Happy New Year everyone!

Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022

I think there are no spoilers, not even minor ones. If something
does seem spoiler-ish, it happens early in the book in question
and is front-and-center.

I’ve typically done this type of post every two months, but this
is the first one I’ve done since the July&August post. Similar
to last year, I fell into a reading slump and only read 8 books
total in Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec.

Books are listed in reverse chronological order from how I read them,
using a very primitive rating system:
“+” are good, and more “+” are better
“-“ are not good, and more “-“ are worse

I’m happy to answer questions about anything on the list.

Highlight - Either Cast in Shadow or The Compleat McAndrew

Lowlight - hm…none. Whipping Star fits here by rating, but it’s
rather harsh to call it a Lowlight.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s more in-depth below:

December
( + ) Constance Verity Destroys the Universe - A Lee Martinez [C.V. #3]
( + ) Strange Practice - Vivian Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #1]
( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert

November
( ++ ) The Compleat McAndrew - Sheffield
( ++ - ) The Adept - Katherine Kurtz & Deborah Turner Harris [The Adept #1]

October
( ++ ) Cast in Shadow - Sagara [Elantra #1]

September
( + ) Saltation - Lee&Miller [Liaden - 12th written per
https://sharonleewriter.com/correct-reading-order/ ,
and the 14th I’ve read]
( + ) Alternate Routes - Powers [Vickery & Castine #1]

Now Reading:
Long work - Still deciding…probably Adept #2, or maybe Needle by Hal Clement.
Collection - Lots of choices, but I truly don’t know.
======================================================December
( + ) Constance Verity Destroys the Universe - A Lee Martinez [C.V. #3]
If you liked the first two entries of this series, you’ll like this one, too.
In this one we learn more about the Caretaker that drives Connie to
these world-saving situations. This is more good dependable stuff
by Martinez. I like his tone and presentation in all of his works - kinda
light, kinda cheeky, kinda matter-of-fact about the absurd. Fun stuff.

( + ) Strange Practice - Vivian Shaw [Dr Greta Helsing #1]
This is a first novel, and as such, it’s very smooth and not as clunky
as some can be. Dr Greta van Helsing is one of the very few doctors
practicing for the supernatural population in London, and she is following
in her father’s footsteps in doing so. This definitely sets up a big broad
set of characters and species. I believe two more follow in this series,
and I’ll be trying the next one.

( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert
Is this Herbert’s attempt at something New Wave-ish, or weaving New Wave
elements into one of his works? I mean, it was fine, but also strange. A lot
of the story turns on the difficult communication issues between some
humans and a powerful entity. For reasons never adequately explained,
the antagonist is simply a broken person who wants to destroy the universe,
except for her own personal planet and the hand-chosen people she lets
live there. The protagonist — Jorj X McKie — works for the Bureau of
Sabotage (BuSab), which is a ridiculously derived and portrayed entity.
Herbert’s skill as a writer is here to make this readable, but so much of it
falls apart if you think about it at all. <shrug> Maybe I’m missing something.

November
( ++ ) The Compleat McAndrew - Sheffield
This was really enjoyable, and I’m wishing there were more of these..
It's 9 stories followed by a wonderful appendix (almost 50 pages).
There's a 2-3 story arc that I could have done without as far as plotting
goes, but they fit, and the rest of them are very very good. They're the
types of space/science-oriented puzzle stories that Asimov and Clarke
occasionally wrote. McAndrew is an Einstein-level genius who simply
wants to be left alone to do his research at a government funded institute
in space. The stories are told from the point of view of pilot/companion
Jeanne Roker. At the start of story #1, the solar system is pretty well
explored and about as colonized as it’s going to get, though humanity
is on the cusp of being able to explore farther. The appendix was awesome.
Sheffield goes story-by-story and explains the scientific ideas, including
which ones are plausible and which are not.

( ++ - ) The Adept - Katherine Kurtz & Deborah Turner Harris [The Adept #1]
Sir Adam Sinclair is a nobleman, scholar, psychiatrist and police assistant
in Scotland. When he learns through some cases and incidents that ancient
evil magic is being revived, he is forced to assume his true identity of Adept,
a magician guarding the Light from the forces of Darkness.

This was good enough that I’ll try #2. It actually feels like #2 was already
scoped out as there is a ton of stuff in this one that is mentioned but not
delved into. The minus is for the consistent hyper-focus on tedious details
about the locations and heritage therein (mostly Scotland, some England).
Hopefully #2 is more story-oriented.

