ftp.cse.unsw.edu.au/2014.06.ftp.cse.unsw.edu.au.tar/ftp.cse.unsw.edu.au/pub/doc/sf/Good Reading Guide

Internet Message Format | 1992-10-18 | 213KB

Path: spinifex!usage!metro!bunyip!moondance!batserver.cs.uq.oz.au!farrell
From: [e-mail] (Friendless)
Newsgroups: aus.sf
Subject: Good Reading Guide - Part 1/6
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 10 Apr 90 10:03:07 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Distribution: aus
Lines: 911


  Well here it is! It's fat! If you find any mistakes, particularly in names
of books, what books are in the series, etc, please let me know. The Guide is
not a finished product yet and it's not likely to ever be so. So if you feel
you can still make a contribution, send it to me.
  Especially, if you don't like what I said you said, send me a corrected
version or tell me to remove it. Oh yeah, sorry about the size, but we did
want to do the job properly, didn't we?


Friendless, who's fuckin' sick of this.
----------------8<-------------------------------->8--------------------------
  This is the Aus.sf Good Reading Guide. It has been compiled from comments
made by the readers of the Australian Computer Science Network science fiction
newsgroup.
  The aim of the guide is to present honest readers' opinions on the many
science fiction and fantasy series available today.
  The Guide is in the following format: Each author or combination of authors
has a section delimited by lines of `-', with the authors name in capitals at
the top. The exception to this rule is names starting with Mc and Mac. The
authors are arranged in alphabetical order of surname.
  Within the authors section, series by that author are listed. The series
name is without quotes, where books in the series are listed they are in
double quotes. These books are hopefully listed in order of publication or the
best order to read them in, or both. Readers opinions follow the list of
books.
  Throughout the Guide, editor's notes are in square brackets.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL REFERENCE

"Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels" - David Pringle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOUGLAS ADAMS

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to The Galaxy

"The Hitch Hiker's Guide to The Galaxy"
"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"
"Life, The Universe and Everything"
"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish"

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Hitchhiker's, and its sequels are classics in science fiction.  The first
]three are worth desperately seeking after, reading four to ten times, and
]quoting continuously.  They are probably the most quotable sf ever written.
]Not only is their writing style wonderful, but the plots are clever, full of
]twists, and hilariously funny.  "So Long" comes in a very poor second.  It is
]probably worth reading for completeness sake, but doesn't come close to the
]others.

Alex Heatley:
]An extended joke that starts to run flat, by about the third book it is
]beginning to get a tad tiresome. Some good humour and has become a classic of
]humourous SF writing.

Kathryn Andersen:
]The funniest SF I have had the fortune to read/listen to/watch (all at
]once).  I mean, a real classic.  Your education is incomplete if you haven't
]read/heard/seen this series.  Otherwise how are you going to understand all
]these weirdos' references to improbability fields, "I have a pain in all
]diodes on my left side", "Life, don't talk to me about life..." Very
]quotable.

Richard Thomas:
]One of the original best known spoofs on SF.  The series is hilarious but
]still points out some human frailties along the way.  The first two books are
]great and must be read by any SF fan.  The next two head down hill, and the
]last is only worth reading for completeness sake (though it has some
]marvelous plot twists and references to early books in the series, and must
]be read a few times to be appreciated.)

Lynn Alford:
]One of the funniest sf books ever written.  The first two books in that
]series were great, but after that, they tended to go downhill.

Greg Banks:
]The first three are excellent, full of improbable but immensely quotable
]characters, ridiculous plot situations, and quirky writing. Originally a BBC
]radio series, then three (or maybe 2) books, then the TV series, then the
]rest of the books.  Can't remember the fourth name too well, but it wasn't
]worth it. Basically nowhere near as quirky as the first three, and probably a
]mistake. Still enjoyable, though.  Very amusing, A MUST READ (first three
]anyway).

Dirk Gently

"Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
"The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul"

Alex Heatley:
]Two novels in this series of which "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
]is the better, again "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul" suffers from the
]use of old characters and plods a bit. Both novels suffer from a lack of
]explanation of convenient loose ends.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Not as hilarious as HHGG, more gentle (really!).  More for a smile than a
]chuckle, or a chuckle than a belly laugh.  But similarly odd.  Actually I
]think the first book is better than the second book.  Maybe because it is
]also fun playing spot-the-Doctor-Who episode with that one.

Brian Ross:
]A bit staid.  No where as good as HHGTU.  Suffers somewhat from being a
]rehash of some ideas he used in Dr. Who (particularly Holistic Agency which
]has characters and scenes taken from the Story "Shada" which was never
]completed due to BBC industrial action).

Zev Sero:
]The first book is amusing, especially if you recognise the people who are
]being satired.  The second is worth reading, and I will probably read the
]next book if and when; but then I have a great tolerance for this sort of
]writing.  But if you really like this sort of writing, you should be reading
]Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse.

Mark Williams:
]These two have moments of brilliance which are reminiscent of THGTTG, but are
]in general not as consistently funny.  DGHDA is the better of the two, but it
]is a bit too clever for its own good.

Greg Banks: [on DGHDA]
]Quite a good book, although a little slower and saner than the HHGG series.
]Grating if you don't like Macintoshes, because this is obviously DA's first
]book written on a Mac and doesn't let go a single chance to remind us. The
]hero is a Mac programmer, of all things. The book has been called "a running
]Apple ad" but this is a little harsh.  Slow start, but it builds OK. The end
]is in a way anti-climactic (as is most of DA's work that I've read) but I
]really liked the way he tied several threads together (ah, so THATS how the
]sofa got there!!). Quite a few ideas, and the way he intertwines them is
]interesting. One of the few books I've read where a character dies and his
]ghost becomes an integral part of the plot.  Fairly amusing, a WORTHWHILE
]READ.

Richard Thomas:
]Both are written in the distinct Douglas Adam's style -- very convoluted
]plots with many twists and back references, and with fairly good
]characterisation.  Dirk Gently is a detective with a knack to pick up weird
]problems, and in a most unusual way saves the world.

Lynn Alford:
]Dirk Gently you should borrow from the library.  Some people love it but
]other Douglas fans (including me) think it doesn't measure up to his best
]books.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT ADAMS

Castaways in Time

"Castaways in Time"
"The Seven Magical Jewels of Ireland"
"Of Quests and Kings"
"Of Chiefs and Champions"
"Of Myths and Monsters"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alan Burt Akers

The Krozair Cycle

"The Tides of Kregen"
"Witches of Kregen"
"Krozair of Kregen"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIAN ALDISS

Helliconia

"Helliconia Spring"
"Helliconia Summer"
"Helliconia Winter"

Michael Barlow:
]Tells the story of a planet that has an incredibly long seasonal cycle
](hundreds or thousands of years). The books span one complete climactic year
]on the planet. However, each book tells only of events within a span of a
]couple of years which are meant to typify that season. The cultures etc.
]are well thought out, but the style is extremely slow. Not for those wanting
]light or easy reading.

Arnold Pears:
]I read the first of these. My assessment is that the idea was good, and to
]all intents and purposes the book is quite well written, but it dragged like
]anything, I found myself fighting to finish it. Never read the others,
]couldn't be bothered.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]I'd rather be rogered by a prize leek than read this bundle of dingos' kidneys
]again. Long, dull and scientifically inept book with poor characterisations
]written three times under different names. And the worst part is that Aldiss
]has shown he can write. These just aren't good examples.

George Michaelson:
]Well structured trilogy, complex analysis of inter-species dependencies
]against the backdrop of decay in an ageing earth society now reduced to
]intergalactic voyeurism. interesting complexities from biological models
]of parasitology as an adaptation to climactic change. focuses in on a series
]of small peoples problems within the larger setup. not much zap powery.
]pretty right-on in places.

Tim Allen:
]Fascinating in parts, unutterably dull and pointless in other parts.

Michael Pope:
]Reminded me of undergraduate courses--- kept promising to get interesting
]real soon now, but never really delivering.

Luke Wildman:
]Brilliant read if only a trifle extended and boring, full of information
]about the generation of a completely different system and tightly connected
]biosphere. Quite complex (but I was only a first year then) but even though
]it's long I couldn't put it down for long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLOYD ALEXANDER

The First Chronicles of Prydain

"The Book of Three"
"The Black Cauldron"
"The Castle of Llyr"

The Second Chronicles of Prydain

"Taran Wanderer"
"The High King"

Kathryn Andersen:
]Ah, yes.  Such a long time since I have read these - in the days of my
]youth... (I bought them when I was in Grade 9!!) Five books, I can't remember
]the titles.  I think they were re-issued when Disney made a movie of one of
]them.  I never saw the movie, so I don't know what it was like.  As far as
]the books go, I remember being impressed, when I read them, by the fact that
]the protagonist was *not* a Hero - and that he ended up accepting that,
]rather than going the usual route and turning into a Hero.

Zev Sero:
]Read them ages ago, when there were just five books.  I liked them, but I
]haven't bothered to keep up.  I remember thinking that they were worth
]reading but weren't as good as the guy who recommended them had led me to
]believe.

Andrew Waugh: [I think]
]Similar in many ways to the Chron. of Narnia, these books are based on
]Welsh mythology. The world they are set in is reasonably interesting, and
]the characters are excellent. The plots are well done, and the overall
]atmosphere is very haunting. The ending is also very good, the five books
]balancing well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POUL & KAREN ANDERSON

The King of Ys

"Roma Mater"
"Gallicenae"
"Dahut"
"The Dog and the Wolf"

Jonathan Burns:
]A traditional Breton legend of a sunken city becomes a 4-volume blockbuster.
]Well told and involving. Late Roman and Celtic cultures were brilliantly
]researched.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PIERS ANTHONY

Of Man and Manta

"Omnivore" }
"Orn"      } available in one volume
"Ox"       }

Rolfe Bozier:
]Piers Anthony seems to be not terribly popular these days;  however, if you
]are going to read any of his stuff,  I'd recommend this series as his best
]work (maybe after `On a Pale Horse').  As usual, this trilogy is written in a
]somewhat allegorical style, but he explores some really good ideas.  In
]particular the interactions with the different entities is good.

Jonathan Burns:
]Some of Anthony's better work, since he's being thoughtful for
]adults. Really 3 novels: (1) first-contact puzzle (2) dinosaur hunt
](3) alternate worlds madness.

David Bofinger:
]Well, they're Piers Anthony. If you like plots built around obscure
]mathematical games then this is for you. The bioengineered agents were quite
]fun. I can't believe I've only read _one_ of these books...

Lynn Alford:
]I've only read the first book of Piers Anthony Man and Manta series.  The
]characters did not interest me enough to ever find the rest of the series.  I
]don't remember anything particularly wrong with the writing style but it just
]didn't interest me enough.

Battle Circle

"Sos the Rope"    } available in one volume called "Battle Circle"
"Var the Stick"    }
"Neq the Sword"    }

Bryn Pears:
]Deal with another one of Anthony's strange future societies. Here the level
]of civilization has dropped dramatically along with technology. Life
]revolves around the battle circles, where wanderers meet and do battle.
]Good stuff, typical Anthony with heaps of technological artifacts lying
]around.

Greg Calkin:
]A trilogy set in a post-holocaust world were groups of peasants live in
]desperate conditions, while various small groups retain technology, living
]underground. Various generations of characters travel round, suffering
]various problems (the most creative was a guy who had his hands chopped off,
]got swords wielded onto his arms, then became a pacifist, so got one of the
]swords replaced with a xylophone and the other with a hammer). Soapy, humour
]mostly incidental.

Michael Pope:
]Did Anthony want to tell a story, or just an excuse to write a fair bit about
]hand-to-hand combat? Plenty of action, plot holes, and macho enjoyment for
]the violent.

Tarot Trilogy

"God of Tarot"
"Vision of Tarot"
"Faith of Tarot"

Arnold Pears:
]Fine if you like, weirdo sex between unlikely race mixtures. Since all I can
]remember from my reading of these books a few years back is the sex, I have a
]feeling it was laid on a bit thick.

Chris Robertson:
]These are, well, *odd*. They are Anthony writing soft-soft-soft core porn,
]almost -- the whole plot seems to be just a device for him to have the hero
]pant after the heroine while supposedly investigating the nature of reality
]and religion. Not as laboured as the tail-end books of Xanth or the Split
]Infinity series, but not as good as their beginnings ("Split Infinity" itself
]and "A Spell for Chameleon", both of which are, IMHO, Anthony at his best,
]and very enjoyable). I read my copies twice (with a gap of about 5 years in
]between), then gave them away.

Michael Paddon:
]Not too bad, despite Anthony's fascination with homosexuality that pervades
]much of this trilogy. The plot mechanism used to provide the necessary
]special effects has more holes than I'd like to list, but if you treat the
]whole thing as an exercise in esoteric symbology then you'll survive OK.
]Don't believe all he says about the Tarot or its history. He fucked up badly
]on some of the research.

Cluster

"Vicinity Cluster"
"Chaining the Lady"
"Kirlian Quest"
"Thousandstar"
"Viscous Circle"

Chris Fama:
]Novel, but tedious by the time you get to the last couple. I prefer Xanth -
]these are a sf version of same, but they try to be serious and thus the main
]value in the former is largely lacking.

Mark Williams:
]This series had a good premise (Galactic civilisation by transference of
]minds, with strict rules). The first book was actually quite good. I couldn't
]get past the third book in the series, though.

Michael Paddon:
]From Tarot to Kirlian auras. Again the science is pseudo. Again, worth a read
]but don't expect much more than space opera done in a particularly Anthony
]style.

Split Infinity

"Split Infinity"
"Blue Adept"
"Juxtaposition"

Michael Barlow:
]As with many other series it starts with a nice idea in the first book and
]then goes on to work and rework that idea to death. Stile is a serf/ slave
]in one world and finds he is the Blue Adept in the parallel fantastic
]universe. Not recommended after the first book unless you like Anthony
]series.

Chris Robertson:
]The trouble with Anthony as a writer is that he's really a one-book author,
]not a series writer, and all he does these days is write damn series. "Split
]Infinity" is very good -- quite original, reasonably well-written, and
]without the dreadful laboured style of most of his later books where he tells
]his readers things over and over again as though they've forgotten them, and
]explains and *explains* his characters' motivations until one could just
]scream.

Michael Paddon:
]From pseudo science to pure fantasy. Anthony postulates two parallel
]universes; one magic, one scientific. Not totally original, but not a bad
]starting place for a good story. Unfortunately Anthony, as usual, never
]really comes to grips with the really interesting aspects of his milieu.
]Neither is the characterisation done very well. Why do robots, unicorns,
]werewolves, wizards, peasants, capitalists, slaves, dragons witches and
]golems all think and act like late 20th Century inhabitants?

Kathryn Andersen:
]I read the first three again, the proper "trilogy" (Split Infinity, Blue
]Adept, Juxtaposition) This makes me think that a generalisation someone once
]made about Piers Anthony is true: he thinks of a good idea, writes an okay
]book, and then writes 2 + n more books (where n >= 0) based on the same idea,
]which don't add anything to the idea at all... Again, these were a fair
]enough read, but not worth reading twice. (I bought my copies in a rush, then
]gave them away after I spent a fevered weekend reading all 3 of them.)

Bio of a Space Tyrant

"Refugee"
"Mercenary"
"Politician"
"Executive"
"Statesman"

Bryn Pears: "Utter Crap."

Michael Paddon: "Really, really bad allegory. In five never-ending parts."

Zev Sero:
]Parody of US politics in the 60s and 70s, from a left-wing perspective.
]All about right-wing conspiracies, the evil monster Richard Nixon, etc.
]Boring.

Paul Gillingwater:
]Bio of a Space Tyrant is lusty bodice ripping stuff, but much more adult in
]tone (I guess to make up for the saccharine quality of the Xanth stuff).
]Much better is his Intimations of Mortality series... well worth a read.>

Matthew Atterbury:
]UTTER UTTER UTTER UTTER UTTER CRAP!
]One of the very few books i have started but not finished. Absolutely
]no redeeming features, unless you quickly need to become VERY depressed.

Luke Wildman:
]Well I liked it enough to read the first 4 or so books but I couldn't bear
]to read any more (Like the last one "Statesman"). Just a saga of an Alan Bond
]like person and his rise from the lowest of the low to the highest of high
]just because of his ability to coordinate a devoted team of helpers.

Incarnations of Immortality

"On a Pale Horse"
"Bearing an Hourglass"
"With a Tangled Skein"
"Wielding a Red Sword"
"Being a Green Mother"
"For Love of Evil"

Paul Gillingwater:
]Haven't read the 6th one yet, but enjoyed the others. You get a bit
]bored with P.A. after a while...

Tim Hudson:
]Have read the 6th one recently and it was just another one in the series
]with a few extra twists which were rather predictable after reading the
]previous five books at the same time. If you liked the first five then you
]should get the sixth and read it - if not then don't bother.

Mark Williams:
]This is far and away the best of Anthony's series that I have read. It is
]once again a bit like fairy-floss. I think the way to handle Anthony is this.
]Read the first in one of his series. If you like it, put it away for a couple
]of months, and read it again. This saves the expense of buying the rest of
]the series.

Michael Paddon:
]"On a Pale Horse" was notable for a fresh slant on telling a hackneyed plot
]with hackneyed characters. Worth reading. Anthony, encouraged by the success
]of the first volume, demonstrated with dazzling brilliance the best feature
]of his state of the art word processor. Global substitution.

Xanth

"A Spell for Chameleon"
"The Source of Magic"
"Centaur Aisle"
"Castle Roogna"
"Ogre Ogre"
"Night Mare"
"Dragon on a Pedestal"
"Crewel Lye"
"Golem in the Gears"

Magic of Xanth

"Heaven Cent"
"Vale of the Vole"

Arnold Pears:
]I bought the first 6ish, well up to Centaur Aisle, when I was in England in
]1983. I thought them a good light read. To my mind the highlights of the
]series are "A Spell for Chameleon", and "Castle Roogna".

Chris Robertson:
]Haven't read these two ["Heaven Cent" & "Vale of the Vole"], but Xanth's been
]going steadily downhill since the first book, though "The Source of the
]Magic" and "Castle Roogna" are still enjoyable reads.

Chris Fama:
]Read the first few of these. Not high quality, but all fun. Good either for
]a rainy day - distinctive Anthony style. They tend to take the mickey out of
]generic fantasy by imitating it - shouldn't be read with high expectations.
]Fun, but cardboard plot/characters (intentional, I think :-)

Mark Williams:
]Good God! There must now be eleven of the darn things. I have read the first
]nine, and I must say I enjoyed reading them while I was reading them. On the
]other hand, they were what I term 'candy-floss' books. They were a touch
]sickly, and I would be hard put to remember what their titles were, let alone
]what they were about. Not much quality here.

Greg Calkin:
]Xanth, Xanth and more fucking Xanth. Well, anything by PA is churned out in
]2 months, but Xanth is insane. Reminds me of a World according to Garp Quote,
]but Paraphrased
]    "It was so horrible, it was unbelievable, but one had to read it to
]     see if he could surpass himself." (very paraphrased)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISAAC ASIMOV

Foundation

"Prelude to Foundation"
"Foundation"            }
"Foundation and Empire"        } original trilogy
"Second Foundation"        }
"Foundation and Earth"
"Foundation's Edge"

Dave Horsfall: "An interesting plot dragged out."

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]The earlier books suffer a bit from dating, while the later ones suffer from
]being overly long. Still the plots are imaginative and clever.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This is good, with a well constructed 'world', but the constant 'So,
]we've finally solved the puzzle. Oh, no! It's a puzzle within a puzzle!'
]gets a little tiring by the end.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Asimov's Foundation books I thought were the *pits*.
]Basic premise: human behaviour is predictable on a large scale - exact
]analogy with statistical mechanics of gases. Rich weirdo uses this to
]establish Foundation to rig the course of the next n-thousand years.  The
]first 2 volumes are short stories - "all_ of them about how one brave
]"individual nobly keeps society on the predicted track! (So much for basic
]premise) All characters are pure cardboard, and as you are always jumping 200
]years to a new set of (identical) characters it rapidly becomes difficult to
]care. _Then_ it turns out that the theory didn't even work on those terms,
]and there have been secret agents of the Foundation manipulating and rigging
]society all along.  Then I gave up.

Ian Farquhar:
]I disagree that the original Foundation trilogy (ie. parts 2 - 4 from
]"Foundation" to "Second Foundation") was totally boring, though at times it
]got damn close. The later novels (Vols 1, 5 and 6) have reached the level or
]boredom that makes me wonder why I bother, though the American public seemed
]to love them and they all made the bestsellers lists.

Brent Curtis:
]I found this very dry and boring. I always found Asimov's non-fiction far
]more readable than his fiction. This stuff is always available in libraries
]so you don't have to actually pay money to be bored. I read the first four
]and they went from worse to worserer.

Luke Wildman:
]Interesting!  Introduction to ideas on semiotics, advanced logic, logic on
]history to predict future, patterns in evolution of civilisations. Shows what
]happens when you throw in a wild card like "the mule". Pretty pathetic
]ending though.

Richard Thomas:
]The original trilogy is a classic piece of great SF. The fourth book is
]pretty good too and matches the trilogy fairly well. In the fourth book
]he starts to merge his robot stories into the Foundation universe, not a
]good idea IMHO. The last two books in the series are alright, but are not
]great literature and don't contribute much to the series (IMHO the last two
]books to be written were done just to bring the Robots and Foundation to-
]gether.)

Robots

"The Caves of Steel"
"The Naked Sun"
"The Robots of Dawn"
"Robots and Empire"
"Robot Dreams"

short stories

"I, Robot"            } available in one volume as
"The Rest of the Robots"    } "The Complete Robot"

Dave Horsfall: "OK in its day."

Ian Farquhar:
]The robot series comes first, and it details the invention of robots and
]the politics of the company "US Robotics" that marketed them. Its main
]themes are the nature of the robots, the three laws of robotics, and the
]paranoia of most people towards the robots.
]The Balley series is much later on. Earth has been turned into a super
]underground cities in which the hatred of robots has resulted in their
]banning from earth. The spacer worlds have split off and genetically
]engineered themselves longer lifetimes. Both sides consider themselves
]superior. In the last of the novels, "Robots and Empire", the spacers
](non-earth) have contaminated the earth and made it radioactive. Two robots,
]who should have stopped it, did not. Thus they formulate the zeroth law of
]robotics: a robot cannot harm humanity. One of these robots is called
]R. Daneel Olivaw.
]Eventually the spacers are defeated, and the Galactic empire is formed. This
]is where the third set of novels fit, though not terribly well.
]Finally, the galactic empire is crumbling, and a mathematician called Harmi
]Seldon predicts this. He is aided by a bureaucrat that is actually
]R. Daneel Olivaw. They set up the foundations, which eventually are pushed
]aside by Gaia, the planetary organism. A foundationer is sent to find Earth,
]where he meets Olivaw on the moon orbiting a dead radioactive planet, and
]decides to form Galaxia - the galaxy wide organism.

George Michaelson:
]started well. good in its day. Couldn't resist the temptation to (a) make
]two completely separate n-ogies unite into one cosmology (b) pick up an
]old series many years later. would have been much better left alone as
]an icon in the history of SF. now can be legitimately slammed as windbaggery
]and boring drivel for 11-111 year olds. Asimov is obsessed with his 3 laws,
]and manages to ignore their complete rejection by contemporary cybernetics
]and robotic/AI community. Positronic is now a trade mark for some crap
]S.E. Asian hifi products or a shaver or something. Suits it.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Asimov's Robot books were fun. Logic games, detective puzzles. No
]characterisation. Only memorable person (I haven't read these since early
]high school) is Dr Susan Calvin, who is like a good roleplaying tournament
]character - summarisable in 3 lines, easy to predict under any circumstances,
]but consistent and amusing.

