything by John Brunner ("The Stone that Never Came Down" is a favorite)

- Tim

[James Nicoll]

In article <c835a856-5472-4c86...@googlegroups.com>,
T Guy <Tim.B...@redbridge.gov.uk> wrote:

>On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 13:59:34 UTC+1, T Guy wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 5 April 2017 03:38:15 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>> > In article <oc136q$90q$1...@dont-email.me>,
>> > Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> > >BTW, are you going to tell us what you read between 1974 and 1981 ?
>> > >
>> > "Everything I could get my hands on" but with a focus on companies
>> > like Ace, Del Rey, and DAW...
>>
>> Ah, a bit of Lin Carter, then.
>

>The other name which occurred to me was Gregory Kern. Here you go:
>https://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/gregory-kern-and-cap-kennedy.html
>

I think I read one of those: SEETEE ALERT?

--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My Livejournal at http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

[James Nicoll]

In article <slrnoedf0s.b...@randomstring.org>,
-dsr- <dsr-u...@randomstring.org> wrote:

Did actually read it. There's bunches of good stuff I missed because of the
very unreliable book distribution systems of the 1970s + KW = ass end of
nowhere, Ontario. These days, I don't even have to go on book buying
expeditions to Bakka.

[James Nicoll]

In article <f48511af-9196-4780...@googlegroups.com>,

I did notice that an older Moorcock I read was not overburdened with
luxuries like character building but it did more along at a fair pace.

[James Nicoll]

In article <oc8o2k$1t4$1...@reader1.panix.com>,

And I wasn't not even in Kitchener-Waterloo. Or even St Agatha. I was
living on a farm between two named intersections.

[James Nicoll]

In article <3d80ffb6-bae3-4ea0...@googlegroups.com>,
Moriarty <blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 2:26:41 AM UTC+10, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Soliciting suggestions for both the 150th Because My Tears Are Delicious
>> to You Review (in about a month) and the June 4th as close as I can get
>> to the 3rd anniversary of that series.
>>
>> The criteria are simple: I had to have read it between 1974 (when I
>> turned 13 and 1981 (when I turned 20). Note that I read very few
>> books published after 1981 in the period between 1974 and 1981.
>

>How about Robert Forward's "Dragon's Egg" (1980)?
>

It is too late but I remember his 1984 Flight of the Dragonfly had this
one really nice bit about why someone would go on a one way trip to another
star system.

[James Nicoll]

In article <4c6a4499-db67-431b...@googlegroups.com>,

They are back in print! Well, eprint.

[Dimensional Traveler]

*suddenly curious, how many porters does one hire for such an
expedition? and of what aboriginal designation?*

--
Some days you just don't have enough middle fingers!

[Magewolf]

Did Zarkon ever not suck? My library had all of them in the early 80's
and since I read every SF/F related book in it I read them but even then
it struck me as an incredibly bad Doc Savage ripoff.

[Default User]

On Friday, April 7, 2017 at 11:45:07 AM UTC-5, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <fc1487fc-737a-4a10...@googlegroups.com>,
> Default User <defaul...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 10:15:15 AM UTC-5, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> >
> >> There are bookstores in plenty down in Berkeley, but you'll recall
> >> that I am old and weak (75 this summer, 30+ of those years with
> >> CFS) and I live atop a hill, and I don't drive. So if I buy a
> >> used book, I get it from Amazon. Occasionally.
> >
> >Locally, the St. Louis County Library system has senior services for
> >"housebound" patrons. That mails materials with postage-paid return
> >labels. Possibly your library system has something similar.
>
> Well, the library system in Vallejo doesn't have anything worth
> reading anyway. It contains
>
> (a) multiple copies of the latest best-sellers,
> (b) a stack of self-help books, and
> (c) a comprehensive collection of histories of Solano County
> (where Vallejo is), which I think must have been somebody's
> private collection, and in which I have no particular interest.
>
> It's the UC Berkeley library I'd like to be able to get at, but
> fatigue and transportation difficulties as above.
>
> And I don't think it has a mailing service; it's for the
> University community, whicch AFAIK implies you're able to get on
> campus.

