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Groups > rec.arts.sf.written > #451314 > unrolled thread

Looking for recommendations

Started byDefault User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com>
First post2016-09-13 16:07 -0700
Last post2016-09-15 23:48 -0500
Articles 7 on this page of 87 — 26 participants

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Contents

  Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-13 16:07 -0700
    Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-13 19:26 -0400
      Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-13 17:23 -0700
        Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-14 09:56 -0400
          Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 08:40 -0700
          Re: Looking for recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-09-14 22:50 -0600
            Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-15 07:24 -0400
              Re: Looking for recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-09-15 21:12 -0600
                Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-16 06:15 -0400
                  Re: Looking for recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-09-16 08:40 -0600
                    Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-16 11:54 -0400
                    Re: Looking for recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-09-16 16:30 +0000
        Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-14 14:24 -0400
    Looking for recommendations "artyw2@yahoo.com" <artyw2@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-13 17:46 -0700
      Looking for recommendations "artyw2@yahoo.com" <artyw2@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-13 17:52 -0700
      Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 08:45 -0700
        Re: Looking for recommendations Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2016-09-16 03:59 +0100
          Re: Looking for recommendations Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> - 2016-09-15 20:17 -0700
    Re: Looking for recommendations Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2016-09-13 21:00 -0500
      Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 10:10 -0700
        Re: Looking for recommendations scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2016-09-14 17:49 +0000
    Re: Looking for recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-09-14 04:05 +0000
      Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 10:15 -0700
        Re: Looking for recommendations Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> - 2016-09-14 15:50 -0700
          Re: Looking for recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-09-14 23:01 +0000
            Re: Looking for recommendations Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2016-09-14 22:44 -0600
      Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-16 01:41 -0400
    Re: Looking for recommendations jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2016-09-14 14:24 +0000
      Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 10:12 -0700
        Re: Looking for recommendations jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2016-09-14 18:31 +0000
          Re: Looking for recommendations Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2016-09-14 12:53 -0700
            Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-14 16:04 -0400
              Re: Looking for recommendations Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2016-09-14 15:11 -0700
            Re: Looking for recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2016-09-14 14:45 -0700
            Re: Looking for recommendations jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2016-09-14 22:04 +0000
              Re: Looking for recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2016-09-15 21:48 -0400
            Re: Looking for recommendations Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2016-09-21 08:18 -0600
          Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 15:23 -0700
      Re: Looking for recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2016-09-15 10:28 +0800
    Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-14 14:43 -0400
      Re: Looking for recommendations Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 15:20 -0700
        Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-14 19:50 -0400
          Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-15 07:22 -0400
            Re: Looking for recommendations Mart van de Wege <mvdwege@gmail.com> - 2016-09-15 14:50 +0200
              Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-15 10:09 -0400
                Re: Looking for recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-09-15 14:16 +0000
                  Re: Looking for recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-15 10:50 -0400
                    Re: Looking for recommendations scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2016-09-15 15:02 +0000
            Re: Looking for recommendations Juho Julkunen <giaotanj@hotmail.com> - 2016-09-15 17:07 +0300
            Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-15 12:59 -0400
    Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-14 22:19 +0000
      Re: Looking for recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-09-14 22:32 +0000
        Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-14 19:53 -0400
          Re: Looking for recommendations Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> - 2016-09-15 16:58 +0000
            Re: Looking for recommendations Joe Bernstein <joe@sfbooks.com> - 2016-09-15 11:26 -0700
              Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-15 20:26 +0000
                Re: Looking for recommendations Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2016-09-16 04:07 +0100
                  Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-16 01:39 -0400
                  Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-17 01:30 -0500
                    Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-17 02:56 -0400
                    Re: Looking for recommendations Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2016-09-17 12:32 +0100
                      Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-18 01:05 -0500
                        Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-18 06:12 +0000
                        Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-18 06:22 +0000
                          Re: Looking for recommendations Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2016-09-18 12:44 +0100
                          Re: Looking for recommendations Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2016-09-18 10:06 -0700
                            Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-18 17:31 +0000
                              Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-19 09:56 -0500
                            Re: Looking for recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2016-09-18 16:34 -0400
                          Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-19 09:53 -0500
                            Re: Looking for recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-09-19 15:18 +0000
                    Re: Looking for recommendations Bill Dugan <wkdugan@ix.netcom.com> - 2016-09-17 08:57 -0700
                      Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-17 14:48 -0400
                        Re: Looking for recommendations Bill Dugan <wkdugan@ix.netcom.com> - 2016-09-17 11:51 -0700
                          Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-17 17:29 -0400
                            Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-17 17:42 -0400
                              Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-17 22:18 +0000
                    Re: Looking for recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-17 19:01 +0000
                      Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-18 01:12 -0500
                    Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-20 19:04 -0500
                Re: Looking for recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-09-16 03:47 +0000
                  Re: Looking for recommendations Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2016-09-16 11:39 +0100
                    Re: Looking for recommendations goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-09-16 20:58 +0000
                Re: Looking for recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-09-17 01:15 -0500
              Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-15 17:02 -0400
            Re: Looking for recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-15 16:56 -0400
    Re: Looking for recommendations Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2016-09-15 23:48 -0500