October
( ++ ) Cast in Shadow - Sagara [Elantra #1]
I’m finding it hard to encapsulate the setting here, so this is what I’ve
stolen/paraphrased from the same description that appears at Amazon,
Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble:
Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade,
and since then she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's
become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra.
As children start dying in Nightshade, a dark and familiar pattern emerges,
and Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a Dragon lord for a
companion and a device to contain her powers — powers that no other
human has.

This was really enjoyable - a great intro to a world, setting, and characters.
Good writing. Lots of room to grow/explore/develop, but the main plot was
well-resolved. The protagonist and others seem just a bit 1-dimensional
here, but that would surely change in future books. I’m looking forward to
the next one(s).

September
( ++ ) Saltation - Lee&Miller [Liaden - 12th written per
https://sharonleewriter.com/correct-reading-order/ ,
and the 14th I’ve read]

This is “Theo Waitley Part 2”, directly continuing on from Fledgling,
and it is better than Fledgling was. Thankfully, we see far less of the
whiny teenager Theo was(is?) and also far less of the over-the-top
caricature culture of the planet Delgado. In their place we see some
very interesting character and plot development, and I’ll surely
read the next Liaden Universe entries.

( + ) Alternate Routes - Powers [Vickery & Castine #1]
Is there such a thing as a “typically unique Tim Powers” book?
His settings are so different and distinctive, and yet there’s
a consistent…vibe? tone?… to what he does. Anyhow, I found
this one to be a little hard to swallow: the motion of vehicles on
the freeways makes it easier for ghosts to come from their realm
into Los Angeles. In the ghost realm, perceptions are different,
it is very hard to reason/think, and memories leak away thanks to
what looks like lizards. Yeah. But once you get past all that….

Anyhow, Sebastian Vickery is a former Secret-Service Agent who
is now a driver for a supernatural-evasion car service. Before
leaving the Secret Service, he saw something dangerous which
has the Secret Service hunting him down. Enter Agent Ingrid Castine
who reluctantly (very reluctantly) ends up working with Vickery
instead of turning him in.

This is good, but not great. The main plot resolves well, and I’ll
read #2 at some point.

Now reading:
Long work - Still deciding…probably Adept #2, or maybe Needle by Hal Clement.
Collection - Lots of choices, but I truly don’t know.

Tony

On 2/01/23 03:44, Tony Nance wrote:
> Happy New Year everyone!
>
> Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022
>
> ( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert
> Is this Herbert’s attempt at something New Wave-ish, or weaving New Wave
> elements into one of his works? I mean, it was fine, but also strange. A lot
> of the story turns on the difficult communication issues between some
> humans and a powerful entity. For reasons never adequately explained,
> the antagonist is simply a broken person who wants to destroy the universe,
> except for her own personal planet and the hand-chosen people she lets
> live there. The protagonist — Jorj X McKie — works for the Bureau of
> Sabotage (BuSab), which is a ridiculously derived and portrayed entity.
> Herbert’s skill as a writer is here to make this readable, but so much of it
> falls apart if you think about it at all. <shrug> Maybe I’m missing something.
>

I am a fan of Herbert and have enjoyed most of his writing but Whipping
Star was a disaster for me. I don't remember much of it and suspect I
did not complete it. IIRC, the "powerful entity" was incomprehensible.

On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 2:53:21 PM UTC-5, Titus G wrote:
> On 2/01/23 03:44, Tony Nance wrote:
> > Happy New Year everyone!
> >
> > Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022
> >
> > ( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert
> > Is this Herbert’s attempt at something New Wave-ish, or weaving New Wave
> > elements into one of his works? I mean, it was fine, but also strange. A lot
> > of the story turns on the difficult communication issues between some
> > humans and a powerful entity. For reasons never adequately explained,
> > the antagonist is simply a broken person who wants to destroy the universe,
> > except for her own personal planet and the hand-chosen people she lets
> > live there. The protagonist — Jorj X McKie — works for the Bureau of
> > Sabotage (BuSab), which is a ridiculously derived and portrayed entity.
> > Herbert’s skill as a writer is here to make this readable, but so much of it
> > falls apart if you think about it at all. <shrug> Maybe I’m missing something.
> >
>
> I am a fan of Herbert and have enjoyed most of his writing but Whipping
> Star was a disaster for me. I don't remember much of it and suspect I
> did not complete it. IIRC, the "powerful entity" was incomprehensible.
>

You do recall correctly, and that was my take as well. And -- to me -- the
incomprehensibility of the entity was one of the things that falls apart
upon inspection.

