On 1/10/25 09:11, Tony Nance wrote:
lots of snippage for brevity

Highlight: Bridge of Birds - Hughart (re-read)

snip

( ++++ ) Bridge of Birds - [Master Li and Number Ten Ox #1; Re-
read Project #3]
Oh, this was excellent. Again. And the best part was that I remembered
almost nothing from the first time I read it, maybe 25-30 years ago.
This is probably not for everybody, but Hughart hits all the right notes
in this novel set in ?An Ancient China That Never Was?. His faux-Chinese voice, folklore, and style are wonderful. If you are interested, I
recommend checking out the book?s Wikipedia page and reading the first
two paragraphs (only) about the Plot.

snip

I endorse that recommendation. Though I was disappointed with _The Story
of Stone_ which I couldn't maintain interest in and did not finish.
The comedy of _Bridge of Birds_ is enchanting as well as humourous in
the author's unique, (to me), way. I am now tempted to read it again.
Read 11 years ago. I still remember quite a bit, probably a lot less
than half but there are gems hard to forget.

[non-fiction] YesStories: Yes In Their Own Words - Morse
A friend of mine knows I enjoy the band, and asked if I had this book.
Turns out it?s the only Yes-themed book I do have, and I acquired it so
long ago, I don?t remember when/why. Anyhow, his questions led me to
quickly re-read it. <shrug>ÿ It?s fine for this sort of thing.

Close to the Edge and Starship Troopers were my favourites for years. I probably play their sea shanty album* _Tales from Topograhic Oceans_
more now as background. I have never had much interest in the performer
or author so would not read such a book.

* For those that know it not: :-)

--- PyGate Linux v1.0
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 9/30/2025 3:11 PM, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - August-September 2025

August 2025

( ++ 1/2 ) Burn For Me - Andrews [Hidden Legacy #1]
This is standard good quality stuff from the Andrews writing team, but
it?s the first time I can say that one of their settings is not what I?m looking to read, so I probably won?t continue with the series.

Nevada Baylor?s father has passed away, and she has taken over the
family P.I./Detective Agency with help from some family members,
including three younger siblings & cousins. Nevada has some magical
skill, but it?s not clear to her what the extent of those skills are,
nor how strong they are. The agency is barely staying afloat, and
because of that Her agency?s some legal obligations to a much larger
firm, but they have been leaving her alone. Until now. She gets strong- armed into taking a no-win job involving a way-too-powerful mage (called
a ?Prime? in this setting). A different Prime gets involved due to one
of his cousins? involvement, and these two work sort-of-together to
solve everything while having their own issues with each other.

...

Whoa, I am rereading "Burn For Me" now. I binge read the entire series
a year ago. First off, the series is set in Houston so it feels very
familiar to me. Second, I love paranormal that is not horror (dark
fantasy).

Here is my review from July 24, 2024:

"Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, 1)" by Ilona Andrews
https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Hidden-Legacy-Ilona-Andrews/dp/0062289233/

Book number one of a six book paranormal romance fantasy series. I read
the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Avon in 2014 that I
just bought new from Amazon. I have ordered the other five books in the series.

Totally cool start to a new series for me. This makes the fourth series
that I have read from Ilona Andrews, a husband and wife writing team.

The Hidden Legacy Universe is a complex place. The Osiris serum that
induced magical powers in humans was released to the general public in
1863 and the world was never the same. The serum was banned after a
while but the world was irreparably changed. Families starting breeding children for strength in magical powers with breathtaking results. Magic
users are segregated into five ranks: Minor, Average, Notable,
Significant, and Prime.

The most feared mage is the pyrotechnic (fire). Adam Pierce is a Prime
and a fire mage. And he is certifiably crazy but his mother loves him
anyway. Even when he kills a security guard while robbing a bank.

Nevada Baylor runs a very small detective agency in Houston, Texas ( ! )
that works on scammers and divorce cases. She is a 25 year old hidden truthseeker, she can unerringly tell lies from truths and can sometimes
force people to emit truths. Her mother and father started the
detective agency but there is a huge mortgage to a Prime Family that
funded the effort to try to save her father from cancer. Now the Prime
Family wants them to find Adam Pierce and deliver him to his family, undamaged.

Mad Rogan is a Prime telekinetic and a noted combat veteran, famous for destroying a village in the Mexican war. And Mad Rogan wants Adam
Pierce too, undamaged is not a priority.

