ahem
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:32 (four years ago) link
? did I miss something
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:32 (four years ago) link
Oh no I'm just outing myself. AMC was right there in the pocket for baby In Orbit circa 1988-1994 or so.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:34 (four years ago) link
Tbh I think the Master Harper trilogy is really the masterwork there. It all goes a bit "BUT THEY'RE FROM EARTH DON'T U SEE" after a while, but Menolly's story of persecution, escape, and finding refuge and a purpose in life is some high-quality stuff.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:36 (four years ago) link
AMC was a huge formative influence on my wife (which I've probably mentioned before), we have an extensive collection of her works, only some of which I've read myself
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:39 (four years ago) link
<3 <3 <3
I wrote to her once. It was pre-internet of course but the bio in the back of the book gave her address as "Dragon Hold, County Wicklow, Ireland" so I addressed it there and, wouldn't you know, it arrived? I think she wrote me back but I actually can't remember, which seems crazy? SOMEWHERE I think I have a reply from AMC.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:41 (four years ago) link
haha my wife had the exact same experience
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:44 (four years ago) link
She must have had a whole secretary just for answering 14-year-old girls.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:51 (four years ago) link
I'm sorry, I tried a few AMC short stories for the first time recently, and thought they were p terrible - the short story version of Ship Who Sang was def more tolerable then the first two dragon stories, which seemed interminable even at novella length. Obv she's not mentioned in the same breath as Le Guin or Butler or Russ because she just isn't in the same class as them - or Vance or Silverberg or Tiptree. Funnily enough, just re-read 'When It Changed' by Russ - now THAT's a science fiction short story!
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 30 July 2019 20:26 (four years ago) link
I’ve only read the dragondrums etc trilogy and I remember liking it. Long time ago though.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 22:31 (four years ago) link
That's the one I meant to reference! Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Wednesday, 31 July 2019 00:50 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q587qIUFET0
― U or Astro-U? (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 31 July 2019 01:05 (four years ago) link
Enjoyed a couple of her books as a teenager, but yeah, she's a dreadful writer.
― And according to some websites, there were “sexcapades.” (James Morrison), Wednesday, 31 July 2019 03:44 (four years ago) link
her prose is on par with Delaney's early works imo
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 31 July 2019 16:25 (four years ago) link
Jo went down in the hole to turn over the boysh and rennedox the kibblebops.
could've come from either pen
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 31 July 2019 16:33 (four years ago) link
Tanith Lee - "Bite-Me-Not or, Fleur de Fur". Really good, it's been reprinted a bunch. A lot of her collections have overlap, I still don't know if this is normal for an author of her times, maybe to do with being published between America and UK, catering to what readers are likely to own? She still has another two collections to come out.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 2 August 2019 17:39 (four years ago) link
Tbh I think the Master Harper trilogy is really the masterwork there.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Tuesday, July 30, 2019 8:36 PM
Do you mean the Harper Hall trilogy? Masterharper Of Pern is a single book, not in that trilogy.
Can this be approached by a newbie? I was thinking of trying the initial omnibus someday but I'm not in a hurry, I've got hundreds of priority authors ahead of her.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 2 August 2019 17:59 (four years ago) link
Nice appreciation of Samuel Delaney on The NY Times book section today.
― o. nate, Friday, 9 August 2019 17:10 (four years ago) link
Cool - just finished Dhalgren as it happens. Will go look.
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Friday, 9 August 2019 22:48 (four years ago) link
i seem to have used up my lifetime's allocation of free nyt articles.
― The Pingularity (ledge), Saturday, 10 August 2019 07:43 (four years ago) link
Don't think I had seen the contents list beforehttps://www.blackgate.com/2019/07/28/new-treasures-the-big-book-of-classic-fantasy-edited-by-ann-and-jeff-vandermeer/
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 11 August 2019 16:30 (four years ago) link
Do you mean the Harper Hall trilogy?
