h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How's it going? Been reading a lot?

I really envy you...you have such a marvellous experience ahead of you... And Yes, the Gap series is addictive. I read the last two books (forgot the titles) while on vacation on one of the Canary Islands. I spent almost the whole week in the hotel, reading away, and actually finished the last book on the flight home, just a few hours before landing. So Enjoy!

Thanks my friend I must admit that I'm now on the third book "The Gap Into Power: A Dark And Hungry God Arises" - so that proves that it's addictive - but after I've read this, the only Stephen Donaldson left to me is "Reave The Just" - have you read this book? Or do you know of any other Donaldson projects.
Also, have you read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant??

Only the first chronicles, I borrowed them from a friend who recommended me not to read the second chronicles. He thought I would get disappointed. I really liked the first though, his writing style really grabs me. I haven't read any of the Mordant books, but I'll be getting around pretty soon.

Did you like the second chronicles? Assuming you've read them, of course?

Yes, I've read the Second Chronicles - and I was disappointed with the ending. The rest of the series is brilliant, but the final conclusion just is too disappointing for words. No-where near as good as the First Chronicles.
But there are lots of good points that you'll miss out on if you don't read the Second Chronicles. They're as addictive as ever, and unforgettable - but you just get depressed when the end betrays your hope for the book.
As for the Mordant series - they were the first Stephen Donaldson I read, and there definately is nothing disappointing about them at all!

I'll give them a try next time I run out of reading then.

I know the feeling - I've always got too much to read. There are so many books in this world! The next things for me to read will be either Frank Herbert or Terry Pratchett, or perhaps finally The Lord Of The Rings.

Anybody for some Julian May Banter?

Okay, but as I've only read "The Saga Of The Exiles" so far, take it easy. I'm currently trying to get "Magnificat", and the "Trillium" series, but which would you say her bets work is?

That would definitely be the Galactic Milieu trilogy, though the two books Intervention and Metaconcert that precede it can't be denied.
I thought the SagaExiles to be a biit too simplistic.

WHat I then really appreciate about the GMtrilogy is that she takes the year 1945 or something, paints the picture of those days up to now, including her added scifi twist. But the best thing is that the seam between modified history (1945-present) and complete fiction (present----&gt is almost invisibly written... get my drift?

And of course the wonderfully credible narration of how meta-abilities could actually seep into real life, and the enormous upheaval after the demasqué.

Try the Forbidden Planet stores... but you'd know of them.
Seeing you are trying to get Magnificat, do realise that you won't understand anythign of that book if you haven't read Intervention, Metaconcert, and the Galactic Milieu trilogy containing Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask, and THEN Magnificat.

But in my view, they're worth it. I have never seen a more believably written and better documented oeuvre than JayMays.

I've bought Intervention, Jack The Bodiless and Diamond Mask - but want to read them all at once as I hate reading a book, then knowing there's a sequal, but not being able to find it when I'm desperate to read it. I tend to get all my books second hand - it's the only way to be bale to afford all the books I get through!

Because of that, I don't know the most modern books - I haven't heard of Metaconcert, nor the GM trilogy? Also, how many Trillium books where there? How many were by her?

Metaconcert is really part II of Intervention, some editions combine the two in one cover, others sell em separately.

The GMtrilogy is the Galactic Milieu trlogy, and it is just the nomer for Jack tB, DMask and magnificat. I think you might find it hard to get hold of magnificat secondhand, because it was I believe only released in hardback, so it's something not easily bought and similarly hard to resell.

Regarding the trillium, I really wasn't gripped by them Guess I'm just not into this 'unbacked' fantasy thing. (Although I did revel in Tanith Lee.) Anyway, I know of Black, Gold, Blood, and PantomimeHorse Trillium.

Hmm, thanks for saying about MetaConcert - I'm not sure whether my version has it in or not... It's at home, you see, as I'm currently at Uni. I think that I might have it in my version of Intervention - if it's any help, it's a Yellow paper-back version.

