> In article <g4mu3a$bs...@reader1.panix.com>, > Andrew Plotkin <erkyr...@eblong.com> wrote:
> >It's the one about a planet where kids change gender once a year, > >throughout adolescence, and make a permanent choice for adulthood. > >(These are humans -- there turns out to be tech involved.) I thought > >it was pretty good.
> The planet is Earth and the custom is limited to one > community in Ontario.
Ontario, different planet -- I'm not seeing the distinction you're trying to make.
(Oops.)
--Z
-- "And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..." * It's a nice distinction to tell American soldiers (and Iraqis) to die in Iraq for the sake of democracy (ignoring the question of whether it's *working*) and then whine that "The Constitution is not a suicide pact."
> >> ...specifically, is COMMITMENT HOUR really part of this series?
> >It's not part of a series, although it might be set in the same > >universe. (I can't answer that because _Commitment Hour_ is the only > >Gardner I've read.)
> >It's the one about a planet where kids change gender once a year, > >throughout adolescence, and make a permanent choice for adulthood. > >(These are humans -- there turns out to be tech involved.) I thought > >it was pretty good.
> It's set in the same universe but it's not a Festina Ramos book.
>> >> ...specifically, is COMMITMENT HOUR really part of this series?
>> >It's not part of a series, although it might be set in the same >> >universe. (I can't answer that because _Commitment Hour_ is the only >> >Gardner I've read.)
>> >It's the one about a planet where kids change gender once a year, >> >throughout adolescence, and make a permanent choice for adulthood. >> >(These are humans -- there turns out to be tech involved.) I thought >> >it was pretty good.
>> It's set in the same universe but it's not a Festina Ramos book.
>Thanks, adjusted.
If memory serves one of the other books --TRAPPED -- is also not a Festina Ramos novel but like it is set on Earth under the rule of the Spark Lords. (I.e. same as COMMITMENT HOUR.)
> >> >> ...specifically, is COMMITMENT HOUR really part of this series?
> >> >It's not part of a series, although it might be set in the same > >> >universe. (I can't answer that because _Commitment Hour_ is the only > >> >Gardner I've read.)
> >> >It's the one about a planet where kids change gender once a year, > >> >throughout adolescence, and make a permanent choice for adulthood. > >> >(These are humans -- there turns out to be tech involved.) I thought > >> >it was pretty good.
> >> It's set in the same universe but it's not a Festina Ramos book.
> >Thanks, adjusted.
> If memory serves one of the other books --TRAPPED -- is also not a > Festina Ramos novel but like it is set on Earth under the rule of the > Spark Lords. (I.e. same as COMMITMENT HOUR.)
A little Googling suggests that your memory serves you well :-) Fixed, thanks!
On Jul 4, 3:28 pm, jdnic...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote: [snip]
> 2 Expendable James Alan Gardner
> It's always hard on morale when explorers die. This society > has tried to limit that problem by using people with off-putting > disfigurements as explorers because nobody misses the ugly. Oddly, > this is not a particularly nice society.
> Jim had seven books in the League of Peoples series, one > Lara Croft tie-in and one collection. I am unaware of anything at > book length since 2005's GRAVITY WELLS. [snip]
|| 13 Lives of the Monster Dogs Kirsten Bakis || || I missed this. || || This appears to be their only book. | | I read it. It was published in the mainstream. Got a lot of praise, | and I thought it OK but not great.
All of which I second.
I remember being annoyed that a lot of the praise was from mainstream reviewers who had much lower standards for the sort of creativity displayed here than SF readers.
The one other thing I remember is that part of the novel is an opera libretto, and it's actually a very idiomatic libretto. She was obviously familiar with the genre.
FYI, it was originally my intent to alternate between Festina's adventures in space and various Spark Lord stories on Earth. Eventually I'd bring the two threads together, connecting the Explorers and the Sparks with all the secrets of what the League has been up to. Maybe someday...
James Alan Gardner -------------------------------------------- Web page: http://www.thinkage.ca/~jim Novels: EXPENDABLE, COMMITMENT HOUR, VIGILANT, HUNTED, ASCENDING, TRAPPED, RADIANT, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER -- THE MAN OF BRONZE, GRAVITY WELLS --------------------------------------------
On Jul 5, 9:43 am, jdnic...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
> >> ...specifically, is COMMITMENT HOUR really part of this series?
> >It's not part of a series, although it might be set in the same > >universe. (I can't answer that because _Commitment Hour_ is the only > >Gardner I've read.)
> It's in the same universe. When humans made contact with > the "benevolent" aliens, they offered to transport anyone that asked > to a shiny new world. Enough people left in the next 20 years that > the economy of Earth collapsed. Introduction of off-world technology > added to the chaos (I think about 30% of the apparently unicellular > life on Earth is actually technological).
> A small elite, the Spark Lords, then used alien technology > to take over the Earth and stop off-world trade (I think there's a > comment in EXPENDABLE about smuggling coffee off of Earth).
> >It's the one about a planet where kids change gender once a year, > >throughout adolescence, and make a permanent choice for adulthood. > >(These are humans -- there turns out to be tech involved.) I thought > >it was pretty good.
> The planet is Earth and the custom is limited to one > community in Ontario.
On 2008-07-04, James Nicoll <jdnic...@panix.com> wrote:
> This will be the final entry as I think anything less than a decade > is insufficient time to consider a career.
> 7 The Merro Tree Katie Waitman
> I missed this.
> I think she has had just two novels to date, both in the > 1990s.
I only saw it because the publisher (Del Rey?) was handing them out for free at WorldCon. I liked it, but thought it was basically a YA novel. I also own her other novel, which ISTR is about terrorism and mountain-climbing in a gender-segregated world, but I could be all wrong.
> 14 Iron Dawn Matthew Woodring Stover
> I missed this.
> I believe that Stover has at least a dozen books out, many > of which are STAR WARS tie-in novels.
It's notable that the Hebrews are Bad Guys (either in this, or in Jericho Moon, or both). His big book so far is _Heroes Die_, which I would dearly love (or hate) to see become a movie. It's an action-adventure fantasy with an SF framing story that becomes more and more relevant as it goes on. Not to be taken seriously, but lots of fun. The sequel is _The Blade of Tyshalle_ and I think he's writing a third.
> This will be the final entry as I think anything less than a decade > is insufficient time to consider a career.
> Best First Novel
> 2 Expendable James Alan Gardner
> It's always hard on morale when explorers die. This society > has tried to limit that problem by using people with off-putting > disfigurements as explorers because nobody misses the ugly. Oddly, > this is not a particularly nice society.
> Jim had seven books in the League of Peoples series, one > Lara Croft tie-in and one collection. I am unaware of anything at > book length since 2005's GRAVITY WELLS.
> 9 A Thousand Words for Stranger Julie E. Czerneda
> I don't think I read this.
> Czerneda appears to average about one novel per year.
These are the only two I have read from this year. I want to thank you, James, for this series of posts--they have been very interesting and a lot of fun as well!