The authors have a very active website at:
https://ilona-andrews.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (15,154 reviews)

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.0
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 10/8/25 12:15 AM, Titus G wrote:

On 1/10/25 09:11, Tony Nance wrote:
lots of snippage for brevity

Highlight: Bridge of Birds - Hughart (re-read)

snip

( ++++ ) Bridge of Birds - [Master Li and Number Ten Ox #1; Re-
read Project #3]
Oh, this was excellent. Again. And the best part was that I remembered
almost nothing from the first time I read it, maybe 25-30 years ago.
This is probably not for everybody, but Hughart hits all the right notes
in this novel set in ?An Ancient China That Never Was?. His faux-Chinese
voice, folklore, and style are wonderful. If you are interested, I
recommend checking out the book?s Wikipedia page and reading the first
two paragraphs (only) about the Plot.

snip

I endorse that recommendation. Though I was disappointed with _The Story
of Stone_ which I couldn't maintain interest in and did not finish.
The comedy of _Bridge of Birds_ is enchanting as well as humourous in
the author's unique, (to me), way. I am now tempted to read it again.
Read 11 years ago. I still remember quite a bit, probably a lot less
than half but there are gems hard to forget.

I enjoyed The Story of the Stone enough to move on to read the third and
final one (Eight Skilled Gentlemen). Since I don't remember anything
about the second one, I'll probably re-read it some time as well.

[non-fiction] YesStories: Yes In Their Own Words - Morse
A friend of mine knows I enjoy the band, and asked if I had this book.
Turns out it?s the only Yes-themed book I do have, and I acquired it so
long ago, I don?t remember when/why. Anyhow, his questions led me to
quickly re-read it. <shrug>ÿ It?s fine for this sort of thing.

Close to the Edge and Starship Troopers were my favourites for years.

Me too.

I probably play their sea shanty album* _Tales from Topograhic Oceans_
more now as background. I have never had much interest in the performer
or author so would not read such a book.

Yeah, I'm beginning to think I received the book as a gift. I don't
usually pick up these type of books. The very few I do have are from
30-40 years ago - and I often forget how I obtained them.

* For those that know it not: :-)

I appreciate the description. :-)

Tony


--- PyGate Linux v1.0
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 10/8/25 10:54 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:

On 9/30/2025 3:11 PM, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - August-September 2025

August 2025

( ++ 1/2 ) Burn For Me - Andrews [Hidden Legacy #1]
This is standard good quality stuff from the Andrews writing team, but
it?s the first time I can say that one of their settings is not what
I?m looking to read, so I probably won?t continue with the series.

Nevada Baylor?s father has passed away, and she has taken over the
family P.I./Detective Agency with help from some family members,
including three younger siblings & cousins. Nevada has some magical
skill, but it?s not clear to her what the extent of those skills are,
nor how strong they are. The agency is barely staying afloat, and
because of that Her agency?s some legal obligations to a much larger
firm, but they have been leaving her alone. Until now. She gets
strong- armed into taking a no-win job involving a way-too-powerful
mage (called a ?Prime? in this setting). A different Prime gets
involved due to one of his cousins? involvement, and these two work
sort-of-together to solve everything while having their own issues
with each other.

...

Whoa, I am rereading "Burn For Me" now.ÿ I binge read the entire series
a year ago.ÿ First off, the series is set in Houston so it feels very familiar to me.ÿ Second, I love paranormal that is not horror (dark fantasy).

Here is my review from July 24, 2024: <review snipped for brevity>

Thanks for that, along with your reviews of the next few. Given how much
I enjoy the Andrews team, and that this first entry just seemed to be
going a direction I wasn't interested in, I should probably try the
second one.

Tony



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On 30/09/2025 15.11, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - August-September 2025

Now Reading:
Long work - I don?t know
Collection - A Logic Named Joe - Leinster

I never knew that there was a collection with this title. What do you have
to say about the other works in it?

--
Michael F. Stemper
Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.


--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 19/10/25 02:29, Michael F. Stemper wrote:

On 30/09/2025 15.11, Tony Nance wrote:

Highlights and Lowlights - August-September 2025

Now Reading:
Long work - I don?t know
Collection - A Logic Named Joe - Leinster

I never knew that there was a collection with this title. What do you have
to say about the other works in it?

A Logic Named Joe Murray Leinster edited by Eric Flint & Guy Gordon

1. The Dean of Gloucester, Virginia by Barry N. Malzberg.
An introduction to "Murray Leinster", the pen-name of William F Jenkins.

2. A Logic Named Joe

3. Dear Charles
Comedy. A clever time paradox.

4. Gateway to Elsewhere
In which he introduces the concept of Reality Magnetism.
"... there are other worlds. They are not quite real to us, because we
cannot reach them at will. But according to legend they touch each other
at many places, and it is possible to travel from one to another, and in
fact we constantly visit the frontier cities of other worlds without
ever knowing it. We do not know it, because we are a part of our own
world, and there is an attraction; a magnetism; a gravitation, perhaps;
which draws us back before we stray far through the gateway of a world
which is not our own."

I have forgotten the remaining three.
5. The Duplicators
6. The Fourth-Dimensional Demonstrator
7. The Pirates of Zan

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