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 Historical content remains viewable.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

[tor dot com] Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships

85 views
Skip to first unread message

James Nicoll

unread,
Dec 2, 2022, 10:19:36 AM12/2/22
to
Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships

More or less what it says on the tin.

https://www.tor.com/2022/12/02/five-sf-stories-about-ghost-ships/
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

Robert Woodward

unread,
Dec 2, 2022, 12:59:12 PM12/2/22
to
In article <tmd523$3t7$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:

> Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>
> More or less what it says on the tin.
>
> https://www.tor.com/2022/12/02/five-sf-stories-about-ghost-ships/

Something I noticed about _The Cosmic Computer_ (aka _Junkyard Planet_)
were the American Civil War echoes. In particular, Poictesme looks like
the equivalent of Cairo, Illinois (whose economic decline was well
advanced by 1960).

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
ã-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robe...@drizzle.com

Default User

unread,
Dec 5, 2022, 3:52:59 AM12/5/22
to
James Nicoll wrote:

>Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>
>More or less what it says on the tin.

I have read three for sure:

Gateway
Pushing Ice
Ancestral Night

I don't know about Cosmic Computer. It seems like the sort of book I
would have read back in the day if I had come across it.


Brian

Lynn McGuire

unread,
Dec 5, 2022, 5:24:58 PM12/5/22
to
On 12/2/2022 9:19 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>
> More or less what it says on the tin.
>
> https://www.tor.com/2022/12/02/five-sf-stories-about-ghost-ships/

I think that I read "Gateway".

Can I add "Alien" by Alan Dean Foster ?

https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Novelization-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/1783290153/

And "Seeker" by Jack McDevitt ?
https://www.amazon.com/Seeker-Jack-McDevitt/dp/0441013759/

And "Ghost Ship" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Ship-Liaden-Universe%C2%AE-Sharon/dp/1451637926/

There is a big list at:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/146966.Derelict_or_Abandoned_Spaceships

Lynn

Don

unread,
Dec 6, 2022, 10:45:46 AM12/6/22
to
Lynn McGuire wrote:
> James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>>
>> More or less what it says on the tin.
>>
>> https://www.tor.com/2022/12/02/five-sf-stories-about-ghost-ships/

<snip>
As of today the list enumerates fifty-one items. The most popular story,
_Rendezvous with Rama_, was opened by me a few times over the years. But
it consistently failed to hold my interest beyond the first chapter or
two. The twenty-sixth most popular item: Die Dritte Macht Zyklus' forty-
nine novellas, /were/ read by me in their entirety.
Die Dritte Macht by Voltz? WTF? The first Voltz story previously
known to me was "Das Grauen" (AKA "The Horror") in the Atlan und Arkon
Zyklus. As a PR newbie, this sort of thing happens to me all the time.
Perrypedia says Voltz subsequently rewrote the original stories to
remove 1960's era Cold War stark dialecticism and whatnot. The revised
stories were then re-released under the Silberband moniker. OK, mystery
solved.
The planet Honur was the first thing to occur to me within this
thread's Goodreads context:

On Honur, world of the Honos, the skeletal hulks of long-
abandoned spaceships suddenly assume unexpected value when it
is realized that they consist of 3 to 400 tons of invaluable
Arkon T-steel!
Too good a deal for the Galactic Traders-or is it Raiders?-
to pass up.

The titular Goodreads link misleads. Because the full description
states: "derelict, abandoned, or crashed." Of course, the Perry Rhodan
story begins with a crashed Arkonide spaceship on the far side of the
moon: <https://www.perrypedia.de/mediawiki/images/9/93/PR0001Illu_3.jpg>
In this case, Bruck's art is wrong. Because, in a manner similar to
_The Moon is Hell_ (Campbell), the crash site is hidden from Earth's
direct view - a few kilometers on the far side from the Moon's north
pole. This technical detail initially captured my imagination when my PR
journey started all of those years ago.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.


Default User

unread,
Dec 8, 2022, 3:12:56 AM12/8/22
to
Lynn McGuire wrote:

>On 12/2/2022 9:19 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships

I've read a number of those, not surprisingly as I like that sort of
thing. I'll check out some of the others. Good list, thanks.


Brian


Lynn McGuire

unread,
Dec 9, 2022, 1:11:40 AM12/9/22
to
You are welcome. There are some cool lists at Goodreads. I found this
one today when me and one of my employees were discussing super hero
books that we had read.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/10607.Super_Hero_Books_Not_Graphic_Novels_

Lynn


Jerry Brown

unread,
Dec 9, 2022, 2:39:43 AM12/9/22
to
On Fri, 2 Dec 2022 15:19:31 -0000 (UTC), jdni...@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

>Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>
>More or less what it says on the tin.
>
>https://www.tor.com/2022/12/02/five-sf-stories-about-ghost-ships/

There's the first story in GRRM's "Tuf Voyaging".

--
Jerry Brown

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

Michael F. Stemper

unread,
Dec 9, 2022, 9:56:53 AM12/9/22
to
Lynn McGuire wrote:
> On 12/2/2022 9:19 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>
> There is a big list at:
>
> https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/146966.Derelict_or_Abandoned_Spaceships

I think that Robert Reed's _Marrow_ would fit into this
category, as well.

<https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?20125>

--
Michael F. Stemper
Isaiah 58:6-7

Default User

unread,
Dec 10, 2022, 3:23:29 AM12/10/22
to
Michael F. Stemper wrote:

>Lynn McGuire wrote:
>>On 12/2/2022 9:19 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>>Five SF Stories About Ghost Ships
>>
>>There is a big list at:
>>
>>https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/146966.Derelict_or_Abandoned_Spaceships
>
>I think that Robert Reed's Marrow would fit into this
There are a number of stories in Reed's "Great Ship" setting. I was
going to suggest this but you got it.


Brian

Martin

unread,
Dec 11, 2022, 11:45:31 AM12/11/22
to
The Progrenitors' fleet in Brin's Startide_Rising surely fits the bill.

Robert Woodward

unread,
Dec 11, 2022, 12:49:17 PM12/11/22
to
In article <67a5694e-8854-4905...@googlegroups.com>,
You are assuming facts not in evidence.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robe...@drizzle.com
0 new messages