Kathryn Andersen:
](A) the short stories
]Yes, I like these - he takes an idea and keeps on twisting it into
]interesting configurations, exploring it enough.  Now, some people might
]think it is all old hat now, but he was the one who was around with the idea,
]if not first, (Kapek actually invented the word "Robot") then very early.  I
]like the mystery stories with Susan Calvin, though I think my favourite Robot
]story would be "The Bicentennial Man".

](B) the Daneel Olivaw novels
]"The Caves of Steel","The Naked Sun","The Robots of Dawn","Robots and
]Empire".  The first two are the best - I like mysteries occasionally, so
]having an SF mystery is fine by me! The last two get more into his recent
]penchant for tying all his stories together as one whole time-line, which
]means those who are curious about how it all connects together should read
]them, but those who aren't can pass them by if they want.

Richard Thomas:
]The Robot novels are the conclusion to Asimov's Robot short stories and are
]mystery novels set in an SF universe. The novels are pretty good reading (but
]be warned they are definitely mystery oriented.) The series does present an
]interesting view of how humanity seems to split into extremes.
]All of Asimov's latest novels (1980's) that I have read (which is almost all
]of them) push his religious ideas of Gaia (the universal combined
]intelligence) I find this to be a bit hard to stomach at times and does harm
]his writing.  I still will recommend Asimov for reading but not too strongly
]for his later works.

Kerry Raymond:
]Asimov wrote many short stories about robots. It was decided to put them
]together by linking them together with a bit of narrative. About half of the
]robot stories had a sufficiently common `scenario' to do this. These were
]the robot stories of "US Mechanical Men" and Susan Calvin, with 2 young
]engineers with very ordinary names (like Bob and Frank, or something) who
]figure out why the robots don't work as you might expect given the 'Three
]Laws'. "I Robot" is therefore these stories put together with the glue of
]"interviewing Susan Calvin as an old woman as she looks back over the years
]of robot technology". It's more of an anthology than a novel, as such.
]The remaining robot short stories that have many different scenarios and are
]published as an anthology entitled "The Rest of the Robots" without any
]attempt to glue them together.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT ASPRIN

"Hit or Myth"
"Mythnomers and Impervections"

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Amusing. Children's books really, always preaching the sort of simple
]morality so popular in childrens literature (if you're nice to him he'll be
]nice to you, generous people are popular, ..). Very boring if you read too
]many. Some are real duds - completely unnecessary linking and explaining
]books. Amusing mixture of genuine magic and very hi tech from 'other
]dimensions'.

Ross Alford:
]The touching story of a boy and his demon mentor. Actually, it's a quite
]funny fantasy series where anything that can go wrong will, but it will be
]all right by the end.

Michael Paddon:
]Puns are the lowest form of humour. This novel rates similarly in literature.

Brent Curtis:
]I've only read one of these - 'Mythnomers and Impervections'. Not at all
]serious. Sort of a "lead character gets thrown into a weird society to find
]his friend" book. Nice big letters, very quick to read, I would read another
]if one happened to fall into my possession.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JEAN M. AUEL

Earth's Children

"The Clan of the Cave Bear"
"The Valley of the Horses"
"The Mammoth Hunters"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Mills and Boon meets the Stone Age. Will Org the tribesman make up with
]Hrun? And what is Urgh up to? Will Gorg the herder carry through with
]his threat? ........

Dave Horsfall:
]Not your usual people-at-the-dawn-of-time, but some original twists in
]it. And lots of sex scenes, if you're into that sort of thing. Just
]three volumes so far, with a fourth (and last) promised.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Speculative History - tells of the trials and tribulations of Ayla, a Homo
]Sapiens girl brought up by a Neanderthal tribe, and what happened
]afterwards.... Very good speculation of the cultures, backgrounds, etc (seems
]the author actually did survival courses etc as part of her research) and of
]course the main character is the best thing about it. Three books so far and
]apparently three more planned, but no sign of them yet, I suppose she is
]researching the next one. As I said, is probably not SF, but only other
]possible category is Historical, and as is set in Pre-History, doesn't fit
]there either.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAMES BLISH

After Such Knowledge

"A Case of Conscience"
"Black Easter"        } available in one volume called
"The Day of Judgement"  } "The Devil's Day"
"Doctor Mirabilis"

David Bofinger:
]Doctor Mirabilis:      Haven't read it.
]Black Easter    :      Explores the question of why the devil would want to
]                       fight a war he is doomed to be defeated in, and what
]                       he would do if he won. Excellent. God is killed,
]            heaven is destroyed, the gates of hell are raised on
]            Earth, and that's in the _middle_ of the book. And the
]            rest isn't an anticlimax.
]A Case of Conscience:  Explores the Manichaen (sp?) heresy, i.e. since God
]                       wouldn't create unpleasant things they must be the
]            work of Satan. I liked it, though I read it some time
]            ago.

Andrew Hide:
]It is a thematic, rather than a narrative trilogy; each book is set in a
]different time period, and examines the question of whether or not the
]search for secular knowledge is morally neutral, or actively evil. 'Doctor
]Mirabilis' does not immed- iately seem to have anything to do with science
]fiction ( it is about the life of Roger Bacon ), but turns out to be deeply
]involved with conceptual breakthroughs, a subject very near to SF's heart.
]'Black Easter' is about a contemporary black magician - a REAL one, who
]trafficks with demons and the whole bit. It is given a lot of power by its
]treatment of magic, with a total lack of whimsy, and almost scientific
]accuracy, and has a great twist ending.
]'A Case Of Conscience' is set in the near future, and revolves around the
]decision that a Catholic priest and biologist must make about a surveyed
]planet and its inhabitants. It also has a logical yet unexpected twist at
]the end.  For all that these books are about knowledge, religion, the Faust
]legend etc, they are still 'hard' in their science. I recommend them highly
]for an intelligent read. ( I believe that 'A Case of Conscience' won the
]Hugo and Nebula awards.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ELIZABETH BOYER

The World of the Alfar

"The Elves and the Otterskin"
"The Sword and the Satchel"
"The Thrall and the Dragon's Heart"
"The Wizard and the Warlord"
"The Troll's Grindstone"

Brian Ross:
]Personally I enjoyed them, although the style is a little hard to get used
]to.  The obvious research done into Icelandic/Greenlander/Nordic legend is
]very good and shows in the concepts presented.  Characterisation is a little
]bad, although it has moments.

Friendless:
]I only read "The Elves..." and "The Wizard...", but since they were both
]the same and both not good, I gave up. There is better SF around than this.
]The author displays some knowledge of Norse mythology.

Tim Allen:
]I started reading one book, "The Elves and the Otterskin", which I suspect is
]part of that series. It was excrement. After 100 pages of drivel I gave up.
]The plot didn't make sense, the main characters were all morons ("You're
]witches and you're going to kill us! I have proof!" "No we're not, don't be
]silly." "OK then, we'll stay at your house, completely at your mercy, for
]another day, then." ), the mythology was a hopeless kludge of Celtic and
]Norse mythology. She didn't even bother changing the names of the Norse
]elements; Odin and Thor keep being mentioned all over the place. The book
]contained no originality whatsoever, though getting anyone to publish it must
]have required a great deal of creativity.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY

Darkover [list thanks to Kathryn Andersen]

Proto-Darkovan Novels:
    "The Door Through Space"    (1961)
    "The Sword of Aldones"        (1962)
    "The Planet Savers"        (1962)

Darkovan Novels:
    "The Bloody Sun"        (1964)
    "Star of Danger"        (1965)
    "The Winds of Darkover"        (1970)
    "The World Wreckers"        (1971)
    "Darkover Landfall"        (1972)
    "The Spell Sword"        (1974)
    "The Heritage of Hastur"    (1975)
    "The Shattered Chain"        (1976)
    "The Forbidden Tower"        (1977)
    "StormQueen"            (1978)
    "Two To Conquer"        (1980)
    "Sharra's Exile"        (1981)
    "Hawkmistress"            (1982)
    "Thendara House"        (1983)
    "City of Sorcery"        (1984)

Anthologies (with the Friends of Darkover):
    "The Keeper's Price"        (1980)
    "Sword of Chaos"        (1982)
    "Free Amazons of Darkover"    (1985)
    "The Other Side of the Mirror"    (1987)
    "Four Moons of Darkover"    (1987>) [can't remember]
    "Red Sun of Darkover"        (1987>) [can't remember]

Kathryn Andersen on the structure of the series:
]There are three periods in the history of Darkover that have been written
]about: The Founding, when a Terran colony ship crash-landed on Darkover, and
]what followed;  The Ages of Chaos, where wars were fought with sorcerous
]powers between a hundred petty kingdoms; and Terra vs. Darkover, when the
]Terran Empire rediscovered this long lost colony, and the clashes that ensue.
]
]The Founding
]------------
]Darkover Landfall
]
]The Ages of Chaos and the Hundred Kingdoms
]------------------------------------------
]StormQueen
]HawkMistress
]Two To Conquer
]
]Terra vs Darkover
]-----------------
](these ones are hard to date; the best I can do is show groups of related
]novels which share major characters, and figure that some groups are set
]earlier than others. Some novels are repeated here because they have more
]than one connection (via minor characters) with other novels (which is why
]it is not easy to chronicle))
]
]  KEY: A --> B  : A
]  shares major characters with B, B comes after A
]  ...(name)..> non-major character shared by both books]
]
]The Spell Sword --> The Forbidden Tower
]The Shattered Chain --> Thendara House --> City of Sorcery
]The Forbidden Tower ...(Andrew Carr)...> Thendara House
]Star of Danger ..(Larry Montray)...> The Winds of Darkover
]Star of Danger ...(Kennard Alton)...> The Bloody Sun
]The Bloody Sun ...(Kennard Alton)...> The Heritage of Hastur
]The Heritage of Hastur --> {The Sword of Aldones, Sharra's Exile}
](these two books cover the same events,
]more or less. Sword of Aldones was the first
]Darkover novel MZB wrote, and she wanted to
]give it a better treatment, so she wrote
]Sharra's Exile after she wrote Heritage of Hastur)
]Sharra's Exile ...(Regis Hastur)...> The Planet Savers
]The Planet Savers ...(Regis Hastur, Jay Allison)...> The World Wreckers
]The Winds of Darkover ...(Desidera Leynier/Storn)...> The World Wreckers
]
]The anthologies cover all periods of Darkover's history.

Leisa Condie:
]I only found one of her Darkover stories remotely mediocre - the rest
]rubbish.

Ross Alford:
]Spans several different ages in the life of one world.  There is prehistory,
]recent history and after the planets discovery by space-faring people. The
]books are strongly feminist and if you don't like that sort of thing, you
]won't like them. I haven't actually read enough of them to recommend the
]series as a whole. I've liked a couple of the books, and didn't care for at
]least one of them.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Long series (>20 books, including the anthologies) quality varies, but can
]skip the bad ones with no problem.  Main strength is the characterisation, I
]think.  Science - Fantasy I'd call it; space ships and psychic powers, and a
]planet with feudal lords and old traditions...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GILLIAN BRADSHAW

Arthurian Trilogy

"Hawk of May"
"Kingdom of Summer"
"In Winter's Shadow"

Kathryn Andersen:
]"Hawk of May" is one of my all-time favourite books (if you recall my poll
]vote) the reason I didn't nominate the other two is not because they aren't
]excellent, it is because they both describe parts of the Arthurian cycle
]where things start going wrong, so I don't like to read them as often,
]because it makes me unhappy.  The whole series is set in the period after
]Rome has abandoned England, and the Saxons are invading her defenceless
]shores; that is, this is an early Arthur, not a medieval one.  I can't
]compare it with "The Mists of Avalon" because I gave up on that after 50
]pages. I couldn't stand arguing world-views with the author for hundreds more
]pages; not my idea of relaxation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID BRIN

The Uplift War

"Sundiver"
"The Uplift War"
"Startide Rising"

Michael Paddon: "Good read with fresh ideas. A definition of SF?"

Tim Allen: "Brilliant"

Zev Sero:
]Great Stuff. I just finished part 3 last night (I'd read the first 2 parts
]years ago), and am eagerly waiting for part 4.

Bryn Pears:
]Brilliant, like all of his works. Definitely worth a read. I found it quite
]compelling.

Leisa Condie:
]Quite good, but I haven't bothered to read the other two yet, so not
]exceptionally inspiring. The underlying ideas were well thought out, and the
]story well written.

Andrew Moran:
]Excellent. I particularly enjoy the milieu he has created --- its easily the
]most believable universe since Alan Dean Foster's Commonwealth. The politics,
]the patron races and their clients and the incredible interspecies rivalry.
]By far the best aspect of the book are the chims and chimmies and their
]elaborate culture. I want to read Startide Rising now. Sundiver is also good,
]but not as rich as this one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TERRY BROOKS

Shannara

"The Sword of Shannara"
"The Elfstones of Shannara"
"The Wishsong of Shannara"

Michael Paddon: "Lord of the Rings with global substitution."

Chris Keane: "Drivel"

Arnold Pears:
]Crap, if you want to see TLOTR redone in awful style, with characters I
]felt like killing, read this now.

Zev Sero:
]Boring. Avoid Like The Plague. The estate of Tolkien ought to have
]the power to stop crap like this.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This is a reasonable read. He handles the format fairly well, but
]unfortunately, the format is so hackneyed that it may not really be worth
]reading.

Friendless:
]Based so closely upon Lord of the Rings it's probably plagiarism, yet so
]badly written that it couldn't possibly be associated with Tolkien. And I'm
]sure one character vanished, took part in later activity, then was admitted
]to be still vanished (in "Sword...").

The Magic Kingdom of Landover

"Magic Kingdom for Sale. Sold!"
"The Black Unicorn"
"Wizard at Large"

Paul Gillingwater: "Not worth a look"

Chris Robertson:
]This is a pleasant book. It amazes me how someone who wrote books as
]poorly-written and derivative as the Shannara stuff could have actually
]written this -- but then, that's how I felt comparing Stephen Donaldson's
]"Mordant's Need" books with the Thomas Covenant series. This isn't a
]heavy-duty book, and there are a few bits about it that grate (e.g., calling
]the living castle "Sterling Silver"), but on the whole I found it enjoyable,
]amusing (Filip and Sot, the G'Home Gnomes with a taste for other people's
]pets, are great), and reasonably un-cliched. I've read "The Black Unicorn",
]and found it not as good -- starting to be contrived and a bit plodding, and
]the same goes for the latest. Still pleasant- enough light reading, though.

Chris Fama:
]Better than Brooks' other stuff; some say v.good. I enjoyed it but not
]incredibly so.

Friendless:
]I have only read the first, but I will most probably shell out the moolah
]for the other two. These books are good fun, and Brooks seems much better at
]writing fun than Tolkienesque stuff.

Michael Paddon:
]Worse than Piers Anthony. Lots worse.  This applies to everything Brooks has
]ever written.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Martian Series

"A Princess of Mars"
"Gods of Mars"
"Warlord of Mars"
"Thuvia Maid of Mars"
"The Chessmen of Mars"
"Master Mind of Mars"
"Fighting Man of Mars"
"Swords of Mars"
"Synthetic Men of Mars"
"Llana of Gathol"
"John Carter of Mars"

Richard Thomas:
]The whole series is lots of fun and action.  The main character is an Earth
]man who transports himself to Mars and becomes the great hero and leader of
]Mars (I think called Barsoom in the books.)  Mars is home to basically two
]intelligent species, and there is much fighting and treatying between them
](and also amongst themselves.)  Most of the fighting is with sword, but they
]also have guns as well.  They also have sky ships for navel action.  A good
]fun mix of fantasy and action, with a little plot (teen fiction,) not what
]one would call great fiction.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Usual Burroughs fare - adventure, Bold Hero, strange cultures, lovely
]heroine, sub-human evil guys.  Definitely light mindless reading.  However,
]there were some interesting ideas sprinkled here and there - the Room of (i
]forget the number) Doors was a really good one; it was a method of execution
]for Our Hero in one of the later books.  Needless to say, he escaped, but it
]was rather clever how he did so.  When you feel like low brow reading, these
]will do well.

Michael Paddon:
]The Martian series is Burroughs most famous work. It was the raw pulp
]inspiration that later writers distilled into what we call SF today.  Swords
]and sorcery on the Imperial Red Planet, with our hapless Earthman hero
]transported to a fantastic kingdom where he must (as any gentleman surely
]would) rescue distressed princesses from the most horrible of fates.  John
]Carter leaves Flash Gordon looking like a wimp.
]The Venus series is similar, yet lacks the energy and boundless enthusiasm of
]it's incarnadine twin.

Michael Saleeba:
]Absolutely classical. Not to be missed. One was even a set book in U.S.A.
]schools for a while.

Alex Heatley:
]Both of these series are classic Space Opera SF. They have been plagiarised by
]several other authors (such as Michael Moorcock and Alan Burt Akers).  If you
]want an appreciation of the roots of Space Opera/Fantasy these works are
]necessary, otherwise they are action/adventure stories set on Mars.

Venus Series

"Pirates of Venus"
"Lost on Venus"
"Carson of Venus"
"Escape on Venus"
"Wizard of Venus"

Michael Saleeba: "Good, too. Not quite as good as the Mars series."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ORSON SCOTT CARD

Tales of Alvin Maker

"Seventh Son"
"Red Prophet"
"Prentice Alvin"

Andrew Waugh:
]Uses fantasy to explore social relations in America. The first explores
]the relationship between an inflexible Christian, with his abhorrence
]of "sorcery", and people who have such a power. The second considers
]the relations between the whites and the Indians, the third whites and
]blacks. All are a very good read.

Bryn Pears:
]Very good book, written in a quiet, gentle style. Found it to deal with
]myths and magic very well and to intertwine magic into an earth like setting
]very well indeed.

Arnold Pears:
]Really liked the first, gave it to my brother, (see preceding article).

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Fantasy America (nice change from fantasy Britain or Europe). Very, very
]good, but I found "Prentice Alvin" was starting to drag. Not sure why -
]'this is the 3rd book and the main character's still only 17' ?, or because
]Alvin's powers were getting a bit over the top?, or because I thought the
]Satan and evilness bits were a bit strong? (where's God?) - I don't know.

Luke Wildman:
]Fun read but not very interesting (I've only read the first so its still
]very early days and the plot is murky and the real participants aren't very
]well developed yet.

Friendless:
]I have read the first two, and both were very good - far better than OSC's
]short stories. I am going to bite someone if I can't get hold of the third
]pretty soon.

"Ender's Game"
"Speaker for the Dead"

Andrew Waugh:
]Consider how human society would react to "first contact". Normally, I would
]run a mile from such books, but these two are an exception. Although the
]reaction in both books is quite different, I could see humans reacting in
]just the ways described in the books.

Zev Sero:
]Great. Brilliant. Words Cannot Describe. etc. He has written some stuff
]which isn't quite as good, but then, he's written a lot.

George Michaelson:
]If the first time you have imagined how vicious the under 15's can be, this
]is a revelation. Taut, well structured thriller-in-space with good use of
]80's technospeak and visions of the future. Adults come out badly. Children
]come out adult. "Speaker for the Dead" follows on well, and has enough new
]ideas to sustain the concept. I hope he resists the temptation to go on
]forever. At last somebody who can write about aliens in a convincing fashion.
]well researched use of Computing technogibberish.

Tim Allen:
]Brilliant. The second book was better, I think. It's one of the few books
]I've read that contain a character who is actually worth admiring.

Anita Graham:
]I have had long debates (for me) with friends about which is the better book.
]After reading a bit more of OSC one can get tired of people (especially
]children) who are so good at manipulating others.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Excellent!! Science Fiction, classic first and second meetings with alien
]races. Pure joy. (But why does Card think of children as so violent ?)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JACK L. CHALKER

The Rings of the Master

"Lords of the Middle Dark"
"Pirates of the Thunder"

Alex Heatley:
]Typically Chalker series, lots of women places into powerless situations and
]turned into sex toys (told in loving detail), suitable if you're into light
]porn with women as objects/toys. The plot goes on for far too long and
]telegraphs its intentions well in advance.

Michael Paddon:
]The Rings of the Master is a simple SF quest scenario with all the favourite
]Chalker obsessions and window dressings. Not worth much at all.

Well World Saga

"Midnight at the Well of Souls"
"Exiles at the Well of Souls"
"Quest for the Well of Souls"
"The Return of Nathan Brazil"
"Twilight at the Well of Souls"/"The Legacy of Nathan Brazil"

Michael Barlow:
]Hard to remember as I read it many years ago. I remember that I quite
]enjoyed it and was impressed by all the alien biology, culture etc.

Alex Heatley:
]Possibly Chalker's worst series. Combines magic and fantasy with more women
]as sex toys and finishes with a very heavy handed moral about self-image.
]Badly plotted and characterised. Serves almost as an apology for Chalker's
]other novels.

Rolfe Bozier:
]I would have to rate these books quite high up on my list of favourites.  It
]is a space opera (in the best sense) on a huge scale.  He creates a
]completely original world, some interesting characters and plots which
]encompass the whole universe.  His now familiar theme of shape-changing is
]first given the full treatment here.  There are no deep and meaningful
]concepts here, but rather a thoroughly enjoyable saga with a multitude of
]aliens, heroes and villains, an intelligent computer and the end of the
]universe.  If that sounds really bad, I can only suggest that you pick up the
]first in the series, and give it a try.

Kathryn Andersen:
]I got all five of them, and then sold them second-hand again (where the same
]volumes were then bought by a friend of mine - amazing, that.) which shows
]that they were good enough, but not worth keeping.  Then again, perhaps I
]just didn't like his cosmology.  They had their moments.

Michael Paddon:
]The Well World is one of Chalker's earlier efforts, and it displays a
]panorama of original ideas and situations. The writing has holes, and yet the
]power of the story makes its seem unimportant; you buy the next book anyway.

Dancing Gods

"The River of Dancing Gods"
"Demons of the Dancing Gods"
"Vengeance of the Dancing Gods"

Alex Heatley:
]The first book in the series is very good, it is a medium-weight spoof of the
]sword and sorcery genre (for a better example see Norman Spinrad's "The Iron
]Dream") and is funny and appealing. The second novel shows clear signs of
]falling into well-worn Chalker plot lines with women as sex-toys and the
]usual Chalker obsession with body/mind swap/transformation. The third novel
]is a standard Chalker novel with none of the delights of the first novel.

Michael Paddon:
]Dancing Gods is a fantasy, rather than SF, and leans more towards humour than
]serious story telling. Chalker's pet obsession of being transformed into an
]overweight, blind and dominated female arises yet again, albeit less
]offensively than in others of his series.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.J. CHERRYH

The Faded Sun

"Kesrith"    } available in one volume as "The Faded Sun"
"Shonjir"    }
"Kutath"    }

Chanur

"The Pride of Chanur"
"Chanur's Venture"
"The Kif Strike Back"
"Chanur's Homecoming"

Brian Ross:
]Superb!  The only word to describe them.  She attempts, and succeeds in
]making you understand alien thought processes and motivations.  Great
]characterisation and scenes.  Also the only author who ever has attempted to
]take into account the Speed of Light's effects on space battles (admittedly
]not shown all that well in these stories, compared with Downbelow Station)
]with time lags and ships that can accelerate faster than the Speed of Light.