If you mean the Solano County library, then they do have a service (delivery/pickup rather than mail:

http://www.solanolibrary.com/1368/

Are you going by what you found in the physical library at some point, rather than the entire catalog? I would be surprised to have any major county library system that didn't have a wide selection.

Using their catalog search for science fiction turns up some 600 pages of hits. The first few I looked at had SF books old and new.

http://ls2pac.snap.lib.ca.us/?config=SOLANO#section=search&term=Science%20fiction&page=0&sortKey=Relevancy

Naturally, searching for a specific title or author is another approach. Have you tried that?


Brian

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <slrnoefjeo...@panix1.panix.com>,

Carl Fink <ca...@finknetwork.com> wrote:
>On 2017-04-07, Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>
>> Well, the library system in Vallejo doesn't have anything worth
>> reading anyway. It contains
>
>Interlibrary loan is your friend, if you can get to your local library.

It's about a mile downhill ... and then back uphill again. I
would have to get Hal to drive me, and once I got there, well,

what would I order from them? Assuming there's ANY library in
Sonoma County that has anything I want.

>I also am taking a distance-learning program via Empire State College, State
>University of New York. Gives me access to ESC's online library, with more
>scholarly books and journals. You could maybe audit a course at California's
>(?) equivalent once a year to get library access?

The UC system does have Extension courses ... mostly, it seems,
for professional certification. And they cost money. And they
would provide textbooks, also costing money, and I could probably
get a library card if I were taking Extension courses, but I
don't think they'd mail me books. Come to that, if I were in the
East Bay again I could take BART to downtown Berkeley and walk to
campus (about two blocks to the West Gate, another half mile to
the Main Library, I could probable do that). But in that case I
could renew my Alumni Association membership and get my library
card re-upped with that.

But I still live in Vallejo, which is not serviced by BART. I'd
have to take a bus to the Transit Center, another bus to
(probably) El Cerrito Del Norte, and then BART to downtown
Berkeley. My daughter currently does that; she works in (or out
of, depending on her schedule) El Cerrito. But she'll be
forty-three this November. I'll be 75 this summer.

If I had a million bucks, no, make that two million, we could buy
a house in Berkeley or elsewhere near a BART station, and that
would solve a lot of problems (including fewer young thugs
breaking in car windows to steal things).

Under all these circumstances, it's easier to google things
online, and very occasionally buy a book from Amazon (preferably
used at $0.01 plus s/h).

[Dimensional Traveler]

On 4/7/2017 1:24 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <slrnoefjeo...@panix1.panix.com>,
> Carl Fink <ca...@finknetwork.com> wrote:
>> On 2017-04-07, Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Well, the library system in Vallejo doesn't have anything worth
>>> reading anyway. It contains
>>
>> Interlibrary loan is your friend, if you can get to your local library.
>
> It's about a mile downhill ... and then back uphill again. I
> would have to get Hal to drive me, and once I got there, well,
>
> what would I order from them? Assuming there's ANY library in
> Sonoma County that has anything I want.
>

I think the idea is that the Interlibrary Loan system extends beyond
just Sonoma County.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <ade09aa0-a9b8-4050...@googlegroups.com>,

Remember that the City of Vallejo is broke; they went into
bankruptcy after the Navy moved out of Mare Island, and only got
out by cutting all kinds of services to the bone.

>
>Using their catalog search for science fiction turns up some 600 pages
>of hits. The first few I looked at had SF books old and new.
>
>http://ls2pac.snap.lib.ca.us/?config=SOLANO#section=search&term=Science%20fiction&page=0&sortKey=Relevancy

None of the titles on the first page meant anything to me --
except _Mockingjay_, which sounded vaguely familiar, so I googled
it and it's _Hunger Games._ No way.

What I need, if I'm going to buy SF, is a library or bookstore
where I can open the volume and read a few pages, or else a
*really* intriguing review from James. So far, none of those
I've read have elicited anything stronger than "Hmmmm."

