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02-22-2011, 04:35 AM | #1 |
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Looong before Honor Harrington there was John Grimes on the Galactic Rim
Old school "Ray Guns & Rocketships" SF at it's best fun.
So long before Honor Harrington was a glimmer in David Weber's, ummm, heck, almost before there was a David Weber period, there was the John Grimes series of stories by A. Bertram Chandler was a set of stories I, for whatever reason, was completely captivated by as a kid of 10-15yrs old. Until I found the Baen/Webscription's site I had all but given up on ever re-reading them as the original PB's had been long ago tossed into the charity bin by my mom, we won't get into all the pristine 1st edition SF HB's as well as PB's that suffered the same fate. But now I have been able to re-read the complete series again. And I just discovered a collection of the first stories into on book over at the Webscription site. Chandler, A. Bertram - To the Galactic Rim http://www.webscription.net/c-75-joh...-chandler.aspx Better details about Chandler as well as the John Grimes character are, of course, to be found over at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Bert..._Grimes_novels The stories are just a lot of fun. Technically they might be classed by those who insist on such things as MilSF. But they are not in the sense of modern works because while there is combat like action here and there, the thrust of the stories is always using brains and outright blind-outhouse-luck to push through so the good guys win but along the way the good guy has to either screw up or hit a road block of some sort human, non-human or accidentally exploding a sun has to get in the way to keep things interesting. Even better the stories feel more adult than the Heinlein " juvenile" novels and stories. I recently completed the 4th of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. And while there have been fun, I could not stop from thinking I have read these stories before. And while the Harrington stories are not at all the same it's not a far stretch to just swap the name of the protagonist and it all works the same. So if ya like one odds are you will enjoy the other and the new collection of the Grimes stories is a really good ebook value if ya like the old fashion "Ray Guns & Rocketships" SF.... So just thought I would pass along a fun "new" set of stories a few folks might never have run across before. |
02-22-2011, 01:01 PM | #2 |
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"This is Liberty Hall!..."
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02-22-2011, 02:12 PM | #3 |
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I remember reading all the Grimes books growing up - hunting down the later Ace double editions.
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02-22-2011, 02:26 PM | #4 | |
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"...you can spit on the mat and..."
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I think I am putting these at the top of my TBR list just for the nostalgia and, heck they won't take long to read a few in a row, take a break to read something else, then a few more Grimes stories. It might get my mind off trying to remember the name of a novel I read, I think in the late 70s or early 80s. Worst part is I only remember a bit of the story and that I really enjoyed the thing! sigh...early onset CRS it seems. (FYI for anyone who dunno but CRS = Can't remember, ummmmm, stuff, well not 'stuff' but I'm sure ya can fill in the right word. ) While I already bought all the titles in ebook form from Webscription, since it's only $6, I did grab the new omnibus edition of the Road to the Rim group of stories in case the formatting is better. Plus it's easier than creating yet another collection on the Kindle for a series and even then it's impossible to keep them in reading order if that matters. |
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12-28-2012, 02:57 PM | #5 |
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I'll have to check out the Galactic Rim series, sounds like the Lensmen Space Operas.
If you haven't read the Lensmen series by EE "Doc" Smith, it substantially predates The Rim saga books, just as Smith predates Chandler. I already feel that I will enjoy the Rim/Grimes books a great deal, from your descriptions (and some vague recollections of reading a short story or book featuring Grimes, probably as a child).
Hopefully you all will reciprocate and read at least the 7-title Lensmen series, and thence on to other works by Doc Smith, who was a mentor and friend to a young Robert Heinlein back in the day. Anyone who enjoys well written Space Opera and MilSF will without a doubt enjoy Doc Smith and his larger than life take on, well, everything. Thanks for posting, I look forward to making a new friend (besides Honor Harrington, with whom I am just now finally becoming acquainted). |
12-28-2012, 03:37 PM | #6 |
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I love the Lensman books and have ever since I found a used copy of Second Stage Lensmen in the Errington General Store back around 1975-6. Great stuff. When it comes to Space Opera, Doc predates everyone; he invented the idea of the starship in Skylark of Space back in 1928.
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12-29-2012, 07:30 PM | #7 | |
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I'd heard about Doc Smith but hadn't run into any of his books. Didn't take me long after that to track down pretty much his entire output. Considering how much *everybody* steals from him (or people who stole from him) it is a crying shame nobody has ever tried to adapt him to movies or TV. (Except for the one execrable anime.) Oh, and I ran into the DAW editions of the Grimes stories about that time. Lotsa fun, too. |
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12-29-2012, 08:36 PM | #8 |
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Actually Ron Howard and JMS were working on a movie recently, but according to JMS the studio was concerned about the lack of name recognition given the budgetary requirements.
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12-30-2012, 06:11 AM | #9 | |
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What name recognition did Avatar have? Alien? Terminator? Howard may not be Cameron but he doesn't exactly cook up turkeys. (sheesh.) That said, movies is the wrong medium for Lensmen. They need to get Showtime involved and pitch it as the answer to Game of Thrones. |
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12-30-2012, 12:26 PM | #10 | ||
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All I know is that I asked JMS about it on Twitter and got the following response. Quote:
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12-30-2012, 01:03 PM | #11 | |
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My point is: Ron Howard is hardly chopped liver. http://boxofficemojo.com/people/char...er=DESC&p=.htm He's not Cameron, certainly, but his career gross is close to $3billion in (inflation adjusted) box office and his *average* runs $145 million per movie. And he got there by making a lot of mid-range grossers, not a couple of smashes and a bunch of turkeys. The guy's directed 33 movies, produced 65, Won 2 Oscars and another 32 industry awards out of 48 nominations. He does good work. Also, by current standards $100 million for a big-scope SF action adventure is hardly a big deal. (Just ask Disney.) And this is a project with built-in sequels and spinoffs. Merchandising potential up the wazoo. I'd be more inclined to believe Universal doesn't *have* $100million to invest in a single movie than to believe Howard doesn't have the pull to get the money. If he is really interested enough, the movie will get done. So the real question is, how badly does he want to make it? (Also, how long does his option run. ) Last edited by fjtorres; 12-30-2012 at 01:05 PM. |
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