Lawrie Brown: "Very, very well done."

Michael Saleeba:
]I found this a little disappointing after some of her earlier work.

Matthew Deshon:
]One of the things I loved the most about the series was the interplay
]between the characters trying to jockey for position, stay alive, etc, by
]negotiating bargains, calling in favours, and attempting to rob each other
]blind at every opportunity;  It required concentration to follow the plot,
]especially in the middle two books, but that simply added to my enjoyment;

Cyteen

"The Betrayal"
"The Rebirth"
"The Vindication"

Michael Paddon:
]A Hugo award winner, no less. "Cyteen" is big, bad and boring. Obviously
]many would disagree with me.

The Chronicles of Morgaine

"Gate of Ivrel"
"Well of Shuian"
"Fires of Azeroth"
"Exiles Gate"

Andrew Waugh:
]I bought a book with all (?) three books collected together. I got through
]the first one OK, Morgaine was a super warrior travelling from world to world
]closing gates. I don't know why, but I got stuck in the second story and
]never completed the book. Possibly it was all just a bit grim and depressing
]for reading on the train.

Michael Pope:
]Cherryh is excellent at portraying *fear*. Very tense, and real--- if you cut
]the heroes, they bleed. Recommended.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Good series - four books, first three now brought out as one volume (which
]I have) so I can't accurately give their titles cuz I can't remember them.
]Morgaine is the last surviving member of a task force assigned to destroying
]the Gates (which link planets in time and space).  Nice grim atmosphere, has
]more fantasy feel than SF (Morgaine has sword, etc) - the technology is more
]like magic than techno - particularly as is seen from point of view of
]non-techno people. Worth a go.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN CHRISTOPHER

The Tripods

"The White Mountains"        } available in one volume called
"The City of Gold and Lead"    } "The Tripods"
"The Pool of Fire"        }
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARTHUR C. CLARKE

Odyssey

"2001, A Space Odyssey"
"2010, Odyssey 2"
"2061, Odyssey 3"

Damian Conway: "!!!!!! , ! , ?"

David Bofinger:
]Read the first one, to find out what happened in the movie. Read the second
]if you're really bored. Pulp the third.

Giles Lean:
]Well, 2001 you read 'cos it is 2001. Forget the rest if you can.

Alex Heatley:
]The first in the series "2001" is a classic work in the field, the latter
]books were written because people threw far too much money at Clarke.  "2010"
]does expand on the characterisation of Hal and his creator which is a saving
]grace.

Cameron Simpson:
]The movie was better. The books get techier and thinner as they go on. 2001
]was good. The Lost Worlds of 2001 we good too (discarded/preliminary script
]ideas).  Possibly my disenchantment comes from liking the movie too much.
]Regardless, thelast two books (2060? and ?) are really bad.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JO CLAYTON

Diadem Series

"Diadem from the Stars"
"Lamarchos"
"Irsud"
"Maeve"
"Star Hunters"
"The Nowhere Hunt"
"Ghosthunt"
"The Snares of Ibex"
"Quester's Endgame"
"Shadowplay"

Duel of Sorcery

"Moongather"
"Moonscatter"
"Changer's Moon"

Skeen Trilogy

"Skeen's Leap"
"Skeen's Return"
"Skeen's Search"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B.W. CLOUGH

Averidan

"The Crystal Crown"
"The Dragon of Mishbil"
"The Name of the Sun"
"The Realm Beneath"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADRIAN COLE

Omaran Saga

"A Place Among the Fallen"
"Throne of Fools"
"The King of Light and Shadows"
"The Gods in Anger"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HUGH COOK

Chronicles of an Age of Darkness

"The Wizards and the Warriors"
"The Wordsmiths and the Warguild"
"The Women and the Warlords"
"The Walrus and the Warwolf"
"The Wicked and the Witless"

Tim Allen:
]I've read the first two books. Not bad, just ordinary fantasy, with an
]above-average quota of humour thrown in. Borrow or buy second-hand.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This is a very interesting series. The most recent book was a bit of a let
]down, but those before it were very good.  Cook's world is a combination of
]fantasy and sf (much like 'The Dying Earth' from Vance), and so has more
]surprises than normal. His magic is quite interesting, and his characters are
]very real. The whole series has a grittiness about it that most fantasies
]lack. He keeps interest by combining humour, drama, and ideas in a very
]successful mix. (Some scenes in his books are absolutely hilarious.) Finally,
]he is trying to do something very interesting in the series: the plots of the
]books overlap in time, and the main characters in each book make cameo
]appearances in the others. This is *very* well done, and you are constantly
]wondering which minor character will become the major character in the next
]book.

Chris Fama:
]First two books were absolute shit. No plot connectedness at all, stupid
]characters. Possibly the worst fantasy I've ever read. But: have heard they
]get better from the fourth/third. I'm not willing to risk it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOUISE COOPER

Time Master Trilogy

"The Initiate"
"The Outcast"
"The Master"

Michael Paddon:
]Ordinary writing, derivative ideas, 2-D characters and a predictable ending
](of both each book and the series as a whole) turn this series into a ready
]source of tinder.

Indigo

"Nemesis"
"Inferno"
"Infanta"
"Nocturne"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUSAN COOPER

The Dark is Rising

Arnold Pears:
]Great books, I have read them over and over, and still find them excellent.

Andrew Waugh:
]Children's books - but good mind. The Dark is rising over England for the
]third and final time and it is up to the Light to turn them back. One thing
]I like about the series is that while the Dark is evil, the Light is not
]much better if you get in the way.

Zev Sero:
]I read this five parter when I was fifteen, so it may not be as good as I
]remember it, but it was my favourite series for years. Come to think of it,
]it's time I reread it. As soon as I get through that stack...

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This is a very clever series. It's style is such that moments from
]these books remain in your memories for years. It seems to tread the
]border between dreams and reality. (Sorry about that sentence, but I
]couldn't think of any better way to express it.) I strongly recommend it.
](This is a case of a children's story that is a superb adults book.)

Tim Allen:
]Essentially children's books, though I read them in my honours year. I liked
]the development of the ancient Celtic myths, it had a real mysterious flavour
]to it, but the ending let it down badly.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]_Ace_. Fantasy, not SF. Classic plot - dark forces trying to destroy/enslave
]humanity, forces of light ('old ones') trying to give future responsibility
]back to humanity. I was going to say, an excellent kids/teenagers book, bit
]simplistic for adults but actually they are a lot _less_ simplistic than most
]adult SF.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LYNDAN DARBY

The Eye of Time

"Crystal and Steel"
"Bloodseed"
"Phoenix Fire"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPRAGUE DE CAMP

Viagens Interplanetarias

"The Queen of Zamba"
"The Hand of Zei"
"The Hostage of Zir"
"The Prisoner of Zhamanak"
"The Virgin of Zesh"
"The Bones of Zora"
"The Tower of Zanid"

Tim Lambert:
]Interstellar travel without that magical hyperdrive.  (FTL travel is
]impossible, so de Camp won`t use it in a SF story.)  Some of these stories
]revolve around the years it takes to get anywhere, but the best ones are set
]on Krishna (which is a primitive world perfect for swashbuckling type
]adventure).

James Smith:
]5 and 7 are currently published in one volume. About the planet
]Krishna, which Earth is trying to bring into the Federation. The
]inhabitants are not human, though humans can pass among them with
]a little makeup. The planet is currently in its medieval period,
]and a ban on imported technology attempts to keep them that way,
]though it doesn't always work. Good logical fantasy.

Friendless:
]I spent about a month hunting down the first five (at el cheapo prices), read
]about three pages of the first, and gave them away in disgust. Generic awful
]SF.

The Reluctant King

"The Goblin Tower"
"The Clocks of Iraz"
"The Unbeheaded King"

Bryn Pears:
]Only read half of the first of these, actually. I started it last year just
]before my hons project got rather compellingly interesting (about four weeks
]before the due date). I found it to be a rather interesting book with
]interesting ideas. A bit slow moving at first.  All about a man who tries to
]avoid his duties as king, aided and abetted by his faithful magician. The
]magic is unusual and interesting (par for the course for de Camp) and the
]characterization is good.  Situations are interesting. The book opens with
]the hero about to be executed (as is ritual for the king - something about
]appeasing the Gods) and goes on from there.

James Smith:
]In Xylar, the king reigns for 5 years. Then they use his severed
]head to select the new king. Unfortunately, the last king slipped
]out of their clutches, and they haven't managed to catch him yet.
]Logical fantasy about a wandering hero, ala Conan, but with brains
]instead of brawn.

Tim Lambert:
]Fantasy trilogy set in the same world as "The Fallible Fiend".  Easy read,
]light-hearted, plenty of colour and adventure, no stupid save-the-world
]quests.  I liked the little stories within the story.  ("The Fallible Fiend"
]is better, though.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPRAGUE DE CAMP & FLETCHER PRATT

Harold Shea

"The Roaring Trumpet" / "The Incompleat Enchanter"    } available in one
"The Mathematics of Magic"                } volume as "The
"The Castle of Iron"                    } Intrepid
"The Wall of Serpents" / "The Enchanter Compleated"    } Enchanter".
"The Green Magician"                    }

James Smith: "Very good. A different approach to magic."

Arnold Pears:
]I really like these books, perhaps because being in the SCA I am a little
]biased towards this type of escapist fantasy, mythology, world story.
]Another book in this vein is G.R. Dickson, "The Dragon and the George",
]another Mediaeval fantasy book I like.

Bryn Pears:
]Really great series about a poetry student (PhD ??) who discovers formalisms
]which control magic in our world.  He uses this magic to transport himself to
]other ages and milieus. Visits such places as Ragnarok, the Faerie Queene,
]etc.  Recommended reading, especially for roleplayers.

Tim Allen:
]The first book was interesting, then it got severely bogged down, as though
]they had run out of ideas. The 1950s American concept of what women are for
]was intriguing, and would no doubt horrify Joan McGalliard in particular and
]any feminists in general.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Well, Alex Heatley would loathe them, because their premise (unseriously,
]now) is that all imagined worlds actually have their own reality, which it is
]possible to transfer oneself into by using the correct procedure. They all
]have their own laws (eg magic does not work here because the laws of this
]universe do not allow it, whereas in universes where magic works, it may work
]slightly differently). It was Professor Chalmers who proposed the theory, but
]Harold Shea who was bold (or stupid) enough to try the practicalities of it,
]and promptly (in the first book) got catapulted into the world of Norse Myth,
]even though he was aiming for somewhere else entirely. The other books have
]him landing variously in Spencer's Faerie Queen, Orlando's Furioso, Xanadu,
]Irish Myth (Cu-culaine etc) and others.  Fun stuff; the hero is not of the
]noble-heroic-always-right mold, but rather the
]oh-dear-I-have-to-think-of-something-quick variety. No more are likely to
]be written, since Fletcher Pratt has been dead for a while.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAMUEL R. DELANY

Neveryon

"Tales of Neveryon"
"Neveryona"
"Flight from Neveryon"
"Return to Neveryon"

Giles Lean:
]This I have at home. On a train to Sydney, with no other book, I gave up
]reading it.

Damian Conway:
]Samuel R. Delany is a bit like James Joyce: aesthetically I'm overjoyed that
]writers of his ability exist, but I don't want to have to read him! His
]writing is just too damn taxing. I get about half way through his books and
]collapse in mental exhaustion. In short: wonderful, but only if you've got
]the stamina.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOE DEVER & JOHN GRANT

Legends of Lone Wolf

"Eclipse of the Kai"
"The Dark Door Opens"
"The Sword of the Sun"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUSAN DEXTER

The Winter King's War

"The Ring of Allaire"
"The Sword of Calandra"
"The Mountains of Channadran"

Paul Gillingwater: "Forgettable."

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This is an interesting little series.  The characters are quite good, the
]writing style is OK, and the world is quite interesting.  Magic's conflicts
]with running water and iron provide some tricky problems.  The story gets
]better as it goes along, and I loved the ending (though I know that quite a
]few won't).  Worth reading.

Jon Eaves:
]Don't waste your time on this.  I made the silly mistake of actually paying
]for these books. A cutesy load of crap.  Make the Belgariad look like fine
]literary work.  - Save the trees, don't consider these -.

Chris Fama:
]First book: cliched crap. Peasant falls in with princess, something to do
]with a dragon; quest succeeds against great evil; peasant found to be
]rightful king. Better than Cook, above, but still pathetic.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This has some nice magic, nice characters, and a nice ending. It's a nice
]series, but not great. (The best thing is the way running water and metal
]effects magicians.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GORDON DICKSON

Dorsai [Ordering, thanks to Richard Thomas]

In order of writing:        In chronological order:

"Dorsai!"            "Necromancer"
"Lost Dorsai"            "Tactics of Mistake"
"Necromancer"            "Lost Dorsai"
"Soldier, Ask Not"        "Dorsai!"
"The Spirit of Dorsai"        "Soldier, Ask Not"    (middle of "Dorsai!")
"Tactics of Mistake"        "The Final Encyclopaedia"
"The Final Encyclopaedia"    "The Spirit of Dorsai"    (middle of TFE)
"The Dorsai Companion"        "Chantry Guild"
"Chantry Guild"            "The Dorsai Companion"

The original trilogy was "Tactics of Mistake", "Soldier, Ask Not", "Dorsai!".

Michael Paddon:
]"Soldier, Ask Not" is one of my all time favourites. The rest of the series
](original three) is good, "Soldier" is brilliant. The rest of the Childe
]cycle drags a bit.

Brent Curtis:
]I read the first four of these. Each book has a lead character who is
]a veritable superperson. The sheer competence of these characters is
]entertaining, although unreal (but who demands sci-fi be real). The books
]always have lots of battles so if you're into tactical warfare these
]might fit the bill.

Mark Williams:
]To my shame, I have only read one of this series ("The Tactics of Mistake").
]I really don't know why I haven't read the rest. It was wonderful.

Richard Thomas:
]This was the first written book of his series "The Childe Cycle."  I have
]seen him write that there were to be 12 books in the series, I don't think
]he has reached that goal yet.
]The Childe Cycle was inspired partially by his Masters thesis in sociology.
]The series is to cover history from the 1400's to the 2400's. His historical
]novels, which I haven't seen yet and don't think he has written yet, are to
]be based solidly on history. The historical novels were to pick one character
]from history and create a fiction around him to show how he influenced the
]future. The future books deal with specific characters who influence history
]and push humanity towards the next step in evolution. In the future novels
]he uses the main character from "Dorsai!", Donal Graeme, as his proto-type of
]the evolved homo sapien. Donal Graeme appears as three of the main future
]characters through a time travel trick. In his later books he pushes the
]idea that all of the decisions of humanity set up forces in history and that
]these forces are harnessed and represented by individuals.
]The Childe Cycle is very good reading, it presents some interesting ideas on
]society. The novels themselves are also well written and enjoyable to read
]and flow very smoothly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEPHEN DONALDSON

The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever

"Lord Foul's Bane"
"The Illearth War"
"The Power That Preserves"
"Gilden-Fire"

Arnold Pears:
]First book is OK. The bit where he wanders around in the snow on those
]FUCKING mountains, in one of the later books really crapped me off.  I
]skipped whole CHAPTERS, and there he was still walking around BLOODY
]COMPLAINING.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]These are good books. They drag the reader into another world, just
]like Covenant himself. Their only faults are that they are too wordy, and
]Covenant is very much an anti-hero.

Tim Allen:
]Good. Brilliant, actually, but Donaldson does have a tendency to spend too
]much time inside the skulls of his characters.

George Michaelson:
]Too long. Too angst-y. Too much second-derivative Tolkien structure. Good
]fun in bed with the flu and a packet of bikkes...

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Unreadable. Donaldson has no ear for language. His sentences jar and thud,
]his descriptions are repetitive and strained and his invented words have
]completely unintended and confusing echoes.
]Covenant is fictions worst ever whinger - the reader rapidly comes to hate
]him.  (This could easily be Donaldson's intention, but it removes a lot of
]joy from reading) He is also far too rigid - he _always_ acts according to a
]very limited char. description: incapable of learning or changing.

Luke Wildman:
]Read it when I was 16 or so, it was entertaining then and long, and was
]interesting because you hated the central character so much rather than
]liking him. (Probably because we identify with the central character (its
]our point of view) and with Thomas we were forced to identify using the
]points we hate about ourselves.)

Brent Curtis:
]A very depressing fantasy trilogy. I loved having a lead character who had
]major faults, even if I cringed at everything he did. Quite heavy reading
]as far as fantasy goes. Be prepared to vomit in disbelief at the decency
]of the good guys and the evil of the baddies.

The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

"The Wounded Land"
"The One Tree"
"White Gold Wielder"

Arnold Pears:
]Once again the first book was good, and I guess the last, at least it
]tied up the lose ends.

Andrew Waugh:
]Much less depressing than the first book. Perhaps for this reason I
]liked it more than the first.

George Michaelson:
]Worse than the first ones. Borrow rather than buying.

Friendless:
]In the end, I didn't give a fuck what happened to Covenant, the Bloodguard,
]the fucking High Lord, or any of those pricks. I just wanted the bloody
]series to finish. I enjoyed the First Chronicles; the Second was an exercise
]in tedium.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]These are good books. They drag the reader into another world, just like
]Covenant himself. Their only faults are that they are too wordy, and
]Covenant is very much an anti-hero.

Tim Allen:
]This time he spends far too much time in characters' skulls; the story gets
]very bogged down in places. Nowhere near as good as the 1st series.

Mordant's Need

"The Mirror of Her Dreams"
"A Man Rides Through"

Bryn Pears: "Frustrating, like all his work. Heroine is a wimp."

Friendless: "Bloody good. Read it."

]Arnold Pears:  I think I read several reviews recently, well comments at
]least, to the effect that this was an OK series. Well I guess OK is a good
]word, it was at least relatively short. My gripe with this book is the
]unfortunate stereotypes in the characters, and the sex. Sure the girl was
]interested in sex, fine, but I felt that the sex angle was poorly dealt with,
]and detracted from what was in many cases an interesting plot.

Andrew Waugh:
]The first feminist fantasy book :-) The hero starts off as a classic "wrong"
]woman: her view of herself is totally defined by how other people perceive
]her (needless to say, she is fairly miserable). By the end of the book, she
]can actually think for herself! The book is very action orientated: it
]doesn't slow down or get introspective at all. One problem is that it is not
]really a series at all but one book published in two halves. The first part
]basically ends at the most convenient stopping point about half way through
]the whole book.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Wonderful, brilliant, and masterful. Donaldson has really come of age here.
]His wordiness has gone - every paragraph is vital to the story, and there are
]a lot of them. His characters are developed with a skill that is astonishing,
]and the plot races along to a superb climax. As an added bonus, the world is
]quite interesting and even consistent. This series has really gripped me both
]times I've read it. One of the best!

Tim Allen:
]Brilliant. A very complicated plot which seems a little incredible at times,
]but still leaves you wanting to read on to find out what's going on. The
]character of Adept Havelock was priceless.

Brent Curtis:
]DO NOT READ THESE! I hated every minute of them. I kept reading, hoping
]for improvement, waiting in vain. Real fairy story stuff suited to sixth
]graders.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAROLE NELSON DOUGLAS

Exiles of the Rhynth

"Six of Swords"
"Plight of the Sorceress"

Sword and Circlet Trilogy

"Keepers of Edanvant"
???
"Seven of Swords"

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Interesting. Probably the best thing in this series is the relationship
]between the two major characters, and its development. Worth reading.

Friendless:
]Six of Swords was so bad that I couldn't read it. After spending three days
]trying to understand one particular page, I quit in disgust. I am confident
]that I didn't miss anything.

James Smith:
]There are only two as far as I know. I haven't got round to the second yet,
]but the first was excellent.  This is the sequel to Six of Swords, which was
]a very good book. Fantasy, but with a slightly different slant.

Anita Graham:
]Not bad, but then again I haven't bought part 3, whose name I forget.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID EDDINGS

The Belgariad

"Pawn of Prophecy"
"Queen of Sorcery"
"Magician's Gambit"
"Castle of Wizardry"
"Enchanter's End Game"

nim@mullian:
]Not intellectually stimulating. Would be a good read just for something to
]do only it goes on and on.
]Summary: Don't bother. As someone else said, 'a short story in 5 books'

Andrew Moran:
]The Belgariad, is chock full of characters who either black or white. No
]character ever acts to oppose their stereotype, the most real aspect of their
]relationships is some petty bickering and banter (usually Polgara snidely
]remarking about Belgarath drinking, Belgarath denies it haughtily and
]everyone giggles --- tremendous stuff).
]Eddings will go down in history as being the first author to write a short
]story in five volumes.

Friendless:
]The author would set up surprises for you, then not admit them for 100 pages
]or so, so I just tried to read those pages really quickly to get to the
]interesting bit. And if it had been my copy, I would have gone through
]beforehand and destroyed every reference to Aunt Pol. Fuck Aunt Pol!

Michael Pope:
]I think you are an astute literary critic--- the most sensible and relevant
]criticism I have ever heard of the Belgariad come from a recent rave of
]yours, to whit--- "Fuck Aunt Pol".

The Malloreon

"Guardians of the West"
"King of the Murgos"
"Demon Lord of Karanda"
"Sorceress of Darshiva"
"The Seeress of Kell"

Cathy Newberry: "I gave up after a couple of chapters into the first book."

Michael Paddon: "As silly as Belgariad. Insulting to the reader."

Tim Allen: "Excrement"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]OH GOSH WHAT AN ORIGINAL PLOT A CHILD DISCOVERS HIDDEN POWERS AND MUST FULFIL
]AND ANCIENT PROPHECY TO DEFEAT AND ANCIENT EVIL AND SAVE THE WORLD OH WOW OH
]MY I THINK I'LL GO AND STICK MY HEAD IN A CUPBOARD (Seriously - this is full
]of flaws. Eddings somehow thinks that world- shattering powerful characters
]acting like brain-damaged two year olds is interesting. Each to their own
]......)

Andrew Waugh:
]Buy it if you want something bland and palatable to read on the train
]commuting.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]The Belgariad was very good, with excellent characters and an epic plot. The
]Malloreon, unfortunately is more of the same. The characters are still just
]as good, and it is worth reading for them, but the plot and the world are
]hardly inspirational.

The Elenium
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GEORGE ALEX EFFINGER

Gravity Fails

"When Gravity Fails"
"A Fire in the Sun"
[short stories]

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Effinger jumped on the cyberpunk bandwagon with everyone else, and did
]something different - took to the third world. Thus it is the Middle Eastern
]aspects of these books that make up a large part of their fascination.
]However they share common problems which is alleviated largely (but not
]entirely) in the the second book - (1) the plot is slightly neglected for
]the scenery (2) while both are essentially mysteries, the main character is
]propelled by events not by any thinking of his own. All the same, the first
]is recommended, the second highly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROSE ESTES

Mika Trilogy

"Master Wolf"
"The Price of Power"
"The Demon Hand"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAWRENCE WATT EVANS

The Lords of Dus

"The Lure of the Basilisk"
"The Seven Altars of Dusarra"
"The Sword of Bheleu"
"The Book of Silence"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHILIP JOSE FARMER

Riverworld

"To Your Scattered Bodies Go"
"The Fabulous Riverboat"
"The Dark Design"
"The Magic Labyrinth"
"Gods of Riverworld"

Luke Wildman: "Shit, couldn't finish it."

