• Magic Study, by Maria V. Snyder, copyright 2006; ISBN-13 978-0-373-80249-4.
• Fire Study, by Maria V. Snyder, copyright 2008; ISBN-13 978-0-7783-2534-5.

I enjoyed both of these, as well as the earlier book in the series, Poison Study.

• Midnight Never Come, by Marie Brennan, copyright 2008 by Bryn Neuenscwander; ISBN-13 978-0-316-02029-9.

  I really enjoyed this mix of faerie an Elizabethan England. Interestingly, this novel was inspired by part of a campaign of the Changeling RPG, which was one of the things talked about in the informative “Extras” section of the book, where she recommends three books by the folklorist Katherine Briggs: two on general British faerie lore (British Folk-Tales and Legends and The Faeries in Tradition and Literature) and one specifically about Shakespeare's time (The Anatomy of Puck). I'll have to look for those, and for Maire Brennan's other books. She has a website <http://www.mariebrennan.net>.

• Chindi, by Jack McDevitt, copyright 2002 by Cryptic, Inc; ISBN 0-441-00938-7.

  I enjoyed this. I'll have to look for his other books.

• The January Dancer (sp?), by Michael Flynn.

  I liked this, although I'd early put down another Flynn novel that I didn't like well enough to finish.

• Iron Sunrise, by Charles Stross.

  I liked this one too. I'm going back and reading some of Stross's work that I missed when it first came out.

• SPQR XII — Oracle of the Dead, by John Maddox Roberts.

  I've enjoyed this series, and this entry was good.

• The Water Thief, by Ben Pastor.

  I enjoyed this, though it was sometimes annoying.

• In the Stormy Red Sky, by David Drake, copyright 2009; Baen Books/Baen Publishing Enterprise; May 2009; ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-9159-7.

  This is the seventh in The RCN Series featuring Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy.

• The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls, by John R. King, copyright 2008; Forge/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.; ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1801-5.

  It was interesting to see Sherlock Holmes and Thomas Carnacki mixed, even if it was uneasily mixed.

• The Revolution Business, by Charles Stross, copyright 2009; Tor/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC; April 2009; ISBN-13: 987-0-7653-1672-1.

  In the fifth in Stross's Merchant Princes series, things go from bad to worse.

• Skin Trade, by Laurell K. Hamilton, copyright 2009; Berkley/Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Penguin Books Ltd.; June 2009; ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22772-5.

  This is the seventeenth volume in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. Again, I'm more interested in the paranormal metaphysics and the monster killing than the sex.

• Where Serpents Sleep, a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery.
• What Angel's Fear, a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery.
• Relentless
• The Gripping Hand
• Bone Crossed
• Slaves of the Shinar

• The King's Shield, by Sherwood Smith

• Where Serpents Sleep, by C. S. Harris, copyright 2008 by The Two Talers; Obsidian/New American Library/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./Penguin Books Ltd.; November 2008; ISBN 987-0-451-22512-2.

  A Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. The others are: What Angels Fear, When Gods Die, and Why Mermaids Sing. (I think I've missed that latter. Have to find it.)

• What Angels Fear, by C. S. Harris, copyright 2005 by The Two Talers; New American Library/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./Penguin Books Ltd.; November 2005; ISBN 0-451-21669-5.

• Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs; copyright 2009 Hurog, Inc.; Ace/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./Penguin Books Ltd.; February 2009; ISBn 978-0-441-01676-1.

• The Wizard Hunters, by Martha Wells, copyright 2003; Eos/HarperCollinsPublishers [1], First Eos paperback printing June 2004; 2nd printing; ISBN 0-380-80798-X.

  This series has become one of my favorites, for what are probably very idiosyncratic reasons.

• Absolution Gap, by Alastair Reynolds, copyright 2003; Ace/The Berkeley Publishing Group/Penguin Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./Penguin Books Ltd; first Ace mass paperback edition June 2005; 4th printing; ISBN 0-441-01291-4.

• Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, story and art by David Petersen, copyright 2007; ASP Comics LLC, 1st edition; ISBN 978-1-932386-57-8.

  Very good.

• The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, copyright 1974; A Timescape Book/Pocet Books/Simon & Shulster/Gulf & Western Corporation, October 1974; 15th printing; ISBN: 0-671-43403-9.

  Have I read the sequel? I can't remember.

