FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I will say that I do like that torrid art work by Boris Vallejo on the covers of earlier ones.

Boris Vallejo art always strikes me as the cheesier version of Frank Frazetta.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The first 3 or 4 are not like the rest of the series.

Looking back at the Boris Vallejo covers, they do regularly show bound women. But then, the artwork being Boris, it didn't strike me as especially odd at the time. Distasteful, but I often found Boris to be distasteful.

Fantasy has come a long way since then.

If you enjoy Burroughs-type fiction, then you might enjoy those first 3 or 4 in that series.

Yeah. Before I fell down a Gor rabbit hole a few years ago and learned the bad aspects, all I could remember was that I thought the idea of a planet that rotates exactly opposite of Earth was a neat idea.

That $9.99 price, however, is outrageous.

Yeah it is. Aren't there like fifty of these things? Wouldn't it make since to sell the introductory one cheap?

[Dr. Drib]

Here's the original cover for the first Gor book. My copy (not this one) is in almost perfect condition. I bought it in 1966 and loved it. But then, after that 4th book, I couldn't stand to read his current stuff. I found it boring, long-winded, and pointless, among other things.

(I was so hungry for Burroughs and Kline back then, that I even bought the unauthorized Barton Werper Tarzan books. I also enjoyed the Torlo Hannis books by Charles Nuetzel. One title by Nuetzel - Slavegirl of Noomis - was probably inspired by Norman's popularity at that time. Concerning Lin Carter: I have, even now, a soft spot for his pastiches and still read him.)

[Dr. Drib]

Here's a humorous page parodying a typical Gor book, called "Houseplants of Gor," as the 'YouTube People' say (you know who you are!), located right below here:


http://www.rdrop.com/~wyvern/data/houseplants.html

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Here's a humorous page parodying a typical Gor book, called "Houseplants of Gor," as the 'YouTube People' say (you know who you are!), located right below here:


http://www.rdrop.com/~wyvern/data/houseplants.html

I have only one thing to say. A proofreader for the the love of whatever god (Allah to Zeus, your choice) you believe or don't believe in!

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I'll make it simple to understand:

Gor = Toilet + Vomit

E X C E P T . . . once you've vomited you can pull your head out of the toilet. GOR is a lot harder to get rid of

[ZodWallop]

Cross posted from the horror thread:

The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross is $0.99 at Amazon US.

Sort of a mix of mundane office work and the Elder Gods.

The first novel in Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross's witty Laundry Files series.

Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe - but then he went and got Noticed.

Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, parallel universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out...

[ZodWallop]

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke is $1.99 at Amazon US.

One of the absolute sci-fi masterpieces.

In the near future, enormous silver spaceships appear without warning over mankind’s largest cities. They belong to the Overlords, an alien race far superior to humanity in technological development. Their purpose is to dominate Earth. Their demands, however, are surprisingly benevolent: end war, poverty, and cruelty. Their presence, rather than signaling the end of humanity, ushers in a golden age... or so it seems.

Without conflict, human culture and progress stagnate. As the years pass, it becomes clear that the Overlords have a hidden agenda for the evolution of the human race that may not be as benevolent as it seems.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Cross posted from the horror thread:

The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross is $0.99 at Amazon US.

Sort of a mix of mundane office work and the Elder Gods.

This description does NOT sound boring to me whatsoever!

Got it.

Thank you!

[j.p.s]

it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out...

Reboots never sort any mess out, they only kick them down the road a bit.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

This description does NOT sound boring to me whatsoever!

I’ve quite enjoyed the series, although I’m a couple of books behind. If you have any of the “Best of Tor.com” novella collections, I’m pretty sure there are a couple of Laundry Files shorts in there.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

I’ve quite enjoyed the series, although I’m a couple of books behind. If you have any of the “Best of Tor.com” novella collections, I’m pretty sure there are a couple of Laundry Files shorts in there.

I think I have one; I'll have to go and check.

Thanks.

[DrLimu]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I think I have one; I'll have to go and check.

Thanks.

There are couple availible on tor.com:

https://www.tor.com/2008/07/20/down-on-the-farm/

https://www.tor.com/2013/09/24/equoid/

https://www.tor.com/2009/12/22/overtime/

[Dr. Drib]

^ I didn't have any of those stories.

I now picked them up.

Thank you!

[ottdmk]

The Atrocity Archives is also on sale @ Kobo Canada & Amazon.ca for CDN $.99. I read this as a library read a year or two back. Good stuff; happy to own it at such a great price.