(no subject)
Happy day. After two days sick as a dog, I finally went back to work only to find a pair of boxes from Powell's waiting for me by the mail. These first 3 I bought on a whim after finding out that one of my favorite SF writers, John M. Ford, had died a few years back. I had wondered why I hadn't seen anything new from him.
The Final Reflection, by John M. Ford. Ford was, bless him, a serious Trekker as well as a writer and wrote 2 Star Trek fan novel, one serious and the other funny. This is the serious one. The story involves original Trek Klingons (fans will know what I'm going on about) in the early days of the Federation, and specifically one Klingon captain's rather unKlingon attempts to avoid interstellar war. However, his motivation is well explained and I loved the way Ford fleshed out Klingon culture and history without deviating from show canon -- not really too difficult since the show didn't do too much with their bad guys other than make them bad.
How Much for Just the Planet?, by John M. Ford. And this is the funny one, and this time around he's using TNG Klingons altho still dealing with original Trek characters. It's OK, the story is overall hilarious with only a few road bumps. Kirk and crew are in a struggle with a Klingon captain and his crew over the right a grab a choicely located planet, altready inhabited by colonists -- who have an odd but very effective way of getting rid of both power brokers.
The Dragon Waiting, by John M. Ford. In addition to science fiction, Ford did a great deal of fantasy writing, and was particularly interested in alternate history scenerios. In this novel, the Roman empire never fell, neither Xtianity nor Islam became major religions, magic works and the supernatural is natural. The time is the medieval age and forces are gathering to both oppose and support the kingship of Richard III (who, in this universe, appears to be a good guy) -- which is another thing that draws me to this story. I've always found RIII fascinating. Looking forward to diving into it as soon as I finish the Boyle short stories.
Then there are two new Alberto Manguel books that I've had on back order for months that finally came in:
A Reader on Reading, by Alberto Manguel. This is the one I've been yearning for the most -- a devoted reader's essays on reading, accompanied by old pen and ink drawings from Alice in Wonderland.
A History of Reading, by Alberto Manguel. Another collection of essays on reading, this one more scholarly than personal (as A Reader on Reading is) and is full of old woodcuts and pictures, including one that I find utterly beguiling -- people browsing thru a bombed out bookstore in WWII London.
The Final Reflection, by John M. Ford. Ford was, bless him, a serious Trekker as well as a writer and wrote 2 Star Trek fan novel, one serious and the other funny. This is the serious one. The story involves original Trek Klingons (fans will know what I'm going on about) in the early days of the Federation, and specifically one Klingon captain's rather unKlingon attempts to avoid interstellar war. However, his motivation is well explained and I loved the way Ford fleshed out Klingon culture and history without deviating from show canon -- not really too difficult since the show didn't do too much with their bad guys other than make them bad.
How Much for Just the Planet?, by John M. Ford. And this is the funny one, and this time around he's using TNG Klingons altho still dealing with original Trek characters. It's OK, the story is overall hilarious with only a few road bumps. Kirk and crew are in a struggle with a Klingon captain and his crew over the right a grab a choicely located planet, altready inhabited by colonists -- who have an odd but very effective way of getting rid of both power brokers.
The Dragon Waiting, by John M. Ford. In addition to science fiction, Ford did a great deal of fantasy writing, and was particularly interested in alternate history scenerios. In this novel, the Roman empire never fell, neither Xtianity nor Islam became major religions, magic works and the supernatural is natural. The time is the medieval age and forces are gathering to both oppose and support the kingship of Richard III (who, in this universe, appears to be a good guy) -- which is another thing that draws me to this story. I've always found RIII fascinating. Looking forward to diving into it as soon as I finish the Boyle short stories.
Then there are two new Alberto Manguel books that I've had on back order for months that finally came in:
A Reader on Reading, by Alberto Manguel. This is the one I've been yearning for the most -- a devoted reader's essays on reading, accompanied by old pen and ink drawings from Alice in Wonderland.
A History of Reading, by Alberto Manguel. Another collection of essays on reading, this one more scholarly than personal (as A Reader on Reading is) and is full of old woodcuts and pictures, including one that I find utterly beguiling -- people browsing thru a bombed out bookstore in WWII London.