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Post by fluffy »

I just started the Pern Series and read the first book, now I'm starting the second book. Man these are good books!
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Post by Rusty »

fluffy wrote:I just started the Pern Series and read the first book, now I'm starting the second book. Man these are good books!
Did you start with Dragonflight? That wasn't bad, but I think the books get better. The Harper Hall trilogy is excellent.
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Post by Rusty »

I read the first of my Christmas books - Beka Cooper #1 - Terrier by Tamora Pierce. This book is a little different than Pierce's other Tortall books. It takes place about 200 years earlier and is told in the form of a journal. The book isn't immediately very interesting with the first couple of journals setting the stage, but once I got into Beka Cooper's journal (which constitutes all but the first 10-15 pages or so), I was hooked. Beka is a 16 year old girl about to begin her first year of life as one of the Provost's Dogs, the police force of the capital city. Life in her district is tough and 2 out of every 10 trainees (called puppies) die during the training year. She grew up in the district, though, and knows what life is like for the poor residents. She soon gets wind of a couple of major crimes that are occurring where people are getting killed, many of them children, and is determined to do something about it. I loved the book once it got going and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I haven't been disappointed by one of Pierce's books yet.
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Post by Rusty »

I read Kris Longknife: Resolute, the 4th book in the series by Mike Shepherd. In this book, Kris is installed as the commander of Naval District 41, a pretty high position for a lieutenant. Unfortunately, when she arrives, the station is abandoned and she finds that she has no funding and her only ship is a broken down old cruiser. Plus, trouble has a way of finding her wherever she is. I've been enjoying this series for the last couple of years. Of course, Im a fan of military science fiction and this is a good example of the genre.
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Post by Rusty »

Orchard of the Crescent Moon (aka Emlyn's Moon) by Jenny Nimmo - This is a sequel to The Snow Spider, but is more the story of Gwyn's neighbor, Nia Lloyd. The Lloyds are moving off the mountain and into town and Nia feels out of place. She has no particular skills and feels caught in the middle, since she is the fourth of seven children. She gravitates to Emlyn Llewelyn, who is kind of an outcast himself. Emlyn is the cousin of Gwyn Griffiths, the magician from the first book. This book was very well done and is about a girl who finds that she does have her own special gifts. a nice mix of Welsh mythology is integral to the story.
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Post by Rusty »

Voyage of Slaves by Brian Jacques. This is the third book in the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series and was just as good as the first two books. The series is about a boy and his dog who were on the Flying Dutchman when it was cursed and they were the only survivors. It is their fate to wander the earth without settling down. They don't age and are able to communicate with each other mentally. They also were given the gift of tongues by an angel and are able to speak any language.

In their travels, they help people who are in need, but can't form attachments since they don't age and must keep wandering. In this volume, they are captured by slavers and must escape and rescue the friends that they made. Jacques, who is better known for his Redwall series, has a very interesting and entertaining series here.
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Post by Psychotic_Carp »

can they leave the ship?
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Post by Rusty »

In the first book, they were the only innocents on board as the evil captain and crew blasphemed against god while going around the tip of South America. Ben (a 14 year old boy who was on the ship by accident) and Ned (a black labrador) were saved by an angel and washed up on shore, living with a shepherd for a number of years. They no longer aged and could talk to each other mentally. Ned is still a dog, but is as smart as a human. After the shepherd died of old age, the angel appeared to them and told them they must move on whenever they hear the sound of the angel's bell. They are also followed by the visage of the evil Flying Dutchman from time to time (usually when something bad is about to occur) and are afraid of being captured by it. They also help people in their wanderings.
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Post by Rusty »

Odyssey by Jack McDevitt. The Academy is suffering from funding cuts and is having to scale back on their space missions. Their fleet is starting to age and break down. At the same time, Moonrider sightings are increasing. The Moonriders are strange globes, possibly of alien origin that occasionally buzz ships and conduct sensor sweeps. A mission is put together to monitor for Moonrider activity. The group consists of a famous reporter, a veteran pilot, a public relations director and a 15 year old girl.

I've enjoyed all of McDevitt's books. This one is as much social commentary as it is science fiction. There are many connections that can be made between the events in the book and the current state of affairs in the US and nternational space programs. The book is probably not for everyone and can be a slow, though provoking read, but is worthwhile and I found it very interesting. It helps to have read the previous Academy books, but is probably not necessary.
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Post by Rusty »

I finished rereading Split Infinity by Piers Anthony. This is the story of Stile, a serf on the planet Proton, and an expert in 'The Game'. Serfs are allowed to reside on Proton for 20 years after which they must enter the Tourney to try and become a Citizen. Stile finds that there is a parallel world called Phaze where magic works and fantasy creatures such as unicorns and werewolves exist.

This is one of my favorite Anthony books. In fact, the first three (out of seven) books in this series are very good. Anthony has a tendency to write long series where the early books are of high quality and they go down a bit from there - not bad necessarily, but not nearly as good. This is true of his Incarnations series as well as Xanth (at least in my opinion). I only like the first four Xanth books and the rest aren't to my tastes. It has been a while since I last read Split Infinity, but I love the way the Game works, incorporating strategy as well as just about any game or sporting event in existence. The fantasy world is well realized as well.
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Post by Psychotic_Carp »

Is the tournament a live or die thing?
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Post by Rusty »

Nope. The players are ranked by age group and the top 5 ranked players in each group have to enter the Tourney each year. If they lose, their tenure ends and they have to leave the planet. The winner in the Tourney becomes a Citizen with all sorts of wealth and privileges. Think of it as sort of like March Madness in college basketball, except with many different sports.

The Game is played with two players. One player picks whether the game will be physical, mental, chance or the arts. The other player gets to choose between naked (no external tools or devices), tool, machine, or animal. The players try to steer the choices toward their strengths. After that, there are more subgrids to narrow it down more until finally a game is chosen, whether it be ping pong, a marathon, judo, chess, gymnastics, bowling, interpretaive dance or whatever. There is strategy to using the grid because neither player has full control over the choices. There are a wide range of choices.

The Game is played constantly and the Tourney happens once each year. Serfs who serve 20 years have to leave the planet or enter the Tourney for a shot at becoming a Citizen.
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Post by Rusty »

I finished reading Blue Adept, the sequel/continuation of the series started in Split Infinity. Stile enters the Tourney and goes up against a number of opponents. Meanwhile, he tries to track down who is trying to kill him on both Proton and Phaze. A very entertaining book that I've read a few times, though not recently.
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Post by Rusty »

I read Wind Tamer by P.R. Morrison. It is the story of Archie Stringweed whose tenth birthday is coming up and he starts hearing the wind talk to him. His eccentric uncle Rufus shows up late one night and explains to him about the family curse. On the first born son's 10th birthday, a tornado comes and bestows the curse of cowardice. After that event, they no longer have the will to travel far or do anything adventurous or dangerous. Rufus explains that he is going to help Archie break the curse. I thought the book was very entertaining - not overly complicated, perhaps, but with a few nice ideas thrown in and a good story.
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Post by Psychotic_Carp »

How did they break the curse..... or did they?
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