Is this the same Kevin J. Anderson that is blamed for destroying Frank Herberts vision?

Same guy. Seems you love him or hate him, I guess. I find his stuff fine. <shrug> He did well as editor of the SW short stories (or inasmuch as a reader can tell), the timelines and continuity internal to the texts was ok. Mind you, from what I hear, his collaborations aren't like those of Niven/Pournelle or Clarke/Lee.

I can't remember if you are one of the starving college students or not.[...] Hey! We could start a Blues News book swap.

That'd be classic - like the Lan Party messageboard, but for gamers who read more than instruction manuals. No, thankfully I'm not a starving student (but given that I'm in the sometimes volatile IT industry, that could change any day, ha-ha). Band of Brothers was the book by Ambrose I was considering (yes, because of the recent publicity); I didn't see the miniseries (don't get HBO), but no doubt it will hit DVD sooner or later.

oh, and I'm still working out the kinks in the newsletter, but I'll let ya know when it'll be available.

Devster

The 'good' girl is Beyonce Knowles [...] The 'bad' girl is Halle Berry

close. Beyonce is in Austin Powers 3, not Bond. But Halle Berry is in there as "Jinx". Some chick named Rosamund Pike is in there as "Miranda Frost", a name that sounds familiar; I think it was in one of the books.

Devster

Ijust find it hard to believe that someone thinks brittany is a talented singer. In everything i have seen her do live (tv shows) she is weak at best. She is a studio singer with nice tits.... thats about it.

http://www.excelbydesign.net/tempus

but I always thought Kevin J. Anderson's work was decent.

Is this the same Kevin J. Anderson that is blamed for destroying Frank Herberts vision?

I ask this because I have to admit that the prequels, while nothing in comparison to the DUNE novels written by Frank Herbert have been enjoyable for me.

I admit this despite the fact that some Dune nut will spout a rant about how they have ruined Dune forever.

Snappy2Stroke

--Your ideas intrigue me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Snappy - Stephen Ambrose has been mentioned to me before; I'll have to hit the local jumbo-ass bookstore and coffee place to get something of his.

I don't know if it would be feasible but I have two of his books that I've read and will just gather dust for the next 5-6 years until I either read them again or donate to the local library. I'd be happy to lend to you via the mail. I have The Wild Blue which is about the B-24 pilots of WWI and Band of Brothers which is what the recently aired HBO special was based on.

I can't remember if you are one of the starving college students or not. If so, I'd be happy to lend them to a poverty stricken student.

Hey! We could start a Blues News book swap.


Snappy2Stroke

--Your ideas intrigue me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.
This comment was edited on Mar 13, 21:36.

Out of sheer laziness, I'll just ask here, who's the next Bond Girl?

There are two in the next film.
The 'good' girl is Beyonce Knowles (lead singer for Destiny's Child)
The 'bad' girl is Halle Berry (yowza!)

Most of the early ones were very well done, but some of the newest are trying a touch too hard IMO. I'd suggest the Timothy Zahn trilogy, The Rougue Squadron series, and any books by Michael Stackpole, and Roger Macbride Allen. There are other good ones in there for sure, but those I mention generally have the best quality.

Roger Macbride Allen wrote some SW books? I agree about Michael Stackpole (http://www.stormwolf.com/) though he may cringe if he reads Rouge Squadron; I liked his SW stuff and his non-SW stuff (Talion:Revenant was particularly good, or A Hero Born).

Zahn is often suggested as the one to start with, and rightly so - he was able to basically restart the SW universe, and even with roughly the same number of pages (~400-450) as most of the authors to play in the pool after him, he still managed to make his books seem deeper, more real to the mythos while creating strong characters whose actions ripple through all the rest of the books (even the new ones or ones set before his trilogy). Some of the other books are bad or just average (i.e. don't feel like star wars, but just like a sci-fi book). Zahn has 5 SW books to his credit, and a few short stories, but the Thrawn Trilogy are generally considered the best.

On the subject of the new ones (The New Jedi Order) - it's an ambitious idea. Plot a 20 book or so story arc where main characters can (and do) die. How many 'franchise' stories have you read where you wanted a 'name' character to croak, to add to the drama - Rogue squadron had that to some extent, but they were spin-off characters. Having different authors pick up the story arc adds to the confusion/variety/quality variance as well. Some authors are doing well, some ok. At least they haven't asked KW Jeter back. <shrug> It's hit and miss. Take it for what it is, fluff, and you should be fine.

Snappy - Stephen Ambrose has been mentioned to me before; I'll have to hit the local jumbo-ass bookstore and coffee place to get something of his.

Edits: Spelling, and to add a shout out to JediLuke, who posted same time, with same thumbs up to Zahn. Anderson is good too; the Jedi Academy trilogy and Stackpole's I, Jedi (first person perspective) make a neat little set.
This comment was edited on Mar 13, 19:28.

You've mentioned the StarWars novels before. I'll have to try them as I've never bothered with them before. I just don't think I could stomach a Bond book.
Most of the early ones were very well done, but some of the newest are trying a touch too hard IMO. I'd suggest the Timothy Zahn trilogy, The Rougue Squadron series, and any books by Michael Stackpole, and Roger Macbride Allen. There are other good ones in there for sure, but those I mention generally have the best quality.