(There is nothing whatever wrong with James having somewhat
different tastes from mine, and I was really touched when he
reviewed _The Interior Life._)

So I did a search for "Carolingian history," my current topic of
interest.

http://ls2pac.snap.lib.ca.us/?config=SOLANO#section=search&term=Carolingian
history&page=0&sortKey=Relevancy&db=ls2pac&branchFilters=["1","3","4","6","7","8","15","18","19","20","21","22","27","30","42"]&facetFilters=[]

To save you the trouble of linking to that, it had about four
books on World History (all of it), one on Vikings, one copy of
_Charlmeagne and the Early Middle Ages_, which I already own, and
several videorecordings.

>
>Naturally, searching for a specific title or author is another approach.
>Have you tried that?

What title, what author? I've been broke for long enough, and
away from a bookstore for long enough, that I don't know what's
been published since, hmm, 2008 when we moved to Vallejo.

I have gotten to Fogcon last year and this year, though, and they
had a dealer's room where I bought a few books.

In any case, thanks for the link to the Vallejo library; it is not
impossible that I might someday look through their list and find
something I wanted. Just slightly unlikely.

[Default User]

The first entry I see is:

Science fiction : the best of the year / edited by Rich Horton 2006 ed.

Anybody remember Rich? He used to hang out here, and he worked at the some company as me. Not sure if he's still there. I should check. Anyway, a year's best short is often a good read.

A more recent "best of" is the Dozois:

The year's best science fiction : thirty-third annual collection / edited by Gardner Dozois.
2015 year's best science fiction

These are good ways to get exposure to authors and see what else they have.


I don't know what you like, but I enjoyed the Ancillary series by Ann Leckie. They have those books.

Note that for many books you might interested in you can check Amazon and see if there's a Look Inside. Then get it from the library if it looks good. I use Good Reads for tags I might like, such as Space Opera. Read the reviews.


Brian

[Quadibloc]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 7:05:23 AM UTC-6, T Guy wrote:

> This is what I had in mind: http://paperback-perils.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lin-carters-zanthodon-journey-to.html

It's not surprising that it is derivative of Pellucidar, as many of his works
are Burroughs pastiches of one sort or another.

I thought I'd check on some of his research in the beginning... it turns out
that Irkalla was a Babylonian version of Hades, not so much Agharta or
Pellucidar.

John Savard

[Carl Fink]

Indeed.

And my point about college libraries was that my own institution, Empire
State College, is entirely online--meaning an entire university library of
e-books and e-journals.

Related: I recently (like last month) listened to Neil Gaiman's *View from
the Cheap Seats* in a free, downloadable audiobook format, courtesy of my
library. It's great.

[Kevrob]

On Friday, April 7, 2017 at 9:03:01 PM UTC-4, Carl Fink wrote:
> On 2017-04-07, Dimensional Traveler <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> > On 4/7/2017 1:24 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> >> In article <slrnoefjeo...@panix1.panix.com>,
> >> Carl Fink <ca...@finknetwork.com> wrote:
> >>> On 2017-04-07, Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Well, the library system in Vallejo doesn't have anything worth
> >>>> reading anyway. It contains
> >>>
> >>> Interlibrary loan is your friend, if you can get to your local library.
> >>
> >> It's about a mile downhill ... and then back uphill again. I
> >> would have to get Hal to drive me, and once I got there, well,
> >>
> >> what would I order from them? Assuming there's ANY library in
> >> Sonoma County that has anything I want.
> >>
> > I think the idea is that the Interlibrary Loan system extends beyond
> > just Sonoma County.
>
> Indeed.
>
> And my point about college libraries was that my own institution, Empire
> State College, is entirely online--meaning an entire university library of
> e-books and e-journals.
>
> Related: I recently (like last month) listened to Neil Gaiman's *View from
> the Cheap Seats* in a free, downloadable audiobook format, courtesy of my
> library. It's great.
> --

SUNY's ESC does have physical presences. it predates the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_College#Locations

When I first heard about it, my initial response was -
"Oh, Peter Parker's school!" Wrong, that was the fictional
Empire State University. ESU is a stand-in for CCNY, but
located where NYU is. The movies shot location footage at
Columbia.

