On Fri, 10 Nov 2023 22:20:56 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

"Camouflage", Robert Reed

Primary appeal is the gradual revelation of how the world works. I do
hope that we find out what the captain did before the story ends. I
suspect that we need a *lot* of background before we can understand
why it was so awful.

We didn't.

I'm not seeking out more stories in this world.

During the climactic next-to-the-last scene, I had no idea who was
doing what or why. Of course, I did have drops in my eyes, and was
expecting to get interrupted at any moment.

In retrospect, it's amusing that the doctor asked whether I could see
the computer screen before showing me the results of the tests. The
dentist never does that.

Good news and bad news: I'm not going to go blind, but I have three appointments to get a needle stuck into my eye. I'm assured that it
is a very fine needle, and will go in through the sclera.


"The Big Downtown", Jack McDavitt, starts out very PI, except that the distraught client is male.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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Joy Beeson wrote:

On Fri, 10 Nov 2023 22:20:56 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

"Camouflage", Robert Reed

Primary appeal is the gradual revelation of how the world works.
I do hope that we find out what the captain did before the story
ends. I suspect that we need a lot of background before we can
understand why it was so awful.

We didn't.

I'm not seeking out more stories in this world.

I generally enjoyed the "Great Ship" stories. I've read pretty much all
of them at one time or another.


Brian

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On Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:58:16 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

"The Big Downtown", Jack McDavitt, starts out very PI, except that the distraught client is male.

Yup, very PI right to the end. Pretty good; the SF elements weren't
pivotal to the plot, save in the sense that cell phones are pivotal to contemporary PI plots.

That is, the story wasn't *about* the changes tech made in society,
they were just there, as utter dependence on automobiles is just there
in here-and-now stories.

Next up: "Identity Theft".

No details, because as soon as I finished "The Big Downtown", I put
the book into a plastic bag and went on with re-organizing my go bag.
With any luck, I'll next use the bag on Wednesday of next week, for a
routine check-up. Weather Underground says that there's a good chance
I'll move the stuff into a bag I can carry on my bike.


--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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On Thu, 07 Dec 2023 20:56:31 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

With any luck, I'll next use the bag on Wednesday of next week,

Used it this morning about seven.

Getting old . . . beats the alternative.

I've gotten to the part of Identity Theft where the body is
discovered.

Also ate one of the food bars.


--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net

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On Fri, 08 Dec 2023 21:38:01 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

I've gotten to the part of Identity Theft where the body is
discovered.

Yesterday morning (Wednesday, 13 December 2023) I arrived for my
semi-annual check-up and finished the story. (Also got half a page
into City of Cries while waiting for my turn to get blood drawn.)


Intelligent deduction, a couple of twists, a satisfactory ending --
facilitated by a detective who can think on his feet.

A world with a rather nasty feature: The story revolves around a
company that, for a fee, will copy your mind into a custom-designed
robot and then murder you. The society thinks that "transferring" is
perfectly normal, and the only downside is that it's expensive.

Friday, 15 December 2023

Some detail of the plot bugged me after I shut down the computer last
night, but I can't remember what it is, so it must not be too glaring.

Dark Spaceways is on its final renewal; I'd better *make* time to read
"City of Cries".

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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On Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:02:39 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

Dark Spaceways is on its final renewal; I'd better *make* time to read
"City of Cries".

12:05 AM 2/18/2024

A few days ago I checked out _Dark Spaceways_, _Undercity_, and
_Pebble in the Skyk_, and have been reading "City of Cries" in
snippets and looking at _Undercity_ after each one.

So far, the biggest difference between the two editions is that the
chapter breaks are in different places.

No clue as to whether the book is an expansion of the story or the
story was an excerpt from a work in progress.

This would be a good time to read some more, but I don't want to turn
on a white light and wake myself up.

I got _Pebble_ because it was a paperback in library binding, and the
library has been weeding those of late. Turned out to be perfect for
stashing in my go bag, but I don't expect to have time to read it on
my next excursion on Monday. A premeditated trip! (I know how to
find the ladies room in three different ER suites.)

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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On Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:18:05 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

[snip]

12:05 AM 2/18/2024

A few days ago I checked out _Dark Spaceways_, _Undercity_, and
_Pebble in the Skyk_, and have been reading "City of Cries" in
snippets and looking at _Undercity_ after each one.

[sbip]

I got _Pebble_ because it was a paperback in library binding, and the
library has been weeding those of late. Turned out to be perfect for stashing in my go bag, but I don't expect to have time to read it on
my next excursion on Monday. A premeditated trip! (I know how to
find the ladies room in three different ER suites.)

Eye appointment today, and I got several pages in despite being
dilated. I didn't remember that there were so *many* inbelieveable co-incidences in the book. But it's a plot point that the Ancients
didn't believe them, and came up with even-more improbable
explanations.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
http://wlweather.net/PAGESEW/

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On Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:18:05 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

I got _Pebble_ because it was a paperback in library binding, and the
library has been weeding those of late. Turned out to be perfect for stashing in my go bag, but I don't expect to have time to read it on
my next excursion on Monday.

From Beeson Banner, Sunday, 4 February 2024

</p><p> I took _Pebble in the Sky_ just to keep it
from being weeded, but it's the right size to put into my go bag, and
the passages I looked at don't seem familiar &mdash; I was probably a
teenager when I read it the first time.&nbsp; Indeed, I thought it
was _The Currents of Space_, and was a bit baffled when the opening
paragraphs about the tailor didn't fit into that plot.&nbsp; I do
remember how the next few pages will go:&nbsp; the rag doll sliced in
half, and the sliver off the heel of his shoe are pretty memorable. We
shall see whether what I remember is in the book!

