Highlights and Lowlights - January 2024

[Tony Nance]

Highlights and Lowlights - January 2024

Sorry this one is so long - next time I’ll post one of these after I’ve
read 7-8 books.

Books are listed in reverse chronological order from how I read them,
using a very primitive rating system:
“+” are good, and more “+” are better
“-“ are not good, and more “-“ are worse

I’m happy to answer questions about anything on the list.

Highlight - Nopalgarth - Vance [aka The Brains of Earth; listed as
Nopalgarth #3, and now I can see why]

Lowlight - Mathenauts: Tales of Mathematical Wonder - ed. by Rucker

Here’s a quick summary of what’s more in-depth below:
(+) Tales from the Folly - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London collection]
(+++ 1/2) The Harbors of the Sun - Wells [Raksura #5]
(+++) The Edge of Worlds - Wells [Raksura #4]
(++) Plague of Demons - Laumer (re-read)
(+++) Clean Sweep - Andrews [Innkeeper Chronicles #1]
(++) An Inheritance of Magic - Jacka
(+ -) Mathenauts: Tales of Mathematical Wonder - ed. by Rucker
(++ -) The Gathering Edge - Lee & Miller [Liaden #20]
(+++) Cast in Sorrow - Sagara [Elantra #9]
(++ 1/2) Cast in Peril - Sagara [Elantra #8]
(+++) Inhibitor Phase - Reynolds [Revelation Space #5]
(++++) Nopalgarth - Vance [aka The Brains of Earth; listed as Nopalgarth
#3, and now I can see why]


Now Reading:
Long work - Not sure yet…probably Slow Bullets - Reynolds (novella)
Collection - Not sure yet…probably Chateau d’If and Other Stories - Vance

===========================================
(+) Tales from the Folly - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London collection]
My wife made a trip the library, and I tagged along (throw me in the
briar patch). I walked out with three books I’d been interested in but
had not purchased. Good thing in this case, because the stories in this
collection from the Rivers of London universe are very slight, rather
unremarkable, and sometimes boring. About half of the stories feature
Peter Grant, and these are okay. The rest feature various side
characters, and for the most part are very forgettable. I did appreciate
the short introductions to each story, and I’m looking forward to
reading the most recent novel in the series when I get a chance. But
this collection is for completists only in my opinion.

(+++ 1/2) The Harbors of the Sun - Wells [Raksura #5]
(+++) The Edge of Worlds - Wells [Raksura #4]
Think of these two as one big book, and it’s very very good. #4 ends in
a transitory place with almost nothing resolved, so I immediately moved
on to the next one. #5 is the series-ender (so far?), and it definitely
ends in a satisfying place with very few loose ends. Similar to #3, Moon
& Co journey to an isolated, sealed place, possibly holding powerfull
ancient artifacts. Near the end of #4, a betrayer steals an artifact
that could be used to destroy entire races. While we do see Moon develop
and become more and more accepted by his society, these two books are
less focused on that and a lot more focused on the urgency of finding
the artifact and disabling it before it gets used.

(++) Plague of Demons - Laumer (re-read)
One of James’ posts, or perhaps one of the responses that followed,
mentioned this one. I had read it years ago, but I couldn’t remember
anything tangible about it. A human discovers that aliens have
infiltrated Earth, and he decides to allow himself to become
(experimentally) bio-engineered to help fight back. It’s a short,
action-packed story, which would undoubtedly be a bloated trilogy
nowadays. Is this the best book you’ll ever read? No, but it is
fast-paced, entertaining, never ponderous, and reminds me of the best
Van Vogt works, where things move faster and faster to a conclusion.

(+++) Clean Sweep - Andrews [Innkeeper Chronicles #1]
This was an enjoyable series starter. I’m glad Lynn reviewed these here,
because — even though the Kate Daniels series is one of my favorites — I
was on the fence about trying these. As a series starter, there are more
than a few “As you know Bob” discussions, but it’s a neat set-up. Dina
is an Innkeeper, and we learn more and more about what that actually
means throughout the book. She’s a strong, interesting character. Sean
is an a-hole - a handsome alpha werewolf a-hole, so of course Dina is
attracted to him. When a string of unusual predatory events hit Dina’s
neighborhood, she and Sean try to figure out what’s going on and how to
stop it. This entry is self-contained and complete, and there are
clearly a lot of directions this can go from here.

