ditto i've pretty much given up on comics. especially since i found
out they killed off captain america. **shudder** i went into a comic
store a month ago and i was lost. i didn't everything i looked at
looked like crap compared to the old days. sure the art is still on
par, but the stories... no comment.
--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> I read "1632" and a couple of its sequels. Comics, don't ask. I'm
miles behind.
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hear you, but I've been reading
a time-waster series from Eric Flint that started with teh
book "1632". It deals with the small West Virginia town of
Grantviell, which is literally cut-and-pasted from our time to
Germany in 1632. Smack dab in the middle of the Thirty Years war, the
residents have to survive amidst attacks and intrigues. They have the
benefits of superiour technology and learning, but they're only a
town of 3,000, beset by countries like Spain and France--under the
grip of the infamous Cardinal Richlieu, no less--that come to view
the "up timers" as a threat to be eliminated. They remind me of all
those quickly churned out scifi books I read as a kid dealing with
alien civilizations, humans working as bounty hunters on other
planets, etc. The historical research is exhaustive. I've learned
things about European history I frankly didn't know, such as the fact
that Sweden was once a powerful nation with a feared
> military, or that the Dutch had the known world's
> best Navy at the time. Ideas of how things like modern machine
guns, electricity, cars, prop planes, etc., would affect Europe at
that time are interesting. For example, the history books in the
local high school library become sources of great power, as Richlieu
and others steal them in order to read about--and in some cases,
prevent--the details of their own futures. Thus, kings and generals
are demoted, promoted, or executed according to whether the history
books reveal that these men would be traitors or heroes in their own
future. Doing this has already altered history; but then, it's been
established that Grantville's moving back in time actually created a
divergence in the timeline, creating a new universe. The concept is
cool, the books themselves (I'm currently reading the second, "1633")
just fair. But between work and yard work and stuff, the quick and
easy reading's been entertaining.
>
> I also have a huge backlog of comics to catch up on. Just finished
Marvel's "Civil War", now getting into the followup "The Initiative"
titles. Still have all of DCs "Infinite Crisis" and "52" books to
read too...
>
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Don't think I'll be waiting that long, Keith.
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, the sales are high and the reviews
are favorable. And since I absolutely *love* books that delve more
deeply into the history of legends---"The Silmarillion" is one of my
favs--I think I'll enjoy this one too. Maybe I'll get it for the cold
winter days, which is when I ready my heavier books.
>
> ******************************
>
> Sales soar for new Tolkien novel
> By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National WriterTue May 1, 4:15 PM ET
> The world still has a taste for tales about Middle-earth.
> Two weeks after the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Children
of Hurin," an unfinished novel edited by the late author's son,
Christopher, more than 900,000 copies are in print worldwide, nearly
double the original total, according to the U.S. publisher, Houghton
Mifflin.
> The new book, a prequel to Tolkien's mega-selling epic "The Lord of
the Rings," was started by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1918, but eventually
abandoned. The author died in 1973, and his son spent the next 30
years working on the manuscript. Excerpts from "The Children of
Hurin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's other
works, had been published over the years, but there was never a
single narrative until this spring.
> "The Children of Hurin," which came out April 17, has topped
numerous best-seller lists and Houghton Mifflin has increased its
printing from 250,000 to 550,000. In Britain, copies in print have
been raised from 250,000 to 360,000.
> Reviews have been favorable. Elizabeth Hand wrote in The Washington
Post that "Hurin" was grand, epic storytelling and a reminder, if one
was needed, of Tolkien's genius in creating an imaginary world that
both reflects and deepens a sense of our own mythic past." The
Associated Press' Bruce DeSilva praised the book as "a coherent,
vivid and readable narrative."
> Film rights for have yet to be optioned, with the Tolkien estate
reportedly waiting to see the public's response to the book. "The
Lord of the Rings" was adapted into an Academy Award-winning trio of
blockbusters, directed by Peter Jackson.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels
will get organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A
Man Without A Country"
>
> ---------------------------------
> Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
> Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels
will get organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A
Man Without A Country"
>
> ---------------------------------
> Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
> Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
