In my college then university career, I had a couple of these books. Old paperbacks, just one step above pulp magazines, and as it turned out, not much of a stretch above the pulps.
Several authors, in particular come to mind. I hadn’t even thought about the Stainless Steel Rat series until this floated through my reading lists feeds. There were several, and the cover was gray, with a cartoon caricature of the titular character depicted.
Between heavy, epic tomes, I wanted something fast and light, with some kind of historical perspective for myself. My own itinerant and migratory ways, plus the great flood of ‘94? I lost that collected library, washed away. Pretty sure my copies of the books went downstream, then.
There are choices in diction, and use of the then-popular technology that clearly dates this kind of novel. Instead of digital or even disk-based data, the way machines were programmed included “tapes.”
Other dictionary, almost antiquated and archaic?
“Hindsight is a great revealer of obviousities and this one was painfully clear now.” Page 128.
As always.
“All that remained was screwing my courage to the sticking-place as they say in the classics.” Page 142.
Might steal that one, in some form.
Snappy bits interconnected by dated digital storytelling. Sharp-witted as ever.
Might be the origin story, couldn’t day for sure. The other element, reading along, I wondered if this was a precursor to Douglas Adam’s and the Hitchhiker’s Guide type of humor. Felt like there was a connection.
Part of the original Astounding Tales grouping, I think.
- Aperture: ƒ/1.5
- Camera: iPhone 14 Plus
- Taken: 7 October, 2024
- Flash fired: no
- Focal length: 5.7mm
- ISO: 320
- Shutter speed: 1/60s