That may explain why I haven't seen Magnificat second-hand at all! I hate it when they only have hardback - they won't fit on my bookcase. I also feel very stupid about the GM thing - I realised what it must be on the way home yesterday, but alas was no-where near a compy...

What exactly is "unbacked" fantasy? And what is Trillium about??? Please let me know.

By the way Freedom - I'm now on "This Day All Gods Die"

OK, so you made it through the slow parts of the 4 th book then?
I loved the last book. Bet you'll like the ending of this one.

I hope so... Tell me, is it true that Nick really is dead??? Bit of a disappointing death if he is - after that one last heroic escape from harm, just to get shot and then exploded out of hand... Is this one a lot more political? How does it end? I really want to know - but whatever you do, don't tell me!

Weellllll...no, I won't tell you anything. Something just struck me though: If The Gap ever becomes a movie (hope not, and sort of improbable anyway), don't you think Midninght Oil's "Blue Sky Mining" would be good for the soundtrack?

I don't know - I haven't heard that song, sorry.
I also cannot imagine it as a film - no way can that be squeezed into 2 hours - but if they're making 3 Lord of The Rings films, I guess it's possible... I'd prefer it to be a Big Budget TV series, so it's about 10 hours long in total, but that's unlikely.
I think we should be content about it being just in book form.

I am very content just to have it in book form. Movies always take to much away. I like the TV-series idea, though...somethink like 20 1-hour episodes...that might actually turn out OK. But personally I'll stick to the book.

So theyre actually making Lord of the Rings in 3 parts? Thats better than I had ever hoped for, but my expectations are still low...I think I'll stick to the books there as well.

Sheesh!
You asked me something there man. What is the Trillium about?
Only read one book, and that was loong agoo. But ahm... it's somehting about three sisters who each have some sorta power, and there's an evil mage, who wants to have a go at the sisters, and then there's a Trillium, a kind of flower, which can be aligned with either good or evil. There's some fantasy politicking going on too, becasue the ficticious world it takes place on is very divided.
Duh, finally one of the sisters has to retrieve her own trillium, or the one trilium (were there three? One for each or just one? Dunno).
And of course, she succeeds.

Anyway, I consider it 'unbacked' fantasy because it lacks backing.
There are many fantasy writers who just shovel together some trolls, couple of elves, a mighty wizard and a magic (insert object here), and go get 'em boys! Cheap. Unbacked. For me, both sci fi and fantasy need a lot of imaginative thinking and research to enthrall, to make me actually walk around in my daily life thinking 'What if I COULD trip, fall and wake up in another world' like the Covenant Chronicles did. Or having me try to focus my thoughts to reach my neighbour, like JayMAy's books do. You see what I mean?

For a writer, that means coherency. If a character is decribed as a talking horse, don't have it pick up a ring between its index finger and thumb, it's impossible! That makes me lose interest. It lacks depth. It also means doing your homework. Jean Auel knows what I'm talking about.
She also comments on JayMAys work saying that 'she does her homework'
True. If in JayMays 'Saga of the Exiles' Felice decides to splice Gibraltar and fill the Silver Plain with sea, you can check it out: science has dated the breaking of Gibraltar at round about that time.
Makes you think 'Gosh darn, it might have actually went like that.'
Continuing, when the Group Green tries to locate the lost Golden Torc in the Ries crater, she actually checked if that was going to come out right, found that it didn't, and bloody well apologised for it.
Hot damn! I like that.

Hey Freedom- sorry for hogging your thread man. have a .

Quite a lot for me to reply to, there I see what you mean now, though.. And I take it you've read Stephen Donaldson too? (At least Thomas Covenant chronicles) That's a good way to merge the conversation with Freedom in too.
But it does make it a better story if they get the facts right, and doesn't contradict itself - but I still feel that at the end of the day, you can have the most accurate story ever, but it still has to be well written to be interesting.
But apart from that, it's avery good point. Apart from JayMay, who do you read???