Kevin R

[Carl Fink]

Drifting ...

On 2017-04-08, Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:

> SUNY's ESC does have physical presences. it predates the internet.

It has physical locations, mostly (for my program at least) in Schenectady.
what it does not have is traditional physical classes-in-classrooms (again,
for my program). This will present a problem in a year or so when I plan to
do some research, because I won't be able to find the traditional "captive
audience of college undergrads" to experiment on--our undergrads are all
over the darn state.

[James Nicoll]

In article <oc8qqs$6pi$2...@dont-email.me>,

I would usually drop $100 - $200 bucks on new and used books, back
when new books were two bucks and used books a dollar. And carry them
home myself.

[Jack Bohn]

Among the things Kevrob wrote:


>Getting all, 3 parts of Zelazny's
>THE COURTS OF CHAOS* had been a similar pain in the ass, what with frequency
>of publication being cut prior to the digest's demise.
...
>* The fen I hung around with were big on Zelazny, as was I, and we
>shared our GALAXY ishes with CoC in them like samizdat, until the
>Avon paperback release, if we didn't snag the Doubleday hardcover
>or borrow it from a library.

Similar story with my brother and me, except, entering high school, we didn't have a fan support group. I'd have to ask him if he got into Amber when CoC appeared in his subscription, or earlier. (The title _The Hand of Oberon_ may have called to him from the library shelves, despite being way on the other side from Anderson's _A Midsummer's Tempest_.) I remember our library had only three of the first four, he had to learn interlibrary loan. As a balance to that, Galaxy cut frequency of mailing subscription copies deeper than they cut frequency of publication. We missed part III of CoC and got part I of _The Stars in Shroud_ next.

I might suggest some Benford. The above, _In the Ocean of Night_, I think even _Timescape_ might fit. It'd be worth something if he could find and articulate what was intensely annoying about his books.

--
-Jack

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <ocaq4p$e24$1...@reader1.panix.com>,

Reminds me of Heinlein's remark about getting $50 US for one of
his first stories (involved a contest, I think). He went out and
bought groceries and filled the back seat of the car with them.
~"Nowadays I can pick up $50 worth of groceries with one arm. I
must be getting stronger."~

[Dimensional Traveler]

That just ruins the entertaining mental picture of an expedition thru a
farcical suburban jungle with tribes of cannibalistic little-old-ladies
and roaming bands of adolescents, hacking your way thru overgrown rose
gardens.

[James Nicoll]

In article <a66773ac-e249-4504...@googlegroups.com>,

Jack Bohn <jack....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>I might suggest some Benford. The above, _In the Ocean of Night_, I
>think even _Timescape_ might fit. It'd be worth something if he could
>find and articulate what was intensely annoying about his books.

I've done one Benford, arguably his worst book (The Stars in Shroud). I
have fond memories of In the Ocean of Night and am afraid to revisit
it.

Weird but true: the novel Timescape was published by Pocketbooks. Pocketbooks
had an SF imprint called Timescape. The novel Timescape was never part of
the imprint Timescape.

[Robert Carnegie]

On Saturday, 8 April 2017 17:18:59 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <a66773ac-e249-4504...@googlegroups.com>,
> Jack Bohn <jack....@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >I might suggest some Benford. The above, _In the Ocean of Night_, I
> >think even _Timescape_ might fit. It'd be worth something if he could
> >find and articulate what was intensely annoying about his books.
>
> I've done one Benford, arguably his worst book (The Stars in Shroud). I
> have fond memories of In the Ocean of Night and am afraid to revisit
> it.
>
> Weird but true: the novel Timescape was published by Pocketbooks. Pocketbooks
> had an SF imprint called Timescape. The novel Timescape was never part of
> the imprint Timescape.