Tony

On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 2:53:21 PM UTC-5, Titus G wrote:
> On 2/01/23 03:44, Tony Nance wrote:
> > Happy New Year everyone!
> >
> > Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022
> >
> > ( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert
> > Is this Herbert’s attempt at something New Wave-ish, or weaving New Wave
> > elements into one of his works? I mean, it was fine, but also strange. A lot
> > of the story turns on the difficult communication issues between some
> > humans and a powerful entity. For reasons never adequately explained,
> > the antagonist is simply a broken person who wants to destroy the universe,
> > except for her own personal planet and the hand-chosen people she lets
> > live there. The protagonist — Jorj X McKie — works for the Bureau of
> > Sabotage (BuSab), which is a ridiculously derived and portrayed entity.
> > Herbert’s skill as a writer is here to make this readable, but so much of it
> > falls apart if you think about it at all. <shrug> Maybe I’m missing something.
> >
> I am a fan of Herbert and have enjoyed most of his writing but Whipping
> Star was a disaster for me. I don't remember much of it and suspect I
> did not complete it. IIRC, the "powerful entity" was incomprehensible.

Probably my least favourite of his novels until the later Dune sequels.

I did enjoy "The Santaroga Barrier" from about the same time. But I wonder
what I would think of it now.

William Hyde

On 2/01/23 09:50, William Hyde wrote:
> On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 2:53:21 PM UTC-5, Titus G wrote:
>> On 2/01/23 03:44, Tony Nance wrote:
>>> Happy New Year everyone!
>>>
>>> Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022
>>>
>>> ( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert
>>> Is this Herbert’s attempt at something New Wave-ish, or weaving New Wave
>>> elements into one of his works? I mean, it was fine, but also strange. A lot
>>> of the story turns on the difficult communication issues between some
>>> humans and a powerful entity. For reasons never adequately explained,
>>> the antagonist is simply a broken person who wants to destroy the universe,
>>> except for her own personal planet and the hand-chosen people she lets
>>> live there. The protagonist — Jorj X McKie — works for the Bureau of
>>> Sabotage (BuSab), which is a ridiculously derived and portrayed entity.
>>> Herbert’s skill as a writer is here to make this readable, but so much of it
>>> falls apart if you think about it at all. <shrug> Maybe I’m missing something.
>>>
>> I am a fan of Herbert and have enjoyed most of his writing but Whipping
>> Star was a disaster for me. I don't remember much of it and suspect I
>> did not complete it. IIRC, the "powerful entity" was incomprehensible.
>
> Probably my least favourite of his novels until the later Dune sequels.
>
> I did enjoy "The Santaroga Barrier" from about the same time. But I wonder
> what I would think of it now.
>
> William Hyde

"Hellstrom's Hive" was a five star read for me but the similarities in
"The Santaroga Barrier" had a negative influence. I also thought it too
long and being too full of angst. I read "The Santaroga Barrier" in 2018
and rated it three stars. The "Dosadi Experiment" was also a five star
read and also featuring McKie.

In article <16a60373-b408-4d78-80a0-8e9630653f3an@googlegroups.com>,
Tony Nance <tonynance17@gmail.com> wrote:
>Happy New Year everyone!
>
>Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022
>
>
>November
>( ++ ) The Compleat McAndrew - Sheffield

Thanks for that, I enjoyed the stories I read in Analog back in the
day, I will probably pick up the packaged version now..
>
>October
>( ++ ) Cast in Shadow - Sagara [Elantra #1]
>I’m finding it hard to encapsulate the setting here, so this is what I’ve

These remain good, with Kaylin becoming the most ridiculously important
Hawk common beat cop in history -- something that about everybody except
she realizes. I bought a bunch of these when I left my Kindle on top of
my car loading out from a hotel and had to buy a Nook on an emergency
basis. For some reason I didn't go back to them when I replaced my Kindle--
I need to do that.

>
>September
>( ++ ) Saltation - Lee&Miller [Liaden - 12th written per
>https://sharonleewriter.com/correct-reading-order/ ,
>and the 14th I’ve read]
>
>This is “Theo Waitley Part 2”, directly continuing on from Fledgling,
>and it is better than Fledgling was. Thankfully, we see far less of the
>whiny teenager Theo was(is?) and also far less of the over-the-top
>caricature culture of the planet Delgado. In their place we see some
>very interesting character and plot development, and I’ll surely
>read the next Liaden Universe entries.