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#451543

Fromdjheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
Date2016-09-16 03:47 +0000
Message-ID<oDKvvx.1ovo@kithrup.com>
In reply to#451500
In article <nrf05m$2rp0$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
>In article <2e5f4486-4837-4536-a363-f1fd0ba5eb60@googlegroups.com>,
>Joe Bernstein  <joe@sfbooks.com> wrote:
>
>[Graydon Saunders]
>
>>I haven't read any of his books yet (though it's sounding increasingly 
>>like I should), but I suspect most people still reading rasfw were 
>>around when he was here in the mid-1990s, posting in a very 
>>distinctive style.  I have a hard time believing he came up with a 
>>*different* "style that needs some getting used to" for the books.  
>>Did he build his fiction around how he writes?
>
>I don't have any reference for his Usenet career, even though I was
>definitely around during the relevant time period; I recognized his
>name as being loosely associated with Jo Walton (and in fact there is
>Saunders poetry quoted in /The King's Peace/).
>
>His style I would describe as somewhat abrupt, perhaps even mercurial.
>Not terse, necessarily, but he doesn't go in for infodumps or "as you
>know Bob"-type explanations -- so the reader is asked to deduce a lot
>from the context.  (Like, for example, the connotation of using
>gendered rather than neutral pronouns.)  When there's an extended
>passage of explanation, it's presented as part of a dialogue where the
>characters involved are arguing about how something ought to work, or
>where one of the characters genuinely wouldn't have a reason to know
>what's being explained.  Lots of things aren't explained at all in the
>first book which become clearer after the next two.  Sometimes the
>dialogue suddenly shifts gears for no obvious reason.
>
>I think the Commonweal books ask rather more of the reader than your
>typical fantasy novel, and that's a good thing.  The notion that you
>can have a society that is at its root strongly collectivist and still
>vehemently anti-coercion may bounce some libertarians; I don't know
>whether Saunders has any plans to address this in future novels.  (You
>can see some hints of it in how Mulch feels when asked to perform his
>10% service time obligation.)

Well, for my part, I get seriously enthused about Graydon's
style.  Back when he was posting to USENET, I told him, "You are
Greer Ilene Gilman's long-lost brother and Gerald Manley
Hopkins's nephew, AICMFP," and he said (approximately) "Gee
thanks, but I haven't read much of either."

Graydon's style is like one of the plates from the Book of Kells,
intricate and not to be taken in at a glance.  His world-building
has no flies on it, either.  You can't skim Graydon, you have to
read carefully ... and you will be rewarded.

One of the many interesting things about the Commonweal world is
that it is inhabited by lots of "people" -- who consist of at
least a dozen different *species*, some of which can be
distinguished (IIRC) only by eye color.  Rather like the recently
discovered four species of giraffe.

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

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#451562

FromJaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org>
Date2016-09-16 11:39 +0100
Message-ID<ntintbdtibttrg0e9mssco0hiplsesilo5@4ax.com>
In reply to#451543
On Fri, 16 Sep 2016 03:47:57 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
wrote:

>Graydon's style is like one of the plates from the Book of Kells,
>intricate and not to be taken in at a glance.  His world-building
>has no flies on it, either.  You can't skim Graydon, you have to
>read carefully ... and you will be rewarded.

