Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 13:47:33 -0500 (EST)
From: dicconf <dicconf at radix.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Old School
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 MarkLFischer at aol.com wrote:

> And a seventh, if you consider "Masters of the Vortex" part of the  series.
> It's set in the same universe, but is otherwise unrelated.

Welll...very slightly related.  The Galactic Patrol and the Bergenholm FTL
drive exist, but there's no mention of the Boskonians.  And at one point
Kim Kinnison is asked to think about the problem of finding a successor to
Neal Cloud in case Cloud manages to snuff himself during an attempt to
snuff a loose atomic vortex, but we never hear Kim's reply.

> "Doc" Smith was one of the first SF writers I was exposed to in my youth,
> and while I acknowledge his shortcomings, his stuff is FUN, which is often more
> important to me than literary merit.

No argument there.  As I once said, we admire Jim Blish but we love Doc
Smith.

> Cordwainer Smith has been mentioned a couple of times...anyone who hasn't
> been turned on to his beautiful work has been missing out.

Amen, in spades.

-- Dick Eney