I just this moment finished Benford's "COSM". A most excellent story, fictional (but ever so real) physical phenomena driving a story of academic science in a high-energy physics environment. Lots of wonderful quotes. I don't know that academic environment, but it fits with my (probably biased and stereotypical of people who hold some { meta, }-libertarian position) understanding of that world.
I spent a couple of days this week pursuing YouTube music. Russian opera singers via G., and via searches for opera sopranos, ... I noticed that Emma Kirkby wasn't listed, my favorite soprano of all times. (Second soprano in Hogwood's Society for Ancient Music recording). It turns out that those genre's don't mix. So far as I can find, Kirkby has never done grand opera. Very strange in an era in which so many cross-overs (I can name dozens, e.g. Huun Huur Tu and Angelite ) are happening. The state-space is growing exponentially, as every distinctive sub-genre is a new dimension. HHT is one of those dimensions, Angelite is another. They are both playing across a wide variety of genres.
This intersection is, IMHO, quite good : Fly, Fly, my Sadness
Consequently, only 4 books: Harry Harrison and Gordon R. Dickson "The Lifeship". I have to think about why this novel is such a big step above what came before it, and why the step to Kim Stanley Robinson, McLeod, ... is another. There was something incomplete about the alien's mental universe. Cherryh does a much better job of revealing the evolving mental universe of the 'Adelman', effectively a slave owner. 3 = OK, but not a 'must-read'.
Jack mcDevitt's "Odyssey". Another "Priscilla Hutchins" ( 'Hutch' ) novel. This was good, nice mix of hard scifi, genuine logistics, a lot of well-drawn characters and insights into social roles and people. Very well written, IMHO. More than OK, not a 'must-read'.
A.R.Homer's "The Sobs of Autumn's Violins". WWII English counter-espionage as D-day happens. 2 = Marginal, didn't learn enough, characters weren't real enough.
Gordon R. Dickerson's "The Human Edge". A dozen short stories, each with some example of outside-the-box thinking. A good book for high-schoolers?
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