From your and Brian's comments, I'm going to have to set myself a study
session and try again!

	Cheers - Jaimie
-- 
Happiness, n.: An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the
misery of another.          - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

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#451584

Fromgoldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb)
Date2016-09-16 20:58 +0000
Message-ID<oDM7LE.oDx@kithrup.com>
In reply to#451562
In article <ntintbdtibttrg0e9mssco0hiplsesilo5@4ax.com>,
Jaimie Vandenbergh  <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> wrote:
>On Fri, 16 Sep 2016 03:47:57 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
>wrote:
>
>>Graydon's style is like one of the plates from the Book of Kells,
>>intricate and not to be taken in at a glance.  His world-building
>>has no flies on it, either.  You can't skim Graydon, you have to
>>read carefully ... and you will be rewarded.
>
>From your and Brian's comments, I'm going to have to set myself a study
>session and try again!

One of his phrases when he was on Usenet was "accumulation of detail".
Try not to assume that anything mentioned is just a throwaway.

-- 
   David Goldfarb          |"I'm in the middle of fifteen things, 
goldfarbdj@gmail.com       | all of them annoying."        
goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu  |    -- Babylon 5, "Midnight on the Firing Line"

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#451605

FromDavid DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net>
Date2016-09-17 01:15 -0500
Message-ID<rfSdna5X4pLlQkHKnZ2dnUU7-Y-dnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#451500
On 2016-09-15, Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
> (You can see some hints of it in how Mulch feels when asked to perform his
> 10% service time obligation.)

Well, we find out that it's not so much that which makes him grumpy as it is
being unable to leave the Commonweal (due to knowing too much about how to
create a focus). He was expecting the thing to flare into usefulness, get
calcified, and die out within a couple hundred years, like most ordinary
magical hegemonies apparently do. At which point he'd be free to go hide
again. It didn't...

Dave
-- 
\/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>
website on VIC is down,	probably for good - oh well/ I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

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#451505

From"Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu>
Date2016-09-15 17:02 -0400
Message-ID<61hbtrmtti7n.1pspuqypfmng6$.dlg@40tude.net>
In reply to#451493
On Thu, 15 Sep 2016 11:26:26 -0700 (PDT), Joe Bernstein
<joe@sfbooks.com> wrote
in<news:2e5f4486-4837-4536-a363-f1fd0ba5eb60@googlegroups.com>
in rec.arts.sf.written:

> On Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 9:58:31 AM UTC-7,
> Chris Buckley wrote:

>> I also think the Saunders's books are among the best of
>> the year; he has his own style that needs some getting
>> used to but that just goes along with his unique world
>> creation.

> I haven't read any of his books yet (though it's sounding
> increasingly like I should), but I suspect most people
> still reading rasfw were around when he was here in the
> mid-1990s, posting in a very distinctive style.  I have
> a hard time believing he came up with a *different*
> "style that needs some getting used to" for the books.
> Did he build his fiction around how he writes?

It would be more accurate, I think, to say that his
writing, fiction and otherwise, reflects the way he thinks,
which sometimes seems almost to satisfy the old request for
aliens who think as well as humans but differently.

[...]

Brian
-- 
It was the neap tide, when the baga venture out of their
holes to root for sandtatties.  The waves whispered
rhythmically over the packed sand: haggisss, haggisss,
haggisss.

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#451502

From"Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu>
Date2016-09-15 16:56 -0400
Message-ID<3k2ykgp2491l$.936e4u96uk4n$.dlg@40tude.net>
In reply to#451482
On 15 Sep 2016 16:58:27 GMT, Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com>
wrote in<news:slrnntlkud.p5c.alan@video.sabir.com> in
rec.arts.sf.written:

> On 2016-09-14, Brian M. Scott <b.scott@csuohio.edu> wrote:

>> On Wed, 14 Sep 2016 22:32:23 GMT, Dorothy J Heydt
>><djheydt@kithrup.com> wrote in<news:oDIMLz.nx4@kithrup.com>
>> in rec.arts.sf.written:

>>> In article <nrcicr$219h$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
>>> Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:

>> [...]