• All Tomorrow's Parties, by William Gibson, copyright 1999; Berkley Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Putnam Inc.; Berkley mass-market edition January 2003; ISBN: 0-425-19044-7.

  The end of Gibson's Bridge series. Good to see Chevette and Rydell again.

• Virtual Light, by William Gibson; copyright 1993; A Bantam Spectra Book/Bantam/Bantam Doubleday Dell PUblishing Group, Inc. Bantam Paperback edition, August 1994; ISBN 0-553-566-06-7.

• Burning Chrome, by William Gibson, copyright 1986; preface copyright 1986 by Bruce Sterling; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing House; October 1987; ISBN 0-441-08934-9.

  The last of Gibson's Sprawl trilogy. Now if I could only find my copy of Neuromancer.

• Count Zero, by William Gibson; copyright 1986; Ace Science Fiction Books/The Berkley Publishing Group, April 1987; ISBN: 0-441-11773-2.

• The Forest of Peldanin, by Barrington J. Bayley; copyright 1985; DAW Books, first printing, August 1985; DAW Collectors' Book No. 640; ISBN 0-88677-068-8.

  I've owned this for years, but I think this may be the first time I've read it.

• The Court of the Air, by Stephen Hunt, copyright 2007; Tor/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.; 1st U.S. Mass Market Edition, April 2009; ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-6022-0, ISBN-10: 0-7653-6022-5.

• The Soul of the Robot, by Barrington J. Baley, copyright 1974; Condor, March 1978; published by arrangment with Doubleday & Company, Inc; ISBN 0-895160161-1.

  I ran across this book as a child, in a local library. It was shelved in the children's section, which, considering some of the content, was probably a mistake. In any case, it was one of the formative science fiction novels of my childhood.

  Recently I found out that there was a sequel to this, published many years afterward, and bought a copy.

• The Folk of the Air, by Peter S. Beagle, copyright 1977, 1986; Del Rey/Ballantine Books; January 1988; ISBN 0-345-34699-8.

  An enjoyable read.

• Endless Blue, by Wen Spencer, copyright 2007; A Baen Books Original/Baen Publishing Enterprises; June 2009; ISBN: 978-1-4391-3271-5.

  Starts very much in medias res. Interesting. Mentions two other Baen books by Wen Spencer:

  • Tinker
  • Wolf Who Rules

  Have to look them up.

• Redemption Ark, by Alastair Reynolds, copyright 2002; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./The Penguin Group/Penguin Books Ltd; Ace mass market edition, June 2004, 7th printing; ISBN: 978-0-441-01173-5.

• The Merchants' War, subtitle:Book Four of the Merchant Princes, copyright 2007 by Charles Stross; Tor/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC; 1st mass market edition October 2008; ISBN-10: 0-7653-5589-2, ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-5589-2.

  Another enjoyable entry in Stross's alternate universes series.

• The Steel Remains, copyright 2009 by Richard Morgan; Ballantine Books/Del Rey/Random House Publishing Group/Random House Inc; ISBN 978-0-345-49303-3.

  An interesting non-{extruded fantasy product} fantasy.

• The Draco Tavern, copyright 2006 by Larry Niven; Tor/Tom Doherty Associates, LLc; 1st edition January 2006; ISBN 0-765-30863.

  Somehow I completely missed all of the series:Draco Tavern stories until reading this compilation. Niven is still one of my favorite science fiction authors, and I enjoyed these tremendously.

• Deader Still, copyright 2009 by Anton Strout; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc/Penguin Books Ltd; Ace mass-market edition March 2009; ISBN 978-0-441-01691-4.

  I found the main character of this supernatural adventure interesting, but also annoying at times.

• The Ends of the Circle, by Paul O. Williams, copyright 1981; Del Rey/Ballantine Books, April 1981; ISBN 0-345-29551-X. Book Two of The Pelbar Cycle

  This was the book in the series that I read first, many years ago. I'm in the process of rereading the series in order for the first time.

• The Breaking of Northwall, by Paul O. Williams, copyright 1981; Del Rey/Ballantine Books, First Edition February 1981, Fifth Printing October 1984; ISBN 0-345-32434-X. Cover art by Darrel K. Sweet, Map by Chris Barbieri. Book One of The Pelbar Cycle.

