Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent

In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
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On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
> Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent
>
> In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.
>
> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road

Hopefully you are talking about the excellent anime rather than the
atrocious manga of Shin Sekai Yori!

James, your home page is currently inaccessible, spawning errors about the
cover of African Speculative Fiction.

Chris

In article <krunh6Fhi58U1@mid.individual.net>,
Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
>On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>> Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent
>>
>> In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of
>passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.
>>
>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road
>
>Hopefully you are talking about the excellent anime rather than the
>atrocious manga of Shin Sekai Yori!

Illicitly translated light novel, actually.

>James, your home page is currently inaccessible, spawning errors about the
>cover of African Speculative Fiction.

Yeah, I've mentioned it to my web person. I am going to try an experiment.

No idea what the issue is with that image but removing it seems to have
fixed the problem.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

In article <ujdcq4$qev$1@reader2.panix.com>,
James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>In article <krunh6Fhi58U1@mid.individual.net>,
>Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
>>On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>> Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent
>>>
>>> In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of
>>passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.
>>>
>>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road
>>
>>Hopefully you are talking about the excellent anime rather than the
>>atrocious manga of Shin Sekai Yori!
>
>Illicitly translated light novel, actually.
>
>>James, your home page is currently inaccessible, spawning errors about the
>>cover of African Speculative Fiction.
>
>Yeah, I've mentioned it to my web person. I am going to try an experiment.
>
>No idea what the issue is with that image but removing it seems to have
>fixed the problem.

The problem with the image has been identified and fixed. There was an
apostrophe in the file name.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
> In article <krunh6Fhi58U1@mid.individual.net>,
> Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
>>On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>> Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent
>>>
>>> In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of
>>passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.
>>>
>>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road
>>
>>Hopefully you are talking about the excellent anime rather than the
>>atrocious manga of Shin Sekai Yori!
>
> Illicitly translated light novel, actually.

Thanks, I hadn't known the fansub existed. It looks like it was just
being starting at the time I was looking (end of the anime).
Downloaded (since reading it online would be tortuous.) The anime
would be one of my Favorites, if I had such a thing for anime.

I don't have a copy of Sargent's _Watchstar_ so probably have never
read it. I do have a copy of _Eye of the Comet_, the second volume of
the trilogy. Interestingly, it nowhere mentions the novel has any
sort of relationship to _Watchstar_, much less that it's a direct
sequel or that another sequel will be coming out later that year. The
back-cover blurb even avoids mentioning the names of Daiya and Reiho,
despite them being characters in this novel as well.

I remember basically nothing of the novel indicating I wasn't
impressed by it (so don't know if it was bleak). Perhaps not
surprising considering it was the middle novel of a trilogy and I read
it as if it were a complete self-contained novel in itself.

Chris

In article <krv5bkFkgnnU1@mid.individual.net>,
Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
>On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>> In article <krunh6Fhi58U1@mid.individual.net>,
>> Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
>>>On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>>> Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent
>>>>
>>>> In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of
>>>passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.
>>>>
>>>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road
>>>
>>>Hopefully you are talking about the excellent anime rather than the
>>>atrocious manga of Shin Sekai Yori!
>>
>> Illicitly translated light novel, actually.
>
>Thanks, I hadn't known the fansub existed. It looks like it was just
>being starting at the time I was looking (end of the anime).
>Downloaded (since reading it online would be tortuous.) The anime
>would be one of my Favorites, if I had such a thing for anime.
>
>I don't have a copy of Sargent's _Watchstar_ so probably have never
>read it. I do have a copy of _Eye of the Comet_, the second volume of
>the trilogy. Interestingly, it nowhere mentions the novel has any
>sort of relationship to _Watchstar_, much less that it's a direct
>sequel or that another sequel will be coming out later that year. The
>back-cover blurb even avoids mentioning the names of Daiya and Reiho,
>despite them being characters in this novel as well.
>
>I remember basically nothing of the novel indicating I wasn't
>impressed by it (so don't know if it was bleak). Perhaps not
>surprising considering it was the middle novel of a trilogy and I read
>it as if it were a complete self-contained novel in itself.
>
I don't think Sargent was well served by her publishers. My edition
of Watchstar, for example, has a (1) very off-putting cover. Her
Venus trilogy was orphaned twice, once at Bantam and once at Eos.
Same editor in both cases.

1: Typical for Pocket at that time.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 6:47:54 PM UTC, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <ujdcq4$qev$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> >In article <krunh6...@mid.individual.net>,
> >Chris Buckley <al...@sabir.com> wrote:
> >>On 2023-11-19, James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> >>> Watchstar (Watchstar, volume 1) by Pamela Sargent
> >>>
> >>> In this thematic precursor to Shin Sekai Yori, a dangerous rite of
> >>passage becomes more hazardous thanks to uninvited revelation.
> >>>
> >>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/that-long-lonesome-road
> >>
> >>Hopefully you are talking about the excellent anime rather than the
> >>atrocious manga of Shin Sekai Yori!
> >
> >Illicitly translated light novel, actually.
> >
> >>James, your home page is currently inaccessible, spawning errors about the
> >>cover of African Speculative Fiction.
> >
> >Yeah, I've mentioned it to my web person. I am going to try an experiment.
> >
> >No idea what the issue is with that image but removing it seems to have
> >fixed the problem.
> The problem with the image has been identified and fixed. There was an
> apostrophe in the file name.
> --
> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
Giving me the opportunity to point to https://xkcd.com/327/