>>>> Most recent read is Graydon Saunders's first three
>>>> Commonweal books. Can't stop raving about them, but
>>>> I'll refrain from doing so here as they don't sound
>>>> like your sort of thing.

>>> Probably not, but they're my sort of thing.

>> To my taste the three best sf books of 2015 are two of his
>> and one of Michelle Sagara’s.

> I also think the Saunders's books are among the best of
> the year; he has his own style that needs some getting
> used to but that just goes along with his unique world
> creation.

> I'm currently re-reading again _Ninefox Gambit_ by Yoon
> Ha Lee which is the best I've read in this year's crop -
> in many ways it reminds me of the Saunders's books, not
> only in one obvious plot device, but in terms of the
> energy and uniqueness of his world (though it's science
> fiction as oppose to fantasy).

I’m not sure that I agree with the comparison -- I’ll have
to think about it -- but I definitely agree that _Ninefox
Gambit_ is one of the best of the 2016 crop.

Brian
-- 
It was the neap tide, when the baga venture out of their
holes to root for sandtatties.  The waves whispered
rhythmically over the packed sand: haggisss, haggisss,
haggisss.

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#451544

FromLynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com>
Date2016-09-15 23:48 -0500
Message-ID<nrftjl$vni$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#451314
On 9/13/2016 6:07 PM, Default User wrote:
> I generally like adventure-oriented SF, either planetary adventures or space-opera. I don't care for Mil-SF. I'd like some recommendations of recent offerings (let's say the last five years or so).
>
> Below are some things I've read of late, not exhaustive but what I could come up with. If something is part of a series, assume I'm aware of the others. There are also some possibles I have identified that people can comment on if they'd like.
>
> Read:
>
> Neptune's Brood (Freyaverse #2) / Charles Stross
> Ancillary Series / Ann Leckie
> Skirmishes (Diving Universe #4) / Kristine Kathryn Rusch
> Coming Home (Alex Benedict #7) / Jack McDevitt
> Starhawk (The Academy, #7) / Jack McDevitt
> Transcendental / James Gunn
> Transgalactic / James Gunn
> Hex / Allen Steele
> Dark orbit / Carolyn Ives Gilman
> The Hydrogen Sonata (Culture, #10) / Iain M. Banks
> Old Mars / George R.R. Martin (Editor), Gardner R. Dozois (Editor)
> Old Venus / George R.R. Martin (editor), Gardner R. Dozois (editor)
>
> Possible:
>
> Angel of Europa / Allen Steele.
> Aurora / Kim Stanley Robinson.
> Castaway planet / Eric Flint, Ryk E Spoor.
> Central Station / Lavie Tidhar.
> The forever watch / David Ramirez.
> Further : beyond the threshold / Chris Roberson.
> Star road / Matthew Costello and Rick Hautala.
> The long way to a small, angry planet / Becky Chambers.
> Fortune's pawn / Rachel Bach.
>
>
> Brian

_Empire of Dust_ by Jacey Bedford
    https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Dust-Psi-Tech-Jacey-Bedford/dp/0756410169/

_DarkShip Thieves_ y Sarah Hoyt
    https://www.amazon.com/DarkShip-Thieves-Sarah-Hoyt/dp/1439133174/

_Take The Star Road (The Maxwell Saga) (Volume 1)_ by Peter Grant
    https://www.amazon.com/Take-Star-Road-Maxwell-Saga/dp/0615824935/

_Flood_ by Stephen Baxter
    https://www.amazon.com/Flood-Stephen-Baxter/dp/0451463285/

_Dies The Fire_ by S. M. Stirling
    https://www.amazon.com/Dies-Fire-S-M-Stirling/dp/0451460413/

And a military SF about alien invasions
_Terms of Enlistment (Frontlines)_ by Marko Kloos
 
https://www.amazon.com/Terms-Enlistment-Frontlines-Marko-Kloos/dp/1477809783/

Lynn

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