I really really enjoyed Feng's, although much more for the writing style than for the actual plot. The protagonist was very _human_, something that one doesn't see in sci-fi fantasy all that often. He was (until the climax), just an ordinary guy, and it was wonderfully refreshing to read about an ordinary person in the midst of extraordinary circumstances, one who doesn't necessarily "rise to the occasion and do heroic deeds" because at his heart he's a hero, but because he's forced there. (if we can even say he's heroic - it's been logn enough since I read it that I can't remember the details of the climax.) The best part of the book, IMO, was how it left me with the strongest craving for Matzoh ball soup. I still get flashbacks. Seriously. For what are probably very similar reasons, I adored the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. There's no strong plot with a crisis point and a dramatic climax. It's just a guy, living his life, solving a non-world-threatening problem, dealing with the everyday of his life, but I guy I can like and relate to and even imagine being. I really realy really wish there were more books like that - a fantasy or sci-fi setting, but with characters who are not kings, wizards, or the dark savior prophesized to either destroy or heal the world. Fantasy world have these people in them - I want to hear their stories. Hell, I'd even be content to hear the story of the guy who sits next to the guy who's going to change the world, if authors are so intent on having Big Things Happen (tm). Maybe that's why I like Vlad, especially in the beginning - he's not big or important, he's just trying to keep himself alive and make a living. I suspect I will find him less compelling if he becomes more significant in the world, but I remain optimist that Steve will continue to surprise me in all the best ways. > --- Ike Porter <ike at manor.org> wrote: > > --Brother Ike > > One of the few members of the Cowboy Feng's fan club > > Cowboy Feng's -was- good. His entire society seemed > to me to be very ... Heinleinien, in that the measure > of a person wasn't whether or not they were popular > (Feng wasn't), but whether or not they got the job > done -- 'Do the Job' being an apparently traditional > farewell. > > I -liked- CFSB&G. I liked it a -lot-. But then, I'm > also someone who counts Heinlein in my top five author > list, along with Bujold, Billy S., David Drake, and > SKZB. One of my measures is consistent quality, and > in my opinion ... > > S. Thomas Crain > Author-in-Training > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com