  Back in the eighties, when these were first published, I read the second book of The Pelbar Cycle before I read this, the first book, and I remember it was a little bit hearing legends in the second book, and then getting to meet some of the legends in the first book.

  I like books these for the interesting post apocalypse societies.

• Double Adventure 1: Shadows & Annic Nova, by Marc W. Miller; copyright © 1980 by Game Designers' Workshop; 7th printing; Product #312. Art on page 19 by Liz Danforth.

  It is interesting to see how these adventures differ from current adventure design. Both of these adventures present a location with details about its contents, and give a way that a group of player characters might get involved. One of the adventures gives a page of historical background of the location for the GM, although the background doesn't directly affect play. The other gives no history at all, other than what can be gleaned from observing the location.

  The trend in commercial RPG adventure design has been to deliver more and more detail for the GM, culminating in the current D&D adventure format that attempts to provide, on a two-page spread, absolutely everything that a DM has to have to run a tactical encounter, from the tactical map to the exact details of each and every NPC involved, so that the DM doesn't have to look anything up. Moreover, in many modules, perhaps starting with the Dragonlance modules in the 1980s, there is a story supplied, which the player characters are expected, more or less, to follow and figure out, and some more-or-less obvious goal.

  Shadows & Annic Nova certainly don't supply a pre-built story — any story will be generated by the referee and players at the gaming table, with possibly some pre-game activity by the referee while reading the adventure beforehand. And there are no obvious goals, just situations to explore.

  I actually find this rather liberating, compared to the more detailed adventures that are more common today. There is something about the things that aren't there in Shadows & Annic Nova that fires up my imagination and draws me into the situation. It's probably the same sort of thing that makes me see the original Greyhawk folio as more interesting that the later Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.

  I mention Liz Danforth in the info about the book above because ever since I ran across her art in 5th edition Tunnels & Trolls I've enjoyed it immensely.

• Traveller, by Marc Miller & Game Designers' Workshop, copyright 1977, 1981 by Game Designer's Workshop. Books 1–3, The Basic Books, Classic Traveller Reprint Series, copyright 2001 by Far Future Enterprises; a joint publication of Far Future Enterprises and QuikLink Interactive, ISBN 1-55878-218-4. “The Olympia Incident” by Martin J. Dougherty.

  This is a reprint of the 1981 second edition of Traveller, along with a little bit about the publishing history of Traveller, and a short story, “The Olympia Incident”, set in the Traveller universe.

When I was first getting into gaming, I remember going on a trip to Morgantown, WV with my brother and some of his friends from high school who were in the gaming group that I'd recently joined. We visited a couple of places that sold gaming materials, and one of the group, R.S. if I remember correctly, bought a copy of Traveller. I remember reading the books in his basement rec room and trying to make characters. Unfortunately, at that point the only RPGs that our group had seen were variants of D&D (T&T and DQ were still a couple years away), and I, at least, never really figured out Traveller and what you could do with it, and, again if I remember correctly, our group never did much with Traveller.

Something must have struck a cord, however, because over the years I bought several editions of the game, from Megatraveller to Traveller: the New Era (also known as T:NE), to GURPS Traveller, to Marc Miller's Traveller (also known as T4), and even including 2300AD, which was originally published as Traveller: 2300, even though the mechanics and setting were in no way related to the Traveller mechanics or setting. Many of this I probably picked up during a long period where I wasn't doing any gaming, and just reading game books. (This would almost certainly have been before the explosion of RPG stores on the net.) I probably picked Megatraveller up after it was out of print; my copy seems to have the (infamous) errata fixed. I may have picked up T:NE when it first came out. I know I picked up almost all of the GURPS Traveller books as they came out. I'm sure I picked up 2300AD off the discount rack. I remember being saddened when GDW closed their doors, although that was in part due to really enjoying their Space: 1889 line and Frank Chadwick's Cadillacs & Dinosaurs RPG, based on Mark Schultz's comic books, which I had read and enjoyed. I never got a chance to play any of GDW's games while they were still in operation, but have always wanted to play a game with Space: 1889's background. I never figured out what to do with Traveller, though. I came closest with GURPS Traveller, having enjoyed playing GURPS before my gaming hiatus. I enjoyed reading all the GURPS Traveller books, but I had no gaming group at that time.

