Unboxing a book trade with Science Fiction Reads including some surprises!

[@waltera13]

What a wonderful book haul from such a generous friend. Thanks for sharing!

[@djdreaming5377]

Barrington bayley..a great writer..another one Brian m Stableford from the early days on through the historical stuff to his marvellous translating work for Black Coat Press. Happy reading.😊

[@lightbearer313]

I own most of Barrington M. Bayley's books. I consider him one of the greatest SF authors. I also own the two Hiero novels, very enjoyable books; there was never a third concluding book to the trilogy as the author died.

[@vintagesf]

There is some rumbling on the internet that, if I remember correctly, Lanier's niece has written the third novel in the Hiero series from his rough draft. It will be interesting to see if it is published or shared electronically. Can any of my viewers confirm or update?

[@WestCoastBookAddict-zn8hu]

Hi Richard, great set of books sent to you by Matt. Not read any Miller in a long time but remember really enjoying his short stories, and Canticle For Leibowitz was one of my favourite SF books back in the day - really due for a reread sometime soon. I would put The Baroque Cycle up there as one of my favourite reads of all time in any genre. Seeing the hard backs I'm thinking I should really replace my paperbacks with hard covers. I think you'll enjoy the series - I hope so anyway. All the best... Peter

[@vintagesf]

Thank you Peter. Great to hear from you!

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

So many books and so little time! Best wishes and happy reading!

[@vintagesf]

I think I've pretty much planned my TBR for the next 5 - 10 years.

[@sfwordsofwonder]

Trading is a lot of fun. Too bad Canada doesn't have USPS Media Mail rate, its so cheap here in the states. But we have a top secret trade in the works....

[@vintagesf]

@@sfwordsofwonder Making a run for the border …

[@paulholmaniii9691]

That Neil Stephenson trilogy is excellent! I believe I've 6:13 read all three

[@paulcooper3611]

Great haul. The Starwolf series by Edmund Hamilton were my introduction to the rebirth of Space Opera in the 60s; fun, adventure, and derring-do. Also Morgan Chase's super strength from being raised on a high-gravity planet is reminiscent of Hamilton's writing for DC Comics. 'Best of Walter M. Miller, Jr.' might not be all of his best but it is pretty close. Miller shown in his short fiction and this book contains some excellent examples. 'The Darfsteller' is one of my favorites. It won the very first Hugo Award for best Novelette.

[@vintagesf]

@@paulcooper3611 The Best of Miller combined two paperback collections, ‘Conditionally Human’ and ‘The View from the Stars’.

[@PeterKerans-h6z]

Another Stephenson hb collector! - the earlier book Cryptonomicon is also loosely part of the Baroque Cycle, even though it is set in the WW2 era. Won’t spoil it for you how it is connected if you haven’t read it yet. Anything by Bayley is worth getting too! Cheers.

[@vintagesf]

I was so taken by 'Seveneves' that I started to collect Stephenson's books. Found, to my surprise, that the hbs were no more expensive than the paperbacks at some used book stores. Apparently heavy hbs are difficult to sell. When it comes to large page count books I find it easier to read the hbs. Worth the shelf space.

[@CasperHulshof]

My suggestion would be Anathem. I think it's Stephenson's best work. I have the Baroque Cycle. It's very, very long and I stopped somewhere in book 3. One day I will do a full reread (starting with Cryptonomicon).

[@vintagesf]

@@CasperHulshof Either Snow Crash or Anathem will be my next Stephenson read.

[@CasperHulshof]

@@vintagesf I reread Snow Crash last year. The opening pages are among the best I've ever read. After that... let's just say it's not to everyone's taste and Stephenson was still trying to sound cool too much. (I've also read Fall: or Dodge in Hell - I'm pretty sure not many people manage to finish that one).

[@UlrichBlode-vu7vt]

By the way, it was Lanier who convinced his employer to publish Dune by Frank Herbert. The book was rejected by many publishers before. It was the first novel for Chilton, a Boston publisher specializing in business magazines and automobile repair books. This first edition did not sell well and Lanier was fired.

[@vintagesf]

This is a very cool factoid.

[@UlrichBlode-vu7vt]

Great book delivery! Neal Stephenson and his Baroque cycle are great. I am living close to Hannover where the Library collects everything about Leibniz. There is a whole book only about his calculation machine and a replica too. Furthermore, there are a lot of connections between England and Hannover because of the personal union between Great Britain and Hanover from 1714 to 1837. During this time, the Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg or King of Hanover was simultaneously King of Great Britain. Interestingly, there is a real Golden Letter, a handwritten document made of gold sheet in the Burmese language, which the Burmese King Alaungphaya had written on May 7, 1756 and sent to the British King George II in London, offering trade relationships. The letter is now kept in the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library in Hanover. I saw Hiero in the Masterworks series. But I cannot read much about post-atomic worlds.

[@vintagesf]

Really looking forward to starting the Baroque Cycle. I understand it is wise to read Cryptonomicon first.

[@LiminalSpaces03]

I'm sad to see the Lanier doesn't have a man talking to a giant slug on the cover! You'll have to let me know if that happens in the book! That Walter Miller collection is awesome!

[@vintagesf]

@@LiminalSpaces03 Reading it right now and the warrior priest is on top of a boulder or spire fighting a mutated creature the size of the horse with tusks and blubbering lips. Cool!

[@sciencefictionreads]

@@vintagesf Ok, maybe it’s time I read my copy of those. Awesome!

[@vintagesf]

@@sciencefictionreads I think you would enjoy them. It is set in a far future post-apocalyptic North America. You live in what they call the Otwah League. I live in the Metz Republic in Kanda. Metz are descendants of Métis. The second book has a glossary at the end. Hopefully your copy does too.

[@vintagesf]

@@LiminalSpaces03 The giant snail is happening and it’s awesome!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Great exchange Richard! Quick question, have your read Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon? If so, I'd love to see you do a video on it!

[@vintagesf]

Not yet. I understand it is a good idea to read it before the Baroque Cycle.

[@lilyann1567]

Jesus loves you :)