It's always a treat to get background on characters that you've already grown attached to. In this case, Whistler. I enjoyed "Big Bang" a great deal and am anxious to read the next installment. Griff's writing style is one that is at once appealing and compelling --the characters are so well sketched that I found myself relating to or wanting to be all of them (Lighting!). Hurry up and get the next book out, will ya?

There are lots of stories out there about our troops, many from children who lived through WWII. In times such as those acts of generosity went along way and still do. Our troops have big hearts, Adam Brown, for instance, putting shoes on small cold feet during his tours (as told by his brothers in "Fearless"), or our troops building schools and establishing infrastructure in Iraq so that local children can engage education in a safe place. A few bad apples aside, our soldiers have been the greatest ambassadors for American generosity and kindness in the world. An accurate reflection of what is great in this nation.

I enjoyed the story very much and it was quite easy to follow along. I've been to Normandy and can tell you that the French there still remember our troops. We stayed in the countryside and got many smiles and warm greetings, especially from the old folks we encountered. Our troops in France are still remembered with great gratitude by those who witnessed them.

I enjoyed this short story very much! The characters are all highly pigmented and the dialogue well sketched, clean and detailed. There's always something to give thanks for, friends in particular, and this little treasure is a great reminder of that.

This story is bound to raise your blood pressure fifty points: an unexpected colicky baby; a bitchy ex-spouse; and bureaucrats...a trifecta of pure hell. Give me a good, clean zombie apocalypse any day!

The exchanges between the characters are true to life. The sharp, tidy writing and words flow with ease, as do the terse scenes that need no additional embellishment to be effective. I only wished for an alternate ending. The screen scene was heartbreaking.

The Bear is a well written, insightful commentary on society and our complacency toward dangers lurking in both in plain sight and in our minds. A most thoughtful, provoking read.

I really liked this story. The only disconcerting things about it are easily fixed. The scene of the story is obviously somewhere in the American South, but the wildlife is from the mountain states or Pacific Northwest. Moose and grizzlies can't be found in the South. So the author either needs to change the references to deer and black bears, either of which would work as well, or eliminate the references to "up North".

Personally, I'm not so sure it'd be the right telling in other venues.

That said, GRR Martin DID win a Hugo. _Those_ novels didn't. "A Song for Lya" and "Sandkings", for instance. A long time ago... And yet, he likes it this way.

Take care.

A peculiar absence

I can't say I've read "all" science fiction, nor even a large segment of the genre. But in all that I've read, I cannot recall any mention of a Republican Form of Government. Even Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" was far off the mark, though closer than most other authors, with his emphasis on civic duty of federal service as a prerequisite for citizenship, voting and holding public office. There are plenty of references to democracies, direct or indirect. Or the various forms of democracy, especially socialist.

Let me point out that a republican form is NOT a "constitutional republic" nor is it synonymous with "a republic." The People's Republic of China IS a republic, but not a republican form. And the republican form predated the U.S. Constitution, so it cannot be a "constitutional republic."

Makes one wonder why the Republican Form cannot be depicted in Sci-Fi literature.

Thank you for that. I have long been suspicious of the Sci/fi/fantasy market AND the nominating scheme. I sent story after story to the remaining pulp mags only to get the same form rejections, then pick up an issue to find nothing special inside, surely nothing that tops what I've done (bragging, no, not really. Just tooting my own horn a little. And I worked with a woman who used to go to all the World Cons (actually, she put me on a panel in SJ CA once.) and she told me that anyone (in the organization) can nominate for those awards. I found this odd. But, regarding the takeover of sci-fi, I read Animal Farm, Brave New World, and 1984 long before most of the people writing for and reading sci-fi were born and I'm not surprised. It's just affirmative action for certain writers and is disgusting, but so is much of what passes for publishing these days. And, to plug one of my LI posts a bit, check out my: Economy Forces Publishing Houses To Focus More on Bottom Line piece. Best!