From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:

Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <10t0428$rg42$1@dont-email.me>,
Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:

So there I was in the local Barnes & Noble picking up a couple Mothers'
Day gifts[1], and so of course I had to leisurely wander through their
book selections.

And there sat "Radiant Star", a brand new standalone by Ann Leckie in
her Imperial Radch universe.

Just fyi, for those like me who did not know such a thing was out.
Tony
[1] My mom likes jigsaw puzzles.

I find my engagement with new mainstream books has almost vanished
as I rarely go to a bookstore nowdays. Similar to music and not listening >> to the radio anymore.

Since I began boycotting Amazon I've been getting to bookstores more
often. I wonder why I ever stopped, and have snagged four or five good >books I'd never have come across on amazon's web site. It can be a bit >tiring, though.

I've found that antique stores (at least here in the state of California)
to be a good source of non-fiction books, particularly history; one
recent find was Cotton's _The Transmission & Distribution of Electrical Energy_ (1958 edition, published by the University of Nottingham).

Describes the generation and distribution engineering in the UK.

There have been also civil engineering textbooks (including
the Army Corps of Engineers) and many interesting history books.

As to music, I find that I too don't listen to much radio. But I have a
few hundred gigs on the hard drive, and am currently keeping myself
awake with Shostakovitch's eleventh - the second movement, with its
gunfire motif, will wake anybody.

I've been listening to a lot of European progressive rock lately
(Riverside, Flower Kings, Within Temptation, Marillion). Many of which were pleasant youtube recommendations.

Not so strangely, youtube knows what I am listening to, even though
these files are copied from my CDs. Ah well.

William Hyde

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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:

I've found that antique stores (at least here in the state of California)
to be a good source of non-fiction books, particularly history; one
recent find was Cotton's _The Transmission & Distribution of Electrical >Energy_ (1958 edition, published by the University of Nottingham).

Describes the generation and distribution engineering in the UK.

Does it use the old-style Heaviside notation? I got a tiny introduction
to that in college but it was pretty much gone by then, and it has kind
of fascinated me.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) writes:

Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:

I've found that antique stores (at least here in the state of California) >>to be a good source of non-fiction books, particularly history; one
recent find was Cotton's _The Transmission & Distribution of Electrical >>Energy_ (1958 edition, published by the University of Nottingham).

Describes the generation and distribution engineering in the UK.

Does it use the old-style Heaviside notation? I got a tiny introduction
to that in college but it was pretty much gone by then, and it has kind
of fascinated me.

No, it was pretty much bog-standard notation; some vector math,
some calculus. Everything from the mechanical characteristics of
overhead lines, insulators, transformers, various high-voltage
circuit interruptors, etc. Basically the state of the art in 1958.

Handling of capacitance and voltage drop in transmission
lines was an interesting topic.
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Scott Lurndal wrote:

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:

Last summer, I also picked up _A Century of American Diplomacy_ by
John W. Foster (secretary of state 1892-1893). Covers from 1776
to 1900. He was "there" for much of the last quarter of the 19th
century.

Another find was _The Diplomacy of the Great War_ by Arthur Bullard,
a diplomat (in Russia during WWI). Covers 1850 through 1914.

Those sound fascinating. Pasted into my book folder.


While I know less about rock than I know about what came "before" the
big bang, I did hear of a Baltic band called "Skyforger".

I've no idea if they are any good, but they do perform with flags of old Prussia (i.e. the entity that was there before the Germans and Poles)
and sometimes use Prussian in their lyrics.

The old Prussians dispersed far and wide. I am so boringly Anglo-Irish
that it is unlikely that I descend from them, but many people do, and
have no knowledge of the fact. Hal was pretty sure he didn't, but who
knows their ancestry back to 1700, other than a few royals?


William Hyde
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 30/04/2026 12.38, Tony Nance wrote:

So there I was in the local Barnes & Noble picking up a couple Mothers' Day gifts[1], and so of course I had to leisurely wander through their book selections.

And there sat "Radiant Star", a brand new standalone by Ann Leckie in her Imperial Radch universe.

I've never heard of the author or the setting. Care to expound on one or both? --
Michael F. Stemper
This post contains greater than 95% post-consumer bytes by weight.

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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 02/05/2026 11.07, Scott Lurndal wrote:

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:

Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <10t0428$rg42$1@dont-email.me>,
Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> wrote:

So there I was in the local Barnes & Noble picking up a couple Mothers' >>>> Day gifts[1], and so of course I had to leisurely wander through their >>>> book selections.

