Michael Harney wrote:
> I know that this list was originally started as a list dedicated to > discussion of specific authors and their books, so I thought I would bring > up a topic that is closer to being actually on topic in the little time that > I have to compose email today (at least part of the reason that I haven't > replied to other threads). > > I have been reading more than usual recently. Mostly because the air > conditioner I have in my room sucks, so leaving my computer on all day makes > the room intollerably hot on days when the air conditioner is not working > the way it should. It started with reading _Dragonseye_ by Anne McCaffrey > (one of the Pern novels). That was followed by reading _Do Androids Dream > of Electric Sheep_ by Phillip K. Dick. After that I read _/_ by Greg Bear. > I am currently reading _Expendable_ by James Alan Gardner. > > I wanted to ask those who have read some/many of the Pern novels a question. > I have only read _Dragonseye_ and _The Dolphins of Pern_. The question I > have is: Are the events in some of the other pern books more epic? Let me > elaborate for clarity. I liked the books, but I found them to be a little > lacking in the end because there never seems to be any grand, exciting > events in the stories. No major climax to the story. Are the other Pern > novels similar, or are there better ones? I haven't read much of Anne McCaffrey; nothing of Pern, but I did read "Dinosaur Planet" which I'd rate as average. I have a friend who highly recommends her "Ship Who ..." series and maybe someday I'll read some, but I have of them none in the queue. > On the topic of _/_ by Greg Bear, I may start another thread later about > that book, but I wanted to ask, for those who have read more of Greg Bear's > books if _/_ represented a One of Greg Bear's better books, was on par with > most of his books, or were his other books superior? I ask because I quite > liked that novel. It was a bit like pushing a heavy item on wheels. It was > a little hard to start reading (mostly because the events at the begining > are so disjointed), but once momentum was built up (and events started to > tie together), it was difficult to stop reading it. If some people would > care to recommend some other Greg Bear books, that would be appreciated. I like Greg Bear a lot, but his books can run hot and cold for me. "Queen of Angels" and "/" were okay, tepid. "Moving Mars" (Nebula 1994) is very good and in a list of 10 or so Mars books I'd recomend if you're interested. Vitals was okay, very confusing to me; not sure I understood the ending. "Eon" and sequels fell into the typical sequel spiral, first very good then the two others, while okay, weren't as good. I could say the same for "The Forge of God" and "Anvil of the Stars"; the first very good and the sequel just not as satisfying. "Blood Music" (Hugo novella 1984), "Darwin's Radio" (Nebula 2000) and "Darwin's Children" are all first rate. "Dinosaur Summer" is pretty good fun. George A _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