As the Monty Pythons said in "The Bruces Sketch",
"That's going to cause a little confusion."
I wonder if it's been done; for first publication,
I think you'd be strongly encouraged to call it
something else. For a reprint, such as hardcover
to softcover - well, you're probably also
discouraged from using a /different/ imprint's
name as your book title.

But how about the other way around? I suppose
that pinching the title of someone else's book
in print would be controversial. Although you
can have a book or story with the same title as
another story - within reason.

Recently I encountered this when I saw a reference
to quite a whiskery story I'd just read, "Nothing
Happens on the Moon" (1939, not altogether a
classic). But the details were considerably
different - mainly because now I was looking at
"Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon" (1949, Heinlein,
doesn't look,like a sequel...)

[William Hyde]

I no longer remember the street address, but the Coles near UW had a pretty good SF selection.

As an SF reader living in Toronto I had never heard of Bakka. But I moved to Waterloo for a couple of years (76-78) where a fan from Winnipeg convinced me that I had to go there.

After I moved back to Toronto, I again neglected Bakka.

William Hyde

[William Hyde]

Moorcock mentioned somewhere that for a decade or so he was cranking stuff out at fair pace in order to meet the twin goals of keeping New Worlds alive, and paying his rent.

Exceptions would be books like "Behold the Man", "The Black Corridor" and some or all of the Elric books. When NW turned into a paperback quarterly, that pressure was off.

William Hyde

[James Nicoll]

In article <119432e9-3fbd-4984...@googlegroups.com>,

Waterloo Square, second or third store on the right if you came in the
King St entrance.

>As an SF reader living in Toronto I had never heard of Bakka. But I
>moved to Waterloo for a couple of years (76-78) where a fan from
>Winnipeg convinced me that I had to go there.

I think I discovered it because of a Spider Robinson column.

[Greg Goss]

djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:

>Reminds me of Heinlein's remark about getting $50 US for one of
>his first stories (involved a contest, I think). He went out and
>bought groceries and filled the back seat of the car with them.
>~"Nowadays I can pick up $50 worth of groceries with one arm. I
>must be getting stronger."~

As I recall the story, he wrote the story for the contest, thought
about it for a while, then sent it off to (a magazine?) publisher. I
don't remember the groceries joke, though.

My parents bought a week of groceries for three kids and two adults
for $35 and filled the car with that in 1970 or so. We got more milk
and occasionally bread on Thursday.
--
We are geeks. Resistance is voltage over current.

[David Goldfarb]

In article <ektuj9...@mid.individual.net>,

Greg Goss <go...@gossg.org> wrote:
>djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>
>>Reminds me of Heinlein's remark about getting $50 US for one of
>>his first stories (involved a contest, I think). He went out and
>>bought groceries and filled the back seat of the car with them.
>>~"Nowadays I can pick up $50 worth of groceries with one arm. I
>>must be getting stronger."~
>
>As I recall the story, he wrote the story for the contest, thought
>about it for a while, then sent it off to (a magazine?) publisher. I
>don't remember the groceries joke, though.

Right. He saw the contest in one magazine, then discovered that
_Astounding_ paid more.

I do remember the groceries joke. I'm pretty sure it was in
_Expanded Universe_.

--
David Goldfarb |"I came to Casablanca for the waters."
goldf...@gmail.com | "The waters? What waters? We're in the desert."
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu |"I was misinformed."

[Ahasuerus]

On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 1:45:06 AM UTC-4, David Goldfarb wrote:
> In article <ektuj9...@mid.individual.net>,
> Greg Goss <go...@gossg.org> wrote:
> >djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> >
> >>Reminds me of Heinlein's remark about getting $50 US for one of
> >>his first stories (involved a contest, I think). He went out and
> >>bought groceries and filled the back seat of the car with them.
> >>~"Nowadays I can pick up $50 worth of groceries with one arm. I
> >>must be getting stronger."~
> >
> >As I recall the story, he wrote the story for the contest, thought
> >about it for a while, then sent it off to (a magazine?) publisher. I
> >don't remember the groceries joke, though.
>
> Right. He saw the contest in one magazine, then discovered that
> _Astounding_ paid more.
>
> I do remember the groceries joke. I'm pretty sure it was in
> _Expanded Universe_.

