Re: Highlights and Lowlights - November-December 2024

Tony Nance wrote:

On 1/4/25 1:36 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <vl6r8g$3f2df$1@dont-email.me>,
Tony Nance  <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - November-December 2024
>
Happy New Year!
>
Books are rated using a very primitive rating system:
“+” are good, and more “+” are better
“-” are not good, and more “-”  are worse
>
I’m happy to answer questions about anything here.
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Highlights - nothing … bunch of competent, fine stuff, but no real highlight
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Lowlights - Space Opera - Vance
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November
( + - ) Space Opera - Vance
Well crud … much as I enjoy Vance, this one just didn’t work for me. The
back cover mentions this is an homage to PG Wodehouse, and for whatever
reasons, bleah. Wealthy upper-crust opera fanatic Dame Isabel and her
treated-as-almost-worthless nephew Roger (who lives off an “allowance”
from his aunt) end up on a travelogue to several planets, trying to bring music & culture to the inhabitants via opera. Very episodic, with
a sort-of-flimsy linking story, very class-ist (surely intentionally),
and mostly told from the point of view of long-suffering Roger. Meh.
>

>
Certainly minor Vance,

 Agreed, but since there are only two more of his novels that I haven't read yet, I'm pretty much down to minor at this point.
 

but a) Great title & b) it gave him a chance
to do this sequence:

 <sequence left below for those who want to see it>
 That is indeed a fine segment of the book, but overall, something about the book consistently didn't work for me. It may be related to the complete lack of self-awareness of Dame Isabel and the others driving the plot.

Since reading his autobiography, I've begun to see some of his relatives in his work.  I don't recall "Space Opera" well at this point, but Isabel may be based on his aunt.  Possibly a nicer version.
William Hyde