Cryoburn CD from Baen

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd recommend Ryk Spoor's "Boundary" and its sequel "Threshold". Both excellent "adventure" SF and no right-wing politics.

I have those in recent webscription purchases. They do look good reads.

[speedtouch]

Joe, just an FYI here. The link you have on the Cryoburn Zipped CD is http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/2...CryoburnCD.zip. Shouldn't "Baen23-CryoburnCD.zip" be "Baen24-CryoburnCD.zip"? The link isn't broken, it's just that the numbering is incorrect if you're keeping everything in numerical order. I don't know if it's worth it or not for you to go in and update the file name and the link...just thought you might want to know.

See you at Baen's Bar.

[Iphinome]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd recommend Ryk Spoor's "Boundary" and its sequel "Threshold". Both excellent "adventure" SF and no right-wing politics.

I do agree with you about the politics business. John Ringo in particular has for me, over the last few years, gone from a decent SF author to a writer of ultra right-wing political dogma. I find his recent books completely unreadable.

Thanks I'll see about those when I finish my to read pile, I bought so many dead tree books this summer at $0.50 a pop that it isn't funny, just have skyfall and speaker for the dead left before I go back to my beloved kindle and much liked but more like a step-child kobo.

[momghoti]

Regarding 'Memory', for some reason it's not available as an ebook from the catalog, but it *is* available from http://www.webscription.net/p-617-memory.aspx . I wonder what the difference is about that book? It's also not in the compilations.
I talked to someone for whom 'Memory' was the only Miles book they'd read; they weren't impressed...I think although it's a stand alone book it loses its impact if you don't have the background.

[Worldwalker]

I never liked 'Memory'; I disagree with what she did with Simon Illyan. I don't think it would have worked that way. She's the author, of course, but there are times that I as a reader think the author is wrong (Anne McCaffrey's 'Moreta' is another such time).

Finished Cryoburn. It's excellent. No spoilers, just go read it. IMO, it's the best in the series in quite a while.

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I do agree with you about the politics business. John Ringo in particular has for me, over the last few years, gone from a decent SF author to a writer of ultra right-wing political dogma. I find his recent books completely unreadable.

Personally, I just write it off as something that comes from military sci-fi for the most part, since most military people are usually right wing by nature. I'm actually fine with having a diverse world view, tho anything that reads like a political manifesto, ether right or left wing (Michael Z Williamson's Freehold, for example) is going to leave me shaking my head. I just like a good story. I do not want to be preached to.

[Dahak]

Originally Posted by speedtouch

Joe, just an FYI here. The link you have on the Cryoburn Zipped CD is http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/2...CryoburnCD.zip. Shouldn't "Baen23-CryoburnCD.zip" be "Baen24-CryoburnCD.zip"? The link isn't broken, it's just that the numbering is incorrect if you're keeping everything in numerical order. I don't know if it's worth it or not for you to go in and update the file name and the link...just thought you might want to know.

See you at Baen's Bar.

Yep... that's a typo.

Fixed it.

[Dahak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd recommend Ryk Spoor's "Boundary" and its sequel "Threshold". Both excellent "adventure" SF and no right-wing politics.

I don't know if I could ever read another Flint or Spoor novel... all the abuse they heaped on that wonderful secondary character was just awful!

[emellaich]

On the other hand, I enjoy some of the 'right-wing' stuff. I also enjoy Flint's work where he praises the role of the unions and the 'freedom arches'. OTOH there is some stuff that is not to my taste and I just don't enjoy. I don't try to label it as right-wing and left-wing, but more as -- yes, I like it, versus no, not for me.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

So which one is the first book?

... and my personal opinon (YMMV) is that I really don't count the first two (Cordelia's Honor) as part of the same series. They are set in the same universe, and they are about two of the important characters, and they are written by LMB, who I have always found to be excellent .... but ...

For me the series focuses on Miles and his unique character. Without him the earlier books are fun reading, but they don't feel like the same series. Personally, I would read the Miles books first, and then go to Cordelia's Honor when you run out and are still 'hungry' for more.

[HelenaJole]

Memory is my favorite, with A Civil Campaign a close second.

I have wondered, if I were going to recommend just one book to somebody so they could try out the series, which one would I pick? The writing is definitely not as strong in the early books, but the series as a whole gains so much from being read in order.