Yes.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Sunday, 11 August 2019 16:50 (four years ago) link
https://www.tor.com/2019/07/31/celebrating-poul-anderson-with-five-favourite-works/
Found this quite interesting, comments too (had no idea Greg Bear was his step-son). Brain Wave sounds awesome.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 11 August 2019 17:52 (four years ago) link
Thought Bear was his son-in-law.
― Another Fule Clickin’ In Your POLL (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 August 2019 18:03 (four years ago) link
Brain Wave has a good reputation, but my copy is still sitting in the To Be Read One Day on the Dying Earth pile/pvmic
― Another Fule Clickin’ In Your POLL (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 11 August 2019 18:13 (four years ago) link
Same
― And according to some websites, there were “sexcapades.” (James Morrison), Monday, 12 August 2019 00:31 (four years ago) link
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler: not sure how this was shortlisted for the Nebula and Tiptree awards and reprinted as a Gollancz SF masterwork, it has only in the dying pages the thinnest of speculative hints as to the nature of the title character. Otherwise she's entirely human, albeit an unspeaking cipher, a macguffin for the picaresque action. I hate picaresques and this one is especially joyless, with boldly underlined themes of white man's inhumanity to women and non-white men.
― The Pingularity (ledge), Monday, 12 August 2019 09:16 (four years ago) link
Increasingly realizing how much over-excitement I get from researching and buying books (so much faster than I read them of course). Back issue comic shop hunting used to be a big thing for me, the stores have mostly died out and there's very little comics I'm enthusiastic about now; so second hand book hunting is like a huge whalloping return of those feelings, and a part of my brain keeps saying "goinandgetmorebooksatoxfam" constantly. And when stop using the internet on Monday, it takes me a while to calm down after researching books.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 16 August 2019 17:34 (four years ago) link
starting in on David Lindsay's "Voyage to Arcturus". Book sounds nuts, in a proto-CS Lewis space trilogy way
― Οὖτις, Friday, 16 August 2019 17:39 (four years ago) link
xpost yeah I totally get that. now that comic book stores don’t carry back issues, and music stores don’t have racks of 1000s of used CDs anymore, charity shops and secondhand bookstores are one of the few remaining non-online places where I still get pleasure from not knowing what I’ll find
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 16 August 2019 23:43 (four years ago) link
Also oxfam books are basically the best chain bookseller in the UK right now
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 16 August 2019 23:47 (four years ago) link
Yes, amazing how often I'll find something I really really wanted, like that whole Gwyneth Jones trilogy! It's all the more exciting than comic shops because there's so much genuinely good stuff and most of my favorite comics are kind of bad in some way or other.
David Lindsay is another high priority I've never got around to. It's still a mystery to me why his last 3 novels have not been reprinted in decades, they're bastarding hard to find.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 17 August 2019 10:45 (four years ago) link
Yeah, I found a ridiculously pulpy copy of Shadow of the Torturer last week, it’s way nicer to read than the horrible modern paperback.
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 17 August 2019 17:49 (four years ago) link
Isn’t there a link upthread to different covers for that?
― TS: “8:05” vs. “905” (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 17 August 2019 17:50 (four years ago) link
reminds me i have a copy in the flat of "flight to lucifer: a gnostic fantasy" (harold bloom's hommage-sequel to "voyage to arcturus") to read one day
(i think i got hold of it when i was doing the radioshow with tracer)
― mark s, Saturday, 17 August 2019 17:59 (four years ago) link
Is this the horrible modern one?http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K7XOoQc7L.jpg
Not my favorite but it's not horrible by sf book cover standards.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 17 August 2019 20:16 (four years ago) link
Yeah. I know those masterworks are great for republishing but I find them a bit sterile and classy. I feel wrong if I’m not reading the mass market paperback size.
― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 18 August 2019 16:44 (four years ago) link
https://i1.wp.com/www.djabbic.co.uk/BookCovers/Images/BrucePennington/TheShadowOfTheTorturer_1982.jpg
I’ve got this one linked upthread. The extra pulp factor comes from Gene Wolfe’s name - instead it’s blood red and embossed so you can see your reflection in it
― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 18 August 2019 16:56 (four years ago) link
I've got the Severian Of The Guild omnibus (why didn't they just call it Book Of The New Sun?), the small painting on it isn't interesting and it seems misleading but I haven't read it yet.
Not sure why there has never been a complete Solar Cycle collection, you could maybe do it in 5 brick books. Seems like a handsomely produced series like this could be a hit but maybe publishers don't have much faith in people reading the whole series.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 18 August 2019 19:48 (four years ago) link
Been going down rabbit holes on the SF Encyclopedia. Turns out Jonathan Clements does most of the east Asian entries, but he has a crazy cv, including Japanese, Chinese, Scandinavian history, translation, voice acting, lots of 2000AD and Doctor Who stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Clementshttps://schoolgirlmilkycrisis.com/2011/10/10/get-lost/Don't worry the last link is totally work safe.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 19 August 2019 00:30 (four years ago) link
Did any of those wormholes lead you to the discovery of a pocket universe or did you find yourself with the confines of akeep?
― TS: “8:05” vs. “905” (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 19 August 2019 01:03 (four years ago) link
I hadn't but now I know from the latter entry, Ben Elton has an entry!
Looking up the Japanese cover art for New Sun, I found proper alt-right shithead blogs fantasizing about a euro-Japanese future.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 19 August 2019 02:17 (four years ago) link
Noticed this in my collection the other day
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1372743915l/2373939.jpghttps://66.media.tumblr.com/7db090aea9e29cbb683dabd2f44918e7/tumblr_mznp4qi5HQ1ssmm02o1_500.jpg
― Ward Fowler, Monday, 19 August 2019 08:09 (four years ago) link
lol
― The Pingularity (ledge), Monday, 19 August 2019 08:17 (four years ago) link
on the whole tbh i prefer the "cover looks spacey or futuristic or handily evocative but has little or nothing to do with the contents" sf book cover aesthetic to the "i skimread this garbage and here is my somewhat inept lightning indication of some themes" school
(exception to this: maybe bruce pennington)
― mark s, Monday, 19 August 2019 08:40 (four years ago) link
It was not uncommon for fantasy artists to shop their work around for anything they could get. I've seen some things that were book, comic and album covers.
This springs to mindhttp://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?34280http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?28847https://www.discogs.com/Sepultura-Beneath-The-Remains/master/57949
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 19 August 2019 11:11 (four years ago) link
Another Whelanhttp://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?33416https://www.discogs.com/Cirith-Ungol-Frost-And-Fire/master/253625
I think some of Cirith Ungol's other album covers by Whelan were also originally book covers. I don't know if the band were doing Elric songs or what. See also a ton of comic magazines in the vein of Warren and Metal Hurlant across the world, a ton of fantasy artists sold their stuff in lots of countries for all the different magazines (wouldn't be surprised if a lot of stuff was stolen). There is a painting of the Mexican movie Dracula of the late 50s that was swiped by numerous artists and I've seen that face on film posters, book covers and comics.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 19 August 2019 18:23 (four years ago) link
see i think this is good and i approve of it
(not the stolen bit, ppl shd be paid, but the multiple use)
also cirith ungol doing elric songs, everything is canon in everyone else's universe, thomas covenant also a tank engine etc
― mark s, Monday, 19 August 2019 18:50 (four years ago) link
I think the usage should be somewhat appropriate. There's too many books with spaceships on the cover but nothing like that in contents.
The best thing about it is giving artists some freedom to pursue their own ideas, because they sometimes are treated as specialist handymen for whatever the editors want. The Elric thing is kind of different though because I'm sure that image was done specifically for Elric.
Also see Giger.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 19 August 2019 19:27 (four years ago) link
any book is made better by a chris foss rocketship (that looks like like a stripy space potato)
― mark s, Monday, 19 August 2019 19:42 (four years ago) link