Which? People keep telling me to read Tanith Lee but I don't know where to start.

My favorites by her are the Blood Opera trillogy: Dark Dance, Personal Darkness, and Darkness, I. But then, I have a fondness for well-written vampire novels.

I saw Steven Brust's latest in the bookstore the other day and was intrigued. From the back cover, it looked a bit like a cross between Firefly and Hitchhiker's Guide.

Every couple of months someone on the Brust mailing list mentions Firefly, and it always makes me do a double take. It's just weird when fandoms intersect. In any case, I think that's a great description of that book (Sethra Lavode, I think) but I'd suggest you start at the beginning of the "Khaavren Romances" with Phoenix Guards, if you haven't already.

Hmm. I checked on Amazon, and the book I'm thinking of is Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille. It was in the new releases section, but it must be a reissue, since Amazon says it's from 1990.

If Firefly were written by Dumas (and didn't involve space), you'd have this particular Brust series.

Ooh, cool! (I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo now and loving it, though it's slow going because it's my bedtime book and I'm usually really tired these days...) Now I'm definitely intrigued.

Hmm. I checked on Amazon, and the book I'm thinking of is Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille. It was in the new releases section, but it must be a reissue, since Amazon says it's from 1990.

The 2003 edition is indeed an Tor/Orb reissue. I would have thought it was older, but I checked and it appears that yup, the Ace edition is 1990 (I'm AFB). Feng's is funky and fun, not one of his more dramatic (?) books. It isn't in his Vladiad or his Paarfiad, but is a stand-alone. I enjoyed it.

Hmm. I checked on Amazon, and the book I'm thinking of is Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille. It was in the new releases section, but it must be a reissue, since Amazon says it's from 1990.

Oh, I read that recently. I didn't notice whether it was a reissue or not. I can - sort of - see the comparison to Firefly, though the tone is really not much alike. I quite liked it though.

Assuming I can find it, I'm happy to lend if someone wants it.

I though Feng fell apart resoundingly at the end. It left me feeling that the reveal was inconsistent with the narrator's behaviour, yet not interested enough to reread and doublecheck. Easily my least favourite Brust.

Which would you recommend first, ita? And the Firefly comparison was made knowing only what I could tell from the cover art and back-cover blurb, so I freely admit it could be erroneous.

Outside of his big series (Vlad and Paarfi, which are intertwined), I love The Sun The Moon & The Stars -- it's sort of Microserfs for artsies. And To Reign In Hell may be seen as a whole lot of work for one particular joke (Get thee behind me, Satan!) but I liked it a lot too.

I get a little impatient with the floweriness (florality?) of Paarfi, but adore Vlad to pieces, even though he changes (as does the tone) in the Vladdy books. Those I'd recommend reading in publication order.`

t taking notes

I love the Sun, the Moon and the Stars and To Reign in Hell as well. Probably my two favourites. I actually wrote that I thought Feng's was one of the weaker books, but I pre-edited. I like Agyar and The Gypsy less than Feng's, for sure. But I should give them another try. Freedom and Necessity (with Emma Bull) is excellent too. The Vlad Taltos books are the bomb, but as ita noted, they vary a fair bit in tone, particularly around the middle of the run.

See, I had a lot of trouble getting THROUGH Freedom and Necessity...it seemed like it ought to be interesting, but it just wasn't working for me.