(++) An Inheritance of Magic - Jacka
This was also a good series starter, laying a lot of groundwork for how
this new setting works. Fyi: In the intro/forward, Jacka specifically
mentions that this has nothing to do with his Alex Verus series. Stephen
Oakwood is 20 years old and a novice drucrafter (drucraft is a novel
magic system invented by Jacka for this work). His mother abandoned him
at age 1, and his father disappeared - was possibly kidnapped - under
mysterious circumstances 3 years ago. Stephen becomes entangled with a
rather stereotypical ruthless power-hungry rich family of drucrafters,
and it’s pretty clear this entanglement will be very important in the
next book(s). I will read the second one (not yet released) and decide
if I go on from there.

(+ -) Mathenauts: Tales of Mathematical Wonder - ed. by Rucker
Not very good - it took months to get through this, with not many
memorable (or good) stories at all. Full disclosure: I’m a
mathematician, and I find fiction that (supposedly) focuses on math to
almost aways fall flat. I believe this phenomena falls under one of my
“reading rules”: “The more you know about a subject, the less likely
you’ll enjoy fiction about it.”

(++ -) The Gathering Edge - Lee & Miller [Liaden #20]
For a Liaden book, this was just okay. I’m not a big fan of Theo, and
this is pretty much Theo & Co all the time. The plot includes an
interesting plot direction that leads back to Surebleak and the
characters I enjoy most, so hopefully the next one is a lot less focused
on Theo & Co. Clarence is great as a second-in-command character on
Theo’s ship, and we learn a lot about the other crew members, as well as
the ship itself.

(+++) Cast in Sorrow - Sagara [Elantra #9]
(++ 1/2) Cast in Peril - Sagara [Elantra #8]
Similar to the Raksura pair above, think of this as one very big book,
and it’s very very good. As with all of the entries in this series so
far (so this is not a spoiler) Kaylin ultimately saves the universe, and
in the process several folks become indebted to her, which is not as
great as it sounds. The story is very much a
journey-somewhere-and-accomplish-something-important-when-you-get-there
story, but the problem is that #8 just kinda stops in the middle with
“ok, we’re here”. I imagine this would have been aggravating in real
time, since #9 came out almost a year after #8 did.

(+++ 1/2) Inhibitor Phase - Reynolds [Revelation Space #5]
Very good - almost excellent. The first three-fourths (roughly) actually
was excellent; but once they got to Ararat, it was a little unsatisfying
and a bit of a letdown (reasons would be spoiler-y). There were a lot of
references and tie-ins to the previous Revelation Space books, and I’m
sure I missed some, too. The resolution was fine, and also hints at a
lot of strong issues ahead. Overall a very good read.

(++++) Nopalgarth - Vance [aka The Brains of Earth; listed as Nopalgarth
#3, and now I can see why]
This was excellent. Very much an urgent scientific puzzle, trying to
solve the problem of the “Nopal”, as seen by planet Ixax and then by
planet Earth as well. The Nopal — and eventually we also see the Gher —
control the “para-cosmos”, similar to our psychic/psionic “plane”, and
as such, they vie for control of the beings in the material plane, like
the inhabitants of Ixax and Earth. At least one Earthling wants to put a
stop to it.

Now Reading:
Long work - Not sure yet…probably Slow Bullets - Reynolds (novella)
Collection - Not sure yet…probably Chateau d’If and Other Stories - Vance

Tony

[Ahasuerus]

On 2/1/2024 8:24 PM, Tony Nance wrote:
> [snip-snip]

> (++) Plague of Demons - Laumer (re-read)
> One of James’ posts, or perhaps one of the responses that followed,
> mentioned this one. I had read it years ago, but I couldn’t remember
> anything tangible about it. A human discovers that aliens have
> infiltrated Earth, and he decides to allow himself to become
> (experimentally) bio-engineered to help fight back. It’s a short,
> action-packed story, which would undoubtedly be a bloated trilogy
> nowadays. Is this the best book you’ll ever read? No, but it is
> fast-paced, entertaining, never ponderous, and reminds me of the best
> Van Vogt works, where things move faster and faster to a conclusion.

