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From: Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Highlights and Lowlights - September-October 2024
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 10:48:11 -0500
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Highlights and Lowlights - September-October 2024

Books are rated 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 here.

My annual dip in fall reading done dipped real good - just five here
over the course of two months.

Highlights - all five were fine

Lowlights - none

October
( +++ ) The Spiral Labyrinth - Hughes [Hengis Hapthorne]
( +++ ) Fair Trade - Lee & Miller [Liaden #24]
( +++ ) Cast in Wisdom - Sagara [Elantra #15]
( ++ 1/2) The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge - Harrison [Stainless Steel 
Rat #2]

September
( +++ ) The Stainless Steel Rat - Harrison [Stainless Steel Rat #1]

Now Reading:
Long work - The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World - Harrison
Collection - The Best Time Travel Stories Of All Time ed. by Malzberg

===========================================
September-October 2024
( +++ ) The Spiral Labyrinth - Hughes [Hengis Hapthorne]
This one picks up immediately after “Majestrum”, and we see Hapthorne 
pulled forward through time into the era where magic and will hold sway, 
and Hapthorne’s logic and reasoning are mythic things of the past that 
seem to have no effect. His previously internal “intuitional self” has 
become a real person who has significant skills in this era, though he 
is new to them. Hapthorne’s AI assistant has also become sentient, 
manifesting as a member of a highly prized and rare species. Hapthorne 
is desperate to get back to his home and time, AND deal with the entity 
that pulled him forward, as they have bad intentions for the entire 
universe.

( +++ ) Fair Trade - Lee & Miller [Liaden #24]
This is a Jethri Gobelyn book, picking up immediately after “Trade 
Secret”. As such it occurs a hella long time ago in the Liaden Universe 
(i.e. long before Val Con, Miri, etc), and picks up as Jethri begins his 
time on a new ship with new responsibilities. The overall plot driver is 
a gigantic meeting about a civilization-wide proposal (written by Jethri 
and his late father) concerning trade between planets, and it’s pretty 
easy to make the connections with this proposal and the way the 
“current” Liaden Universe is set. It finishes up in a mildly incomplete 
spot, where I fully expect “Trade Lanes” to address. All good stuff, as 
you’d expect Liaden stuff to be.

( +++ ) Cast in Wisdom - Sagara [Elantra #15]
Nice that this one actually doesn’t require Kaylin to save the world. 
It’s focused almost entirely on Kaylin and many companions investigating 
the border zones between the fiefs, trying to figure out what the heck 
is going on in these strange gray areas. We learn a lot, of course, and 
some major things happen to a few characters. These are always fun 
reads, and I’ll surely keep moving forward.

( ++ 1/2) The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge - Harrison [Stainless Steel 
Rat #2]
( +++ ) The Stainless Steel Rat - Harrison [Stainless Steel Rat #1]
I was surprised to discover I hadn’t read any novels by Harrison, and I 
decided to remedy that by reading a 3-in-1 collection of The Stainless 
Steel Rat. It’s neat what Harrison points out, alludes to, mentions, 
etc. He writes in a smooth voice and with humor, both obvious and wry. 
As most (all?) of you know, The Stainless Steel Rat is “Slippery” Jim 
DiGriz, a master thief in a far future universe where thieving is almost 
impossible to do. He makes mistakes, and gets thwarted occasionally, but 
eventually comes out on top. By the end of the first one, he has been 
co-opted into joining what amounts to a space police force as a special 
investigator. These first two (and the third I’m in the middle of) see 
him on dangerous missions where he uses his thieving and planning skills 
to try to thwart others. These were really well written, and I’ll be 
reading more Harrison as I move forward.

Now Reading:
Long work - The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World - Harrison
Collection - The Best Time Travel Stories Of All Time ed. by Malzberg

Tony