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Title: Low Port by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller ISBN: 1-59222-013-4 Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing Pub. Date: September, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A thought-provoking collection
Comment: What is the purpose of a short story? If it is, as some have argued, to give a particular thought or question a framework to invite serious contemplation, then most of the stories in this collection have suceeded in their goal, because I am still thinking about them. Each of these stories has a particular "what if?" or "How would it be...?" that is then crafted onto a character that carries us into the question and out at least one of the other sides.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this anthology over a period of several weeks - I restricted my reading to one or two a day so that I wouldn't subconsciously try to make the "feel" or "world" of one story fit into the next somehow. My friend read it straight through and did not enjoy it so much, so I would definitely suggest giving yourself some time to consider each story on it's own strengths.
And there are definitely strengths! "Find a Pin" and "Scream Angel" are perfect gems, seeing eluki bes shahar's Butterfly character again was delightful (though I would have to say, if you haven't read the other Butterfly stories and become familiar with her heavy use of her own brand of slang, you will find the story difficult to follow), and the striking workers on the space station held particular relevence from dealing with the grocery strike here in So. Cal.
I didn't care too much for the one wizard story - it also seemed to depend a great deal on already knowing the character, and I haven't read the other works in this universe so couldn't bring myself to care about him very much.
I think one of the challenges in a short story is to create, extremely quickly, a reason to care about your characters, and many of these stories succeeded in this respect quite well. I loved the busker on the space station, I felt deeply the frustration and confusion of the sanitation engineer, and I wept for the soldier in "Scream Angel." The characterizations in "Find A Pin" were particularly good.
This would be an extremely useful book for writer's groups or classes, providing both entertaining reading and good subject matter for critiqueing the process of crafting a short story.
I do have to agree with most of the reviewers, that, given the choice of title, it really would have been nice to have at least one story actually set in the Low Port on Liad, but... I definitely recommend this as an addition to any library, Liaden Universe based or not.
Rating: 3
Summary: WELL WRITTEN BUT GLOOMY
Comment: LOW PORT is not your typical Lee/Miller book. It is an anthology of short stories, some very short, set in the depressed underbelly of our future space faring civilization. Don't expect any uplifting happy endings here, there are none. What you do get is some darn good writing from some of the best writers of our times.
If you like short stories, not my personal favorite, or tragedies, again not what I usually enjoy, then this is a book for you.. Involved plots and character development are almost nonexistent, but then that is to be expected from short stories. These are snapshots of life on the sharp edge, the stories of people who inhabit the seedy, grimy parts of our universe. Humans will be human whether its in the shanty towns surrounding a naval port in the Philippines or the whorehouses of a spaceport somewhere out in the stars.
Expect to be fascinated and enthralled by these glimpses into the belly of the beast, but don't expect to feel good afterwards. This isn't space opera where the hero wins out through incredible odds to save his lady love and live happily ever after, this is more like a Greek tragedy where the best you can expect is an ending not quite as depressing as the beginning, a forlorn hope for the most part.
For those of you who like tragedies and E.A. Poe type of stories then LOW PORT is for you in spades. If your tastes run more to the happy ending, space opera genre then you would do better looking elsewhere.
Rating: 3
Summary: not OUR "Low Port"
Comment: First thing to know is that this is not a collection of Liaden stories. I think the title is deliberately misleading in that regard. It's not that I think everything Lee and Miller does has to be Liaden, but calling the book Low Port seemed a bit deceptive.
So much for what it is not, what about what it is? It's a short story anthology, themed around the underclass and the disadvantaged. There are good and bad things about short story anthologies, and if you like to read them you will probably like this one. If you dislike them in general, you will probably also dislike this one. There is no special link between the stories such as common characters, settings, or authors. And while Lee and Miller seem convinced that it is unusual to write about the kitchen help instead of the king and queen, I've seen plenty of other stories told from that point of view.
Experienced readers will know what they are getting from this book, and can decide for themselves whether or not to read it. For those unexperienced in short story anthologies, you might as well try it out. It's a pretty typical example of the format, and there are some pretty good short stories in here.
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Title: Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe) by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, Steven Miller ISBN: 1592220193 Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing Pub. Date: March, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Tomorrow Log by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller ISBN: 1892065878 Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing Pub. Date: February, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Paladin of Souls: A Novel by Lois McMaster Bujold ISBN: 0380979020 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Trading in Danger by ELIZABETH MOON ISBN: 0345447603 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Irresistible Forces by Jo Beverley, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mary Jo Putney, Catherine Asaro, Jennifer Roberson, Deb Stover ISBN: 0451211111 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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