Anyway, years later, after I'd gotten back to gaming regularly, in 2007, I had been reading about a number of people who had been playing Classic Traveller, which is what folks called the original system, with or without the Traveller Universe. They praised the game for its simplicity and completeness and for its relatively small size. I had know about the Far Future Enterprises Classic Traveller reprint line, but couldn't afford them when they first came out. I did, however, find a an inexpensive reprint of just Books 1–3, published jointly by Far Future Enterprises and QuikLink Interactive (also know as QLI/RPGRealms), and I ordered it in October 2007. After some problems with QLI's order system, I finally received my copy in November, 2007. It was a reprint of the 1981 2nd edition of Traveller, which apparently cleaned up the rules a little bit. I read it quickly, and my reaction was: “Huh. Why didn't we play the heck out of this back in high school? I could see playing this today and having a blast!” I liked the basic simplicity of the system, having moved away from complex systems like GURPS to systems that were much simpler, like Savage Worlds.

Sometime later I got Mongoose Publishing's new edition of Traveller,and though it was a reasonable version. Certainly it was closest of any system to the original, definitely since Megatraveller, and possibly since the original itself. And the fact Mongoose released it with several licenses that allowed free use of the system, and some use of the background made it more attractive. It prompted me to go back and read most of my other versions of Traveller, including the FFE/QLI reprint of Books 1–3. After looking at them all, it was Classic Traveller I wanted to play. Since then I've gathered some of the original Traveller publications, and a couple volumes of the FFE reprint volumes. (I wish they were all still in print.)

I'm going to have to run a Classic Traveller game sometime soon.

• The Gifts of the Gorboduc Vandal, by Paul O. Williams, copyright 1989; Del Rey/Ballantine Books, May 1989; ISBN 0-345-35597-0.

  An interesting science fiction novel by the author of the post-apocalyptic Pelbar Cycle series of novels. Like the Pelbar novels, I enjoyed this more for the ideas than the style.

  Apparently there is a sequel to this, The Man from Far Cloud, published in 2004. I really ought to see about finding a copy.

• Accelerando, by Charles Stross, copyright 2005; Ace/The Berkley Publishing Groupo/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./Penguin Books Ltd., July 2006; ISBN 0-441-01415-1.

  Crash! Bang! Ouch! The idea of sentient corporations and ponzi schemes taking over makes this a dystopia to me. Very interesting, however; and quite dense.

• Jennifer Morgue, by Charles Stross, copyright 2006; Golden Gryphon Press, 2006; ISBN 1-930846-45-2. The follow-up to his The Atrocity Archives.

• The Black Tower, by Louis Bayard; William Morrow, 2008.

• The Cardinal's Heir, by Jaki Demarest; Medallion Press, 2004.

• Hellboy: Oddest Jobs, edited by Christopher Golden, illustrated by Mike Mignola.

  I suppose it's odd that I've still not read more than one or two Hellboy comics. I really ought to get some of the compilations.

• The Fox, by Sherwood Smith; DAW Books/Penguin Group; 2007. Sequel to Inda.

• Revelation Space ,by Alastair Reynolds, copyright © 2000 by Orion Publishing Group; Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc./Penguin Books Ltd.; June 2002; 15th printing; ISBN 978-0-441-00942-8.

  I haven't read as much science fiction as I once did, but I've been reading more of it again in the last year or so. I got Reynolds' Pushing Ice from the library, and enjoyed it, so I bought Revelation Space, and was hooked.

• Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson; copyright 1953 by Fantasy House, Inc.; copyright 1961 by Poul Anderson.; Berkely Medallion Books/Perkley Publishing Corporation; April 1978; second printing; SBN 425-03680-4; published by arrangement with Doubleday & Company, Inc.

  This is one of the books Gary Gygax lists in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide, APPENDIX N: INSPIRATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL READING.

• The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, by Galen Beckett, copyright 2008 by Mark Anthony; Bantam Spectra/Bantam Dell/Random House, Inc; August 2008; ISBN 978-0-533-58982.
• Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold, copyright 2003; HarperCollins Publishers Inc; ISBN 0-380-97902-0.
• Legacy, The Sharing Knife, Volume Two, by Lois McMaster Bujold, copyright 2007; HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN 978-0-06-113905-5.
• Small Favor, by Jim Butcher, copyright 2008; ROC/New American Library/Penguin Group (USA) Inc/Penguin Group Ltd.; April 2008; ISBN 987-0-451-46189-6. Part of his enjoyable Dresden Files.
• Coyote's Wife, “An Ella Clah Novel”, by Aimée & David Thurlo, copyright 2008; Forge/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.; October 2008; ISBN 978-0-7653-1716-2.