Glad to hear _Plague of Demons_ is still readable. It wasn't my favorite
Laumer novel, but it was one of the better ones.

[snip]

> (+ -) Mathenauts: Tales of Mathematical Wonder - ed. by Rucker
> Not very good - it took months to get through this, with not many
> memorable (or good) stories at all. Full disclosure: I’m a
> mathematician, and I find fiction that (supposedly) focuses on math to
> almost aways fall flat. I believe this phenomena falls under one of my
> “reading rules”: “The more you know about a subject, the less likely

> you’ll enjoy fiction about it.” [snip-snip]

I suspect that adding "how much the author knows about the subject" to
the formula may help improve it.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <uphllm$29pto$1...@dont-email.me>,

Looking at the TOC, I believe I have probably only read the Niven & the
Asimov, and only remember the later. I see the standard story I expect
in such collections, "A Subway Named Mobius" is not there. I wonder if
"And He Built a Crooked House" would fit?

I'm pretty sure I've read the Laumer, but am not calling it to mind
now. I enjoy most pre-stroke Laumer, I should probably dig it out.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

[Robert Carnegie]

On 02/02/2024 01:24, Tony Nance wrote:
> (+) Tales from the Folly - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London collection]
> My wife made a trip the library, and I tagged along (throw me in the
> briar patch). I walked out with three books I’d been interested in but
> had not purchased. Good thing in this case, because the stories in this
> collection from the Rivers of London universe are very slight, rather
> unremarkable, and sometimes boring. About half of the stories feature
> Peter Grant, and these are okay. The rest feature various side
> characters, and for the most part are very forgettable. I did appreciate
> the short introductions to each story, and I’m looking forward to
> reading the most recent novel in the series when I get a chance. But
> this collection is for completists only in my opinion.

Well, it's not all trivial. The one about
the clothes shop may be difficult to connect
with, for several reasons, but I like it.

As for completism, the Rivers world mostly
is treated as a mixed media shared universe,
"shared" mainly meaning that graphic novel
stories with other credits are treated as
having happened, in the books. So, comics
characters may wander in and expect you to
recognise them. _Tales_, I think, introduces
the Spirit of Camden Lock - or wherever it is -
who appears in _False Value_. A bit.

A story whose date is admitted not to fit
is also legally free online, as some other
pieces May be - what I'm talking about is
"The Home Crowd Advantage"
<https://temporarilysignificant.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-home-crowd-advantage.html>
This copy may want some editing.

I like the humour. I'm less happy with
episodes of horror. Even when they happen
to a real estate agent, but I suppose really
he is happier. And it is funny, actually.

[Titus G]

On 2/02/24 14:24, Tony Nance wrote:
>
> Highlights and Lowlights - January 2024
>

snip

>
> (+++ 1/2) Inhibitor Phase - Reynolds [Revelation Space #5]
> Very good - almost excellent. The first three-fourths (roughly) actually
> was excellent; but once they got to Ararat, it was a little unsatisfying
> and a bit of a letdown (reasons would be spoiler-y). There were a lot of
> references and tie-ins to the previous Revelation Space books, and I’m
> sure I missed some, too. The resolution was fine, and also hints at a
> lot of strong issues ahead. Overall a very good read.
>

Moriarty also enjoyed it. I was disappointed with it in comparison to
the previous four and have expressed my reasons here previously. As they
are all negative reasons, I won't repeat them.

[Tony Nance]

On 2/1/24 9:56 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
> On 2/1/2024 8:24 PM, Tony Nance wrote:
>> [snip-snip]
>> (++) Plague of Demons - Laumer (re-read)
>> One of James’ posts, or perhaps one of the responses that followed,
>> mentioned this one. I had read it years ago, but I couldn’t remember
>> anything tangible about it. A human discovers that aliens have
>> infiltrated Earth, and he decides to allow himself to become
>> (experimentally) bio-engineered to help fight back. It’s a short,
>> action-packed story, which would undoubtedly be a bloated trilogy
>> nowadays. Is this the best book you’ll ever read? No, but it is
>> fast-paced, entertaining, never ponderous, and reminds me of the best
>> Van Vogt works, where things move faster and faster to a conclusion.
>
> Glad to hear _Plague of Demons_ is still readable. It wasn't my favorite
> Laumer novel, but it was one of the better ones.

