Monthly Archives: May 2009

In Distant Waters by Richard Woodman: a review

Drinkwater, afflicted with a justifiably mutinous crew (the key members have not been ashore in a friendly port for four years), finds himself assigned to prevent the Russians from settling on the Pacific Coast of North America. Many of the crew desert at San Francisco or Drakes Bay, and nearly everyone spends some time imprisoned in either Spanish or Russian custody. Eventually Mr. Q manages to rescue Drinkwater and the situation improves.

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Flight of the Loons by Midland Daily News: a review

This is a very pretty package, with some very fine photographs, but the text consists of transcribed newspaper articles, none of which are dated. The result is neither thorough nor coherent. The book really could have used some serious editing. For instance, two articles are repeated word-for-word; in both cases they’re just a few pages apart. I really expected better.

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Cyteen by CJ Cherryh: a review

Another strength is Cherryh’s ability to sympathetically present conflicting points of view. Her stories’ disagreements are honest; people really do disagree, and she goes to some length to show that conflict is often born of real differences in perception, some of which are irreconcilable. Fascinating stuff.

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Wikipedia, the missing manual by John Broughton: a short review

It’s a fine book, intended mainly for people who want to contribute to Wikipedia. It touches on style, on mechanical issues, on software possibilities, on relationships with other writer/editors, and similar issues and realities. Worth a read.

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Kane County Cougars by David Malamut: a review

It’s a well-executed book of the minor league team history genre. As with all Arcadia Press books, it’s a picture book with explanatory text, but in this case the text actually explains the photographs. That’s always a good thing.

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Finity’s End by CJ Cherryh: a review

Finity’s End moves the Alliance/Union backstory along enormously–probably more than any other single book in the series.

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