• The Lost Fleet: Courageous, by Jack Campbell, copyright 2008 by John G. Henry; Ace/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc/Penguin Books Ltd; January 2008; ISBN 978-0-441-10567-2.
• The Lost Fleet: Valiant, by Jack Campbell, copyright 2008 by John G. Henry; Ace/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc/Penguin Books Ltd; July 2008; ISBN 978-0-441-01619-8.

• The Lost Fleet: Dauntless, by Jack Campbell, copyright 2006 by John. G. Henry writing as Jack Campbell; Ace/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc/Penguin Books Ltd; July 2006; ISBN 0-441-01418-6.
• The Lost Fleet: Fearless, by Jack Campbell, copyright 2007 by John. G. Henry; Ace/The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc/Penguin Books Ltd; February 2007; ISBN 978-0-441-01476-7.

• Pushing Ice, by Alastair Reynolds, copyright 2005; Ace/The Berkley

  Publishing Group/The Penguin Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc., June 2006, ISBN 0-441-01401-1.

• Saturn's Children, A Space Opera by Charles Stross, copyright 2008; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/The Penguin Group/Penguin Group (USA) Inc., July 2008; ISBN 978-0-441-01594-8. Bridgeport Public Library.

  Despite the cover (which I suppose was appropriate to the content of the book, but still was rather off-putting) I enjoyed this.

• Bad Monkeys, by Matt Ruff, copyright 2007; HarperPerennial/HarperCollins Publisher; first Harper Perennial edition published 2008; ISBN 978-0-06-124041-6. Bridgeport Public Library.

  This book listed three others by Matt Ruff: Set This House in Order, Fool on the Hill, Sewer, Gas & Electric; I think I should check them out.

• The Dark Heart of Time, by Philip José Farmer, copyright © 1999 by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.; Del Rey/The Ballantine Publishing Group/Random House, Inc.; 1st edition, 1st printing, June 1999; ISBN 0-345-42463-8.

  It's been a while since I've read any of Burrough's Tarzan books, so I can't compare styles, but certainly in inventiveness and subject matter Farmer did a good job with this story. I've always been fond of Farmer's various different takes on Tarzan, whether an authorized pastiche like this one, a deconstruction, an alternate mythology, or a backstory element [1].

  I really should complete my collection of Tarzan novels, though.

• The Mirror of Worlds, the second volume of The Crown of the Isles, by David Drake, copyright © 2007; Tor/Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, mass market edition: November 2008; ISBN-10, 1st printing: 0-7633-5117-X, ISBN-13: 978-0-7633-5117-X.

  This is 2nd book in the trilogy that concludes Drake's The Lord of the Isles series. I've really enjoyed this series because of the interesting characters, interesting setting, and interesting magic.

• Mistral's Kiss, by Laurell K. Hamilton, copyright © 2006; Ballantine Books/The Random House Publishing Group/ Random House, Inc., mass market edition 2007; ISBN 978-0-345-44361-8.
• A Lick of Frost, by Laurell K. Hamilton, copyright © 2007; Ballantine Books/The Random House Publishing Group/ Random House, Inc., mass market edition 2008; ISBN 978-345-49591-4.

Two more entertaining entries in Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series.

• Farming As I Have Known It: 60 Years in Central Appalachia, by S. Thomas Bond, copyright 2007; first edition.

  This book, on farming and farm life, was written by my father over 10 years in his spare time, and is an absolutely fascinating look at farming from the era of my great-grandparents and grandparents through to the present day.

  Although I grew up on a working farm and spent most of my time before I graduated from college working on it, I was never as deeply involved with farming as my father, something I now regret deeply. This book gives a very good idea of the determination, hard work and deep thought required to build and keep a family farm in West Virginia.

  Dad had copies of this printed and some of them were Christmas presents for us for 2008.

  The book is available on the web.

• The Mint, by T. E. Lawrence, aka John Hume Ross, aka T. E. Shaw; copyright 1935, 1955 by Doubleday & Company, Inc; first published in Norton Library 1963 by arrangement with Doubleday & Company, Inc; ISBN: 978-0-393-00196-9.