------------------

Tuesday, 5 February 2024

Had a long wait yesterday, and finished the book in bed that night.

I didn't remember anything after the farmers took him to Chico, except
for a remark about lead shorts that came near the middle.

It was a romannce? Pure-quill love-at-first-sight romance. Turn your
WSOD on max. (Accept the axioms and enjoy seeing what they imply.)

There's a heavy dose of another fantasy, which makes the co-incidences
more acceptable even though there was no postulated cause for them. It
helps even more that all the co-incidences were at the beginning,
setting up the situation, and none were used to resolve it.

There *was* a Checkov's gun.

I'd love to see a fanfic in which someone tells Lt. Claudy that he has
saved Earth from destruction.

I never quite grasped why Dr. Shekt was willing to risk so much to try
his machine on a random stranger. He did have data from the
sanctioned treatments.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
http://wlweather.net/PAGESEW/

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When I started this article, I thought I'd make some readable
comments. It didn't work out that way, perhaps because I had
to read in short snippets, but I'm going to post it anyway.


On Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:18:05 -0500, Joy Beeson
<jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

12:05 AM 2/18/2024

A few days ago I checked out _Dark Spaceways_, _Undercity_, and
_Pebble in the Sky_, and have been reading "City of Cries" in
snippets and looking at _Undercity_ after each one.

10:13 PM 2/19/2024

Only 16/18 pages in and the snippets have come unglued. I think that
this is because my latest session was at night, rather than because
the versions have diverged.

So I'll have to spend some mind-on reading time soon, but I'm
determined to get some outdoor exercise tomorrow, if I can think of a
place to go, and I never have optional time on those days.



9:26 PM 3/3/2024

Still no time to read, but I've got my bookmarks synchronized.



6:28 PM 3/8/2024

Finally time to read!

There's an extra scene between "Whether or not Takkar saw it that way
. . ." and "Lumos down to five percent."

Readers' Digest would have left it out. Which is why you can't give
away RD Condensed Books.



7:08 PM 10 April 2024

I've forgotten where I was at.

". . . the ocean beyond the City of Cries"
-- end of II in _Spaceways_, end of III in _Undercity_

IV and III are both "The Black Mark"


Next passage begins and end with same words, but is longer in
_Undercity_


Left off at "I slept in the penthouse"/I fell asleep on the couch in
my new penthouse".




7:47 PM 14 April 2024

From there to "If I was lucky it wouldn't kill me", only minor changes
of style.

Chapter heading "Scorch" in both versions. A bit more detail in the
book.

Left off at "Then I headed down to Cries"/"headed for Cries".




Monday, 15 April 2024

Next passage slightly more detailed in book, set off with blank lines
instead of dingbats.

From "The Gambling dens . . . " to ". . . stay here" seems much the
same except for the missing dingbats, but I did not re-read the book.


From "Over the millenia . . ." to " . . . Murder, she said." ditto.

Both passages end chapters.

V (book) and VI (story) both called "The Pin".


From "The Majda Police Station . . . " (both) to ". . . beyond our
help"/ ". . . dead" four pages in book, three in story.

Thirty-nine lines/page in story, forty in book. Lines appear to be
the same length.




Tuesday, 23 April 2024

Well, I've been making progress on the paperback of Sayer's _Unnatural
Death_ that I carry in my go bag. I'm very pleased that I can read
small type on yellowed pages with my regular glasses. But that may be
because publishing standards were higher in 1964.

But I've got half an hour now.

"The Night was more than half over . . ." (story)/"With the night more
. . . " (book) to " . . . let ourselves forget."/" . . . would
forget." five pages/five pages.

"I sat up with a jerk . . . "/ditto to End V/endof VI four and a
half/five


VI: "Caverns"/VII "The Caverns"

VI eleven pages, VII twelve pages


VII "Dayj" Fourteen pages, VIII "Dayj" Fourteen pages

I have a feeling that this is where the story will diverge from the
book.

VIII "Homecoming" IX "Homecoming" -- maybe not


------------
I've stretched my half hour a bit.
------------

VIII story, IX book





Monday, 29 April 2024

VIII "Homecoming" 5 pages, IX "Homecoming" 5 pages


The story could have ended right here, as a tragedy.


IX "New Leaves" 4 pages, X "New Leaves 4 pages


Since this is the last chapter, there has to be some divergence.
No room for Bhaj to Save the Galaxy.





6:41 PM 4/29/2024

Divergence only on the last page, changing from an ending when one
more message says "Save the Galaxy". But I think it was only a
planet or two in _Undercity, which is the first book in the series.

I'd like to see an adventure in which Bhaj solves a purely-local
problem.

And I've composed (but not bothered to write) a fanfic in which the
Majdas guarantee that she will behave herself long enough for her
injuries to heal by assigning her to be the bodyguard for a
minor-house prince who wants to tour the City of Cries. The prince
is, of course, swapped for a Abaj warrior charged with protecting
Bhaj. (Both the Abaj and the Ruby Pharoah like Bhaj, so this is
plausible enough for an unwritten story.) Bhaj knows what's under the
veil, but cannot shake her bodyguard without appearing to abandon a
helpless damsel.

It seems to me that the Dust Knights should show up in stories that
take place in later times, but I don't recall any signs of them.






12:30 AM 5/10/2024

Returned the books last Monday. Dropped the bike at the Trailhouse on
the way back, so I'm grounded until further notice.


I'd like to leaf through _Undercity_ to see just how much of the
Galaxy Bhaj saved.

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