Arnold Pears:
]Another series that went on forever.  The first few books I thought were
]filled with interesting new ideas, perhaps not universally new, but new to
]me at the time.  Once we really get into the story in about the third book,
]I felt the whole concept was really struggling. I did however finish all the
]book, but then I can say that about Thomas Covenant too.

Andrew Waugh:
]The first book, which introduced the idea, was good. Down hill after that.
]Neither the characters, nor the plot, interested me.

George Michaelson:
]Started well, bogged down badly. Having a cast of all humanity plus optional
]fictional extras is cheating a bit. Manages to offend almost every culture
]without incurring the wrath of the Iranians( pre-dates Khomeni in power)
]Burton is a much more interesting character than these novels suggest, Dawn
]Brodies' biography "The Devil Drives" is worth reading. Ditto for Clements.

Zev Sero:
]Thoroughly enjoyed the original four-part series, though the ending was a bit
]disappointing. This sort of thing should be read for the background and
]scenery, etc. more than for the actual story-line. It's really about `what
]might life be like on such a world', and the plot is just an excuse to drag
]the characters all over the place.

Brent Curtis:
]The ideas in this series are great. Everyone who ever lived reincarnated in
]one big planet with one winding river. The social aspects of this make fun
]reading. I like the dude who killed himself a (generic large number) of
]times, knowing he would always be reincarnated somewhere else. A bizarre way
]of travel!

Michael Pope:
]This series really runs hot and cold. The basic premise is a brilliant idea,
]albeit a blatant kludge. "Sick of the current characters? No worries, I'll
]just dredge up another dozen to write about." I am stuck with having to read
]all of these.

Andrew Moran:
]I must say I enjoyed this series, mainly because it took famous historical
]figures and gave them an enormous puzzle to solve. Its as though Heaven is
]one enormous 73-dimensional Rubik's cube.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Farmer is good at writing beginnings. He can set a scene, and introduce
]characters, and generally make a good start in a very pleasant, readable way.
]However, he is totally incapable of ever finishing a story! This makes his
]books very frustrating and ultimately not worth reading. Whenever the time
]comes where a story needs to be brought to some sort of conclusion, Farmer
]stops the book, promising a sequel, and then starts the sequel off in a new
]part of the world with a complete new set of characters. Do not bother to
]read these books. Also most of the characters are derived from other, better
]authors or are historical people who are much more interesting and complex
]than Farmer makes them seem.

World of Tiers

"Maker of Universes"
"The Gates of Creation"
"A Private Cosmos"
"Beyond the Walls of Terra"
"The Lavalite World"

Dave Horsfall: "Not bad. Thank god there's no sequels :-)"

Michael Paddon: "Excellent swashbucklers."

Friendless: "Pathetic clicheed science fiction crap."

Zev Sero:
]An early attempt at Riverworld. Generic Farmer. Worth reading, but doesn't
]deserve any awards.

Mark Williams:
]A family of utterly unscrupulous, decadent remnants of a super-technological
]society called 'Lords of Creation' fight it out with machines left over from
]former times. One of them loses temporarily, and is exiled to Earth. Somehow
]he gains a conscience and returns to fight for the rights of his creations.
]A good series almost right through.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILL FAWCETT & NEIL RANDALL

Guardians of the Three

"Lord of Cragsclaw"
"Keeper of the City"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAYMOND E. FEIST

Riftwar Saga

"Magician"
"Silverthorn"
"A Darkness at Sethanon"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]This might be interesting if everyone else wasn't writing elves/swords/
]prophecy type books. At least Feist has some writing skill.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This started off very well with Magician, and well balanced book, but was let
]down by tacked on plots in the second and third books. The second book had a
]good (horrifying) beginning, and the third had an interesting (nebulous)
]ending. However, Magician is definitely the best read.

Friendless:
]While it was admittedly better than some other popular fantasy series, it
]had a few really overdone scenarios in it. I also found the character
]interaction quite pathetic - I thought the characters all acted pretty soppy
]- even Jimmy the Hand and Gardan. As for Arutha - I hope to Christ his
]brother has him hung for the way he has been studiously ignoring his
]responsibilities. And the very last page was just utter crap.

Luke Wildman:
]It was entertaining but full of crappy bits, I'm not going to read the
]latest.

"Daughter of the Empire" [with Janny Wurts]
[This book is based on the same world as the Riftwar series, but I am told
 that is it otherwise unrelated.]

Malcolm Lithgow:
]It is a reasonably good book, particularly if you enjoy political intrigue.
]However, it exults violence in a way that Feist's other books don't
](including "Faerie Tale") and it doesn't have the "epic" breadth that his
]other books have.

Zev Sero:
]Vanilla fantasy.  In fact, I liked it (it's a free country).  I'll even
]recommend it, but don't put off reading something great just for this.  Heaps
]better than Terry Brooks' sewage.  Actually, Terry Brooks might have written
]this if he could write.

Jon Eaves:
]It's based in a Japanese/feudal style environment where a female is left to
]look after her fathers lands.  Meanwhile there is lots of political power
]plays going down.  Quite a good read.  I suppose it is interesting because
]the scenario was just that little bit different.

Damian Conway:
]People hate it, but as I've said before, "another big block of mental
]chewing-gum, perfect for train trips or COBOL lectures."  Actually, I found
]it more entertaining than the three Midkemia tomes, but then I've a
]well-known predilection for things Eastern.

Daniel Carosone:
]An excellent book, one of the greatest treatments of the oriental style court
]intrigue and suchlike present in the society. It has almost no relation to
]the plot of the Pug/Milamber bunch, but has enticingly vigorous plots,
]schemes and counter-schemes, rivalling the greatest for character
]interaction.  Characterisation is necessarily extremely well developed and
]strong, and all characters behave consistently and believably. There are some
]gripping twists.

Richard Dearden:
]I liked it, many people do not (I used to work in a book shop, it didn't sell
]too well). It's basically a 'unprepared person tries to rule kingdom and
](Surprise) succeeds' book. What saves it is an excellent description of the
]culture, and an emphasis on politics rather than leading the troops into
]battle. Normally I hate books on political systems, but I found it different,
]and plausible enough to be interesting.

Brendan Mahony:
]Very good study of political intrigues in an empire that is a cross between
]Ancient Rome and Medieval Japan, with some emphasis on the Japanese, though
]they include gladiator type events.  The heroin is left as sole heir to a
]mighty family wiped out by treachery.  The story tells how she restores the
]family to pre-eminence through brilliant use of a system that at first sight
]is weighed heavily against her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KENNETH C. FLINT

The Sidhe Legends

"The Hound of Culain"
"The Riders of the Sidhe"
"Champions of the Sidhe"
"Master of the Sidhe"

"Challenge of the Clans"
"Storm Shield"
"The Dark Druid"

Paul Gillingwater:
]Enjoyable but stereotyped. Started well, poor finisher.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICHARD FORD

Faradawn

"Quest for the Faradawn"
"Melvaig's Vision"
"The Children of Ashgaroth"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT FORWARD

Cheela

"Dragon's Egg"
"Starquake"
"Flight of the Dragonfly"/"Roche World"

Cameron Simpson:
]While I enjoyed the first one (Dragon's Egg),I could not get past the first
]chapter or so of the second. The man just cannot write. The physics is all
]good stuff, but the people! My god. I am currently wading (as in through a
]swaup) through Rocheworld. Really nauseating stuff.  The gimicks to,
]presumably, "engage the reader's interest" are transparent to say the least.
]The characters are flat stereotypes. All good or all bad, with close
]correllation to intelligence. Argh.

Alex Heatley:
]"Dragon's Egg" belongs to the "James P. Hogan" school of writing, great
]ideas, poor writing. It's really a Campbell style novel (with sex added)
]where the ideas carry the story rather than the plot or the characters.
]"Starquake" on the other hand, ignores the ending of the first novel in order
]to give Forward a chance to explain some more greats ideas that he has had.
]It is not as good as "Dragon's Egg" as by now the wonder of such a life-form
]has worn off.

Brian Ross:
]Both very good, hard-SF (heavy science content).  Suffer a little from
]Forward's science background with characterisation a little poor.  Like too
]much SF, scores points for ideas and little for writing.  Especially when in
]the second book he repeats his aliens.

Zev Sero: [on "Dragon's Egg"]
]It reads like a physics textbook, which is not surprising, since Forward is
]one of the US's top physicists.  The theme is about life evolving on the
]surface of a neutron star.

Richard Thomas:
]The series is about a species that evolves on a Neutron star, that is passing
]through our solar system.  Both of these books are some of the best hard SF
]that I have ever read, fantastic stuff.  The species (Cheela) characters are
]well developed, and how they evolved is well planned.  The humans who watch
]the Cheela development (and are soon surpassed by them) have pretty flat
]characters.

Jon Eaves:
]Read about 5 years ago, I seem to remember it was quite 'cute' with the ideas
]of little amoebas running around on this high grav planet.  This is done in
]two perspectives, one from the scientist examining them, and the other from
]the little amoebas themselves.  Interesting read which I enjoyed immensely.

Damian Conway:
]Have light-years of mind-boggling science and Angstroms of characterisation.
]The fact that the reader relates better to miniscule animated bits of neutron
]star than to the human characters speaks volumes.

Lynn Alford:
]Very good 'hard science' fiction.  It has been a long time since I last read
]it but I remember being quite impressed it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALAN DEAN FOSTER

Spellsinger

"Spellsinger"
"The Hour of the Gate"
"The Day of the Dissonance"
"The Moment of the Magician"
"The Paths of the Perambulator"
"The Time of the Transference"

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Very original, and quite funny. As usual ADF produces a series of good
]adventure yarns with a few clever ideas (and some mega-powerful creatures)
]thrown in. His writing style (particularly his use of uncommon words) suits
]this series well. The characters are also quite good.

Luke Wildman:
]Liked it a lot, really it was a good story and had a brilliant theme (beauty
]of music) but it wasn't too sweet, i.e. catamites and stuff.

Andrew Moran:
]I enjoyed these a lot. Very witty, although a little kiddy every now and
]then.

Humanx Commonwealth

Flinx

"For Love of Mother Not"
"The Tar-Aiym Krang"
"Orphan Star"
"The End of the Matter"
"Bloodhype"

Lawrie Brown:
]It's all pretty light hearted, but makes a good rollicking tale.

Brent Curtis:
]Quite good. Kid escapes to the stars and has adventures, where he becomes
]a man stuff. Can't remember much more.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Much the same as above [Spellsinger].  Even Flinx is similar to his
]counterpart.  However, ADF has written a very good 'first contact' book in
]"To Shed Diamond Tears" (or some such thing). The Humanx universe is probably
]the best thing in this series. Humanx space is ruled by the Commonwealth and
]the Church, and the capital of the Commonwealth is in - you guessed it -
]Brisbane, Australia. What a clever touch!

Richard Thomas:
]The books detail the adventures of Flinx. The stories are mostly teen fiction
]in content.  The books are worth reading if you want some fun action fiction
]sometime.  You don't have to read the series in any particular order and all
]of the books stand on their own. The Commonwealth, which ADF uses in other
]stories as well, is an interesting political body though.

"Icerigger"
"Mission to Moulokin"
"The Deluge Drivers"
"Catcha lot"
"Nor Crystal Tears"
"Voyage to the City of the Dead"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Slightly derivative but entertaining books. Worth a read.

Giles Lean:
]Good fun, and nicely written. (Haven't read them for quite a while, details
]fade.)

Andrew Moran:
]All are set on the ice-world of Tran-Ky-Ky.  Ethan (salesman for some great
]Merchant House) and Skua September (hairy giant wise old fella) get friendly
]with some natives (sentient beings, who skate on three extended toe-nail/claw
]things, are at bronze-age technology, feudal politically) and help defend
]them from some bad natives.  They build a HUGE ship (I think they call it
]"Icerigger" or summat) and go all around the world to get a united council so
]the world may be admitted to the Commonwealth.  It's actually more exciting
]than that, though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M.A. FOSTER

Morphodite Trilogy

"The Morphodite"
"Transformer"
"Preserver"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRAIG SHAW GARDNER

The Ballad of Wuntvor

"A Malady of Magicks"
"A Multitude of Monsters"
"A Night in the Netherhells"
"A Difficulty with Dwarves"
"An Excess of Enchantments"
"A Disagreement with Death"

Friendless:
]Haven't read them, but from the covers they look like Discworld ripoffs.
]They mighty be worth a go, though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RANDALL GARRETT

Lord D'Arcy

"Murder and Magic"
"Too Many Magicians"
"Lord Darcy Investigates"

Brian Ross:
]Great.  Very good.  Superb stories with real plot and interesting twists.
]Basically Sherlock Holmes in a world with magic where Richard cur de Lion was
]never killed in battle.  Its a great series of stories and I wish I could
]find them all!

Lynn Alford:
]Magic is a science in this alternate Earth.  Demons are quite real, etc.  It
]is very different then the normal 'magic is mysterious' idea.  Lord Darcy is
]good if you're fond of detective stories too.

Andrew Waugh:
]This series is the best melding of the detective and the fantasy worlds I
]have read. The books are good enough that the solutions to the problems
]invariably turn on magic, but "principles" on which the magic is supposed to
]operate are clearly described so there is no feeling of deus ex machina at
]the final curtain. Rather, it is, like all good detective stories: "I should
]have seen that". One other notable feature of the stories is that the society
]is based around magic - rather than magic being grafted onto an existing
]society.  Thus, the weather men use magic to generate weather predictions, and
]there is "forensic sorcery" which can do most things that forensic science
]can do in our world (and some that it can't). There is even good reasons why
]you cannot simply use sorcery to "solve" the murders.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RANDALL GARRETT & VICKI ANN HEYDRON

The Gandalara Cycle 1

    "The Steel of Raithskar"    } available in one volume as
    "The Glass of Dyskornis"    } "The Gandalara Cycle 1"
    "The Braze of Eddarta"        }

The Gandalara Cycle 2

    "The Well of Darkness"        } available in one volumes as
    "The Search for Ka"        } "The Gandalara Cycle 2"
    "Return to Eddarta"        }

"The River Wall"

Mark Williams:
]Really enjoyed reading this series. It was a whacking good yarn, and it
]mostly held together quite well. It won't be remembered in fifteen years'
]time, but it is just great for those evenings when you want to switch off.

Andrew Waugh:
]A civilisation of giant cats living in a desert. Ok, nothing memorable. The
]most irritating feature is in the dishonesty about the authors. Randall
]Garrett died after completing the outline (with Heydron) of the first book.
]She then writes the series with his name on it as "a memorial".

Bryn Pears:
]Thoroughly enjoyable pulp about a man who is transported to another world (an
]into the body of a native) Very good swashbuckling adventure but palls a bit
]after the fourth book.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JANE GASKELL

The Atlan Saga

"The Serpent"
"The Dragon"
"Atlan"
"The City"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID GEMMELL

Sipstrassi Tales

"Wolf in Shadow"
"Ghost King"
"Lost Sword of Power"

Drenai Saga

"Legend"
"The King Beyond the Gate"
"Waylander"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID GERROLD

The War Against the Chtorr

"A Matter for Men"
"A Day for Damnation"
"A Rage for Revenge"
<fourth book allegedly coming>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAM GIBSON

Sprawl

"Neuromancer"
"Count Zero"
"Mona Lisa Overdrive"

Michael Barlow:
]Said to be the first (Neuromancer) of the cyberpunk movement (who cares
]about P.K. Dick et. al.?). A hard, gritty, `slummy' style to SF that givesit
]a realistic feel. I enjoyed them and I recommend them as a read;
]particularly if you haven't experienced a C-punk work.

Jon Eaves:
]Gibson was the bringer of cyberpunk to the masses.  His ultra-tech style has
]been the subject of quite a deal of controversy.  Some like it some don't.
]Lines such as 'The place smelt of low weight molecular monomers', didn't
]quite gel with me.  However, he was the first to really deal with
]'Cyberspace' as a concept and give it any feel of 'reality'.

Michael Paddon:
]_Neuromancer_ is notable for its chaotic melee of fresh ideas, bound
]together by a "punk" writing style that Gibson imported from mainstream
]literature.  The characters are strong and interestingly flawed in
]motivation and morality, and sustain the piecemeal plot through to a
]satisfactory conclusion.  _Count Zero_ was a consolidation of the plot lines
]and background presented in _Neuromancer_. It also acted as an effective
]prequel to the best written part of the trilogy, _Mona Lisa Overdrive_
]The subtext of Gibson's trilogy is an examination of a technological world
]where corporate entities are essentially alive and sentient; they act to
]ensure their own survival and they evolve in a hostile environment. An
]extension of corporate sentience, the rogue AI Wintermute, is central to the
]plot of the first book. Later volumes deal with the existence of even more
]bizarre intelligences (voodoo loa and finally aliens) in cyberspace.
]An underlying question in the works is whether the human wetware that booted
]this system is now obsolete. We see people that are used merely as
]programmed peripherals (Count Zero), some who manage to fuck up the system
]in a localized and essentially phyrric manner (Case), and others who simlly
]ride the waves of power and violence that eddy around them (MollY).
]A satisfying aspect of the books is that Gibson does not provide any easy
]answers; not to his characters in their various dilemmas, and not to the
]reader when the somewhat philosopical points (mentioned above ) surface.

Michael Saleeba:
]This series of books truly blows my mind. Gibson has a brilliant technique
]of combining elements from our own world with technology to produce some of
]the most vivid, warped images I have ever experienced. His use of confusion
]as a writing tool leaves the reader guessing through the entire series.
]Excellent in a "Blade Runner"ish sort of way.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]A loose (very loose) series of deft, streetwise, technophilic SF.
]"Neuromancer" was justly acclaimed as a seminal work; "Count Zero" was at
]least as good and possibly better (Gibsons writing, one possible fault,
]improved distinctly). Conversely "Mona Lisa Overdrive" reads distinctly like
]Gibson parodying Gibson (with the odd flash of brilliance).  Kill for the
]first two, borrow the last to satisfy your curiosity.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEPHEN GOLDIN

Parsina Saga

"The Storyteller and the Jann"
"Shrine of the Desert Mage"
"Crystals of Air and Water"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHARON GREEN

Terrilian

"The Warrior Within"
"The Warrior Enchained"
"The Warrior Rearmed"
"The Warrior Challenged"

Chris Jones: "Rambimbo mentality but the first book isn't too bad"

Kathryn Andersen:
]Haven't read them, just saw in book shops. Been compared to Gor books, I
]believe.  Female main character.

Zev Sero:
]Gor with a difference.  Supposedly written by a woman (do I really believe
]this?).  The status of women is far higher than it is in Gor.  Sort of
]bondage with dignity.  Women are chattels, exist to serve men, can be bought
]and sold, beaten, etc, but they are *respected*.   They are not expected to
]crawl to the men ( who like a girl with spirit :-) ) but they are expected to
]obey.  Get the picture?

Jalav Amazon Warrior

"The Crystals of Mida"
"An Oath to Mida"
"Chosen of the Mida"
"The Will of the Gods"
"To Battle the Gods"

Diana Santee

"Mind Guest"
"Gateway to Xanadu"

Far Side of Forever

"The Far Side of Forever"
"Hellhound Magic"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOE HALDEMAN

"Worlds"
"Worlds Apart"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BARBARA HAMBLY

Darwath Trilogy

"The Time of the Dark"
"The Walls of Air"
"The Armies of Daylight"

Chris Robertson:
]Now we're talking. One of my most favourite authors, in the
]couldn't-write-a-bad-book-if-she-tried category (no, really -- even the
]formula Star Trek with the plot snitched from "Here Come the Brides" she did
]when she was, presumably, slumming was well-written). She has a *solid*
]background in medieval history, and it shows. Her worlds and cultures are 100%
]believable, a most gripping atmosphere. Her characters are real people. Her
]plots are good. Her writing style is, on the whole, excellent -- one or two
]rough edges in the Darwath books have been well polished by the time we come
]to "The Ladies of Mandrigyn" or "Dragonsbane" (both highly recommended, as is
]"The Witches of Wenshar", sequel to "Ladies").  The Silicon Mage two-book set
]is good as well -- doesn't make too many mistakes in the computer part of it,
]and the protagonists stick in one's memory. In fact, I guess that says it
]about her books -- I *want to know* how the folks in her her books are doing,
]what's happened to Sun Wolf and Starhawk, how Antryg Windrose likes
]California, how John Adversin and Jenny are managing.  BTW, the Darwath
]trilogy has a good solid ecological puzzle as part of its plot -- not quite
]what you expect in fantasy.

Brian Ross:
]Rather shallow story line. Not much characterisation and dialogue consists
]of the modern 20th century characters always questioning if what is
]occurring to them, is occurring to them. Has the usual mega-mage who can do
]marvelous magic but cannot defeat the "dark" (a race of troglodyte sting
]rays).  Rather predicatable ending. Not Hambly's best (but as a first mot
]bad). Her series "Ladies of Mandrigyn" is much better. Steer clear of her
]"Silicon Mage" series. Shows how much of a computer illiterate she is and is
]also too similar to the Darwath Trilogy.  The D-Trilogy is a "warm read on a
]rainy Saturday afternoon in front of the fire on the S & N scale". It
]doesn't stretch the brain but is reasonably well written.

Kathryn Andersen:
]I read the first book in this trilogy and then gave up disgust when the
]Supernatural creatures they were fighting turned out to be merely Natural
]after all; and I didn't care enough about the main characters to want to find
]out what happened next.  Somebody commented to me about this author that she
]must have fallen in love with Gandalf when she was young, because she always
]seems to have a female protagonist who falls in love with a mysterious wizard
]in her stories. (Same thing happens in her "Silicon Mage" bi-logy) I keep on
]being disappointed with her, because she keeps on being recommended by people
]I respect, so I have finally given up.  The best thing I have read by her is
]"Ishmael" - a Star Trek novel, of all things! It is the only ST novel I have,
]and it is quite fun; a crossover between ST and "Here Come The Brides", I am
]told.  Which is perhaps why it is so good; she didn't have to make up her own
]characters...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LYNDON HARDY

"Master of the Five Magics"
"Secret of the Sixth Magic"
"Master of the Seven Realms"

Malcolm Lithgow:
]This series has a very precise (and interesting) definition of magic.  This
]provides the major plot elements in the two books. They are well worth
]reading for this alone. As I recall, the characters aren't anything amazing,
]but the plots are good, and the worlds are good. The second book contains an
]alien world that is *very* alien (and well done).

Friendless:
]Liked the first, mostly because I'm interested in magic systems. Still, I
]was bored by the second, and won't be wasting my time with the third.

Michael Paddon:
]Some interesting ideas, with a very disciplined approach to magic. Marred
]by juvenile (in the author) writing.

Brian Ross:
]An interconnected series set in a fantasy world where magic follows rigidly
]determined laws. A scientific approach to magic (if you can have such a thing
]:-) and a strong plot in each case carries what would perhaps be normally
]considered only average writing. While not a true trilogy the stories all set
]in the same mythos and occur only a few years apart and feature some of the
]same characters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARRY HARRISON

Stainless Steel Rat

"The Stainless Steel Rat"
"The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge"
"The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World"
"The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You"
"The Stainless Steel Rat for President"
"A Stainless Steel Rat is Born"
"The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted"

"You Can Be the Stainless Steel Rat"

Arnold Pears:
]Good fun reading, also some quite biting social comment I thought.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Completely (and deliberately) over the top space opera. As the series
]progresses it actually gets even better. Only for readers with a sense of
]humour.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Light, entertaining sf. Very much like an early Asimov series about a space
]ranger or something. Worth reading for light entertainment, but don't expect
]more.

