[bksvol-discuss] Re: [bookshare-discuss] Next Meeting of the Science Fiction Club, Thursday, May 13, 2010
- From: Lelia Struve <leliastruve@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: mentat3@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 06 May 2010 18:45:12 -0400
Hello Everyone,
We had a great meeting last night, and although we all had minor
criticisms, everyone liked Singularity's Ring by Paul Melko.
The next meeting of the Science Fiction club will be on Thursday, May
13, 2010 at the Book Nook.
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e
Time: 9 PM Eastern, 8 Central, 7 Mountain, 6 Pacific, and 01:00 UTC.
The book we have chosen to read this month is:
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn.
Available from BARD for digital download at:
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.69013
Here is the NLS synopsis:
Captain Amos January and the crew of the merchant
spaceship New Angeles land for repairs on a remote planet,
where they discover a powerful, prehuman artifact called the
Dancer. The Dancer changes hands frequently as governments,
cabals, bandits, and others fight, scheme--even kill--to
possess it.
Here are two summaries, one from Publishers Weekly and the other from Booklist:
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Acclaimed SF writer Flynn (Eifelheim)
delivers an epic tale of adventure, intrigue, suspense and mystery.
Forced to land
for repairs on an unnamed, remote planet, Captain Amos January and crew
discover
a cache of artifacts left by a cryptic alien race long before humans
went to space.
They soon retrieve the Dancer, a shape-changing stone that defies
analysis. Possibly
the scepter of a legendary prehuman king, certainly unique, the
priceless trophy
is desired by diverse governments, military powers, plutocrats and
cabals throughout
human-settled space. Flynn knits a richly detailed story of hunters,
bandits and
patriots that will keep even the most diligent readers on their toes.
The plot evokes
old-school space opera with its whirlwind pace, immense scope and twist
ending, but
cutting-edge extrapolation breathes vivid life into this universe of
scoundrels,
heroes and romantics. This multi-layered story demands much of the
reader, but offers
more than equivalent rewards.
Booklist
A harper wanders into a bar on Jehovah, the focal point of an
interchange on the
spaceways, and asks for the story of the Dancer, a prehuman artifact
discovered by
the crew of a ship commanded by one Captain January, which set down for
repairs on
an empty planet. They lost it trading for a working ship, and it
changes hands many
times over the course of its story. It shows up again on civil
war-wracked New Eireann,
then makes its way to a pirate fleet. If the legends are true, it?s an
artifact of
great and terrible power, and among its seekers are the Fudir, a
Terran; Little Hugh
O?Carroll of the Eireannaughta; and the Hounds Bridget Ban and
Greystroke. Through
its story Flynn weaves the stories of the minstrel who asked about it
and the man
informing her, which are connected to a web of tales enveloping the
Dancer. Flynn
puts his world-building skills to good use, creating a context that
begs to be further
explored, whether by him or someone else.
Those of us who've been reading Analog for many years know that when
Michael Flynn is involved, good and thoughtful writing and plenty of
surprises are in store. Those of you unfamiliar with the name are in
for an introduction they will not soon forget.
Hope to see lots of people at the next meeting.
Evan
Hi all, again just copying Evans work, thanks Evan.
--
Lelia
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