Sint Maarten Reads

[daddytodd]

The almost-2 weeks in SXM (we had to go a day late and come back a day early because of Democratic Party commitments) were stupendous. The tan is virtually perfect -- the exact color I was going for.

So, I spent about 10 days over the last fortnight lying on Cupecoy Beach absorbing the sun. How did I keep myself entertained, you ask?

Here's how:
05/01/2011    Star Trek: Indistinguishable From Magic by David Mcintee
05/02/2011    Star Trek: SCE: Past Life by Robert Greenberger
05/03/2011    Star Trek: SCE: Oaths by Jeff Mariotte
05/03/2011    Space: 1999: Survival by Brian Ball
05/04/2011    Star Trek: SCE: Foundations I by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
05/05/2011    Star Trek: SCE: Foundations II by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
05/07/2011    Star Trek: SCE: Foundations III by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
05/07/2011    Zandru's Forge by Marion Zimmer Bradley & Deborah J. Ross
05/08/2011    Conan: The Sword of Skelos by Andrew Offut
05/08/2011    ST: TNG: Slings & Arrows III: The Insolence of Office by William Leisner
05/09/2011    ST: TNG: Slings & Arrows IV: That Sleep of Death by Terri Osborne
05/10/2011    ST: TNG: Slings & Arrows V: A Weary Life by Robert Greenberger
05/11/2011    ST: TNG: Slings & Arrows VI: Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment by Keith R. A. DeCandido
05/13/2011    A Flame in Hali by Marion Zimmer Bradley & Deborah J. Ross
05/13/2011    Conan: The Road of Kings by Karl Edward Wagner

The first one was finished on the flights down; the last two on the flights home. The rest were mostly read on the beach. I got into a rhythm of reading a chunk of a "primary" book each day, with breaks for something smaller -- like Star Trek novellas originally published as e-books. The Trek novellas were mostly read on the iPad back in the condo before/after the day at the beach. The "primary" reading was paperbacks. As usual, I took about three times as many books as any sane person could read. By next year, I plan to have a Kindle, The backlight screen on the iPad is impossible to read outdoors, but I understand the Kindle's e-ink screen is very readable in directly sunlight. By putting everything on the Kindle, I should be able to free up half a suitcase I usually fill with books…

Deborah J. Ross's Clingfire trilogy is really wonderful. She did an excellent job weaving the original plot & characters of the books with existing action & characters from Hawkmistress and Two to Conquer, which are contemporaneous with Zandru's Forge and A Flame in Hali, respectively. I suspect Marion herself couldn't have done as well – chronology was never Marion's focus. Ross's Darkover books are damn-near perfect. I hope she gets to keep writing them for many, many years to come.

With the completion of the Clingfire trilogy, I'm now done with my "re-read" of the entire Darkover series begun in April of last year, with the exception of Thendara House, City of Sorcery and the truly awful The Shadow Matrix. I also haven't read most of the Darkover anthologies, aside from Marion's own contributions. I'm working on the Renunciate books, and should have them finished soon. Shadow Matrix has defeated me in three attempts to read it. I might try again one day, but not any time soon.

I started Matthew Hughes's' The Damned Busters: To Hell and Back Book 1 (Kindle on the iPad) on the last leg of yesterday's marathon fly home. I love the first chapter, and look forward to reading more.

All in all, a great vacation!

Edited to add: I "gifted" a copy of The Clingfire Trilogy to the small cache of books left in the condo on the island. So, if you ever stay in room 171 at the Sapphire Beach Club and need something to read, check the cupboard by the kitchen table. It's almost certainly better reading than the "inspirational romance" (Finally a Family) that some previous tenant abandoned there.

Comments

[blachubear.livejournal.com]

Man it'll take me a month to read a book. You one speed reader Daddy. I wish I have the concentration to do that. Other than that, I hope things are well. HUGS!!!

[allanh.livejournal.com]

I was initially doubtful of the Clingfire trilogy (I've had unfortunate experiences with some books completed by others from the original author's notes), but once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I loved finally having the story of Varzil the Good fleshed out completely. Deborah J. Ross did a superb job, and I share your observation on MZB and chronology. I'm looking forward to the next set of DJR Darkover books.

[daddytodd.livejournal.com]

I was doubtful about Darkover books after Exile's Song (which was OK) and The Shadow Matrix (which I have never been able to read.) Adrienne Martine-Barnes's writing style just doesn't work for me.

So, I never read another new Darkover book after Shadow Matrix until last year, when I read Hastur Lord, which was mostly written by Deborah J. Ross, but contains actual chunks of MZB's writing, drafted before her death.

I liked it a lot -- and I believe that the passages I didn't care for were the MZB-written chunks. (Late in her life, Marion's authorial powers declined significantly. I still love her, but anything written by her after the late '80's wasn't nearly as good as stuff written earlier. That's probably why The Heirs of Hammerfell was the last book she wrote alone -- and it's one of the least-satisfying of her Darkover novels.)

But I'm wandering all over the place... I quickly read the rest of Ross's Darkover titles. They're uniformly excellent, and I eagerly await the next book, tentatively titled The Children of Kings, scheduled for publication sometime next year from DAW. (Ross has even posted the opening chapter on her LiveJournal here:
http://deborahjross.livejournal.com/160666.html

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the comments on my Darkover books! It means so much to me to hear I've achieved what I set out to do -- keep Marion's wonderful world of Darkover alive and true to Marion's vision.

Everyone is invited to check out my LJ, and also my (new) blog: http://deborahjross.blogspot.com/
where I've got sections about Marion and Darkover. Occasionally, I'll be putting up Darkover material, some of it unpublished under "Read A Story."

Z'par servu,
Deborah