George Michaelson:
]How can anybody fail to enjoy these? Considering their age last VERY well.  I
]recommend "bil the galactic hero" (extra l optional) and the "technicolour
]time machine" and "star smashers of the galaxy rangers" as extras to show his
]style. Yet another series perhaps dragging on a bit. Pot-boilers of SF?
]Harrison enjoys parodying anybody prone to excess pomposity. He does it
]well.  Asimov comes in for slamming along with E.E. Smith and Heinlein.

James Smith:
]This series gets appalling around books 4 and 5, but picks up again. Good
]light sf.

Mark Williams:
]This is one of the most entertaining series of books I have read. Very little
]'literary merit', but definitely what the doctor ordered for plain flights
]and train rides. *DO NOT* start one of these books at night if you have to
]get up in the morning.

Philip Banks:
]Science fiction adventure with a modern thief who steals for social reasons
](and the money....). The impossible situations that the main character gets
]himself into and out of in fine style make this a *very* enjoyable read.

To The Stars

"Homeworld"
"Wheelworld"
"Starworld"

Tim Lambert: "Nothing really special.  HH has written better."

Bryn Pears:
]Good future shock stuff. Like a lot of Harrison's work, competently written
]and executed and fairly light with no real surprises or unusualness. Deals
]with a future world where spaceflight is a relaity and the governing body is
]a very oppressive one. Overthrow of evil stuff.

Bill Segall:
]Not up to much This trilogy is superhero without being enough over the top
](like most Harrison :-) to make it worthwhile.

Jon Eaves:
]Some of his 'serious'-SF.  Has a real 1984 feel to it.  It's about 2
]brothers (if I remember correctly). One ends up being a 'suit' and
]conforming to the system.  The other becomes a rebel against the opression
]by the corporations.  As a consequence they end up in conflict.  Even though
]they are a trilogy they are concise enough to be worth a quick read.

Richard Thomas:
]This is a trilogy focussed around one hero.  The series is set in a future
]where Earth is ruled by a very authoritarian few.  Earth in turn rules a set
]of interstellar colonies by military might.  The hero is one of the
]priviledged few in Britain, but has a social conscience.  After discovering
]the injustice of the world he sets out to help right it.  The first book has
]him become an undercover agent for Israel (the only free nation on Earth) to
]help over-throw the government.  The next book has him as an exile on a
]agricultural colony world, where he fights the ruling system.  The last book
]has him coming back to Earth as a prisoner, where he escapes and rejoins the
]fight.  The three books are very closely related and continue from
]immediately (in action) after the previous book.  This is a standard action
]adventure Harry Harrison story.  The middle book is the slowest, without
]enough depth to really redeem it on its own, but you need to read it to
]properly follow the trilogy.

Philip Banks:
]A little more hard core science fiction here about an Earth and Colonies
]ruled by the Ultimate Police State and the efforts of a resistance to destroy
]this Government. The stories centre around the unwitting draft of one Jan
]Kulowzic (sp?) and his role in the fight. Not a gritty realistic story but it
]has its interesting points (The Space Battles) and is told in a fast pace.

Michael Paddon:
]_To the Stars_ is an extremely derivative totalitarian future novel.  The
]world isn't as grim as Orwell's, but the basic mechanics of the society are
]the same. Perhaps Harrison's future is better realized in that it is more
]likely for us to descend into a obscured totalitarian state, rather than the
]communist hell of Oceania. The need for doublethink is just as real,
]however.
]_To the Stars_ is probably the most mediocre of Harrison's writing that I
]have seen to date. The novels lack the immediacy, tension and impact that a
]distopian novel needs. Orwell horrified the reader, Harrison merely bores.

Deathworld

"Deathworld 1"
"Deathworld 2"
"Deathworld 3"

Michael Paddon: "Standard totalitarian society novel."

Arnold Pears:
]I liked the first of these, and felt that having created such a powerful
]group of people with such a singular series of motivations Mr Harrison was
]somewhat at a loss as to what to do with them.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Harrison has trouble writing serious (non-larger-than-life) books and this
]one demonstrates it fully. A big yawn.

Zev Sero:
]Standard Harrison stuff. Good, but doesn't deserve any prizes.  Borrow them
]rather than buy, and read them but don't put off reading something brilliant
]for them.

Mark Williams:
]A bit like the stainless steel rat, but perhaps not as entertaining, and
]perhaps a bit more serious.

Philip Banks:
]A series of stories about 'death' planets and the efforts of an ex gambling
]professional to help people survive on these worlds.  Low on carefully
]thought out ecologies high(ish) on human morals about how to survive and at
]what cost?

Brent Curtis:
]Trilogy about planets where people are brought up tough (due to environment
]etc.). Worth reading, but not buying.

West of Eden

"West of Eden"
"Winter in Eden"
"Return to Eden"

David Bofinger:
]`West of Eden' is OK if you like Clan of the Cave Bear sort of stuff. The
]aliens and their critters were reasonably well thought out, although the
]suggestion that humans would evolve exactly the same way regardless of
]whether the dinosaurs died out is bloody silly. `Winter in Eden' doesn't go
]anywhere.

Michael Saleeba:
]Most people I know seem to like this but I still find the writing style
]quite irritatingly childish. There are some really nicely done descriptions
]of a non-human society where technology is totally based on advanced genetic
]engineering. Overall I found myself unconvinced, though. There were just too
]many plot flaws and unrealistic human reactions.

Bryn Pears:
]Read it a long time ago but thought it very good. About alternate world to
]earth where world is domianted by a race of intelligent genetic engineering
]reptiles who use humans as cattle and slaves.  The book follows the life of
]a young man who rebels against the reptiles and escapes.

Jon Eaves:
]What would have happened if the dinosaurs had not died out? Harrison delves
]into how mankind would react upon finding 'intelligent dinosaurs'.  Also,
]the reactions by the other creatures to humans was well presented.  I had
]not read anything like this before, so found it quite interesting.

Bill Segall:
]This is good. Really descriptive alternate history about a reptilian world.
]Corny ending though. I predicted it at about page 20. He didn't hide it very
]well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIMON HAWKE

Time Wars

"The Ivanhoe Gambit"
"The Timekeeper Conspiracy"
"The Pimpernel Plot"
"The Zenda Vendetta"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRANK HERBERT

Dune

"Dune"
"Dune Messiah"
"Children of Dune"
?????
"God Emperor of Dune"
"Chapter House Dune"

Zev Sero: "I gave up halfway through book 5 out of sheer boredom."

Dave Horsfall:
]Started off OK, then got worse with each interminable sequel. Has
]occasional good bits though.

Brent Curtis:
]Large intergalactic soaps. These books have fabulous dialogue. Furthermore I
]can read them several times and they get better each time. I like the use of
]arabic and Moslem themes on the desert planet.  Probably the best series I
]have yet read. Also readily available in second hand bookstores so you can
]buy on the cheap. The worlds this guy creates are more real (as in complete
]and logical) than most others.  Well worth the second hand price.

Leisa Condie:
]Read the first one once. The rest are firelighters. Memorable for its scope
](and the quotes at the start of each chapter), but the plot was rather thin.

The Ice Demon:
]A lot of fun but incredibly stupid. The first part of the first book is
]filled with quotes from Irulan along the lines of "Yueh, Yueh, Yueh! A
]thousand deaths were no enough for him!" and then when young Frank drops the
]big one and Baron Von Harkonnen says "It's the doctor" are we supposed
]to gasp or what? Also Paul keeps asking questions which are so stunningly
]brilliant that everyone picks up on it but for some reason Frank finds it
]necessary to point this out...  Still, like I said, the series is fun.
](Though I haven't read beyond God Emperor yet.)

Michael Pope:
]Nice world. High marks for complexity and interactions. Pity about the
]sequelitis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KATHLEEN HERBERT

"Queen of the Lightning"
"Ghost in the Sunlight"
"Bride of the Spear"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAMES P. HOGAN

The Giants

"Inherit the Stars"
"The Gentle Giants of Ganymede"
"Giants' Star"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT E. HOWARD

Conan [at least partly by Howard]

"Conan the Adventurer"
"Conan of Cimmeria"
"Conan the Freebooter"
"Conan the Usurper"
"Conan the Avenger"
"Conan the Wanderer"
"Conan the Warrior"
"Conan the Conqueror"
"Conan"

[mostly by Sprague de Camp]
"Conan of the Isles"
"Conan the Barbarian"
"Conan the Buccaneer"
"Conan the Swordsman"
"Conan the Liberator"
"Conan of Aquilonia"

[by Robert Jordan]
"Conan the Invincible"
"Conan the Unconquered"
"Conan the Magnificent"
"Conan the Victorious"

[by Andrew J. Offutt]
"Conan: The Sword of Skelos"
"Conan the Mercenary"

[by Karl Edward Wagner]
"Conan: The Road of Kings"

[by Poul Anderson]
"Conan the Rebel"

[by John Maddox Roberts]
"Conan the Champion"

[by Leonard Carpenter]
"Conan the Renegade"

[by Steve Perry]
"Conan the Defiant"

[unidentified author]
"Conan and the Spider God"

Michael Barlow:
]A much maligned series. The original work by Howard is enjoyable and nowhere
]near as stilted in style or "brainless" as many people would have you think.
]However, work by imitators now outweighs that written by Howard himself.
]Generally, these are no where near as good; though several famous nameshave
]written Conan stories (same appeal as writing a Lovecraft story?).

Damian Conway:
]Vastly better (and less pretentious) than Arnold would have you believe.
]Don't hesitate - whip out your broad sword, gut the bookstore manager and make
]off with the whole series and the nubile cashier!!  The word "rollicking" was
]coined for these.  Beware however of imitations!

Michael Pope:
]The pen is mightier than the sword? Forget it. Recommended therapeutic
]reading after losing an argument with a bureaucrat.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Well, no-one hacks and slays like Conan and he was the first ....

Time-Lost

"The Moon of Skulls"
"The Hand of Kane"
"Solomon Kane"

Friendless:
]Sort of a sombre, gothic Conan. But otherwise the same.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
L. RON HUBBARD

Mission Earth

"The Invaders Plan"
"Black Genesis"
"The Enemy Within"
"An Alien Affair"
"Fortune of Fear"
"Death Quest"
"Voyage of Vengeance"
"Disaster"
"Villainy Victorious"
"The Doomed Planet"

Michael Saleeba:
]Having read a few of Hubbard's earlier books, I strongly doubt that the man
]wrote these books - the writing style is just too different. This leads me
]to believe that the guy really _is_ dead.  This is not to say that the books
]were bad. In fact I felt that the first book in the series was very good in
]its quiry portrayl of a totally corrupt non-human society. If the rest of
]the series had continued as the first one did it would have been an
]excellent series. Unfortunately the author (whoever it is) is obviously
]getting really bored by the third book. It is about half the size of number
]1, and practically nothing happens in it. Mostly it is just repetition.  My
]suggestion - read the first book, and forget the rest of the series.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT DON HUGHES

Pelmen the Powershaper

"The Prophet of Lamath"
"The Wizard in Waiting"
"The Power and the Prophet"

Jocelyn Sietsma: "Mediocre with good bits."

Bryn Pears:
]Three (?) books in all. I've only read the first one but actually enjoyed it
]rather a lot. Paddo thinks they're trash. Good sword and sorcery stuff, a
]bit cute in places.

Andrew Moran:
]A castle that is alive and a two-headed dragon, plus other little bits of
]magic.  Other than that, I can't remember much.  Pretty light weight.

Gregory N. Bond:
]What can you say about a trilogy where the most memorable character is a
]house?

Lucy Chubb:
]I enjoyed these books a lot - well written, plus some humour.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN JAKES

Brak the Barbarian

"Brak the Barbarian"
"The Sorceress"
"The Mark of the Demon"

Friendless:
]I read just the first one, and it was quite good. I still intend to read the
]others. Its inventiveness was that of Conan at its peak, so I consider it to
]be more of an equal rather than a ripoff. I thought Jakes' style was a bit
]immature though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIKE JEFFERIES

Loremasters of Elundium

"The Road to Underfall"
"Palace of Kings"
"Shadowlight"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAMES KAHN

"World Enough, and Time"
"Time's Dark Laughter"
"Timefall"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUY GAVRIEL KAY

Fionavar Tapestry

"The Summer Tree"
"The Wandering Fire"
"The Darkest Road"

Andrew Waugh:
]Not another Celtic series - with King Arthur yet - cried many people when
]this was released. Actually I liked it. It was well written and there were
]enough twists on the standard stereotypes to make them (reasonably) fresh.
]King Arthur is totally unconcerned with the Holy Grail. The super-duper evil
]god is not destroyed by some half baked mortal hero. Leading characters kark
]it. Characters wield power and pay a price for it. Best of all, the society
]in the book actually has religion and it is even "correct" for the time and
]society.

Anita Graham:
]Despite all the flaming from people about derivative fantasy I really enjoyed
]these and was annoyed by the long wait for THE DARKEST ROAD.  Perhaps this
]was because it was the first (no, second) book I'd read in which characters
]from the 20th Century become embroiled in another world.

Chris Fama:
]I enjoyed these immensely! Great characterisation, good plot slightly
]weakened by cliches. But I don't mind that if the book's a good read; and
]these are. This series is a "normal people (well, uni students - not quite
]norm...) brought to alternate world, must save cosmos" type - be warned: but
]good, despite

Kathryn Andersen:
]This was ravingly recommended to me by my best friend, so of course I came to
]it with a positive attitude. And I liked it.  I was moved to tears in some
]bits, and I posted a rave review to aus.sf about it. But now I wonder, am I
]ever going to read them again? The bits I remember most vividly were the
]saddest bits, and I'm not enough of a masochist to enjoy reading a book again
]for the sake of the *saddest* bits.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARGARET BRADLEY KELLOGG

The Wave and the Flame

Malcolm Lithgow:
]These books are easily available, and well worth buying.  They have some of
]the best characterisation I have seen, the plot moves from climax to climax,
]the puzzles set for the reader get deeper and deeper (but sort themselves out
]feasibly in the end), the imagination is stretched further and further (by,
]once again, feasible circumstances), and finally the whole thing ends in the
]almighty crash of a fantastic climax.
]These two books present you with one of the most believable alien worlds I
]have read of, with characters that are so real you find yourself fading in
]comparison.  Then, as if that wasn't enough, you have one of the most
]exciting and fascinating plots I have read thrown at you.  Of course, the
]writing style is also good, and so is the pacing etc.  This was a real
]surprise, where I was expecting just another sf story, I found a classic.
]Read it now!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KATHERINE KERR

Deverry

"Daggerspell"
"Darkspell"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KATHERINE KURTZ

Chronicles of the Deryni (Legend)

"Deryni Rising"
"Deryni Checkmate"
"High Deryni"

Legends of Camber of Culdi

"Camber of Culdi"
"Saint Camber"
"Camber the Heretic"

Histories of King Kelson

"The Bishop's Heir"
"The King's Justice"
"The Quest for Saint Camber"

"The Harrowing of Gwynedd"

Bryn Pears: [Deryni]
]First three books are good. They start to pall after the start of the "Quest
]for Saint Camber" series.
[Camber]: "OK"
[Kelson]: "Not so good."

Arnold Pears:
]I haven't read any of her more modern works on this subject. I loved the
]original series, and still find them good reading. The characters I find
]fairly well developed, and the magic is perhaps a little more complex than is
]generally the case in series of this type.

Ross Alford:
]Medieval fantasies with two races. Humans currently rule the world, Deryni
]used and some of them used the humans. Humans tend toward hating Deryni. The
]major characters of the stories are usually Deryni, so the reader feels the
]prejudice quite strongly. I like the series, but some people might not.

Kathryn Andersen:
]First trilogy - best thing she's written. Characterisations are better than
]in the Kelson trilogies - or perhaps it is that the plot is more
]complicated ... anyway, it is better.  Second trilogy - haven't read it.  To
]comment overall on her universe here, the magic is more "mechanical" than
]"wondrous" (I would put someone like Nancy Springer at the opposite end of
]the spectrum to Katherine Kurtz) and the situations are very political - not
]Good versus Evil, but plotters versus plotters, with one lot of plotters
]being Nicer than the other lot. After a while one gets tired of it all, but
]before then, they're very good.

Andrew Waugh:
]The key feature of medieval Europe was Christianity. Katherine Kurtz
]constructs a medieval (English) society with the addition of the Deryni -
]humans with "magical" abilities. The resulting power games between the
]temporal lords (with and without Deryni abilities), the king (with Deryni
]abilities), and the church (which considers, for most of the series, Deryni
]abilities to be gifts of Satan) form the basis for the three books. Katherine
]Kurtz obviously has a lot of knowledge about both the dynamics of medieval
]politics and about High Church Anglicanism. Both show in the series. That the
]books are readable as well is a bonus. The best two books are the 2nd and 3rd
]in the "Legends...". The Deryni are facing a catastrophe similar to that
]faced by the Jews in World War II. The books are about the efforts of a small
]group of Deryni to save what they can from the impending disaster. Because
]you have read the first series (The "Chronicles..." which is set later) you
]know that the catastrophe did occur, and that their efforts, to an extent,
]are doomed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEPHEN R. LAWHEAD

"Taliesin"
"Merlin"
"Arthur"

Malcolm Lithgow:
]A very original and clever treatment of the Mort d'Arthur. This series has
]amazing characterisation, a fantastically researched and consistent world,
]and good plots. The writing style is very clever. If you want an idea of what
]it would have been like in the Isle of the Mighty (Ynys Prydein) during the
]collapse of the Roman Empire, then this series is the way to go. It is so
]heavily embedded in its Welsh heritage that it changes the usual atmosphere
]of the Arthurian legend into something wonderful.  Lawhead has a healthy
]appreciation of the ancient lifestyles, and this shines through in his books
]and makes them a delight to read.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TANITH LEE

Flat Earth

"Night's Master"
"Death's Master"
"Delusion's Master"
"Delirium's Mistress"

Jonathan Burns:
]Extravagant fantasy with more sorcery than swords, set in an imagined past
]owing something to the Old Testament and a lot to the Arabian Nights. Strong
]on invention, irony and florid writing.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]These are very boring books.  Some of Tanith Lee's writing is sheer genius
](notably "Companions on the Road"), but this is sheer drivel.  However, not
]everyone agrees with me.  One of my friends finds them delightful (and she is
]the person who introduced me to Tanith Lee).
]The stories are very heavily oriented towards characterisation, almost to the
]exclusion of plot.  The characters are constantly dithering about something
](mostly love, as in Romeo and Juliet).  Even the demons (who are major
]characters) are always in a dither.  If you're interested in action, don't
]touch these.  If you're interested in sharp, precise, and appealing
]characterisations, don't bother.  If you're interested in angst,
]self-torture, and the sort of things that soapies are made of - go for it.

Friendless:
]"Death's Master" was very gothic and fairy-taleish. I get the impression that
]Tanith Lee must sit at her desk agonising over every word to get the mood and
]content exactly right. It's a major effort reading one of her books.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
URSULA LEGUIN

Earthsea

"Wizard of Earthsea"    } available in one volume as
"The Tombs of Atuan"    } "Earthsea"
"The Farthest Shore"    }

Greg Calkin: "Mediocre"

Michael Barlow:
]Le Guin tells the story of Ged a goatherder with the gift for magic.  In
]Earthsea magic is "common" and reputable. Le Guin writes simply but
]beautifully and though the books often feel that they are aimed at teenagers
]the story has a truly magical appeal that should enthrall all. Shows how the
]stories of a gifted child's rise can be told in an honest and realistic
]manner.

Zev Sero:
]Yet another author has given in to the temptation and written part 4 of a
]trilogy!  She calls it The Last Book of Earthsea, but once the bug has bitten
]I think it won't be long before she decides to make it a `new trilogy'. It's
]ages since I read the original books, and can't remember much of them, except
]that somehow I could never see what everyone else was so ecstatic about.

Friendless:
]Simple, classical fantasy. At the risk of scaring Phil off, I'd say that in
]its own way it's as good as Lord of the Rings. But much shorter.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Not fast moving or anything - she tends more to ponder than race.  But she
]ponders so well, its forgivable.  Such a while since I've read them that I
]can't really remember.

Brent Curtis:
]I read this when I was thirteen, which is probably the best age for this
]trilogy. I liked it at the time (we're looking ten years ago, folks), but
]wouldn't recommend it to anyone past puberty.

The Ice Demon:
]Brilliant! Fantastic! Superlative! Wonderful! And it's good too!

Michael Pope:
]Great stuff. No one interested in Fantasy should fail to read these. Worth at
]least three readings.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRITZ LEIBER

Swords of Lankhmar

  This are the famous "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" books.

"Swords & Deviltry"        } available in one volume as
"Swords Against Death"        } "The Three of Swords"
"Swords in the Mist"        }
"Swords Against Wizardry"
"The Swords of Lankhmar"
"Swords & Ice Magic"

Michael Paddon: "Classics for good reason."

Michael Barlow:
]Leiber tells the story of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser; two legendary swordsman of
]Lankhmar. Leiber writes with a gritty but tongue in cheek style that makes
]each story enjoyable adult fare. Definitely not your average fantasy slash
]and hack or wonder kid garbage.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Hilarious, original swords and sorcery series. Quality is a bit patchy but
]nonetheless is worth it. Highly recommended.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Good gritty characters, one or two short stories of genius (notably Jewels in
]the Forest, I think), and a rather hackneyed world. It is worth reading the
]first four or five books for the clever adventure yarns, and the charm of the
]characters. The sixth book is too pompous to be properly enjoyable.

James Smith:
]I found the first book a little trite, and have yet to read the rest.

Brent Curtis:
]Tales of a carousing pair of swordsmen, one a big hairy northern warrior, the
]other a small slick thief. They fight, steal and wench with abandon.  There
]are about seven in the series, each book has a few short stories and/or
]novellas. Worth paying money for (but I don't have any :-(  )
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DORIS LESSING

Canopus in Argus Archives

"Shikasta"
"The Syrian Experiment"
"The Marriages of Zones 3, 4 and 5"
"The Sentimental Agents of the Volyen Empire"
"The Making of the Representative for Planet 8"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.S. LEWIS

Chronicles of Narnia

Bryn Pears:
]Children's books, basically Christian allegory. But, as Lewis said, he wrote
]the kind of book that he wanted to read. If you can cope with the idea of
]cute talking animals, twelve year old children as the heros and heroines and
]the regular appearance of a huge golden lion who rules the world (very
]christ like) they're a great read. I've just finished rereading them.
]Recommended.

Alex Heatley:
]Allegory dressed up as Children's Stories. The first book written "The Lion,
]The Witch and the Wardrobe" is the best, the "Last Battle" is the final work
]in the series and the most Christian. The stories have a heavy Christian
]flavour to them that only gets in the way in the case of "The Last Battle". A
]good fantasy series, requires a knowledge of the Bible to appreciate what
]Lewis is allegorising.

Kathryn Andersen:
]I grew up with this series, so I can't be terribly objective (but, then
]again, who can?)  I have yet to find anything to match them, not particularly
]regarding the purely fantasy element of them, but regarding their power as
]parables.  Most attempts are horribly clumsy, but these are *good* stories.

