Weekend Words, 4/26

slushmasterhas added a new poll for international writers to post views about email vs snailmail submissions.  These polls and comments have been interesting to follow, and I'd recommend a read over on them.

Today I went to a book sale hosted by a local organization, Friends of the Library.  I picked up 21 quite old paperbacks (well, not really that old for me) for.25c each.  2/3 of these were for my collection, but the others were titles I love, and since my shelf-bought copies are stored away I had no problem forking out a quarter for a reading copy for home.  These are also on my recommended reading list, and would have ended up posted here.  So, here they are:

1) The Shores of Kansas by Robert Chilson.  This book was SOOOO neat to me.  Admittedly, I've read tighter written books, but something about a person who can walk through time to a dinosaur era really pushes the right button for me.  And the fact that the character is very human and has a difficult time with being a celebrity -- well, even with heavy '70s influence, mild sexism and some weak prose, the theme is still so interesting that it keeps this one as one of my most influencial reads.  I think some of that influence peeked out in my Swamp Rat timewalker ("Atakapa Sunset", pub by Leucrota Press in Abaculus 2007), and although the time walking mode is quite different, in a subconscious back-thought sort of way my character is a tribute to Mr. Chilson's novel.

2) Ariel by Steven R. Boyett.  This one left an incredible image with me since it was first released of a sleeper being awakened abruptly and nearly killing the person waking him out of the reflexes he'd gained from training in the sword.  Oddly enough my impression of this book is very positive, but after nearly 20 years, that is the only image still there, however vivid it may be.  Therefore -- re-read time!

3) Worlds of the Imperium by Keith Laumer.  This is one of a trilogy, and for me it was the first foray into parallel world adventure.  It was a scientific verson of Zelazny's Amber, although not nearly close to Zelazny's worldbuilding, but just as fascinating a read for the voracious young reader I was at the time.  To this day I'll recommend this as an example in dealing with dimensional travel.  

These three were the nostalgic reads I found there.  Others were collections (Nebula Stories 1-6, odd 50's anthologies, etc), and a few paperbacks for my collection that were just in too outstanding a condition not to grab up.

Today, my Whatever Happened To has to be Robert Chilson.  The concept of his timewalker world is just so big that he could have written an universe of stories about what could happen there...

My recommended reading: see above.