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Thanks for that feedback -- it could probably use some singing potatoes, too.

I'm currently reading Turtledove's latest novel in the Great War/American Empire series, The Victorious Opposition. If you haven't read any of his books, he is an "alternate history" science fiction author, asking and answering all kinds of "what if?" questions. Many of his ideas are...

And please feel free to rate or reply to the thread or comment on the subject matter. It'd just be nice to know that someone had actually read it.

[Part 2] I put down my pen and carved into the roasted hen. “So your heritage has indeed had an impact on your life. What else has it impacted? Do you avoid all things German?” “Of course not. I speak German. But I also speak French, Arabic, Spanish, Latin, Russian, and a bit of...

[Note: This story was written in response to a debate I had with someone about the "nature vs. nurture" argument.] I lifted the carefully-folded napkin from my plate and spread it on my lap. The white cotton napkin was thick and soft, but it was quickly forgotten as the waiter brought the...

William H. Keith Jr. wrote some great grunt's-perspective sci-fi. Some of his titles include Bolo Rising, Bolo Strike, and Bolo Brigade, plus the original Battletech books from twenty years ago. John Ringo, who is one of Keith's understudies, has a decent run in books such as A Hymn Before...

Not nearly enough. I might scratch out a page in a day, but I have so little time because of my work schedule, that sometimes weeks will go by without a single word going down for posterity. Makes me quite sad, really, but I'm not good enough a writer to do it for a living.

I just discovered A. A. Milne's poetry. I always just thought he was the Winnie the Pooh guy, but he has some amazingly good poetry out there, as well. I've been reading his When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six to my son, and he loves them, far more than Dr. Seuss. They are geared...

Well... the stories are all related, but each story is separate, meaning that characters rarely reappear from one book to the next. Keith Laumer started writing about the Bolos back in the 70's (maybe even the 60's) and several other authors have continued the storyline since his death. So the...

You could try Bolo Rising by William H. Keith. It deals exactly with what you described.

I liked the books, too -- very glib, smooth reading, tongue-in-cheek. They sort of reminded me of Keith Laumer's Retief books.

Arthur C. Clarke -- I simply find his novels obtuse and pointless. David Eddings -- I tried and tried to like the Belgariad, mostly because my friends all liked it, but I just can't help feeling that his work is vapid and derivative. Of course, I haven't read any of his later works, so maybe...

Personally, I like Will Smith, in those films where his deadpan style plays into the comedic aspects of the work. He doesn't belong in I, Robot, however. Needless to say, I'm as dismayed and disappointed as everyone else here. Being a huge Asmiov fan, I was really, really excited when the...

Thanks. So, it's really open at that point to any use, then? How would I find out if someone has subsequently bought the rights to it, or is that even possible?

Do we have any lawyers in the house? When do an author's intellectual property rights or copyrights expire? I believe someone once told me it was 90+ years, so that anything published in the 1800's and before is now public domain, but I'm not entirely clear on what the law is here. Thanks...

Hmmm... well, I don't know if I feel sorry for him; after all, he was a child rapist who beat old women and strangers on the street. For me, the underlying message was more about how someone's fundamental nature cannot be changed; after all the horrendous things the authorities did to him, he...

Yeah, I like most of Bradbury's stuff, but I agree that F-451 wasn't among his best. Still an interesting read, for a person studying poli-sci through reading literature. My favorite aspect of Clockwork was how the invented slang sort of cut through the reader's own preconceived notions and...

Alas, Babylon is a terrific book (double-plus good!), but in a different way than Orwell's, methinks. Orwell (Huxley, also) used his quill to present his opinion on various high-level political topics, whereas Babylon is really more of a humanistic view of the aftermath of nuclear...

I just finished The King of Torts as well... great book except for the ending. I was really hoping that more of the issues that arose during the book would be resolved at the end, but I suppose it is more like real life to leave things a twisted mess.

Yes, I know -- he actually co-wrote the screenplay, in fact. What I was trying to get at was the challenge of linking each story element to the Gibson story it came from. I think he hit on pretty much every story he had written up through Virtual Light, except for maybe The Difference Engine.