Zev Sero:
]Excellent children's fantasy.  As you get older, and start reading Lewis'
]other stuff, especially his non-fiction, you start noticing the Christian
]subplot.  I haven't yet read everything the man wrote, but I intend to.  BTW,
]there is a so-so SF book called `the Rainbow Credenza', in which Lewis has
]been canonised as St. Clive, and is remembered as one of the 20th Century's
]two great philosophers (The other is Ayn Rand).

Mark Williams:
]I read these when I was in primary school and early high school.  I really
]enjoyed them then, but doubt that they would affect me in the same way now. I
]think there is a bit too much gratuitous religion in them. Great kids'
]books.

Richard Thomas:
]I haven't read all of the series yet.  What I have read is very good
]literature, rich in plot, theme, and characterisation.  The series is 12
]books long, and deals with a realm where animals have human characteristics.
]The series is definitely fantasy in style.  C. S. Lewis being a Christian has
]also included a lot of the gospel message as an allegory in the series.  For
]the Christian or the interested this is superbly done and is very good to
]see.  For the non/anti-Christian the series is still worth reading for its
]literary value.

Michael Saleeba:
]A truly classical series. I read them when I was a child, which is probably
]the best way to do it, but they would stand up to rereads very well.
]Excellent inventive fantasy.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]A reasonable world, made up for by wonderful plots, good characters, and
]brilliant writing style. Lots of little interesting episodes fill out the
]world of Narnia, but it is still rather vague. This series has the best
]ending I have seen in any story. It also has one of the best beginnings. The
]seven books are very well balanced, and have a lot to entertain. As well they
]have a lot of meaning behind them, for children and adults. Highly
]recommended.

Lynn Alford:
]The chronicle of Narnia is one of the best children's fantasy series ever
]written.  I didn't find out about their existence until my late teens, but I
]liked them enough to buy the set at the first opportunity.  Some of the
]imagery is beautiful.

"Out of the Silent Planet"
"Voyage to Venus"
"That Hideous Strength"

Geoff Miller:
]Essentially a series, well written with some interesting ideas about religion
]although scientifically rubbish.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R.A. MacAVOY

A Trio for Lute

"Damiano"        } Available in one volume called
"Damiano's Lute"    } "A Trio for Lute"
"Raphael"        }

Kathryn Andersen: "I only read the first two. Worth reading once."

Arnold Pears:
]I read these not long ago and greatly enjoyed them.  Also by this author are
]"The Book of Kells", an above average Celtic fantasy novel, and "Tea with the
]Black Dragon", which I think is a childrens book. Which is not to say that it
]is not worth reading, it most certainly is.

Zev Sero:
]I heard this was good, so I started part 1, got about 3/4 of the way through,
]and didn't bother finishing. Bored stiff.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]A wonderful set of characters (particularly Raphael, the angel), and
]delightful world, and slightly aimless plots. This is quite unusual fantasy,
]and very likable. Unfortunately it is only very nice.  Outstanding points are
]her portrayal of Satan and Raphael.

Mark Williams:
]Nobbad. I read this series in just a few sittings. I found it a bit sickly
]sweet, but as fantasy goes, a good read.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]Fantasy set in 14th century (approx. - I haven't checked) Europe. Very, very
]good. Real magic, very well handled, including cultural differences, and
]convincing and enjoyable description of medieval Europe. I particularly liked
]the way the stories are true to the beliefs of the time, without being
]patronising or including any implied comparisons with C20.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

Wild Cards

[Cover Blurb]
" In the aftermath of World War II an alien virus struck the Earth,
  endowing a handful of survivors with strange superhuman powers.  Some were
  called Aces, gifter with extraordinary abilities; others were called
  Jokers, cursed with bizarre disfigurements. Some used their talents to
  serve humanity, others for evil.... "

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Yet another shared world anthology series, this one actually pulls it off
]rather well. The standard of authors is rather high and a lot of what might
]be considered silliness is excused by the setting and premises (WC doesn't
]pretend to be serious and deeply meaningful). Recommended.

Jon Eaves:
]I have read the first two of the 7 book series.  They are HOT.....  Martin
]has arranged so that 11 sci-fi authors (Cadigan, Martin, Shiner, WJ
]Williams, Zelazny, Melinda Snodgrass....) have created 'short stories' that all
]tie together seamlessly.  Very clever work.  It reminded me a lot of my
]comic-book reading days, with superheroes, mutants et al., the stories all
]run a bit like that as well but are of a very high standard.  Wait until you
]see what FORTUNATO has to do to use his powers.  Not exactly comic book
]stuff.  Some of the story in the second book has the feel of Lovecraft's
]Chthulu mythos, 'Pennies from Hell' in particular.

Michael Paddon:
]Good and bad; as should be expected from a mosaic of authors. I especially
]liked the portions contributed by Zelazny, Shiner, Williams, Snodgrass and
]Martin.  As long as you don't expect consistency of plot or sensibility of
]overall direction in the series, each collection provides a good deal of
]entertainment. Approach _Wild Cards_ as you would a four-colour comic.

Tim Lambert:
]This is a mosaic novel, with parts written by various authors set in an
]alternate Earth which has super-heroes and super-villains, just like in the
]comic books.  Parts of it are very good.  My only reservation is that
]volumes IV and V don`t seem to resolve very much---at the rate things are
]going we`ll need another 5 books to tie up all the loose ends.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JULIAN MAY

Saga of the Exiles

"The Many Coloured Land"
"The Golden Torc"
"The Non Born King"
"The Adversary"

James Smith: "Good idea, but long winded."

Michael Barlow:
]I really enjoyed this series and have read it several times. May creates a
]host of major characters all (IMHO) believable and interesting and weaves
]them into a detailed story involving psionics, alien races, and politics. A
]great read.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]1) Starts out with original SF concept but this degenerates into a poor
]excuse for a magic-ridden elves and swords story.
]2) Characters rapidly become superhuman and very evil/good.
]3) A waste of wood pulp

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Very, very clever. Julian May is an accomplished author. This series has
]superb characterisation, the best handling of psionics *ever*, a wonderful
]grip on technology, a very clever world, and a gripping plot (with plenty of
]subplots). This series contains so many things done so well that it is a
]must-read. The sequel series: the Intergalactic Milieu trilogy should be
]wonderful. The first book of four in this trilogy:  "Intervention", is one of
]the best 'flow from past into future' books I have ever read. A must.

Michael Paddon:
]A brave attempt at portraying meta-psychic powers at both the personal level
]and the effects on societies. Aliens were thrown in for good measure, as well
]as time travel. It didn't work.

Leisa Condie:
]I read them all, but don't feel inspired to keep rereading: mediocre.

Luke Wildman:
]Very entertaining, and so is ``Intervention'' and I'm waiting,  waiting, ...
]as always with Julian May.  Saga had great imagery and lots of different mind
]weapons/powers and a pretty nifty setting. The first one was good, "Many
]Coloured Land", which is why "Intervention" is appealing because it is
]similar.

Andrew Moran:
]I confess. I loved every minute of it. I'm just a sucker for psychic stuff
]and this is the most detailed and believable construction I've encountered.
]All the different faculties (Redaction, Creation, etc.), it just seems to be
]the way it would happen.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Didn't quite click with me - good writing and characterisation and all that,
]but after wading through two or three of them, I just felt "so what?" and
]gave up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANNE McCAFFREY

Dragonriders of Pern

"Dragonflight"
"Dragonquest"
"The White Dragon"

Harper Hall of Pern

"Dragonsong"
"Dragonsinger: Harper of Pern"
"Dragondrums"

"Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern"
"Nerilka's Story & The Coelura"
"Dragonsdawn"

Mark Williams: "Well _I_ really liked this series. So there."

Dave Horsfall: "Light reading, but starting to suffer sequel-itis."

Leisa Condie:
]I admit to a weakness for fluff here:  they're good, harmless reading when
]I'm depressed or don't want to put the brain in gear. Enjoyable.

Brian Ross:
]All are stories by McCaffrey about the Dragon riders of Pern. A far off
]planet in the sector of Rugbat where they have bred dragons to defend them
]against a menacing kind of space borne spore which falls to the ground from
]a neighbouring planet when in close conjunction every 200 years. The first
]and the last deal with a different time period and characters. The others
]are all set around the same time and deal with the same characters (although
]the lead person in each case is slightly different).  The plots are well
]thought out and the stories well written. The characters are believable and
]the pace reasonably fast. An excellent series of stories, well worth
]reading.

John Marquet:
]Anne McCaffrey more or less specialises in novels about a society in which
]humans and dragons enjoy a symbiotic/telepathic relationship, especially in
]relation to a `war' against Thread - a more or less naturally occurring
]interplanetary pollutant that falls on the home planet, Pern, from time to
]time.  Sounds unpromising, doesn't it?  The books are saved from
]quasi-Western banality by a certain Irish charm in the prose, and by the fact
]that the hero/main character is invariably a sensible, romantic female.
]Female leads in Westerns are rare - and a female attachment to a horse is
]much less acceptable than a similar attachment to a telepathic dragon!
]Mostly I read hard s.f.; I can't stand out and out `heroic' fantasy - the
]kind with a muscular warrior on the cover - but I admit to a soft spot for
]Pern and its inhabitants.  All the novels have a strong `feminist' slant. It
]seems McCaffrey has created a world to suit herself and her personal
]fantasies (a Bronte sister of the 20th Century?).

Kathryn Andersen:
]I would rate the Harper Hall trilogy as the best, followed by the Dragonrider
]trilogy, with the others more as something to read if you like Pern and want
]to find out more.  The Dragonrider trilogy impressed me when I first read
]them because each book was self-contained, and was neither an afterthought to
]make money, nor a cliff-hanging lead-up to the next book in the trilogy. Also
]it didn't feature a battle between Good and Evil - there weren't really any
]Evil characters there, just normal people motivated by common things (greed,
]selfishness, love, nobility, revenge etc). That seems common with all her
]books - just a bunch of people doing what people do.  Harper Hall trilogy is
]much more small-scale than the Dragonrider trilogy - instead of the fate of a
]world in the balance, it is the prospects and career of the (very nice) main
]character.  Very much a character-oriented series.  However, since the Harper
]Hall trilogy actually takes place at about the same time as "DragonQuest", it
]is probably good to read the Dragonrider trilogy first.
]Also, "The Renegades of Pern" is coming out in hardback soon, but I probably
]won't read it until the paperback comes out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PATRICIA McKILLIP

The Riddle-Master Trilogy

"The Riddle Master of Hed"
"Heir of Sea and Fire"
"Harpist in the Wind"

Anita Graham:
]I have read and reread these many times.  I am wary of recommending them with
]so many people who see derivative fantasy everywhere. I'm not really aware of
]where this tale might be derived from.  I find the poetry of the language
]bears me away with these three.  Also by Patricia McKillip - THE FORGOTTEN
]BEASTS OF ELD. Not nearly as good as the Riddle Master books.

Chris Fama:
]Very good. Young Prince Morgon of Hed is catapulted unwillingly into affairs
]of the Realm - notably the appearance of evil shape-changers and upset of the
]magical land-rule. Is not a "power" story though and is fairly original.
]VERY nicely written, IMHO, and a VERY good read - I loved 'em.

Kathryn Andersen:
]I have them all, they are very good. She has some unusual elements woven into
]this trilogy - the Riddle-Masters are an interesting concept, so is the
]Land-Rule, and the Shape-Changers here are something terrible and beautiful
]at once. The only drawback I found to this trilogy is that by the third book,
]the main character has grown into someone so powerful that one doesn't
]sympathise with him any more; a fault which seems to happen too often in these
]series (whether SF, F, or SF - just look at Luke Skywalker...) But still, I
]do re-read my copies every year or two, so they must be worth coming back
]to.  Her "Forgotten Beasts of Eld" and "Fools Run" are also worth taking a
]look at, if only for the atmosphere.

Michael Pope:
]Not your average fantasy cup of tea. Quite deceptive... just when you have it
]all worked out... the plot does a jump to the left. Less concerned with
]traditional fantastic trappings than with what moves people, albeit unusual
]ones. A fine obsessive read.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Erekose
[* indicates connected series]

"The Eternal Champion"
"Phoenix in Obsidian"
"The Champion of Garathorm" *
"The Quest for Tanelorn"    *

Elric

"Elric of Melnibone"            } available in one volume as
"The Sailor on the Seas of Fate"    } "The Elric Saga: Part 1"
"The Weird of the White Wolf"        }

"The Vanishing Tower"            } available in one volume as
"The Bane of the Black Sword"        } "The Elric Saga: Part 2"
"Stormbringer"                }

"Elric at the End of Time"

"The Sleeping Sorceress"    } These are old editions which have been
"The Stealer of Souls"        } revised and are superceded by those above

Hawkmoon: The History of the Runestaff

"The Jewel in the Skull"    } available in one volume as
"The Mad God's Amulet"        } "The History of the Runestaff"
"The Sword of the Dawn"        }
"The Runestaff"            }

Hawkmoon: The Chronicles of Castle Brass

"Count Brass"            } available in one volume as
"The Champion of Garathorm" *    } "The Chronicles of Castle Brass"
"The Quest for Tanelorn"    *    }

The Books of Corum

"The Knight of the Swords"    } available in one volume as
"The Queen of the Swords"    } "The Swords of Corum"
"The King of the Swords"    }

The Chronicle of Prince Corum and the Silver Hand

"The Bull and the Spear"
"The Oak and the Ram"
"The Sword and the Stallion"

George Michaelson: "written to earn money."

Malcolm Lithgow: [on Elric]
]Except for the first book ("Elric of Melnibone", which is OK) this series is
]pretentious rubbish, and pure (unreadable) pulp. I don't know about the
]others.

Michael Barlow: [on Elric]
]A truly epic anti-hero, Elric destroys all he cherishes and holds most dear.
]With a refreshingly pessimistic undercurrent Moorcock tells the tale of
]Elric, last ruler of Melnibourne and his dark sword Stormbringer, drinker of
]souls. Generally well told, and a nice change from all the "goody-too-shoes"
]hero types.

Michael Pope:
]Why did Moorcock continually give his heros interesting physical problems?
](Corum: loses one hand, one eye (trad); Elric: albinism; Hawkmoon:
]brain-eating jewel, sudden sex-change in the second series; not to mention a
]self-parody where the hero has been completely constructed of second hand
]parts, including a progenerative organ of sandstone). Why worry?  These are
]good quick high-decadent-fantasy reads, with plenty of extras being killed in
]nasty ways in the best Star Trek tradition.

Michael Paddon:
]Elric defines much of modern fantasy. The other Eternal Champions cannot be
]as good simply because Elric is in a class of his own.

Friendless:
]I have read every single one of these except for "The Sleeping Sorceress",
]and I did that because I liked them. This is heroic fantasy on the grand
]scale, where the heroes aren't just saving princesses, they're saving entire
]kingdoms, planets and worlds. And of course, sometimes they screw up and
]that's pretty spectacular too. Whilst I don't recommend that you rush out and
]buy them straight away, get some secondhand copies to read on the train.

Brent Curtis:
]These are all black fantasy where entire races die in the struggle between
]Chaos and Order (sounds like Macquarie's cafeteria). The lead character in
]each is merely a manifestation of the eternal champion (he's in dancers at
]the end of time and also Jerry Cornelius). The ones about Hawkmoon I would
]rate the best, but they are all worth reading, and in no particular order.

The Cornelius Chronicles

"The Final Programme"        } available in one volume as
"A Cure for Cancer"        } "The Cornelius Chronicles Book 1"

"The English Assassin"        } available in one volume as
"The Condition of Muzak"    } "The Cornelius Chronicles Book 2"

"The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the
 Twentieth Century"
"The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius"

George Michaelson:
]Almost defines the 60's in mood and temperament. Broke new ground in writing
]style. Hard to read once. Very unstructured in parts. Recommended.

Michael Paddon:
]Some people hate Cornelius. These were experimental literature with
]fragmented plot and characters, bizarre timelines and lots of drugs. A real
]trip.

Friendless:
]I read "The Final Programme" and was unthrilled. Later I read "The
]Adventures.." and only remember it for the not particularly good but very
]unconventional sex scenes. I think in the Cornelius Chronicles, Mr Moorcock
]has added a dash too much weirdness and crap for Friendless.

Brent Curtis:
]Beautifully decadent (if a trifle weird) scene of sex, drugs, rock-n-roll
]with an amazing array of depraved characters. The scene where Jerry sleeps
]with his dead sister to revive her is bizarre. Be prepared, you need to be in
]a weird mood to read these (I find Yes or Hawkwind helps).

Dancers at the End of Time

"The Hollow Lands"    } This is the original trilogy available in one
"An Alien Heat"        } volume as "Dancers as the End of Time"
"The End of All Songs"    }

"The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming (Return of the Fireclown)"

Michael Paddon:
]Time travel from the end of the universe (and back again). Witty and
]frenetic, this is the best of Moorcock.

Brent Curtis:
]Surprisingly coherent, even funny! Moorcock`s usual decadence and bisexuality
]takes the fore in a clash with Victorian England. The end is a bit of an
]anticlimax, though.

Friendless:
]Pretty weirdo stuff, but retained enough fantasy content to keep me in.
]Occasionally had a really good bit. Got silly at the end.

The Nomad of Time

"The Warlord of the Air"
"The Land Leviathan"
"The Steel Tsar"

Phil Herring:
]Mike Moorcock likes to acknowlege his influences by mimicking them (cf.
]"Gloriana", a work after the style of Peake, and the Michael Kane series,
]elsewhere in this guide). This series pays homage to H. G. Wells. Not only
]is the subject matter in the right style, so is the prose; Moorcock has
]chameleonlike skill in this regard. The stories are surreal parodies of
]Wells' SF tales, complete with Wells' imagined machinery: twisted, full of
]irony and wit, and all set in an alternative twentieth century. Enjoyable.

Brian Ross:
]Yet another alternative world story (or rather series of stories). It
]revolves around the adventures of Oswald Bastable, a young British Officer
]serving on the North-west Frontier around the turn of the century. Whilst on
]an expedition to punish a local potantate he is tricked into a labyrinth
]under the ruler's palace where he falls asleep. Upon waking he discovers that
]he has been transported forward in time. However on this world he discovers
]that technology has continued in the mold of turn of the century ideas. We
]have giant airships cruising the air and the Empires of Europe controlling
]most of the world.  The Stories are well written, the plot tight and fast
]paced. The characters well written and researched (the historical ones that
]is). Each story follows the efforts of Bastable to return to "his" world and
]the adventures he has in each one on the way. An excellent example of what
]Moorcock can achieve, but so rarely does in his other fantasy novels.

Martian Trilogy

"City of the Beast"
"Lord of the Spiders"
"Breakfast in the Ruins"

Phil Herring:
]These books are written in the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs (cf.  The Nomad
]of Time series). Set on the planet Barsoom, they involve the Earth scientist
]John Carter doing battle with the inhabitants of a dying civilization. He
]has only his sword and his wits to fight off big beasts and colourful
]lizardlike monsters to get the woman he desires. Not deep or outstanding,
]but good fun.

"The War Hound and the World's Pain"
"The City and the Autumn Stars"

Phil Herring:
]My favourite Moorcock books: two novels about members of the von Bek family,
]cursed forever in a wholly original way. The first is set in the mid 1600's,
]in a Europe disintegrating in the Wars of Religion. von Bek is unexpectedly
]compelled to undertake a quest of the knightly kind, at the behest of a
]certain deity. In the second book, a descendant of that von Bek, wandering a
]Europe torn apart by revolution in the late 1700's, is once again called
]upon to perform feats of heroism and daring. I love Moorcock's political
]insights, his ironic swipes and acute prose. Both of these books have these
]things in quantity, and are quite good period pieces to boot. (And neither
]are what you might expect them to be...)

"The Chinese Agent"
"The Russian Intelligence"

Phil Herring:
]Mildly entertaining comedy/spy spoof, full of sex, drugs and apalling
]cockneys - rather like the Jerry Cornelius series, in fact, but actually
]coherent stories with conventional organization. Not his best work, but
]fair. (Not SF, either, I might add.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOUGLAS NILES

Moonshae Trilogy

"Darkwalker on Moonshae"
"Black Wizards"
"Darkwell"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LARRY NIVEN

Known Space
[information on the structure of this series thanks to Zoltan Somogyi and
 Andrew Hide. The comments are divided into two sections - Known Space and
 Ringworld.]

"Tales of Known Space" [short stories]
"World of Ptavvs"
"Protector"
"The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton" [three novellas]
"The Patchwork Girl"
"A Gift From Earth"
"Neutron Star" [six stories]
"Ringworld"
"Ringworld Engineers"

"Inconstant Moon" [some Known Space stories]
"All the Myriad Ways" [some Known Space stories]

"The Man-Kzin Wars" [shared world]
"The Man-Kzin Wars II" [shared world]

Zoltan Somogyi:
]This is the approximate chronological order (about 2000 to 2800AD), except
]that "Tales of Known Space" has short stories from all parts of the story's
]timescale (it also has a time chart showing where the varous stories fit in,
]so you can read them in chronological order; it is better that way). Two new
]anthologies titled "The Man-Kzin Wars" could also said to belong to the
]series, although they contain material not written by Niven; they are based
]on the short story "The Warriors" and on the Ringworld books.

Andrew Hide:
]I believe there is a complete timeline and description for the series in
]'Tales Of Known Space', and there is a VERY full description in the
]Ringworld role-playing game. ( Not a great game but excellent and accurate
]background. ) In summary, 'Known Space' covers the expansion of the human
]race into the solar system in the near future, population of various colony
]planets, initially with STL ships and subsequently with an FTL purchased
]from an alien race. Notable for a high degree of scientific plausibiliy ( if
]not strict accuracy ), good locations, interesting and well thought out
]aliens, and the consideration given to the effects of his proposed
]technological advances. One of my favourite authors, he has always inspired
]the famed 'sense of wonder'.

Michael Saleeba:
]Simply _the_best_ future history anyone has concieved. These get my vote for
]the top series of all time. So there.  Niven is one of the very few authors
]who has consistently been able to come up with original, interesting, mostly
]scientifically-based ideas. Brilliant.

Zoltan Somogyi:
]All these books are hard sf; the accent is on technology and its effect on
]society, not on storytelling and characterization. Niven is one of the best
]writers around on the hard stuff, and he is not bad on the soft stuff either
](I particularly like the names his characters give to things, e.g. a flying
]house named "Improbable"). Without at least a nodding acquaintance with
]relativity, astro- and particle physics, and evolution, a reader would miss
]much of the interesting stuff.
]The subjects of the books vary greatly. Books 4, 5 and 6 are concerned with
]the impact of organ transplant technology; the resulting society is not I
]would want to live in. I did not like books 4 and 5 very much because of
]this disconcerting message, but they did make me think; I enjoyed book 6
]much more because it offered a solution. Books 2 and 3 are first-contact
]stories with convincingly psychologically different aliens: slavers and Pak
]protectors respectively. Book 7 contains some such stories as well. Book 8
]won a Hugo and a Nebula in 1970. It is a novel written on a very large
]canvas, which accounts for much of its appeal: the real hero of the story is
]the Ringworld, a partial Dyson sphere with a livable surface area of several
]million Earths.  The end, however, does not bring resolution and leaves the
]central question (who built the Ringworld) unanswered, although one can
]puzzle it out with clues from the first 7 books. Book 9 answers this
]question and resolves the tensions left over from book 8; Niven wrote it in
]response to numerous requests from fans.
]I would recommend all these books to anyone, with the warning that the
]squeamish should avoid books 4, 5 and 6 and the story "Jigsaw man" in the
]Tales of Known space. (The first two stories in that book were Niven's
]first, and they are not very good, but this should not put off anyone: the
]stories get much better.)