And there sat "Radiant Star", a brand new standalone by Ann Leckie in
her Imperial Radch universe.

Just fyi, for those like me who did not know such a thing was out.
Tony
[1] My mom likes jigsaw puzzles.

I find my engagement with new mainstream books has almost vanished
as I rarely go to a bookstore nowdays. Similar to music and not listening >>> to the radio anymore.

Since I began boycotting Amazon I've been getting to bookstores more
often. I wonder why I ever stopped, and have snagged four or five good
books I'd never have come across on amazon's web site. It can be a bit
tiring, though.

I've found that antique stores (at least here in the state of California)
to be a good source of non-fiction books, particularly history; one
recent find was Cotton's _The Transmission & Distribution of Electrical Energy_ (1958 edition, published by the University of Nottingham).

Describes the generation and distribution engineering in the UK.

Interesting. It sounds as if it's in the same tiny niche as the
Westinghouse T&D book, which I've had for nearly fifty years: <https://studylib.net/doc/27784755/westinghouse-electrical-transmission-and-distribution-ref...>

Amazon says that the fourth edition, which is what I have, can
be bought used (obviously!) for a mere $800: <https://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Transmission-Distribution-Reference-Book/dp/B000KK4538>

A tidy 9% rate of return on my $12.00 investment, if I wanted to
part with it.
--
Michael F. Stemper
The name of the story is "A Sound of Thunder".
It was written by Ray Bradbury. You're welcome.

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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 06/05/2026 02:55, Michael F. Stemper wrote:

On 30/04/2026 12.38, Tony Nance wrote:

So there I was in the local Barnes & Noble picking up a couple
Mothers' Day gifts[1], and so of course I had to leisurely wander
through their book selections.

And there sat "Radiant Star", a brand new standalone by Ann Leckie in
her Imperial Radch universe.

I've never heard of the author or the setting. Care to expound on one or both?

Anne Leckie won a HUGO award for the first in her Imperial Radich
trilogy, titled Ancillary Justice, where ancillaries are androids
forming a group mind. I can't say too much in case of spoilers. She
tells a brilliant space opera. Five stars.
The next two are Ancillary Sword, five stars, and Ancillary Mercy, Four
stars.
There have also been a couple of stand alone novels in the Imperial
Radich universe but I think it would be best if you began with Ancillary Justice, which won a lot of other awards as well as the HUGO.
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 06/05/2026 15:06, Titus G wrote:

On 06/05/2026 02:55, Michael F. Stemper wrote:

On 30/04/2026 12.38, Tony Nance wrote:

So there I was in the local Barnes & Noble picking up a couple
Mothers' Day gifts[1], and so of course I had to leisurely wander
through their book selections.

And there sat "Radiant Star", a brand new standalone by Ann Leckie in
her Imperial Radch universe.

I've never heard of the author or the setting. Care to expound on one or
both?

Anne Leckie won a HUGO award for the first in her Imperial Radich
trilogy, titled Ancillary Justice, where ancillaries are androids
forming a group mind. I can't say too much in case of spoilers. She
tells a brilliant space opera. Five stars.
The next two are Ancillary Sword, five stars, and Ancillary Mercy, Four stars.
There have also been a couple of stand alone novels in the Imperial
Radich universe but I think it would be best if you began with Ancillary Justice, which won a lot of other awards as well as the HUGO.

What he said^.

Cheers,
Gary B-)
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Titus G erroneously wrote:

Anne Leckie

when the correct spelling is Ann Leckie.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 06/05/2026 00.06, Titus G wrote:

On 06/05/2026 02:55, Michael F. Stemper wrote:

On 30/04/2026 12.38, Tony Nance wrote:

So there I was in the local Barnes & Noble picking up a couple
Mothers' Day gifts[1], and so of course I had to leisurely wander
through their book selections.

And there sat "Radiant Star", a brand new standalone by Ann Leckie in
her Imperial Radch universe.

I've never heard of the author or the setting. Care to expound on one or
both?

Anne Leckie won a HUGO award for the first in her Imperial Radich
trilogy, titled Ancillary Justice, where ancillaries are androids
forming a group mind. I can't say too much in case of spoilers. She
tells a brilliant space opera. Five stars.
The next two are Ancillary Sword, five stars, and Ancillary Mercy, Four stars.
There have also been a couple of stand alone novels in the Imperial
Radich universe but I think it would be best if you began with Ancillary Justice, which won a lot of other awards as well as the HUGO.

On the list; thanks!
--
Michael F. Stemper
No animals were harmed in the composition of this message.

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