I liked the idea of the conflict between Delgado being a "Safe World" &
"The Simples", but I'd rather see a short or two on that than keep seeing
the principals dealing with it. Theo does grow up some, but she still
pulls some lulus later..

>
>Now reading:
>Long work - Still deciding…probably Adept #2, or maybe Needle by Hal Clement.

Don't know about Adept, but _Needle_ was probably my favorite Clement.

--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

Tony Nance wrote:

>December
>( + ) Constance Verity Destroys the Universe - A Lee Martinez

The author sounded familiar to me, so I had to look him up. I read The
Automatic Detective several years back.

Brian

On 2023-01-02, Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> wrote:
> On 2/01/23 09:50, William Hyde wrote:
>> On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 2:53:21 PM UTC-5, Titus G wrote:
>>> On 2/01/23 03:44, Tony Nance wrote:
>>>> Happy New Year everyone!
>>>>
>>>> Highlights and Lowlights - Sept-Dec 2022
>>>>
>>>> ( + - ) Whipping Star - Herbert
>>>> Is this Herbert’s attempt at something New Wave-ish, or weaving New Wave
>>>> elements into one of his works? I mean, it was fine, but also strange. A lot
>>>> of the story turns on the difficult communication issues between some
>>>> humans and a powerful entity. For reasons never adequately explained,
>>>> the antagonist is simply a broken person who wants to destroy the universe,
>>>> except for her own personal planet and the hand-chosen people she lets
>>>> live there. The protagonist — Jorj X McKie — works for the Bureau of
>>>> Sabotage (BuSab), which is a ridiculously derived and portrayed entity.
>>>> Herbert’s skill as a writer is here to make this readable, but so much of it
>>>> falls apart if you think about it at all. <shrug> Maybe I’m missing something.
>>>>
>>> I am a fan of Herbert and have enjoyed most of his writing but Whipping
>>> Star was a disaster for me. I don't remember much of it and suspect I
>>> did not complete it. IIRC, the "powerful entity" was incomprehensible.
>>
>> Probably my least favourite of his novels until the later Dune sequels.
>>
>> I did enjoy "The Santaroga Barrier" from about the same time. But I wonder
>> what I would think of it now.
>>
>> William Hyde
>
> "Hellstrom's Hive" was a five star read for me but the similarities in
> "The Santaroga Barrier" had a negative influence. I also thought it too
> long and being too full of angst. I read "The Santaroga Barrier" in 2018
> and rated it three stars. The "Dosadi Experiment" was also a five star
> read and also featuring McKie.

Yes, _Whipping Star_ was a major waste, except for the fact that it
introduced some of the more far-out background of _The Dosadi Experiment_.
That's a strong Favorite of mine, but I wonder how I would have reacted
to it without _Whipping Star_?

For poor Herbert, I haven't re-read _The Green Brain_ for many decades.
My recollection of it is that it was ecologically ambitious, but that
the theme dictated the plot, to the plot's great detriment. That seemed
to be common with a lot of Herbert's earlier (pre-late-Dune_sequels) books:
he tried ambitious (and varied) themes, but couldn't come up with a
sufficient plot to support them.

Chris

On Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 2:07:53 AM UTC-5, Default User wrote:
> Tony Nance wrote:
>
> >December
> >( + ) Constance Verity Destroys the Universe - A Lee Martinez
> The author sounded familiar to me, so I had to look him up. I read The
> Automatic Detective several years back.

I read _Too Many Curses_ a while back. I thought it was pretty good
if a tad predictable.

On Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 10:21:12 AM UTC-5, Ahasuerus wrote:
> On Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 2:07:53 AM UTC-5, Default User wrote:
> > Tony Nance wrote:
> >
> > >December
> > >( + ) Constance Verity Destroys the Universe - A Lee Martinez
> > The author sounded familiar to me, so I had to look him up. I read The
> > Automatic Detective several years back.
>
> I read _Too Many Curses_ a while back. I thought it was pretty good
> if a tad predictable.
>

Agree with both thoughts there. I think my two favorites of his are
his first one (Gil's All Fright Diner) and The Automatic Detective.
But they're all pretty good, if occasionally a tad predictable. :-)
- Tony

On 1/3/23 02:07, Default User wrote:
> Tony Nance wrote:
>
>> December
>> ( + ) Constance Verity Destroys the Universe - A Lee Martinez
>
> The author sounded familiar to me, so I had to look him up. I read The
> Automatic Detective several years back.
>
>
> Brian
>
I own Automatic Detective but the only one of his books that I have read
is Gil's All Fright Diner, I think. I liked it fairly well.