Are Baen books really that bad?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by meeera

Argh, I have this issue every time Superman catches a falling person.

Once in a while a writer adds a bit about matching speeds, in the comics.

Interestingly, the issue doesn't pop up in the VORPAL BLADE stories; the space marine armor (Wyverns) is much bigger and the operator stays in the central pod. They're more mecha than armor. Which he sorta gives a nod to in CLAWS THAT CATCH when the intrepid space explorers find themselves in the dreaded "anime zone".

[bbqncigars]

Ah yes, the "anime zone". Thanks for the reminder. I thought that was hysterical. I giggled the whole time reading that portion. Methinks it's time to revisit it.

[Freeshadow]

Vorpal blade doesn't count;it's a good one. Not a pure Ringo as he had Doc to look after him there
I guess it's time to stop hoping for a finalising book focused on Miriam & her headvoice, Mimi and the 2nd 'warptifact'

[Lemurion]

I find a lot of Baen books are entertaining. I don't like all of them, I think some authors push their political agenda too hard. (I don't actually care what the agenda is, just whether it gets in the way of the story or not.)

However, the company publishes plenty of books I do like, so I focus on those and ignore the ones I don't like.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I find a lot of Baen books are entertaining. I don't like all of them, I think some authors push their political agenda too hard. (I don't actually care what the agenda is, just whether it gets in the way of the story or not.)

However, the company publishes plenty of books I do like, so I focus on those and ignore the ones I don't like.

Is that just Baen? I mean does anyone like all of the authors, and the books they publish?
Apache

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Apache

Is that just Baen? I mean does anyone like all of the authors, and the books they publish?
Apache

I don't think anyone likes all the books from any publisher.

One thing I have noticed about Baen, though, is that they tend to err on the side of more Campbellian SF than some other publishers. (Much of Baen's output reads like something J.W. Campbell would have bought).

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Apache

Is that just Baen? I mean does anyone like all of the authors, and the books they publish?
Apache

It was not a question of like. It was "authors push their political agenda too hard" and some readers probably will like that and some dislike it.

I generally do not find many book at all of the books I read were an author push their political agenda too hard. Maybe some old Jerry Pournelle books. So I would not say it is a common thing among all publishers.

Concerning the question in the thread I found this:

http://t-twaddlings.blogspot.se/2009...ing-right.html

Oh, there was a Mobilread thread about this already:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87830

[tompe]

This might interest people:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/03/1...h-of-heinlein/

It is about Baen.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by tompe

This might interest people:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/03/1...h-of-heinlein/

It is about Baen.

Interesting. I stopped going by Baen's web board a number of years ago for a couple of reasons, one being that most of the authors had stopped posting and the other being that it had become incredibly cliquish , IMPO. With that said, after reading Scalzi's post and reading the original that he is commenting on, I tend to disagree with his view of the article. There has been a divide between what I will call artsy SF and pop SF for as long as I've been reading SF&F, i.e. mid 70's and the SF&F awards tend to be dominated by the artsy SF crowd. While I really enjoy Scalzi's books, but I suspect that we disagree on a lot of things. That's ok, I don't have to agree with or like an author to enjoy reading his or her books.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

One thing I have noticed about Baen, though, is that they tend to err on the side of more Campbellian SF than some other publishers. (Much of Baen's output reads like something J.W. Campbell would have bought).

No higher praise: it is by intent.

Just as it is no accident that they've been scooping up the works of the unappreciated 50's/60's masters like Laumer, Schmitz, Chandler, etc, as well as Heinkein and Anderson. I'm hoping they get ahold of the rest of the Anderson catalog, especially THERE WILL BE TIME and TAU ZERO.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Just as it is no accident that they've been scooping up the works of the unappreciated 50's/60's masters like Laumer, Schmitz, Chandler, etc, as well as Heinkein and Anderson. I'm hoping they get ahold of the rest of the Anderson catalog, especially THERE WILL BE TIME and TAU ZERO.

I do not remember the publishing history of Schmitz that way. What I remember is Eric Flint really liking Schmitz and wanted to re-publish him and finally managed to convince people about that.

Chandler who? Bertram?

And I would not say that Heinlein and Poul Anderson is unappreciated.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

I guess it's time to stop hoping for a finalising book focused on Miriam & her headvoice, Mimi and the 2nd 'warptifact'

I figure the Headvoice is going to download to the second Mother Box (warptifact) and reveal a common backstory to the dreen and the sky-surfing chichillas. That the two species rely on so similar tech implies prior contact.

I figure the series has at least two volumes to go, maybe three, and that we will eventually see the end, even if they have to farm out the rest to a newer BAEN author. (Much as they did with the latest Paladin of Shadows volume.) If its good enough for Patterson and Herbert it's good enough fir Ringo.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tompe

I do not remember the publishing history of Schmitz that way. What I remember is Eric Flint really liking Schmitz and wanted to re-publish him and finally managed to convince people about that.

Chandler who? Bertram?

And I would not say that Heinlein and Poul Anderson is unappreciated.

Parse the sentence again.
Note the comma.

And Flint isn't the only one liking Schmitz.
Even if he hadn't written anything beyond WITCHES OF KARRES, he'd still be a must read for any student of the genre. But what he did with the Hub, *when* he did it, is remarkable.
Way ahead of his time.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Schmitz

As for Chandler:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Bertram_Chandler

I cut my teeth on the DAW editions of both.

Another author I really like from that general era is F.M. Busby. The RISSA KERGUELEN saga, the DEMU TRILOGY, ALL THESE EARTHS... Wouldn't surprise me to see BAEN pick up his books. He's their kind of author.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Parse the sentence again.
Note the comma.

And Flint isn't the only one liking Schmitz.
Even if he hadn't written anything beyond WITCHES OF KARRES, he'd still be a must read for any student of the genre. But what he did with the Hub, *when* he did it, is remarkable.
Way ahead of his time.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Schmitz

As for Chandler:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Bertram_Chandler

I cut my teeth on the DAW editions of both.

Another author I really like from that general era is F.M. Busby. The RISSA KERGUELEN saga, the DEMU TRILOGY, ALL THESE EARTHS... Wouldn't surprise me to see BAEN pick up his books. He's their kind of author.

I grew up reading all of them. Great books by great authors.
Apache

[cromag]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Parse the sentence again.
Note the comma.

And Flint isn't the only one liking Schmitz.
Even if he hadn't written anything beyond WITCHES OF KARRES, he'd still be a must read for any student of the genre. But what he did with the Hub, *when* he did it, is remarkable.
Way ahead of his time.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Schmitz

As for Chandler:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Bertram_Chandler

I cut my teeth on the DAW editions of both.

Another author I really like from that general era is F.M. Busby. The RISSA KERGUELEN saga, the DEMU TRILOGY, ALL THESE EARTHS... Wouldn't surprise me to see BAEN pick up his books. He's their kind of author.

They were published by Ace when I was reading them in the early-to-mid 60s. And A. Bertram Chandler's stuff was more often than not packaged in "Ace Double" two-fers.

And I managed to catch a few of Chandler's short stories in their original appearances in If and Worlds of Tomorrow. One thing I really think is a shame is that the stories are reprinted without the illustrations that went along with them. I can't believe it would be that expensive to track down and buy the rights to B&W illustrations. And they should show up properly in any ereader.

Ah, well. Off to the Vent and Rant thread.