[Ringworld]
Zev Sero: "Liked it."

Michael Paddon: "Classic for its ideas, which sparked many others in SF."

Arnold Pears:
]I am a bit of a fan of HARDISH SF, and I guess this fits the bill.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Synopsis : Louie Wu, and his friends, go to the Ringworld where they do a lot
]of things and see a lot of things and then go home.  Seriously, no-one does
]this ultra-powerful high-tech space opera as good as Niven (to be taken
]seriously anyway). Worth a read.

George Michaelson:
]Possibly the first decent 70's cosmology to retain some self-consistency.
]Niven creates structure/society of semi-infinite sizes and then says how
]boggled he is by the numbers. Just enough zap-powery to keep the blood going.
]Very shallow  roles for women with one or two exceptions. Not too extended,
]So far no signs of re-writes and add-ons. He's really best in short story
]mode, or stopping Pournelle's worst excesses in mega-busters for ther airport
]book shop. Can get up his own arse a bit about how much he knows about
]intergalactic mechanics, mentions Dyson most every book but rarely the 200
]other peoples brains he sucks dry for each idea.

Brent Curtis:
]Sort of sci-fi for engineers. The structure of the ringworld takes up too
]much of the novels. Read if there's nothing else around.

Luke Wildman:
]Liked it, it improved as the series went on, the Pak book was good.  The
]first book was pretty silly really  and I remember I didn't understand some
]of the explanations of the architecture of the Ringworld.

Andrew Moran:
]Ringworld Engineers:
]Can't remember much, just enjoyed it, that's all. Especially the bit about
]wire-tappers --- people hide behind trees, zap you with a tap and you are
]addicted. A tap is some kind of wire that connects to your pleasure centres
]and excites them continually. One of the heroes is addicted to "wire".

Mark Williams:
]The first book in this series is a really good hard SF story about an
]artificial world constricted on the inside of a million-mile wide ring
]rotating around a star.  Unfortunately, some weenies worked out that a
]Ringworld would be gravitationally unstable. They then proceeded to disrupt
]SF cons with chants like "The Ringworld is Unstable", etc.  The second book
]"Ringworld Engineers" was written partly to shore up the embarrassing gap in
]the physics of the first, and is not quite as good. Booth books are, however,
]*very* good examples of good hard sf.

Richard Thomas:
]This is part of his standard universe in which he has written many short
]stories.  It is handy to have read some of the other stories set in this
]universe before reading the two novels in order to get some background.
]Louis Wu (human) and Talker to Animals (named Chmee in RE) (alien - hostile
]to humans) are forced to work together to explore a ringworld for the
]purposes of the Puppeteers. The novels aren't great works and both
](especially RE) can be a bit plodding at times. The technical aspects to the
]Ringworld are interesting and Niven provides a good set of alien cultures.
]The humans in Niven's works are generally the most wooden characters
]though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN NORMAN

The Gorean Cycle of the Chronicles of Counter-Earth (Star)

"Tarnsman of Gor"
"Outlaw of Gor"
"Priest-Kings of Gor"
"Nomads of Gor"
"Assassin of Gor"
"Raiders of Gor"
"Captives of Gor"
"Hunters of Gor"
"Marauders of Gor"
"Tribesmen of Gor"
"Slave-Girl of Gor"
"Beasts of Gor"
"Explorers of Gor"
"Fighting Slave of Gor"
"Rogue of Gor"
"Guardsman of Gor"
"Savages of Gor"
"Blood Brothers of Gor"
"Kajira of Gor"
"Players of Gor"

James Smith: "Good start. Drops off badly after about six books."

Arnold Pears: "Crap."

Ian Farquhar:
]I am of two minds about Norman. On one hand, he is certainly original (he
]started in '66 when it was an innovation to have an extremely detailed and
]well thought out fantasy world). On the other hand he seems to have enormous
]sexual hang-ups which he incorporates into the novels.  His plotting also
]leaves a lot to be desired, and he is the only person I have ever seen that
]can write a two and a half page paragraph.
]Actually, I quite liked the Gor novels, because they were so serious about
]themselves that they almost qualify as high fiction.  I cannot, however,
]ascribe any quality to them, as their humour is unintentional.

Michael Paddon:
]Dammit, some of the Gor series is good. Some is obsessed. As a rule, the
]first five novels are worth reading, then you have to learn how to skip
]chunks of text without loosing continuity. Unless you really believe that
]women aren't complete until they are totally dominated...

Zev Sero:
]Pornography in the guise of SF, mainly because it takes place on another
]planet, and there is some attempt at a bit of scientific rationalisation of
]why the planet is as it is. But don't let anyone kid you that they read it as
]SF, the only reason anyone reads it is as pornography. And because you can
]get it from the SF shelves rather than having to go into the Adults Only
]section of the book shop...

Mike McGaughey:
]Well, I'm reading my sixth now. The last five have been eagerly snapped up by
]Yvette, the girlie in flat 2. Some of these books seem truly awful by
]themselves; for instance, in "Hunters of Gor", our humble narrator is a bit
]depraved and not at all what a mega-hero should be :-).  However, the whole
]series seems to be a cycle - he starts out virtuous, pure and confused,
]becomes wise and noble, becomes drunk on success (and pretty nasty), falls,
]and, presumably, becomes virtuous and confused again at the end. How the hell
]Norman manages to squeeze eleven novels (or is it twelve now - better check
]the time) from this, I do not know. If you can stand the politics, a few of
]the books are a good read (well, one so far - "Assassin of Gor", the fifth
]book, is not bad). The rest are, however, readable - for which they score
]slightly higher than "Twilight of the Vilp".  Don't read these books
]expecting any new ideas, though. It's just all the old hero(ine) mush, pulped
]together and smashed onto the pages.  Just occasionally, the result is
]artistic. Usually not.  Female slavery, that subject on everyone's lips :-),
]is interesting - our hero is amused but saddened by the females' plight in
]the books where he is virtuous, but hard and uncaring when he is rich and
]successful. Also, in all the books where he cares about women, there is a
]female role model - usually his SO; in the other books, women are beneath
]contempt.  Oh, and what people say about Norman's sexual attitudes is correct
]- he believes every woman desires to be tamed by a man (at least that's the
]impression I get :-).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANDRE NORTON

Witchworld

"Horn Crown" (prequel)
"Witchworld"
"Web of the Witch World"
"Year of the Unicorn"
"Three Against the Witch World"
"Sorceress of the Witch World"
"Spell of the Witch World"
"Trey of Swords"
"'Ware Hawk"
"Lore of the Witch World" (short stories)

Michael Saleeba:
]This was quite an interesting fantasy series in concept, and it had a few
]good moments (particularly in the early books), but overall I got the
]impression that the author was aiming for word count rather than literary
]brilliance in the later parts of the series. I also found that the
]descriptions lacked any sort of vividness, so I never really felt involved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERVYN PEAKE

Gormenghast

"Gormenghast"
"Titus Groan"
"Titus Alone"

Dave Horsfall: "Ponderous. ZZzz........."

Arnold Pears:
]The Gormenghast books are well worth reading, unfortunately the series is not
]complete in the 3rd book. I believe the author was insane at that stage, and
]the manuscript of the fourth book was burned at the instructions of his wife,
]who felt it was too personal the be published.

George Michaelson:
]this should not be in this list without adding 1/2 100 other works. now so
]oversold as an earth-shattering experience it seems almost trite to say
]anything about it. It seems going to Belsen and suffering chronic melancholia
]are good for the art form. I can't help wishing he'd been happier and perhaps
]not written so well. The paintings are possibly even more moving than the
]book. get an edition which includes the sketches and try & find his childrens
]books and "the rhyme of the flying bomb" for comparison. His paintings for
]the war office (official war artist WW2) are stunning and quite different to
]the sketches in Ghormenghast trilogy. Maeve Gilmore-Peake keeps a tight reign
]on all his material and her influence can be read in most criticism/critique
]of his oevre.

Brent Curtis:
]Not the easiest book to read. My third attempt to read book number one was
]unsuccessful and I haven't summed up the stamina to have another go.  It gets
]good reviews and looks interesting (ie - glancing through pages at random)
]but I can't make it past forty pages.

Michael Paddon:
]Gothic and bizarre. The plot plods but the background is hypnotic.

Jonathan Burns:
]Tour-de-force of baroque gloom, populated with Lewis Carroll characters;
]really really good writing.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]These are not SF, and are not even really fantasy, but could almost stand in
]a genre of their own. Black, gloomy, ornate, baroque, they are difficult to
]get into but compelling once started. Like many series, they are frustrating
]because the sequels don't offer the conclusions and resolutions you hope for.
]Gormenghast is probably the best. Titus Alone is the poorest and also the
]most depressing - Titus leaves the appalling, life-engulfing ancestral home;
]and the world outside is as insane as that he has left. It is also fragmented
]and inconclusive, as Peake was finally going mad as he wrote it, and I think
]someone else tidied it up for publication. The first 2 are worth reading, but
]go out into the sunshine afterward, or visit a friend - don't brood on them!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREDERIK POHL

Heechee

"Gateway"
"Beyond the Blue Event Horizon"
"Heechee Rendezvous"
"The Annals of the Heechee"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Excellent stories with good characterisations and brilliant plots.
]Recommended (as if you couldn't tell).

Anita Graham:
]Not very good - the story is better than the writing - you have to struggle
]through lots of junk.

Gordon Clare:
]My opinions (for what they're worth!) are that the original trilogy is rated
]fairly highly -- and I don't rate much high -- but the last one had VERY much
]a "tacked on feeling", and basically wasn't worth reading.

Michael Paddon:
]Robinette Broadhead is a wimp. You want to hit him. Despite the totally
]despisable main character, "Gateway" is enjoyable for its ideas, its plot and
]the computer program Sigfried.

Richard Thomas:
]The Heechee are aliens who inhabited the galaxy 500,000,000 years ago.
]Humanity discovered there artifacts around the solar system. The biggest find
]is an interstellar space port complete with working ships.
]Gateway-Recollections of the main character (called Robbinette Broadhead ?)
]on his time at Gateway and his interstellar trips. Humans don't really know
]how to use the ships so there are all sorts of difficulties due to this.
]BtBEH-Robbin is rich and famous and takes part in discovering how to control
]the ships properly.  HR-The Heechee return. They have been hiding inside a
]black hole because of stories of a race that comes and destroys all
]intelligent life in the galaxy. They pop out to check to see if this race has
]come by yet and discover humanity. They get the humans to watch out for the
]aliens. Robbin dies and his soul is put into a computer simulation.  ?-The
]last in the series. Robbin as a computer simulation, along with all the other
]simulations, set out to save humanity and the Heechees from the destroying
]aliens. I haven't read this book yet.  Over all the series is pretty fun to
]read. The books aren't great literature and are a bit slow at times. The
]ideas on how we would use and learn how to use alien artifacts are
]interesting though.

Tony Glenning:
]Great series. Story following one man's experiences with alien artefacts.
]The setting is that earth has just found an alien artefact - a space station,
]complete with ships - and then employs people to "fly" these ships and see
]where they go. Since no-one knows how to control these ships many casualties
]result.  To offset these risks enormous payments are made for any further
]discoveries of alien artefacts (Or even the aliens themselves).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JERRY POURNELLE

Janissaries

"Janissaries"
"Clan and Crown"
"Storms of Victory"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]There Will Always Be War as long as There Will Always Be Gunheads because
]they are Men With Big Dicks and also have Serious Attitude Problems .....

Zev Sero:
]I liked them, but then I like most of what Pournelle writes. If you think
]he's a dickhead, well...

Brian Ross:
]A very obvious rip-off of H. Bean Piper's "Gunpowder God" for comfort.  Very
]disappointing and also very silly. All about a very urban, heavily populated
]galaxy which uses humans for slaves. The human "slaves" are running a scam on
]the side in producing a very lucrative drug on a remote planet of a binary
](or trinary) star system. Once every few hundred years the drug is
]harvestable and they need someone to control the preceding group of humans
]who had been establish to cultivate it. So they kidnap from Earth a group of
]lonely soldiers who a fighting some obscure war (this time in Africa as
]American Mercenaries in the 20th Century) and transport them to the distant
]planet. Upon arrival they are told that they will return in "x" number of
]years and recover them (the mercenaries) and the harvested drug. The
]mercenaries work out what happened to the previous group of mercenaries (a
]very large glass bottom lake marks where their city used to be) and they
]realise that if they don't harvest the drug the galactic slaves will kill
]them and if they do, they'll get killed anyway.  The problem is Pournelle's
]plagiarism (apparently with permission, according to Pournelle, before Piper's
]suicide) of almost the whole situation and scenes from "Gunpowder God". Even
]the characters are thinly veiled copies of those in Piper's work. There is a
]sequel to it (not very commonly available) however the name of it escapes me
]at the moment.

Michael Paddon:
]Do you like right wing propaganda?  "So what are you going to do about it,
]whitey? You are going to join the National Democratic Socialist White
]Peoples' Party." "I hate Illinois Nazi's."

Kathryn Andersen:
]I read this a while back. If you like battles and the like, I guess you'd
]like this. The main character is reasonably sympathetic, but I wouldn't run
]around recommending this one to people;  I'm not crazy about battles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TERRY PRATCHETT

Discworld

"The Colour of Magic"
"The Light Fantastic"
"Equal Rites"
"Mort"
"Sourcery"
"Wyrd Sisters"
"Pyramids"
"Guards!, Guards!"
"Holy Wood"

Greg Calkin: "Fantasy taking the piss out of itself"

James Smith: "Fun, but it starts to wear thin by book 5."

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Series quality is a bit patchy but, all in all, Pratchett can beat Douglas
]Adams hands down at his own game.

Zev Sero:
]Great British comedy, in the tradition of P. G. Wodehouse. If you liked the
]Hitchhiker's guide, and were disappointed when Adams traded his sense of
]humour in for a Macintosh, then you'll love Pratchett.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Very clever humour. The world and its magic are also fascinating. The first
]two books ("The Colour of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic") are a must-read.
]The next three are good, and that's as far as I've read. All fantasy lovers
]should read these, just as all sf lovers should read Hitchhikers.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]These are hilarious. Lots of puns, but also great jokes about pantheons (I
]like the Temple of Small Gods), the effect of magic on the world, swords and
]sorcery, epic journeys and tourists, sf anti-expectation jokes...  He manages
]to stay funny through all the books I've read. A lovely rest for the mind,
]but you wouldn't want to pay _too_ much, as each book only lasts about an
]hour and a half.

Paul Gillingwater:
]Pratchett has done a much better job of humour than any other fantasy author
]I've read. I've read his "hard" sf, but was vaguely disappointed, but all the
]Discworld stories are extremely well written and genuinely funny. They poke
]fun at the genre in a clever but non-cynical way.

nim@mullian:
]Many people claim, and they may be correct, that these books are the result
]of an aberrant print spooler at some publishing company. Certainly none of
]them are terribly intellectual, but they are good fun.  Personal fav's: 'The
]colour of magic', 'Mort', 'Sourcery', 'Strata'. The others aren't as 'good'
]IMNSHO [in my not so humble opinion].  Don't buy if you are trying to expand
]your intellectual horizons.

Michael Paddon:
]Very, very humourous. I keep thinking that the man will run out of ideas, but
]he keeps on churning them out. Unlike Douglas Adams, the laster volumes are
]just as funny as the first (more so, even).  My favourites are "Mort" and
]"Guards! Guards!".

Michael Pope:
]READ THESE BOOKS OR I WILL KILL YOU.
]                    -- signed Death
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MELANIE RAWN

Dragon Prince

"Dragon Prince"
"The Star Scroll"
"Sunrunner's Fire"

Zev Sero:
]Her first book published was Dragon Prince, which was billed as Part 1 of Yet
]Another Fantasy Trilogy (groan). But Chuq von Rospach and Laurie Sefton both
]praised it to high heaven, so I borrowed it from the library. When I finished
]it, a week later (it's about 700 pages), I rang Slow Glass to order my very
]own copy, plus parts 2 and 3. It really is that good.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JENIFER ROBERSON

Chronicles of the Cheysuli

"Shapechangers"
"The Song of Homana"
"Legacy of the Sword"
"Track of the White Wolf"
"A Pride of Princes"        }
"Daughter of the Lion"        } may be unreleased
"Flight of the Raven"        }
"A Tapestry of Lions"        }
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICHAEL SCOTT ROHAN

The Winter of the World

"The Anvil of Ice"
"The Forge in the Forest"
"Hammer of the Sun"

Anita Graham:
]A classic derivative fantasy I imagine. But enjoyable within those limits.

Andrew Moran:
]Read the first two a while back.  The main guy (name ?) learns to be a Master
]Smith, which means he can build magic into what ever he creates by means of
]runes and special fires, etc.  I enjoyed them, they're fairly detailed in a
]nice way.  Basically, its a war against the powers of Ice (a glacier is
]advancing from the North ...).

Michael Barlow:
]Rohan tells the story of a world in the grips of Ice, a malign force seeking
]to purify the world of the disease called life. The main character Elof is a
]smith of extraordinary ability (weaving magic in with the making as all
]smiths can) and follows his struggle to fight the forces of the Ice and find
]happiness. Definitely a cut above the average hackneyed fantasy trilogy.

Paul Gillingwater:
]Epic journeys through dwarven mines and enchanted forests. Bit formula, but I
]liked the magic, and some of the "bad" characters show promise. I guess my
]outlook was coloured as I read this series on my honeymoon.... ;-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOEL ROSENBERG

The Guardians of the Flame

"The Sleeping Dragon"
"The Sword and the Chain"
"The Silver Crown"
"The Heir Apparent"        } available in one volume as
"The Warrior Lives"        } "Guardians of the Flame: The Heroes"

Bryn Pears:
]Yet another book about roleplaying. The first of the books, 'The Sleeping
]Dragon' is one of the best efforts yet made to write a 'roleplaying becomes
]real' book. Quite enjoyable and worth reading. Subsequent books decrease in
]value as Rosenberg gets bogged down by his efforts to over moralise and the
]fact that he really has nothing more to say.

Chris Jones:
]The first one was great (the concept, mainly), the rest are still
]interesting.  This series is REALLY hard to get (but I DO live in Adelaide).

Kathryn Andersen:
]Thought the first book was pretty good, and read the next two out of
]momentum. Bought the fourth book and then wondered why I bothered. Getting
]rid of them now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRED SABERHAGEN

Swords

"The First Book of Swords"    } available in one volume as
"The Second Book of Swords"    } "The Complete Book of Swords"
"The Third Book of Swords"    }

Lost Swords [available in one volume as "The Lost Swords: The First Triad"]

"The First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story"
"The Second Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder's Story"
"The Third Book of Lost Swords: Stonecutter's Story"

Empire of the East (3 books?)

Greg Bond:
]All reasonable stuff, about a post-holocaust world where demons, djinn etc
]dominate (EotE), and even later (BoS, BoLS) where 7(?) mighty swords of
]power, created by the Gods (deceased in BoLS), dominate.  Very interesting
]worlds, writing is not too bad. Consistent.  He also wrote a series of
]Dracula novels. Also very interesting.

Damian Conway:
]Swords - The first book is the best, but all are worth the effort.
]Lost Swords - I read these with the sadness one experiences in watching an
]old friend dying of anorexia.

Berserkers

"Berserker Man"
"Brother Berserker"
"Berserker's Planet"

Geoff Miller:
]Good without being brilliant.  Actually the best of the Berserker stories
](IMHO) is one Larry Niven wrote, which appears in his book "Limits".

David Bofinger:
]kill the bugs ... Kill the Bugs ... KILL THE BUGS ....  Fun, and even some
]decent characters (Mitchell Spain springs to mind).

Empire of the East

David Bofinger:
]3 books whose names I don't know. #1 is about a local revolution, both
]mundane and magical, against the truly evil and disgusting Eastern Empire
](and yes, It's post nuclear holocaust, though it's stated in the text the
]current empire has no continuity with any pre-war organisation). #2 has the
]forces of goodness and niceness moving on to attack the next bastion of
]evil, basically because it's there. #3 has the good guys supreme commander
](an artificially intelligent SDI computer) destroying the empire (shucks, I
]gave away the plot :-) ).
]The major attraction, other than for light entertainment, is the setting,
]which combines magic and technological relics. There are demons, flying
]intelligent reptiles, giant owls, djinni, magicians etc., but each has a
]slightly different twist from the usual. The major character (who is not
]particularly competent otherwise) has an atavistic knack for machinery.

Dracula

"The Holmes-Dracula File"
"An Old Friend of the Family"

Andrew Hide:
]Both are imaginative, well put together, and enjoyable ( if albeit fairly
]light reading ). I recommend both ( especially as a relief from something
]deep-and-meaningful.

Lynn Alford:
]One thing that Saberhagen has written is several 'Dracula' books from the
]vampire's point of view.  The first was "the Dracula Tapes".  I thought they
]were well written, and it is interesting to read things from the vampire's
]side of the story.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ELIZABETH SCARBOROUGH

Argonian Series

"Song of Sorcery"    } published in one volume as
"The Unicorn Creed"    } "Songs from the Seashell Archives Volume 1"

"Bronwyn's Bane"    }
"The Christening Quest" } published as volume 2

Michael Pope:
]Relaxed fairy-tale quests with neatly interwoven plots, set in a (fairly)
]relaxed magical world. Gingerbread cottages, a child cursed to always tell
]lies, some sex-discouraging unicorns, the Royal Argonian Air Force (2
]fire-breathing dragons)... you get the idea.

Kathryn Andersen:
]Light froth-and-bubble comic fantasy; fun but not serious.  About as far away
]from her "Healer's War" as you could get.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICHAEL SCOTT

The Fantastic Crusade of a Mythic Wanderer

"Magician's Law: Tales of the Bard, Volume 1"
"Demon's Law: Tales of the Bard, Volume 2"
"Death's Law: Tales of the Bard, Volume 3"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUSAN SHWARTZ

Heirs to Byzantium

"Byzantium's Crown"
"The Woman of Flowers"
"Queensblade"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT SILVERBERG

Majipoor Chronicles

"Lord Valentine's Castle"
"Majipoor Chronicles"
"Valentine Pontifex"

Andrew Waugh:
]The first book (Lord Valentine's Castle) is excellent. A well thought out
]world, interesting characters, and a good plot. The second book, basically a
]collection of short stories, is also worth while. The third book seems to
]have been an extension of the first one to make three books in the series.
]Readable but not nearly as good as the other two.

Zev Sero:
]Lord Valentine's Castle is excellent. Majipoor Chronicles is a travelogue of
]Majipoor, really a series of short stories to give you a feel for the sense
]of life on Majipoor. Valentine Pontifex is not as good as Castle, but still
]worth reading.

Anita Graham:
]Good. I've lost the first one which I enjoyed greatly. The third I've never
]quite got into. It starts off with everything going wrong and nothing
]positive seems to happen for a while. However, I do mean to complete it as
]Robert Silverberg is a trustworthy writer.  His book THE MAN IN THE MAZE was
]a gripping ABC morning book reading, but I've never seen it in print.

