To A Nameless PR Person at Berkley Medallion circa 1970

While I understand the motive behind your ad copy, Tolkien served in and survived the battlefields of World War One while Robert Heinlein never served at the front in any war (not for lack of trying or due to any deficiency in character), so comparing RAH to a "tougher Tolkien" and so implying that in some sense Tolkien was less tough than RAH seems, I don't know, really stupid [1].

It's a close call whether I hate the social views in LotR more or less than the ones in Glory Road, though. Aragorn and Star would have had interesting conversations, I am sure.

1: I feel like I should put in a disclaimer here that I in no way hold Heinlein responsible for stupid ad copy in his books, so here it is.

To A Nameless PR Person at Berkley Medallion circa 1970

While I understand the motive behind your ad copy, Tolkien served in and survived the battlefields of World War One while Robert Heinlein never served at the front in any war (not for lack of trying or due to any deficiency in character), so comparing RAH to a "tougher Tolkien" and so implying that in some sense Tolkien was less tough than RAH seems, I don't know, really stupid [1].

It's a close call whether I hate the social views in LotR more or less than the ones in Glory Road, though. Aragorn and Star would have had interesting conversations, I am sure.

1: I feel like I should put in a disclaimer here that I in no way hold Heinlein responsible for stupid ad copy in his books, so here it is.

To A Nameless PR Person at Berkley Medallion circa 1970

While I understand the motive behind your ad copy, Tolkien served in and survived the battlefields of World War One while Robert Heinlein never served at the front in any war (not for lack of trying or due to any deficiency in character), so comparing RAH to a "tougher Tolkien" and so implying that in some sense Tolkien was less tough than RAH seems, I don't know, really stupid [1].

It's a close call whether I hate the social views in LotR more or less than the ones in Glory Road, though. Aragorn and Star would have had interesting conversations, I am sure.

1: I feel like I should put in a disclaimer here that I in no way hold Heinlein responsible for stupid ad copy in his books, so here it is.

Two Short Reviews

Steve White's The Prometheus Project is not nearly as bad as the other books by him that I read. Admittedly, that was about ten years ago. There wasn't much spittle about the perfidy of Democratic Party members for a Baen author. People who like very straight forward tales of One Man and His Plucky Girlfriend Against a Hostile Galaxy might want to look at it.

On a less damning-with-faint-praise note, Chris Roberson's Here, There & Everywhere is about a young girl, her time machine and the life she lives as a result of owning it. It's hard to sum it up briefly but think of it as The Man Who Folded Himself, if that had been written by an adult. It reminded me a little of William Sleator (But _not_, thank goodness, of House of Stairs). HT&E is out from Prometheus Books in April 2005.

And now, _finally_, to tackle that Bujold....

Two Short Reviews

Steve White's The Prometheus Project is not nearly as bad as the other books by him that I read. Admittedly, that was about ten years ago. There wasn't much spittle about the perfidy of Democratic Party members for a Baen author. People who like very straight forward tales of One Man and His Plucky Girlfriend Against a Hostile Galaxy might want to look at it.

On a less damning-with-faint-praise note, Chris Roberson's Here, There & Everywhere is about a young girl, her time machine and the life she lives as a result of owning it. It's hard to sum it up briefly but think of it as The Man Who Folded Himself, if that had been written by an adult. It reminded me a little of William Sleator (But _not_, thank goodness, of House of Stairs). HT&E is out from Prometheus Books in April 2005.

And now, _finally_, to tackle that Bujold....

Two Short Reviews

Steve White's The Prometheus Project is not nearly as bad as the other books by him that I read. Admittedly, that was about ten years ago. There wasn't much spittle about the perfidy of Democratic Party members for a Baen author. People who like very straight forward tales of One Man and His Plucky Girlfriend Against a Hostile Galaxy might want to look at it.

On a less damning-with-faint-praise note, Chris Roberson's Here, There & Everywhere is about a young girl, her time machine and the life she lives as a result of owning it. It's hard to sum it up briefly but think of it as The Man Who Folded Himself, if that had been written by an adult. It reminded me a little of William Sleator (But _not_, thank goodness, of House of Stairs). HT&E is out from Prometheus Books in April 2005.

And now, _finally_, to tackle that Bujold....

Well, darn

I just noticed that GJ 436 now is thought to have a Neptune size planet orbiting at 0.03 AU. Typical sungrazer, I know, except it is very low mass for an extrasolar planet and GJ 436 is a red dwarf, so any potentially life bearing worlds would have to orbit extremely closely.

Unfortunately it's _too_ close. If I have done the math right, GJ 436 is about o.5% as bright as the sun and so a world with liquid water would have to be around 0.07 AU.

Oh well. Maybe there's a second gas giant a bit farther out that we have not yet spotted.

Well, darn

I just noticed that GJ 436 now is thought to have a Neptune size planet orbiting at 0.03 AU. Typical sungrazer, I know, except it is very low mass for an extrasolar planet and GJ 436 is a red dwarf, so any potentially life bearing worlds would have to orbit extremely closely.

Unfortunately it's _too_ close. If I have done the math right, GJ 436 is about o.5% as bright as the sun and so a world with liquid water would have to be around 0.07 AU.

Oh well. Maybe there's a second gas giant a bit farther out that we have not yet spotted.

Well, darn

I just noticed that GJ 436 now is thought to have a Neptune size planet orbiting at 0.03 AU. Typical sungrazer, I know, except it is very low mass for an extrasolar planet and GJ 436 is a red dwarf, so any potentially life bearing worlds would have to orbit extremely closely.

Unfortunately it's _too_ close. If I have done the math right, GJ 436 is about o.5% as bright as the sun and so a world with liquid water would have to be around 0.07 AU.

Oh well. Maybe there's a second gas giant a bit farther out that we have not yet spotted.