Yeah, the re-read has me pondering looking into the many pre-stroke
Laumers I haven't read. I think I've only read Dinosaur Beach (good) and
Time Trap (not).

>
> [snip]
>> (+ -) Mathenauts: Tales of Mathematical Wonder - ed. by Rucker
>> Not very good - it took months to get through this, with not many
>> memorable (or good) stories at all. Full disclosure: I’m a
>> mathematician, and I find fiction that (supposedly) focuses on math to
>> almost aways fall flat. I believe this phenomena falls under one of my
>> “reading rules”: “The more you know about a subject, the less likely
>> you’ll enjoy fiction about it.” [snip-snip]
>
> I suspect that adding "how much the author knows about the subject" to
> the formula may help improve it.

I suspect you're right!
- Tony

[Tony Nance]

I think it would fit - and raise the quality of the collection too!
- Tony

[Tony Nance]

On 2/2/24 9:15 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On 02/02/2024 01:24, Tony Nance wrote:
>> (+) Tales from the Folly - Aaronovitch [Rivers of London collection]
>> My wife made a trip the library, and I tagged along (throw me in the
>> briar patch). I walked out with three books I’d been interested in but
>> had not purchased. Good thing in this case, because the stories in
>> this collection from the Rivers of London universe are very slight,
>> rather unremarkable, and sometimes boring. About half of the stories
>> feature Peter Grant, and these are okay. The rest feature various side
>> characters, and for the most part are very forgettable. I did
>> appreciate the short introductions to each story, and I’m looking
>> forward to reading the most recent novel in the series when I get a
>> chance. But this collection is for completists only in my opinion.
>
> Well, it's not all trivial.

Oh definitely not. Part of my problem (100% on me) is that I was hoping
to read some interesting insights into the main storylines, and that
didn't happen. The other problem (again, 100% on me) is that I wrote
that paragraph about 5 minutes after I finished the book, so it was more
of a knee-jerk reaction.

<snip some stuff>

> I like the humour.  I'm less happy with
> episodes of horror.  Even when they happen
> to a real estate agent, but I suppose really
> he is happier.  And it is funny, actually.

I also like the humor.

I just started The October Man and it's going well so far.
- Tony

[Tony Nance]

I do agree with some of your reasons -- especially with respect to
Scorpio -- but I'm glad they only sparked a mild reaction. The time on
Ararat did get in my way though, especially Nevil being such a jerk.

Tony

[Ahasuerus]

On 2/3/2024 7:36 AM, Tony Nance wrote:
> On 2/1/24 9:56 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
>> On 2/1/2024 8:24 PM, Tony Nance wrote:
>>> [snip-snip]
>>> (++) Plague of Demons - Laumer (re-read)
>>> One of James’ posts, or perhaps one of the responses that followed,
>>> mentioned this one. I had read it years ago, but I couldn’t remember
>>> anything tangible about it. A human discovers that aliens have
>>> infiltrated Earth, and he decides to allow himself to become
>>> (experimentally) bio-engineered to help fight back. It’s a short,
>>> action-packed story, which would undoubtedly be a bloated trilogy
>>> nowadays. Is this the best book you’ll ever read? No, but it is
>>> fast-paced, entertaining, never ponderous, and reminds me of the best
>>> Van Vogt works, where things move faster and faster to a conclusion.
>>
>> Glad to hear _Plague of Demons_ is still readable. It wasn't my
>> favorite Laumer novel, but it was one of the better ones.
>
> Yeah, the re-read has me pondering looking into the many pre-stroke
> Laumers I haven't read. I think I've only read Dinosaur Beach (good) and
> Time Trap (not). [snip]

When it comes to Laumer, there are a few things to keep in mind. First,
almost everything that he published after he partially recovered from
his stroke in the mid-1970s is unlikely to be worth your time. It ranges
from "mostly readable" ("Rogue Bolo") to "what was the publisher
thinking??" (_Zone Yellow_). _The Ultimax Man_ (1978) was apparently
started pre-stroke and finished after the stroke. It starts as a run of
the mill adventure and then jumps off a cliff.