  Interesting and quite different than Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

• Watchmen, by written by Alan Moore, illustrated and lettered by Dave Gibbons, coloured by John Higgins; copyright © 1986, 1987 DC Comics, Inc.; Book Club edition; no ISBN listed. Originally published in twelve issues in magazine form in 1986 & 1987.

  Knowing that there was a Watchman movie in the works, I decided to re-read the comic. I enjoyed it again.

• The Outlaw Demon Wails, by Kim Harrison, copyright © 2008; EOS/HarperCollinsPublishers [1]; December 2008; 1st printing; ISBN 978-0-06-114982-5.

  Another enjoyable entry in Harrison's Books of the Hollows series.

• Bone, by Jeff Smith, copyright © 2004; Cartoon Books, 11th printing; ISBN-10 1-888963-14-X, ISBN-13 978-1-888963-14-X.

  A well told fantasy story, both serious and humorous, with excellent art and interesting characters, Bone starts small and builds up to mythic. Well worth reading.

• Psycho Shop, by Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny, copyright 1998 by the Alfred Bester Estate and the Amber Corporation; Introduction copyright 1998 by Greg Bear; Vintage Original/Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc./Random House; July, 1998; first edtion; paperback; ISBN 0-679-76782-7.

  An interesting posthumous collaboration between the deceased Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny, now also, alas, deceased. I wish both of them had lived longer and written more.

• Non-Stop, by Brian W. Aldiss, Copyright 1958, 1959, 1987 by Brian W. Aldiss; Carroll & Graf, 1989; bookclub edition.

  This was actually homework for a Metamorphosis Alpha game I intend to play with the kids, but quite enjoyable. I thought I might have read it before, but I certainly didn't remember any of it. (Did I read it as a kid myself? Quite possible.)

  Now I need to find more generation ship novels and movies. Any suggestions?

• The Harlequin, copyright 2007 by Laurell K. Hamilton; Jove Books/The Berkely Publishing Group/The Pengiun Group, May 2008; ISBN 978-0-515-14461-1.

  Another entry in Hamilton's “Anita Blake” series. Still worth reading.

• Bad Dreams, by Kim Newman, copyright 1990, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc; 1995.

  An interesting take on vampires, and an interesting reflection of London at a certain time.

I recently decided that I need to read Heinlein's juvenile novels. I'd read some of them in my youth (thanks to the Weston and Clarksburg public libraries), but not all, and I wondered how they would stand up in the 21st century to my middle-aged eyes, and how interesting they might be to younger eyes as well. (I'll have to wait a bit to see the later, though.)

Luckily, inexpensive compilations published by the Science Fiction Bookclub are easily available from online sellers, and I got four volumes that include all the juveniles, as well as Starship Troopers. Four Frontiers is the first of them.

• Four Frontiers, by Robert A. Heinlein; First Science Fiction Book Club printing: June 2005. Published by arrangement with “The Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust” and “The Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Library Foundation”, and Tor Books, and The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. ISBN 0-7394-5345-9.

  • Rocket Ship Galileo, copyright 1947 by Robert A. Heinlein, copyright renewed 1974 by Robert A. Heinlein, Copyright 1988 by the Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Library Foundation.

    I had never read this one. As you might expect, the earliest is the roughest, and probably the least interesting to current crop of juveniles. It's still a fun adventure story, though current social mores would have made it impossible.

  • Space Cadet, copyright 1948 by Robert A. Heinlein, copyright renewed 1975 by Robert A. Heinlein, Copyright 1988 by the Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Library Foundation.

    I can't remember reading this one, but may have. It's interesting how much of this is about learning to deal with others, which moves from dealing with other cadets to, eventually, dealing with aliens. Knowledge, brains, and morals win out over brains, money, and greed.

  • Red Planet, copyright 1949 by Robert A. Heinlein, copyright renewed 1976 by Robert A. Heinlein, Copyright 2003 by the Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Library Foundation.

    I'm almost positive that I'd read this one, but if so I'd forgotten how subversive it was. And I love the skating, for some reason. (I don't skate myself.)

  • Farmer in the Sky, copyright 1950 by Robert A. Heinlein, copyright renewed 1977 by Robert A. Heinlein, Copyright 2003 by the Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Library Foundation.

