Re: Variations on a theme

On Mar 16, 2:58 pm, Jack Tingle <wjtin...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> James Nicoll wrote:
>
> > What kinds of books that you would snap up on sight aren't being
written
> > and/or published anymore?
>
> I haven't seen any really good marine sf in recent years. The last ones
> that generally lit my fires were Watts's 'Rifters' tales (2000-2004),
> and Toni Anzetti's 'Typhon' stories (1995, 2001). I have Bear's
> 'Undertow', but haven't read it yet, since I had trouble getting started
> on it. I'm also not sure it really cuts the mustard as marine sf. Not
> using 3/4 of the earth's surface as a setting for sf seems short
sighted.
>
> I also haven't seen any straightforward 'Conquest of the Solar System'
> novels recently. No Singularity, no wacky post-humans building
> incomprehensible structures out of the remains of Jupiter, no FTL; just
> get on with the job of bringing human presence to all 11 planets with
> really good computers, ion drives, and laser coms.
>
> [sound of fumbling for SD card] Good Lord! Ken Macleod's 'The Sky Road',
> which I read in 2002 was the last one that came even close to fitting
> the bill!
>
> Everyone is sf seems to want to transcend, navel gaze, fantasize, or
> explore the galactic arm. We have 10 more low mileage planets here, 7
> perfectly functional seas, all with easy (well, reasonable) access, and
> almost no one is using them. Seems like a darned shame to me. [grumble]
>
> Regards,
> Jack Tingle

Here! Here! I second that!

Just my $0.02

Keith W of St Louis aka Space Cadet