FSFH Book Review

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Abnett, Dan
Adams, Douglas
Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto
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Bischoff, David
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Bowen, Carl
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Canavan, Trudi
Card, Orson Scott
Chadwick, Paul
Clarke, Arthur C.
Clarke, Susanna
Clemens, James
Collins, Paul
Crichton, Michael
Crispin, A. C.
Cunningham, Elaine
Daley, Brian
David, Peter
DeMatteis, J. M.
Denning, Troy
Dick, Philip K.
Dickens, Charles
Dietz, William C.
Dixon, Chuck
Donaldson, Stephen
Eddings, David
Edginton, Ian
Elrod, P. N.
Erikson, Steven
Feist, Raymond E.
Foster, Alan Dean
Fraction, Matt
Furman, Simon
Gaiman, Neil
Gemmell, David A.
Gerber, Michael
Gibbons, Dave
Golden, Christopher
Goodkind, Terry
Goodwin, Archie
Graham, Mitchell
Grant, Alan
Green, Jonathan
Green, Laurence
Guggenheim, Marc
Hagberg, David
Hambly, Barbara
Hamilton, Laurell K.
Hand, Elizabeth
Harras, Bob
Harrison, Mick
Heinlein, Robert A.
Herbert, Frank
Herbert, James
Hine, David
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Homer
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Jacques, Brian
James, Charlie Hamilton
Jenkins, Paul
Jeter, K. W.
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Jones, J. V.
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Jurgens, Dan
Karpyshyn, Drew
Kennedy, Mike
Kerr, Katharine
Keyes, Greg
King, Stephen
King, William
Knaak, Richard A.
Kube-McDowell, Michael P.
Lawhead, Stephen
Layman, John
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Lewis, C. S.
Lieberman, A. J.
Loeb, Jeph
Lorey, Dean
Lowder, James
Luceno, James
Lumley, Brian
Macan, Darko
Manning, Russ
Martin, George R. R.
Marz, Ron
Matheson, Richard
McCaffrey, Anne
McIntosh, Neil
McIntyre, Vonda
Michelinie, David
Millar, Mark
Miller, John Jackson
Miller, Karen
Milligan, Peter
Moench, Doug
Moesta, Rebecca
Moore, Alan
Nicholls, Stan
Nicieza, Fabian
Nylund, Eric
O'Neil, Dennis
Ostrander, John
Paolini, Christopher
Perry, S. D.
Perry, Steve
Pratchett, Terry
Pullman, Philip
Quinn, David
Reaves, Michael
Reed, A. W.
Reed, Brian
Rice, Anne
Richardson, Nancy
Roberts, Adam
Rowe, Matthew
Rowling, J. K.
Rubio, Kevin
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn
Salvatore, R.A.
Shelley, Mary
Shultz, Mark
Simone, Gail
Simonson, Louise
Simonson, Walter
Smith, L. Neil
Spurrier, Simon
Stackpole, Michael A.
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stewart, Sean
Stoker, Bram
Stover, Matthew
Straczynski, J. Michael
Stradley, Randy
Strnad, Jan
Sutcliff, Rosemary
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Traviss, Karen
Truman, Tim
Turtledove, Harry
Tyers, Kathy
van Belkom, Edo
Veitch, Tom
Wagner, John
Watson, Jude
Whitman, John
Williams, Sean
Williams, Tad
Williams, Walter Jon
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Wolverton, Dave
Woodring, Jim
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Zahn, Timothy
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Still to come
Reviewing Literature
The Books of L. Neil Smith

L. Neil Smith has written many science fiction novels and in 1983 (a very good year that; after all, I was born!) he became the third author (after Alan Dean Foster and Brian Daley) to write novels set in the universe of George Lucas' Star Wars.
 
Average Review Score: 2 out of 5 (1 book)

Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures
An omnibus edition containing (the long-windedly named) 'Lando Calrissian And The Mindharp Of Sharu', 'Lando Calrissian And The Flamewind Of Oseon' and 'Lando Calrissian And The StarCave Of ThonBoka'.  This trilogy of stories tell the tale of Lando Calrissian's early days when he goes from being a gambler and incompetent pilot to being the skilled and dashing rogue we see in the Star Wars movies.  Sadly, these stories seem very dated and the poorly disguised analogues (like coffeine) constantly drag you out of the Star Wars mindset.  The humour also leaves a lot to be desired, ranging from Lando calling his droid things like 'old toaster oven' to the cliched byplay of "Don't call me 'Master'" "Sorry Master".  The worst offending factor of the book is the villain who dogs Lando's steps; Rokur Gepta.  Gepta is a painfully B-movie style villain who adds little tension or threat to the story and, ultimately, turns out to be a psychic snail!  It's not all bad, though.  I enjoyed the fact that Lando is pretty much useless (at everything but gambling) when he sets out, but develops into a hotshot pilot and daring adventurer.  I also enjoyed the Battle of ThonBoka in which Lando helps a group of giant vacuum-dwelling aliens defend their home (the weird StarCave) against an Imperial fleet.  The plotline involving the vengeance-driven Renatasians is also quite interesting.  Despite the intermittent good bits however, the story as a whole isn't worth the effort and doesn't sit well with a fan of Star Wars' Expanded Universe.
2 out of 5

If you liked Smith:
Then you might like to read the early adventures of the Millennium Falcon's other owner in Brian Daley's Han Solo Adventures.  Or alternatively, read about both smugglers' early days in A. C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy.

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