It's in his foreword to "Life-Line"
(http://www.baen.com/Chapters/0743471598/0743471598___2.htm):

The beginning of 1939 found me flat broke following a disastrous
political campaign (I ran a strong second best, but in politics there
are no prizes for place or show). I was highly skilled in ordnance,
gunnery, and fire control for Naval vessels, a skill for which there
was no demand ashore — and I had a piece of paper from the Secretary of
the Navy telling me that I was a waste of space — "totally and
permanently disabled" was the phraseology. I "owned" a heavily-mortgaged
house.

About then _Thrilling Wonder Stories_ ran a house ad reading (more or
less):

GIANT PRIZE CONTEST — Amateur Writers!!!!!!
First Prize $50 Fifty Dollars $50

In 1939 one could fill three station wagons with fifty dollars worth of
groceries. Today I can pick up fifty dollars in groceries unassisted —
perhaps I've grown stronger. So I wrote the story "Life-Line." It took me
four days — I am a slow typist. But I did not send it to _Thrilling
Wonder_; I sent it to _Astounding_, figuring they would not be so swamped
with amateur short stories.

_Astounding_ bought it . . . for $70, or $20 more than that "Grand Prize"
— and there was never a chance that I would ever again look for honest
work.

[hamis...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 10:47:00 PM UTC+10, Peter Trei wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 11:15:04 PM UTC-4, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> > In article <onyoz...@kithrup.com>,
> > David Goldfarb <goldf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >In article <bd1ae207-ac5b-4c27...@googlegroups.com>,
> > >Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> > >>Did everyone else who tried reading that....very thick book-like
> > >>object....call it the "Sword of Sha-na-na?" I know Joanna Russ
> > >>mentioned that one, back then.
> > >
> > >Yes.
> >
> > I think various people have called it that, over the years. I
> > never read it; the sight of it repelled me.
>
> There was a TV series of the first couple books broadcast a year or to ago.
> I've avoided the books, for all that the author lives a couple miles from
> me.
>
> The TV series was ...odd. It's set 1000 years after the fall of civilisation,
> and somehow they've still got some electronics that works, and have evolved
> several variant human races. Not enough time for latter, too much for the former. Not to mention magic....

I haven't seen the tv series, in the books the elves had predated humanity but hidden with magic (revealed in book 2)
the other races were warped by the remains of a major war involving weapons and magic.

[Jay E. Morris]

On 4/6/2017 07:46 AM, Peter Trei wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 11:15:04 PM UTC-4, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>> In article <onyoz...@kithrup.com>,
>> David Goldfarb <goldf...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> In article <bd1ae207-ac5b-4c27...@googlegroups.com>,
>>> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>>>> Did everyone else who tried reading that....very thick book-like
>>>> object....call it the "Sword of Sha-na-na?" I know Joanna Russ
>>>> mentioned that one, back then.
>>>
>>> Yes.
>>
>> I think various people have called it that, over the years. I
>> never read it; the sight of it repelled me.
>
> There was a TV series of the first couple books broadcast a year or to ago.
> I've avoided the books, for all that the author lives a couple miles from
> me.
>

Actually "is". Renewal for season 2 was announced but not the date.

> The TV series was ...odd. It's set 1000 years after the fall of civilisation,
> and somehow they've still got some electronics that works, and have evolved
> several variant human races. Not enough time for latter, too much for the former. Not to mention magic....
>
>

> pt
>

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <4c86c050-ec27-40d1...@googlegroups.com>,

Oh, one of THOSE.

How many borderline-between-science-fiction-and-fantasy stories
where the elves have been hiding all along and have now returned
to take over have there been written???

How many GOOD ones? I can't think of any.