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  • (ReacTor) Troubled Waters: Five SFF Works About Rivers

    From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 16 15:06:34 2025
    Troubled Waters: Five SFF Works About Rivers

    Stories about rollin' on a river, featuring vampires, faeries,
    goddesses, and more.

    https://reactormag.com/troubled-waters-five-sff-works-about-rivers/
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to petertrei@gmail.com on Thu Jan 16 15:52:13 2025
    In article <vmb9qn$3ig6r$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 1/16/2025 10:06 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    Troubled Waters: Five SFF Works About Rivers

    Stories about rollin' on a river, featuring vampires, faeries,
    goddesses, and more.

    https://reactormag.com/troubled-waters-five-sff-works-about-rivers/

    I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you skipped the most obvious choice: >"Riverworld" et al, by Phillip Jose Farmer.

    I don't think of it often. As I mention over on Reactor, I've reviewed Riverworld in 2019, and mentioned it in passing in two other reviews,
    but I never bothered rereading or reviewing the rest of the series.
    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Paul S Person@21:1/5 to Nicoll on Thu Jan 16 08:49:35 2025
    On Thu, 16 Jan 2025 15:52:13 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
    Nicoll) wrote:

    In article <vmb9qn$3ig6r$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 1/16/2025 10:06 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    Troubled Waters: Five SFF Works About Rivers

    Stories about rollin' on a river, featuring vampires, faeries,
    goddesses, and more.

    https://reactormag.com/troubled-waters-five-sff-works-about-rivers/

    I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you skipped the most obvious choice: >>"Riverworld" et al, by Phillip Jose Farmer.

    I don't think of it often. As I mention over on Reactor, I've reviewed >Riverworld in 2019, and mentioned it in passing in two other reviews,
    but I never bothered rereading or reviewing the rest of the series.
    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    A damn fine description, IMHO.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Steve Coltrin@21:1/5 to James Nicoll on Fri Jan 17 08:33:24 2025
    begin fnord
    jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) writes:

    [Riverworld]

    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    It's pretty much a geometric series converging on "not as bad as Chalker
    at his worst... quite".

    --
    Steve Coltrin spcoltri@omcl.org
    "A group known as the League of Human Dignity helped arrange for Deuel
    to be driven to a local livestock scale, where he could be weighed."
    - Associated Press

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to spcoltri@omcl.org on Fri Jan 17 15:50:06 2025
    In article <m2ikqde9q3.fsf@kelutral.omcl.org>,
    Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:
    begin fnord
    jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) writes:

    [Riverworld]

    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    It's pretty much a geometric series converging on "not as bad as Chalker
    at his worst... quite".

    It's like Lost, in that the questions were far more interesting than the answers.

    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@21:1/5 to James Nicoll on Fri Jan 17 08:07:55 2025
    On 1/17/2025 7:50 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    In article <m2ikqde9q3.fsf@kelutral.omcl.org>,
    Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:
    begin fnord
    jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) writes:

    [Riverworld]

    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    It's pretty much a geometric series converging on "not as bad as Chalker
    at his worst... quite".

    It's like Lost, in that the questions were far more interesting than the answers.

    The producers of 'Lost' never HAD any answers, they just threw shit at
    the viewers with no intention of providing answers.

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to dtravel@sonic.net on Fri Jan 17 16:33:08 2025
    In article <vmdv8p$42qe$1@dont-email.me>,
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 1/17/2025 7:50 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    In article <m2ikqde9q3.fsf@kelutral.omcl.org>,
    Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:
    begin fnord
    jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) writes:

    [Riverworld]

    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    It's pretty much a geometric series converging on "not as bad as Chalker >>> at his worst... quite".

    It's like Lost, in that the questions were far more interesting than the
    answers.

    The producers of 'Lost' never HAD any answers, they just threw shit at
    the viewers with no intention of providing answers.


    I didn't see "Lost" so I have no opinion about that, but in Riverworld,
    we were explicitly told things which were retconned to be false. I very
    rarely like that.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bobbie Sellers@21:1/5 to Paul S Person on Wed Apr 23 17:48:34 2025
    On 1/16/25 08:49, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Jan 2025 15:52:13 -0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
    Nicoll) wrote:

    In article <vmb9qn$3ig6r$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 1/16/2025 10:06 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    Troubled Waters: Five SFF Works About Rivers

    Stories about rollin' on a river, featuring vampires, faeries,
    goddesses, and more.

    https://reactormag.com/troubled-waters-five-sff-works-about-rivers/

    I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you skipped the most obvious choice:
    "Riverworld" et al, by Phillip Jose Farmer.

    I don't think of it often. As I mention over on Reactor, I've reviewed
    Riverworld in 2019, and mentioned it in passing in two other reviews,
    but I never bothered rereading or reviewing the rest of the series.
    My memory is that each new volume was a bit more meh than the one
    before.

    A damn fine description, IMHO.

    I found the sequels to be less and less interesting.

    bliss

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)