    This situation on earth in this one, sadly, looks more and more likely.

There's a fair amount of discussion of the actual technology of space travel and related planetary science in these first four books, and that's probably what has aged the worst. The adventures are still fun, and I think an open-minded juvenile could still enjoy them.

• Schismatrix Plus, Bruce Sterling

  I figured out part way through this that I actually read this before. (Or rather, the Schismatrix part of it, since it's a collection of a novel and some related short stories.) Looking back at my log, I'd actually read it recently, just 3½ years ago. Worth rereading, though. I found them thought provoking.

• Powers of Two, copyright 2004 by Tim Powers, NESFA Press, 2004; ISBN: 1-886778-51-5.

  • The Skies Discrowned, copyright 1976 by Tim Powers, published by Laser Books; republished in slightly different form as Forsake the Sky by Tor Books, 1986.

  • Epitaph in Rust, copyright 1976 by Tim Powers, published by

    Laser Books; republished in corrected form as An Epitaph in Rust by NESFA Press, 1989.

These early novels by Tim Powers show little of the reality twisting genius of his later novels, but were still enjoyable.

• Planetary: Archaeologists of the Impossible, Book 1: All over the World and Other Stories; writer: Warren Ellis, Artist: John Cassaday, Colorist: Laura Depuy with David Baron and WildStorm FX; copyright 2000 Wildstorm Productions; originally published in magazine format as Planetary #1–6 and Planetary Preview, copyright 1998, 1999 Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics; ISBN 1-56389-648-6.

  It's been quite a while since I've read anything approaching a superhero comic with any regularity. This is probably as close as I've come. Very good. I'll probably have to find and read the rest of the compilations.

• The Bible Repairman, copyright 2005 by Tim Powers; Subterranean Press, 2nd printing; ISBN 1-59606-046-8.

  A slim pamphlet, containing one of Tim Powers' typically weird stories.

• A Soul in a Bottle, copyright 2006 by Tim Powers; Subterranean Press, 1st edition, 2006; ISBN 987-1-59606-075-3.

  A slim book with another of Tim Powers' typically weird stories.

• The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club, copyright 2007 by Kim Newman; MonkeyBrains Books; ISBN 1-932265-27-9.

  A delightful collection of alternative reality tales from Kim Newman. I wish the predecessor was available for a reasonable price.

• Jerico Moon, copyright 1998 by Matthew Woodring Stover; ROC/The Penguin Group, April 1998; ISBN 0-451-45678-5.

  An excellent historical fantasy.

• Strange Itineraries, copyright 2005 by Tim Powers; Tachyon Publications, 1st edition 2005, 3rd printing; ISBN 1-892391-23-6.

  The back proclaims “The Complete Short Stories of Tim Powers”; I rather hope they're wrong, as I'd love to read more short stories by Powers.

• Iron Dawn, copyright 1997 by Matthew Woodring Stover; ROC/The

  Penguin Group/, May 1997; ISBN 0-451-45590-8.

  There isn't nearly enough fantasy set in the history of the real world being written in the current era. I actually like this better than his more recent SF.

• The Hob's Bargain, by Patricia Briggs, copyright 2001 by Hurog, Inc.; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/The Pengiun Group, March 2001; 7th printing; ISBN 978-0-441-00813-1.

  I enjoy fantasy tales that revolve around regular people, rather than the high and mighty, and tend to sympathize (for perhaps entirely obvious reasons) more with farmers and blacksmiths than nobles and rich merchants. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of magical post-apocalypse.

• When Demons Walk, by Patricia Briggs, copyright 1998 by Hurog, Inc; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/The Penguin Group, June 1998; 18th printing; ISBN 978-0-441-00534-5.

  A light but enjoyable fantasy/mystery/romance.

• Steal the Dragon, by Patricia Briggs, copyright 1995 by Hurog,

  Inc; Ace Books/The Berkley Publishing Group/The Pengiun Group; November 1995; ISBN 978-0-441-00273-3.

• The Quarters Novels, Volume One, copyright 2007 by Tanya Huff; DAW Books, September 2007; DAW Book Collectors No. 1415, ISBN 978-0-7564-0450-5. Consisting of Sing the Four Quarters, copyright 1994 by Tanya Huff, and Fifth Quarter, copyright 1995 by Tanya Huff.

  I particularly liked Fifth Quarter.