sholio | *flails*

Okay, I'm done with Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman books -- all four that are published so far, anyway; though it looks like the last one came out in 2004, and the series is very emphatically NOT OVER YET ... which means this might be one of those series that leads to ten-year intervals between books, and sincerely hoping that the author doesn't die before finishing it ...

Anyway, I need more people on my flist to read these books so that I can talk about them with someone, rather than just flailing by myself in the corner! There's really no limit to the awesome that is contained in these books -- wonderful female (and male) characters; deep friendships and found family; loyalty and bravery; hurt, and comfort, of both the emotional and physical sort; tragedy and betrayal; the thrill of discovery; the wonder of science and magic, and the odd intersections of the two; edge-of-your-seat adventure; mysteries that you get to figure out along with the characters; alien life that is truly alien. These books capture the wonder of traveling to new horizons, and the comfort of settling down with close friends for good conversation. I don't think I've discovered a new series that I've loved this much, or that's contained so many of my favorite things all in one place, in years.

If you read these, you definitely want to start with the first and read them in order, since they build on each other, and seemingly inconsequential clues dropped in earlier books become important later on. The books are:
- The Steerswoman's Road (omnibus edition collecting The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret, which are apparently out of print)
- The Lost Steersman
- The Language of Power

So far my very favorite has been The Outskirter's Secret (second half of The Steerswoman's Road), with The Lost Steersman a close second. But really, they've all been captivating. So if you're looking for a good book that includes any of the above list of awesome things, you may want to give these a try! And meanwhile, I will be clinging sadly to Amazon.com, waiting for a new one to appear ...

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I've seen these recced several times, but I've shied away from buying them because The Lost Steersman does not seem to be available new anymore, and the used copies I've seen on amazon were hideously expensive (I'm not going to pay almost 40€ for a used paperback), and the first omnibus paperback isn't exactly affordable either (I mean seriously, 23€ for a paperback? even if it's two books in one and fairly long, that's still a bit steep).

Oog, that's dreadfull! You know, this is one of the things that's frustrating to me about copyrighted stuff, and I don't really have an answer for it. I certainly think that authors should be compensated for all their hard work, and if people can make a living as authors, then that means more books, which, yay! But ... if I were all squeeful and bouncy about a fanfic, rather than a book book, I could just point people at the fic page. For a book, someone who wants to read it has to go through the hassle of tracking down copies that are in-print and affordable -- and that's assuming that such copies can be had, which is very often not the case!

I have noticed what seems to be a recent trend of many books being released only in expensive trade-paperback editions, and never coming out as cheap mass-market paperbacks, which is very frustrating to me. In this case, I was lucky that my library had the last two books in the series, and I'd purchased a cheap used edition of the first one a long time ago (which had been sitting in my to-read pile for years). But I want to be able to share these books with people, and it's very difficult if most people can't afford them!

I just bought the first in the series because WisCon in general would not shut up about how awesome they were. I'll put it next in my queue!

Yay! I hope you like it! I'm really in love with them right now. And Orion has been glued to them, as well.

I think I first saw mention of them on the blog of one of the Wiscon folks. It's not surprising to me that they would have swept the con, because they're so totally what sci-fi ought to be but usually isn't -- thoughtful, stereotype-busting, feminist (but not in an in-your-face kind of way).

They look very interesting and I plan on buying them through a used book avenue... I agree with ~ratcreature~ that $24 is a bit steep for a paperback, but I'm a big fan of used books. I just moved (again) to a new area and haven't located a new used book store source.

I am also in agreement with you on the changing face of publishing. I've talked to a few (small publishing house) authors who are now adrift as publishing houses ~strip down~ and only push a few books these days.

I think publishing is not unlike the film & music recording industries... they all seem to be struggling (not only with the financial downturn) to find their ways through a new technology.

Finally, the author's blog http://www.rosemarykirstein.com/2010/03/inevitable/

Yeah, the publishing thing is really interesting, and I don't know how it's going to all turn out. By no means do I want to see traditional publishers die, but they are going to have to flex with the changing market. And I think self-publishing will become increasingly feasible. Personally I would love to see a reccing/word-of-mouth system develop for original self-published fiction akin to what fanfic (and, to a maybe lesser extent, self-published comics) already has; I think the big problem with self-publishing right now is not a lack of quality, but the sheer effort of finding the good stuff.

And thanks for the link!

did you see this one?

http://www.catherynnemvalente.com/fairyland/

I'm aware of it -- and delighted by how much publicity it seems to be getting! It doesn't really quite seem like my kind of thing (I've tried reading a little of it, and couldn't get into it) but I do think it's really cool to see more high-quality online fiction.

I forwarded on even without reading it.

I've actually only seen a few online fiction and mostly it's older SciFi.

Do you have any recommended links?

(my DIL keeps threatening to buy an iPad so that I should try to download something to read)

Oops... gotta go! I hear my granddaughter squawking =) (9mos)... she's actually sleeping through the night now =O

Do you have any recommended links?

Hmm! There are a number of pro-quality online sci-fi/fantasy 'zines - two that tend to have a number of stories that appeal to me are Strange Horizons (http://www.strangehorizons.com) and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. (http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/) There's a partial list at the Science Fiction Writers' Association website (http://www.sfwa.org/join-us/sfwa-membership-requirements/#shortfiction) (there are a ton that aren't on here, but these are the "big" ones).

A few of my favorite stories from the above websites: The You Train (http://www.strangehorizons.com/2007/20071203/train-f.shtml) (pleasantly spooky), A Serpent In the Gears (http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/story.php?s=72) (I want more of these characters so bad!), and Non-Zero Probabilities (http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/jemisin_09_09/).

For longer fiction, there's quite a bit of it out there but it's hard to find. I started reading the Keeper series (http://www.midnightreading.com/Keeper/Keeperseries.htm) by Kristine Williams awhile back (liked the first book, always meant to go back and read more, kept getting sidetracked). There is a part of me that suspects very strongly that it's Sentinel fanfic with the numbers filed off, but I like it. *g* And there are several fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk novels at

theoriginalsam; I've yet to finish any of them (again, I sidetrack easily) but I've liked what I've read.

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