That's just what I was going to say. I haven't been keeping up with them lately, too busy not reading books for school... but I used to read them all. I started with the Zahn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, Last Command) and I still feel they're the best. They were partly responsible for the resurgence of mainstream Star Wars popularity in the 90s. So definitely start there, great stuff, then Zahn did two other books more recently... I never got into Rogue Squadron, but I always thought Kevin J. Anderson's work was decent. Mostly the original Jedi Academy Trilogy. Nobody topped Timothy Zahn for me though. Enjoy,

~Jedi

You've mentioned the StarWars novels before. I'll have to try them as I've never bothered with them before. I just don't think I could stomach a Bond book.

Most of the early ones were very well done, but some of the newest are trying a touch too hard IMO. I'd suggest the Timothy Zahn trilogy, The Rougue Squadron series, and any books by Michael Stackpole, and Roger Macbride Allen. There are other good ones in there for sure, but those I mention generally have the best quality.

i guess nobody gives a flying human feces about brittany anymore.. tho i was laughing my ass off as i read that

Combat engineer battallions, eh? That might be an interesting read - always thought the kind of guys who rebuilt bridges destroyed days or hours before must be a hardworking bunch.

My interest is personal. My grandfather was a combat engineer in Patton's 3rd army. He died in 1987. I have about 3 hours of audio tape of him talking about the war. I just found the tapes. I plan to post it to my family history website once rip it to digital.

His stories of combat and how the army worked on the battalion level are pretty interesting. He also speaks a great deal about growing up during the depression, and working in coal and steel mills in the 30's.

I've been considering reading some of the "true stories" stuff, if I can find one light in american patriotism (no offense, just since I'm outside that country) and good with facts.

I'm doing just that. I'd suggest Stephen Ambrose. Even though he seems to be having problems with plagiarism the facts are true. I didn't find it to be a US love fest but then again I'm from there.

You've mentioned the StarWars novels before. I'll have to try them as I've never bothered with them before. I just don't think I could stomach a Bond book.

Snappy2Stroke

--Your ideas intrigue me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

If I have to read the word flair in this post one more time!..

Seriously, all this man talk and none of it brings up who the next Bond Girl is gonna be. All you can talk about is flair... Sheesh.

Out of sheer laziness, I'll just ask here, who's the next Bond Girl?

NMG

--"An eye for an eye would make the world blind" -Gandhi
--"A tooth for a tooth would be great for Jello." -NMG

I think the stories for the Bond flicks are getting a little tired. There just aren't any megalomaniac (except me) out there bent on world conquest and domination anymore. Fear maybe, but not domination. Let's hope they have some fiendishly clever way that Bond saves the universe this time. And with a good snide comment too.

BM

All the rest have been pale imitators, or worse. Especially Moore, whose Bond films were essentially comedies.

Brosnan actually isn't bad. He plays it with the edge Dalton gave it (stolen from Connery), and the sly humor (stolen from Connery), but without the personality of Connery.

But it was really the 1960s that made those early Bond films the classics they are. It was the "jet set" background that just doesn'y play as very interesting anymore. But you can still watch an old Bond film with Sean Connery and get that sense of excitement that is lacking in the newer films.

CONNERY IS BOND!

-tAE-

Or are you talking to another Ant?

uhh, I thought it was Ant I had been chatting to about books once... not specifically bond books, sci-fi/fantasy, as I recall...

It's possible Devster is thinking of me. We've had a couple of exchanges about books

no wait - it musta been you Snappy2Stroke - hope neither party is offended by the confusion. oopsie. Where am I?

If you're gonna try the Bond books, grab a Fleming, give it a whirl. The movies might be in your head though (and they tend to, uh, stray from the books), so it might be best to try the short stories one.

Combat engineer battallions, eh? That might be an interesting read - always thought the kind of guys who rebuilt bridges destroyed days or hours before must be a hardworking bunch. With the resurgence in war movies lately, I've been considering reading some of the "true stories" stuff, if I can find one light in american patriotism (no offense, just since I'm outside that country) and good with facts.

However, I'm bogged down in IT stuff right now, with occasional escapes to Batman graphic novels and other light fare like Star Wars novels and Tolkien's other works (Unfinished Tales right now).

Devster

Besides, the studio probably wants to have the 20th distinction - makes it better for marketing purposes since the world loves round numbers.

Yeah, but The World Is Not Enough.

heheh
-Tim

Timothy Dalton = best bond EVAR.

Speaking of being pedantic, thanks for saying "flair" instead of (ugh) "flare".

Or are you talking to another Ant?

It's possible Devster is thinking of me. We've had a couple of exchanges about books.

I've never gotten into the whole Bond thing. I found the movies kind of hookey. Based on the discussion today I'll have to try one of the books now.

Lately I've been ready a lot of WWII and US Civil war histories. For what its worth I'm very interested in anything written about WWII US combat engineer battallions. Anyone know of a good book focusing on them?


Snappy2Stroke

--Your ideas intrigue me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Devster: Uhh, I actually haven't read any Bond books. I am still trying to catch up with all the Bond movies with ABC's Saturday nights.

Or are you talking to another Ant?