tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4269925294673930988.post648159835189286714..comments2023-11-22T09:17:05.368-08:00Comments on TAD's Back-Up Plan: The Female Man, and othersTADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13853931230081777310noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4269925294673930988.post-51539896121280057852011-05-18T00:15:27.091-07:002011-05-18T00:15:27.091-07:00R: Thanx 4 the comment, tho I sure don't feel ...R: Thanx 4 the comment, tho I sure don't feel like any kind of expert on Russ's fiction.<br />The best Tiptree I ever read was a LONG novella called "A Momentary Taste of Being" that is just unbelievably dark & lonely & depressing -- great stuff! Actually, Tiptree did a LOT of great stuff ("Last Flight of Dr. Ain," "Screwfly Solution," "On the Last Afternoon," BRIGHTNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR, "The Only Neat Thing to Do," "Painwise," "Her Smoke Rose Up Forever," etc.) -- any good short-story collection by her should be worth it. Never liked "Houston" that much, but haven't read it in 30+ years....TADhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13853931230081777310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4269925294673930988.post-66764100462654744072011-05-17T08:32:33.948-07:002011-05-17T08:32:33.948-07:00That's quite the authoritative rundown, and th...That's quite the authoritative rundown, and thank you for it from one unfamiliar with fictions or reviews. <br /><br />The only Russ I ever read was "Souls," which was the flipside of "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" in one of those old Tor doubles.<br /><br />I picked up the double for the Tiptree, but ended up liking the Russ better. There was a certain sad sedateness to the whole thing that I found intriguing, actually reminded me of this Peter Matthiessen novel I once read not for subject but for tone.<br /><br />I'll take the opportunity to recommend a scifi book I read recently, which was <i>Old Man's War</i> by John Scalzi. An homage to Heinlein's <i>Starship Troopers</i>, but "fewer lectures," not sure where I read that.<br /><br />Nice to see that someone's writing space opera this side of 1000 pages. Scalzi's world may not have the depth of Iain Banks', but he's easier to read and just as fun.rastronomicalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475251545087211066noreply@blogger.com