Kathryn Andersen:
]The first book is the best. The second book is basically short stories. The
]third book I have tried twice to finish, and failed.  Rich background, pretty
]good characters. Had more sympathy with main character in first book.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------s
CORDWAINER SMITH

Instrumentality of Mankind

Giles Lean:
]I've just read Norstraila, and found the first 3/4 of it good. A different
]ecconomy! Not impressed by the end though.

Geoff Miller: "Classic but often difficult to find  -  required reading."

Alex Heatley:
]Very strange series. Excellent reading however, if opaque in places.

Damian Conway:
]Absolutely brilliant, lyric, poignant, warm, funny and strange.

Leisa Condie:
]Fascinating mix of novels and short stories showing different aspects of the
]world he's created. Really good - it's one of those series you could argue
]whether it was sf or fantasy or both. Humans are decadent on Earth and the
]work is done by the underpeople - animals that have been modified to be
]useful (eg to speak, understand etc).  (Sounds a bit similar to Brin, but far
]predates him). The planet of Old North Australia (Norstrilia) is great! Just
]try them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.E. DOC SMITH

Lensman

"Triplanetary"
"First Lensman"
"Second Stage Lensman"
"Grey Lensman"
"Galactic Patrol"
"Children of the Lens"
"Masters of the Vortex"

Michael Barlow:
]Space Opera pulp. Truly a waste of time. I read it when I was young and it
]was terrible then.

David Paterson: "Superb."

Mark Williams: "Utter trash like the rest of E.E. Doc Smith."

Zev Sero:
]Hopelessly '50s. Heinlein claims that they only sound cliched because
]everyone copied Smith, and when Smith wrote them they read like the most
]brilliant things out. But I was just bored.

Leisa Condie:
]Too moral and propagandist for my taste: I've only read "First Lensmen" but
]that put me off the rest.

Kathryn Andersen:
]I admit it - I have read them. Male chauvinist Space Opera with ever bigger
]and better guns to kill the enemy with.

Skylark

"The Skylark of Space"
"Skylark Three"
"Skylark of Valeron"
"Skylark DuQuesne"

David Paterson: "Absolute rubbish."

Mike McGaughey:
]Good, light, kiddie's space opera. I loved 'em when I was a little tacker.
]Lensman series was the same, but more so.

Michael Paddon:
]Skylark is the next best thing to Lensmen. Space Opera at its height, and
]also interesting for the places it takes early and late in Smith's career.

Andrew Moran:
]Bloody terrible. Even at 14 I found the constant "I agree with you right up
]to the proverbial 19th decimal point ..." fucking aggravating.  In each book
]the unheard of, miraculous, ingenious, incredibly fantastic
]this-is-as-far-as-science-can-go achievements of the crew were surpassed
]without a whimper. Wank, wank, wank.

Family D'Alembert [with Stephen Goldin]

"The Imperial Stars"
"Stranglers' Moon"
"The Clockwork Traitor"
"Getaway World"
"The Bloodstar Conspiracy"
"The Purity Plot"
"Planet of Treachery"
"Eclipsing Binaries"
"The Omicron Invasion"
"Revolt of the Galaxy"

David Bofinger:
]While since I read these, but I cruised through #1-#9 (I think). SG really
]loves his superhuman characters, and misses no opportunity to tell us about
]them. The plots are adequate by potboiler standards, but the later ones have
]big holes in them.

Michael Saleeba:
]Like all E.E.'s stuff, tends to be totally over the top but repetitive after
]a while.

Bill Segall:
]I like em, but they are escapist trash. Our heroes are REAL super-heroes.
]Super developed finbe upstanding citizens etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALISON SPEDDING

A Walk in the Dark

"The Road and the Hills"
"A Cloud Over Water"
"The Streets of the City"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NANCY SPRINGER

Book of Isle

"The White Hart"
"The Silver Sun"
"The Sable Moon"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHRISTOPHER STASHEFF

"Escape Velocity"
"The Warlock in Spite of Himself"
"King Kobold"
"The Warlock Enraged"
"The Warlock Unlocked"

Brain Ross: "Superb series"

James Smith: "I tried one and hated it."

Michael Paddon: "Good idea, overdone to death."

Andrew Waugh:
]Ugh. One book, read half way, was more than enough for me. Juvenile is the
]word that springs to mind. What particularly nauseated me was the gross
]reverence for middle American family life and MOM.

Zev Sero:
]I've read The Warlock In Spite Of Himself, and liked it as a kind of light
]fantasy with a spot of humour. Escape Velocity is Science Fiction and takes
]place many generations before TWISOH, explaining the origins of the fantasy
]planet.

Tim Allen:
]Fantasy that passes itself off as science fiction. A group of creative
]anachronism types founds a colony and, low and behold, they develop psionic
]powers and start 'creating' all the mythical creatures that populate the
]average fantasy world. Don't expect any great intellectual stimulation, but
]there are some good lines; Yoric says things like "I'm a neanderthal,
]remember, I can't manipulate symbols". There's a fairly clumsy handling of
]time-travel that doesn't really make sense. Borrow or buy second-hand.

Leisa Condie:
]The first couple were funny, but then he starts running out of ideas. Rainy
]Sunday type books.

Geoff Miller:
]Read the first two many years ago and thought them good fun. However, I was
]much younger then....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUDITH TARR

Avaryan Rising

"The Hall of the Mountain King"
"The Lady of Han-Gilen"
"A Fall of Princes"

Chris Fama: "A little above the average, I think. Haven't read the third."

The Hound and the Falcon

"The Isle of Glass"
"The Golden Horn"
"The Hounds of God"

Kathryn Andersen:
]Great!  Historical fantasy, with politics and rogues and magic and love and
]beauty and friendship and sacrifice; war and peace, hurt and healing,
]prophecies and confusions, wickedness and innocence... well, I liked it a lot.
]This is the kind of book(s) I not only recommend, but I *give* to my
]friends...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHERI S. TEPPER

Jinian

"The True Game"
"Jinian Footseer"
"Jinian Star-Eye"
"Dervish Daughter"

Zev Sero:
]Brilliant, as is just about everything else she writes. Tepper is a radical
]feminist, and it shows in most of her writing, but whether or not you agree
]with her, she's still worth reading.

Michael Paddon:
]I'm told these are extremely good. Ordinary fantasy is my opinion.

Malcolm Lithgow:
]Extremely clever world, with the second best handling of psionics that I have
]seen (see May). Her sf merges in faultlessly with the fantasy. The plot is
]very clever, and the characters are reasonable. This is worth reading for the
]plot and the world.

Greg Bond:
]Patchy style, books about a world where psi powers have created a society
]where each person with a power has a chess-like classification and abilities,
]etc.  Each trilogy explains the world in slightly different ways. The first
]trilogy was best, the second padding, the third a bit lost.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PATRICK TILLEY

The Amtrak Wars

"Cloud Warrior"
"First Family"
"Iron Master"
"Blood River Mission"
"Death Bringer"

Chris Fama: "For rainy days, although I'd like to see others' opinions."

Bryn Pears: "First book good. Palled after that."

Brian Ross:
]Bloody terrible!  In a few words. Now this is a tree killer. A soap opera of
]the post-holocaust world. What could have been told in a single book seems
]intended to drag out forever and a day!  I would not recommended it, except
]to those who like "Gor" style long windedness.

Luke Wildman:
]Liked it when I was younger, but I won't read the last one.  It's just an
]adventure story, the interesting bits were done in the first book and since
]then it's just died.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PETER VALENTINE TIMLETT

"The Seedbearers"
"The Power of the Serpent"
"The Twilight of the Serpent"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
J.R.R. TOLKIEN

["The Lord of the Rings" and related works have been subjected to too much
 discussion to even attempt a summary here. Suffice to say, all fantasy fans
 should read it just to understand when others talk about it. I invited
 Australia's infamous LotR hater, Phil Herring, to say what he *doesn't* like
 about it.]

"The Hobbit"

The Lord of the Rings

    "The Fellowship of the Ring"
    "The Two Towers"
    "The Return of the King"

"The Silmarillion"

Michael Pope: "Accept no substitutes."

Friendless:
]I could rave for hours and hours, but I will simply say that it is the
]standard by which others are judged.

Phil Herring:
]I really enjoyed this when I was twelve, and read it perhaps five times
]before I turned fifteen. I read it again a short while back, and realised
]that it's full of flaws. In particular, Tolkien peddles middle class
]Christian politics throughout the book (just like his pal, C. S. Lewis.) It
]reads like a very conservative old man trying to teach children how to be
]nice the old-fashioned way.
]This would be a mere quibble if the story is sufficiently powerful to allow
]you to ignore it. Unfortunately, I didn't find it so. Much of the plot is
]just so-so or derivative (although later writers derive so much from TLOTR
]that it makes Tolkien look original.) The characters are flat and
]simplisticly drawn, and the whole series is pervaded by an atmosphere of
]unremitting seriousness. There is no ambiguity, no irony, anywhere.  The good
]guys are good, the bad guys are bad. This is no substitute for
]characterisation. I have been told (boy, have I been told!) that it's just a
]fairy story; well, maybe, but fairy stories are for kids.  This is good book
]for kids, therefore, if you want them to grow up to be good little
]Christians. But for me, it fails as literature.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.C. TUBB

Dumarest Saga

1.    "The Winds of Gath"
2.
3.    "Toyman"
4.    "Kalin"
5.
6.    "Lallia"
7.
8.
9.    "Mayenne"
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.    "Iduna's Universe"
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.    "Melome"    } 28 & 29 available in one volume
29.    "Angado"    }
30.
31.

Alex Heatley:
]Light-weight space opera, the series is designed to be open ended and numbers
]over thirty volumes. The stories are sufficiently different to be
]distinguishable while retaining a commonality. Suitable for putting the mind
]in neutral and relaxing. Dumarest is a sort of Bond/Saint character.

Brent Curtis:
]Top stuff. Nice mix of light sex and violence. I can knock one over in an
]evening. Ideal relaxation read when one does not want to think too hard.

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]Space opera tales from which (i suspect) a lot of "BattleStar Galactica"
]was stolen. Light inconsequential stuff that is easy to read and leaves
]absolutely no lasting impression.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GEORGE TURNER

Beloved Son

"Beloved Son"
"Vainglory"
"Yesterday's Men"

Paul-Michael Agapow:
]More anti-heroes than heroes; more selfishness than evil. An Australian
]author writing about post-holocaust Australia, Turner nurses no sentiment or
]nationalism. These works have never recieved the praise they deserve, if
]only for their gritty anti-space opera approach. Highly recommended.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JACK VANCE

Demon Princes

"The Star King"
"The Killing Machine"
"The Palace of Love"
"The Face"
"The Book of Dreams"

Dave Horsfall: "Good."

Michael Paddon: "Boring"

Mark Williams:
]This is a bit of a space opera, but a good read if you like Vance.

James Smith:
]One of the best series I have ever read. A series about a five evil men and
]revenge. I think I'll read them again.

Alastor Cluster

David Bofinger:
]Not really a series, but I liked most of the books I've read (e.g. Marune,
]Wyst). The planet's societies are described in detail, as always, this is
]Vance's best feature. Sometimes the plots are good too, in a mystery story
]sort of way. Related to these are the `Gaean Reach' books, e.g.
]`Maske:Thaery', which is very good.

Lyonesse

"Lyonesse I: Suldrun's Garden"
"Lyonesse II: The Green Pearl"
"Madouc"

David Bofinger:
]`I:Suldrun's Garden' had a slow start, but picked up later. The structure is
]quite odd - it jumps from power politics to fairy tale to personal
]adventures without warning. `II:The Green Pearl' has more of the same,
]happening again in different places. Since prophecies have more-or-less
]defined the course of the series, I don't find myself gripped.

Mark Williams:
]This is *really good* stuff. It has lots of spells and things for people who
]like fantasy, and it is also very funny in parts. All of is written in that
]slightly bombastic, tongue-in-cheek style for which Vance is justly famous.

Dying Earth

"The Dying Earth"
"The Eyes of the Overworld"
"Cugel's Saga"
"Rialto the Marvellous"

David Bofinger:
]`Dying Earth' is quite early Vance; some of the stories are fascinating.
]`Eyes of the Overworld' is a novel/series of novellettes about a somewhat
]ridiculous rogue, who crashes civilizations wherever he goes. `Cugel''s
]Saga' is the sequel, more of the same, not as good but still fun. `Rhialto
]the Marvellous' is about an immensely powerful magicians disagreements with
]other immensely powerful magicians, also quite interesting.

Mark Williams:
]Very early Vance. This series was a major inspiration for the D&D roleplaying
]system if you believe what Gary Gygax says. It is set in a world where the
]Sun is tired, and is expected to go out any minute. The stories are somewhat
]derivative in that many episodes in them come from old folk tales in many
]countries, but you will have heard hardly any of the tales so that won't
]bother you much unless you are an afficionado of obscure European fairy
]tales. Don't read the first of the series first. It really isn't important to
]read them in any order except that you should read "The Eyes of the Overworld
]before you read "Cugel's Saga".

"Big Planet"
"Showboat World"

David Bofinger:
]I liked `Showboat World' better than `Big Planet'. BP is more serious, and
]has a more obvious plot device. SW is much more fun, and concerns a revival
]of Macbeth on a planet that is incredibly diverse in mores, etc. and has
]lost all continuity with Earth. The moral of both books, `Don't trust the
]women'. (Actually, I don't think Vance is trying to suggest Big Planet women
]are particularly untrustworthy, but ... :-))

Planet of Adventure

"City of the Chasch"    } available in one volume as
"Servants of the Wankh"    } "Planet of Adventure"
"The Dirdir"        }
"The Pnume"        }

James Smith: "Good stuff."

Mark Williams:
]Very patchy.  A lot of the story is a straight-out adventure story which
]happens to be set on another planet. If you like Vance, you will find this
]enjoyable reading, but find out if you like Vance by reading the Dying Earth
]series, or the Lyonesse series first.

Michael Saleeba:
]A little variable in quality, but generally a good read.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KARL EDWARD WAGNER

Kane

"Darkness Weaves"
"Death Angel's Shadow"
"Bloodstone"
"Nightwinds"
"Dark Crusade"

Michael Barlow:
]The tales of Kane, one of the first men, cursed with immortality for the
]crime of killing his brother. Each is a self contained story, or in 2 cases
]set of short stories but all deal with interesting events in Kane's life.
]The world Kane lives in was once ruled by a set of elder races but now
]mankind "rules". Kane is my favourite anti-hero, and is at times sorcerer,
]general, tyrant, underworld boss, poet and explorer. Realistically and
]darkly told and Wagner deals with the theme of immortality well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREDA WARRINGTON

Blackbird

"A Blackbird in Silver"
"A Blackbird in Darkness"
"A Blackbird in Amber"
"A Blackbird in Twilight"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARGARET WEIS & TRACY HICKMAN

Rose of the Prophet

"The Will of the Wanderer"
"The Paladin of the Night"
"The Prophet of Akhran"

Jon Eaves:
]If these 'books' were any lighter they would float away.  It reads like an
]AD&D adventure between a bunch of 13yr old munchkins. Yuk.  It staggers me
]that there is a market for this pulp.  Mills and Boon of the SF&F set.

Dragonlance Chronicles

"Dragons of Autumn Twilight"
"Dragons of Winter Night"
"Dragons of Spring Dawning"

Bryn Pears:
]I read the first three Dragonlance books at one stage (~3 yrs ago?) and
]thought that they were O.K. Pretty standard D&D books. Not much depth, not
]much characterization and not much plot. Not a bad way to waste an hour,
]though.

Jon Eaves:
]A lot of was it was like the Belgariad. I thought it was pulp.

Michael Pope:
](blush)  I have read the "Dragons of Autumn Twilight".  Very predictable with
]the AD&D rules creaking behind every turn of the plot.  But I thought their
]"Ravenloft" module sucked so what would I know...

Dragonlance Legends

"Time of the Twins" }
"War of the Twins"  } available as one volume
"Test of the Twins" }

Michael Barlow:
]OK, I don't remember the titles that well. The ones I read were the standard
]story with all the dragons (pretty sure its chronicles) and the one where
]the mage wants to be a god (Legends) as well as some of the short stories
](Tales). Basically, its very bland, and at times even poorly written.  It
]feels as though someone has taken 2-dimensional roleplaying characters and
]actually adventures that they played and tried to write a story around it.
]Very weak. Some of the short stories seem better than the Chronicles or
]Legends, but still not recommended.

Dragonlance Tales

"The Magic of Krynn"
"Kenders, Gully Dwarves and Gnomes"
"Love and War"

Darksword

"Forging the Darksword"
"Doom of the Darksword"
"Triumph of the Darksword"

Leisa Condie: "appalling"

Malcolm Lithgow:
]They have also written the "Darksword" series.  This has an interesting idea
]of magic, and a world that is very definitely effected by it.  Unfortunately,
]while the first book is quite good, the next two start to wallow in
]sentimentality, notably the anguish of a "catalyst" disobeying his order.
]There is lots of betrayal and so forth, but it is only handled mediumly
]well.  Read only if you haven't got anything better.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHERRY WILDER

"Princess of the Chameln"
"Yorath the Wolf"
"The Summer's King"

Anita Graham:
]Apart from the remarkably different style of each book (which reflect the
]personalities of the three protagonists), the cross links between the books
]make the trilogy hold together. A small detail in the first may be a key
]point in the third AND vice versa. It appears as though the three were
]written together, not a second and third added onto a successful first.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAD WILLIAMS

"The Dragonbone Chair"

Andrew Moran:
]Ancient evil awakes, gains control of King, but still young scullion with
]little training manages to slaughter a dragon as old as the world with very
]little trouble. Don't know how it ends, though, because I've only read Book
]1, which was thicker than Prince George.  This is the first in a series,
]subtitled Book of Sorrow, Memory and Thorn.  These are the names of swords
]discovered in the story.  Yes, it is another "scullion-lad-has-hidden-
]psychic-talent-and-turns-out-to-be-predicted-by-ancient-legend", but it's a
]good one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENE WOLFE

The Book of the New Sun

"The Shadow of the Torturer"
"The Claw of the Conciliator"
"The Sword of the Lictor"
"The Citadel of the Autarch"

"The Urth of the New Sun"
"The Return of the New Sun"

Greg Calkin:
]The story of a young man who goes from being an apprentice torturer to
]Autarch (Ruler of the Kingdom) of the period of a summer. Slow moving, but
]very richly written, with many plots, subplots and interesting characters. A
]later book, The Urth of the New Sun, ties together the final threads as he
]journeys through the Universe to bring a new sun back to Urth to replace the
]old one, which is dying. Should be read as a complete series.

Chris Jones:
]An amazing series especially the first few books.

Nick Redding [first four]:
]I found this series to be extremely memorable.  The best books I have ever
]read on a strange decaying future. Mankind is content to dwell in the ruins,
]living by ancient tradition. Severian, the young and promising apprentice in
]the torturer's guild is exiled for giving a suicide weapon to a "client"
]before the allotted "excruciation" has been exacted.  Severian tells of his
]journey as a series of flashbacks, explaining he is cursed with a perfect
]memory for detail.  Must be read as one book.
]        [The Urth of the New Sun]
]A creditable sequel that manages to paint an ever stranger picture of the
]future. Perhaps not as satisfying as the first four books, but then I did not
]read it immediately after.

Stuart McCormack:
]These books represent my all-time favourite series. Gooder even than Lord of
]the Rings and Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead.
]In a sense, I guess, these books are YASBTES. ( Yet another Stable-Boy to
]Emperor Saga. ) Gladly, this detracts not in the least. In the last paragraph
]of the first chapter in the series, Severian tells us that he will be
]Autarch, but then leaves those of us who noticed to wait until nearly the end
]of the fourth book ( the fifth is a late addition ) before we discover how.
]I particularly enjoy the way Wolfe translates metaphors into an ancient
]civilisation. For instance, the sun does not "sink", instead "Urth lifts her
]shoulder to hide the face of Sol".
]The story-line is both simple and complex. These are books that cannot be
]properly enjoyed after a single reading, but must be read again and again to
]bring out the full flavour ( and the brilliance - Le Guin refers to Wolfe as
]Science Fiction's Melville ) of the writing.
]But most of all, this is not just another swords and sorcery series. If
]anything, these books are about the acquisition of wisdom and, in reading
]them, I feel myself more wise for the experience.
]Still, I find it strange that the most humane character I have ever read
]should be a torturer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PATRICIA WRIGHTSON

The Song of Wirrun

"The Ice is Coming"
"The Bright Dark Water"
"Behind the Wind"

Jonathan Burns:
]Young contemporary Australian Aboriginal becomes peace keeper among the spirit
]peoples of the land. Notable for the modest, realistic characterisation of
]aboriginals, which nonetheless encompasses responsibility for a world of
]weird powers.

Jocelyn Sietsma:
]The first stands alone, and it was several years before I discovered that
]there were sequels.  It is an excellent children's fantasy about an ice
]'attack' by spirits from an Aboriginal mythology.  It is particularly good
]in the difficulties a young aboriginal man (Wirrun) living in Sydney faces
]in admitting a real threat from 'spirit' forces and then in getting time off
]work and money to try and deal with them!  The 'new' mythology and spirit
]world (new to us as readers) is also very well done.
]Wrightson divides Australians into three types -  the 'Happy' people (city
]dwellers), [damn! I've forgotten the word she uses] country dwellers,
]farmers and the third group is the Aborigines.  She makes very effective use
]of these divisions and gives a sense of the importance of having a feel for
]the country.  Almost made me ashamed of living in Melbourne :-)
]Dark Bright Water and Behind the Wind complete the trilogy.  They are even
]better I think.  They are more closely knit - you would really miss out if
]you stopped after Dark Bright Water- and also more complex.  I don't know
]how to praise them adequately, even if I gave away the plot (I'm better at
]abuse :-))  They are not sf, but _excellent_, people-loving, Australian
]fantasy, written for children but too good and with too much human (&
]spirit) complexity to be left solely for them!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JONATHAN WYLIE

Servants of Ark

"The First Named"
"The Centre of the Circle"
"The Mage-Born Child"

Chris Fama:
]Struck me as OK, but not too strong on plot (or characs).  Rainy day.

Andrew Waugh:
]If you are stuck in Adelaide with nothing to do, go for it. Otherwise I
]wouldn't bother.

The Unbalanced Earth

"Dreams of Stone"
"The Lightless Kingdom"
"The Age of Chaos"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROGER ZELAZNY

Amber

"Nine Princes in Amber"
"Sign of the Unicorn"
"The Hand of Oberon"
"The Guns of Avalon"
"The Courts of Chaos"

2nd Amber Series

"Trumps of Doom"
"Blood of Amber"
"Sign of Chaos"
"Knight of Shadow"

Leisa Condie:
]Odd. The books are uneven in style and quality. Occasionally I'll reread one,
]and still not decide whether or not I enjoyed it.

Kathryn Andersen:
]A friend keeps on sending them to me.  The way Zelazny keeps on cliff-hanging
]the novels gets rather aggravating, because I always want to find out what
]happens next.  Otherwise I guess it is pretty good. He's certainly good at
]making the plot unpredictable!  Or is it the characters?

Brent Curtis:
]Enjoyable saga of a family trying to kill each other. Sort of a whoisdoingit
]rather than a whodunnit. Lots of plotting and deception, and a fair bit of
]combat.

Mark Williams:
]I read the first book of this series and was a bit disappointed after the big
]buildup it received. Good nevertheless.

Michael Pope:
]First series: Great fun. Highly recommended.
]Second series: Lacks credibility due to the stupidity of the main
]character--- "Merlin you bloody idiot!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------