Reading List Update
Jan. 22nd, 2007 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupWorking on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
crossover_news. And y'all think I'm prolific. *shaking head*
Also, an update on the reading list:
Books #7 and #8 Read:
7. "The Tank Lords", by David Drake. Paperback, 391pp. A collection of the first several short stories in the "Hammer's Slammers" universe. I picked this one up because I kept running into mentions of the series in military sci-fi circles, and thought I should at least get an idea what it was about. It's-- well, very visceral, in-the-moment action, with mercenary tank-drivers and the people they encounter in their wars as the principal characters. Unfortunately, for the price of all the unbelievably vivid detail, you lose all grasp of a larger plot or picture. No character continuity at all between stories: only the machinery carries over. I'm glad I read it, but not a series for me, long-term.
8. "Tinker", by Wen Spencer. Paperback, 438pp. The cover blurb says that "Buffy fans should find a lot to like!" And, you know, I did like. The main character is pretty much the one-girl-in-all-the-world in a near future where part of Pittsburgh regularly flips back and forth from Earth to Elfhome as an accidental dimension-shift side effect of the active space-based jump gate in Earth orbit. Some of the plot developments are a little convenient, and yes, she ends up with an immortal Elf lover who fell for her almost at first sight, but the world-building is rich and very interesting, and it manages to wrap up its own plotlines well while setting up a good starting point for the sequel, "Wolf Who Rules". I will probably be purchasing that one when it hits paperback.
Next in the Queue, #9:
9. "A Talent For War", by Jack McDevitt. Paperback, 310pp. Detective science-fiction by a really good author; I picked up "Seeker", third in the series of which this is the first, awhile back, and was hooked. The lead character, Alex Benedict, is an archaeologist far in the future tracking artifacts across planets and interstellar spaces, and he has the standard quirky assistant, too. Fun stuff.
~
crossover_news. And y'all think I'm prolific. *shaking head*Also, an update on the reading list:
Books #7 and #8 Read:
7. "The Tank Lords", by David Drake. Paperback, 391pp. A collection of the first several short stories in the "Hammer's Slammers" universe. I picked this one up because I kept running into mentions of the series in military sci-fi circles, and thought I should at least get an idea what it was about. It's-- well, very visceral, in-the-moment action, with mercenary tank-drivers and the people they encounter in their wars as the principal characters. Unfortunately, for the price of all the unbelievably vivid detail, you lose all grasp of a larger plot or picture. No character continuity at all between stories: only the machinery carries over. I'm glad I read it, but not a series for me, long-term.
8. "Tinker", by Wen Spencer. Paperback, 438pp. The cover blurb says that "Buffy fans should find a lot to like!" And, you know, I did like. The main character is pretty much the one-girl-in-all-the-world in a near future where part of Pittsburgh regularly flips back and forth from Earth to Elfhome as an accidental dimension-shift side effect of the active space-based jump gate in Earth orbit. Some of the plot developments are a little convenient, and yes, she ends up with an immortal Elf lover who fell for her almost at first sight, but the world-building is rich and very interesting, and it manages to wrap up its own plotlines well while setting up a good starting point for the sequel, "Wolf Who Rules". I will probably be purchasing that one when it hits paperback.
Next in the Queue, #9:
9. "A Talent For War", by Jack McDevitt. Paperback, 310pp. Detective science-fiction by a really good author; I picked up "Seeker", third in the series of which this is the first, awhile back, and was hooked. The lead character, Alex Benedict, is an archaeologist far in the future tracking artifacts across planets and interstellar spaces, and he has the standard quirky assistant, too. Fun stuff.
~
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-23 04:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-23 08:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-23 05:55 am (UTC)I remember enjoying "A Talent For War", though I haven't re-read it since. I'd probably class it as "enjoyable but not the best thing evah". I didn't know it was the first in a series, though.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-23 08:48 am (UTC)I'd read "Moonfall" and several others of McDevitt's works before I found "Seeker", and I'd agree with you; he's not the kind of writer I jump up and down about, but when I want to curl up with a slow-paced interesting character sci-fi, he really fits the bill. And the spacegoing archaeologist angle-- well. Yeah, that gets me. *laughing*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-23 11:15 am (UTC)Yep. 8-)
Ooops!
Date: 2007-01-24 12:59 pm (UTC)I'm an idiot. I've just pressed the 'join' button, at crossover_news, forgetting I had already friended it and that it was a 'closed' community.
Disregard my silliness