[thrawn_aj]

Originally Posted by HelenaJole

Memory is my favorite, with A Civil Campaign a close second.

I have wondered, if I were going to recommend just one book to somebody so they could try out the series, which one would I pick? The writing is definitely not as strong in the early books, but the series as a whole gains so much from being read in order.

So it is for me!
I have had the same worry while recommending the series. One thing I'll gently disagree about is the strength of writing. For me, there are two peaks - one at Cordelia's Honor (the full omnibus) and the other down at A Civil Campaign. Memory is definitely my favorite but I wouldn't objectively recommend it as the best piece of writing in the series to someone else (big distinction ).

The person who started me on the series gave me the Young Miles omnibus as a gift and I find that to be "just right" as a starting point for a new reader (perhaps I'm biased because that's how I started but I think there are some good, objective reasons there too). For one thing, The warrior's apprentice has a gentle start in the sense that nothing is confusing and everyone is properly identified (in media res is rarely pulled off well so I'm glad Bujold didn't indulge in it willy-nilly) and we're not expected to know anything about Miles' history either. For another, have people read the synopsis on the book recently? I took one look at it and my eyes popped out. Here it is from Amazon (apologies for the length):

It isn't easy, being Vor. Being a Vor lord on the war-torn planet Barrayar wasn't easy. Being an officer in Barrayar's military wasn't easy. And being the leader of a force of spaceborne mercenaries while maintaining a secret identity wasn't easy in fact it should have been impossible, to say nothing of being a capital offense on Barrayar. Not that impossibility or great danger would slow down young Miles Vorkosigan much. Washed out of the Barrayaran Military Academy for being overly fragile (he had been biochemically damaged during an assassination attempt while still in his mother's womb), Miles' natural (if unorthodox) leadership qualities quickly led to his off-handedly acquiring a fleet of nineteen ships and three thousand troops, all unswervingly loyal to him or at least to his alter ego, Admiral Naismith. In short order, he foiled a plot against his father, returned to and graduated from the academy, solved a murder among his people, joined a mutiny against a deranged superior officer, thwarted an interstellar invasion, and rescued the Barrayaran Emperor. Then things get interesting.

I took one look at the last line and was immediately hooked . So, to address your question Helena, I think this is the best way to seduce a newcomer to the Vorkosiverse (did I just invent that word? ). After that of course, one can proceed in chronological order (helpfully provided in most of the newer printings) and read Shards and Barrayar anytime as a sort of "historical" novel. Of course, it must be read before A Civil Campaign to fully appreciate

Spoiler:

the couch scene.

What do you think?

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

I never liked 'Memory'; I disagree with what she did with Simon Illyan. I don't think it would have worked that way. She's the author, of course, but there are times that I as a reader think the author is wrong (Anne McCaffrey's 'Moreta' is another such time).

Finished Cryoburn. It's excellent. No spoilers, just go read it. IMO, it's the best in the series in quite a while.

I, on the other hand, loved Memory. I read it, then listened to it as an audiobook right after.

And oh, yes, I agree about Cryoburn. I thought it was excellent. Just re-read parts of it last night, as a matter of fact.

[Iphinome]

Originally Posted by emellaich

On the other hand, I enjoy some of the 'right-wing' stuff. I also enjoy Flint's work where he praises the role of the unions and the 'freedom arches'. OTOH there is some stuff that is not to my taste and I just don't enjoy. I don't try to label it as right-wing and left-wing, but more as -- yes, I like it, versus no, not for me.

Right of center is one thing, if there's a nice space adventure story surrounding it. On the other hand, a long political rant with just enough added in to call it fiction is not to my taste and that's the way baen has been moving. I want to reward them for their stand on DRM, but I don't want to pay them to put out more more rants that insult those who disagree (me).

Oh well maybe the 1632 series will get good again. I understand Eric flint has been unwell so maybe when he gets better.

[Hatgirl]

I think choosing which LMB book to hook someone with depends on the interests of that person. My mum loves hard SF, so I gave her Falling Free. A friend of mine likes romances, so I gave her the Cordelia's Honor omnibus. Another friend of mine likes realistic medieval stuff, so I gave her the first of the Chalion books.

I call this campaign "Give a Bujold for a Birthday". Feel free to join in