Second, note that Laumer revised and/or expanded some of his old stories
(to their detriment) during the 1980s, as happened with "Once There Was
a Giant" (1968). Make sure to check the copyright page when buying
reprint editions. I won't be mentioning the rest of his post-stroke
works below.

Third, even pre-stroke his humorous works were all over the place.
Sometimes the humor was broad, as in _The Monitors_ (1966) and _Time
Trap_ (1970). Other times it was more sophisticated and enjoyable as in
"The Devil You Don't" (1970). Eric Flint's _Keith Laumer: The Lighter
Side_ (2002) is representative.

Next, his series. The original, pre-stroke, "Bolo" stories (1960-1969)
collected in _Bolo: The Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade_ (1976) were
pretty solid. A bit repetitive after the first few, but worth a read and
historically important the way Saberhagen's "Berserker" stories are
historically important. I have only read a few of the many "sequels by
other hands" published in the 1990s and the 2000s
(https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?1485), so take it with a grain of
salt, but I liked S. M. Stirling's "Bethany Martins" stories (collected
in _Ice, Iron and Gold_, 2007) more than the rest.

The _Imperium_ series started well with _Worlds of the Imperium_ (1961),
although I liked H. Beam Piper's Paratime stories, which cover similar
territory, more. The two pre-stroke sequels, _The Other Side of Time_
(1965) and _Assignment in Nowhere_ (1968), were decent and had some
colorful, New Wave-y, imagery.

The _Lafayette O'Leary_ series was another take on the parallel worlds
theme. The first volume, _The Time Bender_ (1966), was minor but
occasionally mildly amusing. The two pre-stroke sequels, _The World
Shuffler_ (1970) and _The Shape Changer_ (1972), felt unnecessary at
best and tiresome at worst.

The "Retief" stories/novels are well known and probably need no
introduction. _Retief!_ (https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?40040),
the 2002 collection edited by Eric Flint, is representative.

On to his standalone novels.

_A Trace of Memory_ (1963): Standard adventure themes, somewhat creaky
execution. I am not sure if it's still readable, but if you enjoyed _A
Plague of Demons_, then perhaps you'll enjoy _A Trace of Memory_ a well.

_The Great Time Machine Hoax_ (1963): Humorous time travel shenanigans.
I thought it was moderately enjoyable at the time, but I suspect that,
like many other humorous stories, it hasn't aged well.

_Earthblood_ (1965 with Rosel George Brown): Recently discussed here.
Nicely done anti-species-ism themes early on, then a weak ending.

_Catastrophe Planet_ (1966): I thought it was mediocre. Eric Flint
apparently liked it more and reprinted it in _Future Imperfect_ (2003).

_The Monitors_ (1966): An alien invasion story. Broad humor as discussed
above.

_The Day Before Forever_ (1967): A short novel/novella about heroism,
sacrifice, etc. Representative of Laumer's favorite themes and
reasonably well done.

_Planet Run_ (1967 with Gordon R. Dickson): Routine adventures and
character growth.

_Galactic Odyssey_ (1967): Another routine adventure, although Eric
Flint and others liked it more than I did.

_The Long Twilight_ (1969): An experimental novel in that Laumer tried
to do multiple points of view. Not entirely successful, but not bad.

_The House in November_ (1970): I don't want to spoil the themes of this
horror-tinged novel, so I'll just say that I liked it quite a bit.

_The Star Treasure_ (1971): More routine adventures, which I thought
were boring.

_Dinosaur Beach_ (1971): "Recomplicated" time travel shenanigans. My
favorite Laumer novel.

_Night of Delusions_ (1972): Occasionally nightmarish dream logic
leading to an unexpected resolution which I don't want to spoil. I liked it.

_The Infinite Cage_ (1972): A well-executed "maimed superman" story, one
of Laumer's better takes on the subgenre. The last paragraph includes a
memorable sentence which would make van Vogt mutter about the author not
understanding math.

_The Glory Game_ (1973): More routine adventures.

[Tony Nance]

Holy cow, this is wonderful information - thank you so very much for
taking the time.

Much appreciated,
Tony

[Ahasuerus]

Glad to be of service! To quote Damon Knight, I live to serve man ;-)

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <uplc0v$340nr$3...@dont-email.me>,

Tony Nance <tnuse...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 2/1/24 9:56 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:
>> On 2/1/2024 8:24 PM, Tony Nance wrote:
>>> [snip-snip]
>>> (++) Plague of Demons - Laumer (re-read)
>>> One of James’ posts, or perhaps one of the responses that followed,
>>> mentioned this one. I had read it years ago, but I couldn’t remember
>>> anything tangible about it. A human discovers that aliens have
>>> infiltrated Earth, and he decides to allow himself to become
>>> (experimentally) bio-engineered to help fight back. It’s a short,
>>> action-packed story, which would undoubtedly be a bloated trilogy
>>> nowadays. Is this the best book you’ll ever read? No, but it is
>>> fast-paced, entertaining, never ponderous, and reminds me of the best
>>> Van Vogt works, where things move faster and faster to a conclusion.
>>
>> Glad to hear _Plague of Demons_ is still readable. It wasn't my favorite
>> Laumer novel, but it was one of the better ones.
>
>Yeah, the re-read has me pondering looking into the many pre-stroke
>Laumers I haven't read. I think I've only read Dinosaur Beach (good) and
>Time Trap (not).
>

I think I would start with _Worlds Of The Imperium_.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <uplt88$37chm$1...@dont-email.me>,

I will add that _Envoy To New Worlds_ was always my favorite Retief
collection, brief as it was. Of course those stories are available
many places now.

[Titus G]

On 4/02/24 07:07, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <uplc0v$340nr$3...@dont-email.me>,
> Tony Nance <tnuse...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 2/1/24 9:56 PM, Ahasuerus wrote:

snip

>>> Glad to hear _Plague of Demons_ is still readable. It wasn't my favorite
>>> Laumer novel, but it was one of the better ones.
>>
>> Yeah, the re-read has me pondering looking into the many pre-stroke
>> Laumers I haven't read. I think I've only read Dinosaur Beach (good) and
>> Time Trap (not).
>>
>
> I think I would start with _Worlds Of The Imperium_.

_Worlds Of The Imperium_ is one of twenty four free Keith Laumer titles
at Project Gutenberg.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/24817

[William Hyde]

On Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 11:00:07 AM UTC-5, Ahasuerus wrote:


>
> _The House in November_ (1970): I don't want to spoil the themes of this
> horror-tinged novel, so I'll just say that I liked it quite a bit.

My sisters did not read SF. After all, they (and not I) had read Jane
Austen. But I left this book lying about, and it changed their
minds. The only downside was that years later I had to read
the entire Dune series so I could talk about it with them.

We never did write "Pride and Prejudice and Sandworms" - the
field was getting too crowded.

"Satan's World" was a bit of an SF gateway for my father, but
Aldiss' fine story "Old hundredth" drove a neighbor from the
field. If only he'd picked up "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", which
was on the same table. But he was in the mood for a short
story, not a novel.

I seem to have drifted off topic.

Thanks for the excellent Laumer post.

William Hyde

[Ahasuerus]

On 2/3/2024 7:02 PM, William Hyde wrote:
> On Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 11:00:07 AM UTC-5, Ahasuerus wrote:

>> [snip-snip]

>> _The House in November_ (1970): I don't want to spoil the themes of this
>> horror-tinged novel, so I'll just say that I liked it quite a bit.
>
> My sisters did not read SF. After all, they (and not I) had read Jane
> Austen. But I left this book lying about, and it changed their
> minds. The only downside was that years later I had to read

> the entire Dune series so I could talk about it with them. [snip]

In other words, you corrupted multiple innocent girls and then it came
back to bite you.

Are you, by chance, tall, dark and handsome and in possession of a
fortune of at least five-and-twenty thousand pounds?

[Robert Carnegie]

By the way - it's on sale cheap at Amazon UK,
just today - for Kindle e-book reader (computer
book device).

[William Hyde]

Two out of four, but only because people are taller now and the pound
worth much less.

William Hyde