The IBIC Guide to Books By David Feintuch

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Remarks from the IBIC Editor's Journal

May 19, 1995

I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy David Feintuch's CHALLENGER'S HOPE (Warner Aspect), the second in a four-volume series about the future naval adventures of the extraordinary Captain Nicholas Seafort. I liked the first book, MIDSHIPMAN'S HOPE, but the future Feintuch describes is characterized by repressive monotheism, obsessive martial discipline with frequent dollops of sadistic corporal punishment, and much about the solitary anguish of command. Not a place one would want to visit, much less live, and I was concerned that the second volume of the series would begin to feel a bit claustrophobically crazy-making. (Though I should add that the sincere religiosity of Feintuch's characters is often genuinely moving.)

Another concern was that the Seafort Saga is not exactly hard science fiction--it's about as technical as LOST IN SPACE.

But these worries proved groundless; the flaws, though real, simply don't matter when you read the books, because Feintuch's the Real Deal as a storyteller. His protagonist, Captain Nicholas Seafort, consistently engages interest and empathy, and Feintuch is an extremely clever plotter in the "chase the cat further and further up the tree" school of narrative technique. I liked A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0345316665/{ENDSTUFF}">CHALLENGER'S HOPE a lot and I'm along for the duration of this series.

I've also got to give Feintuch credit for the open-minded way he's participating in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.written. I give Feintuch kudos for the way he's making himself accessible (and perhaps a bit vulnerable to the occasional acerbic or skeptical posting). Takes some guts, I think, and I hope other authors will follow his example in using the increasing pervasiveness of the Net to establish more direct relationships with their audience. It makes it a lot more fun for the fans.

February 5, 1995

MIDSHIPMAN'S HOPE by David Feintuch (Warner Aspect) is a fun implementation of the tried and true Hornblower model, set in a future whose naval discipline is remarkably similar to 18th-century English practice. The characterization doesn't rise to the level of C.S. Forester or Patrick O'Brian, and the SF doesn't rise to the level of THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE, but the "chase the cat further and further up the tree" plotting works. If you like naval/military adventure (like, say, Pournelle's WAR WORLD series (vol. 1, CODOMINIUM, followed by 4 more), or a typical STAR TREK novelization), as I do, you'll enjoy this book.


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Editor's Recommendations, Summer 1996

In this inaugural edition of IBIC's Featured Books, I'd like to draw your attention to several titles which have helped to shape my life and thinking.

  • When I was around fifteen, I came across Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel, INFERNO. This '70s remake of Dante's classic describes science fiction writer Allen Carpentier's descent into Hell. It's still a very fresh, accessible take on the classic. What a great movie it would make!
  • The Niven/Pournelle INFERNO immediately inspired me to read the original Divine Comedy. I've read a number of translations over the years, but my favorite is the one by Dorothy Sayers (INFERNO; PURGATORY; PARADISE). The notes are excellent, and Sayers had such a knowledgeable and witty mind that reading her prose is a pleasure in itself. (For those interested in a more contemporary translation, I should mention that Robert Pinsky received excellent notices for his 1995 THE INFERNO OF DANTE : A NEW VERSE TRANSLATION; it's a very handsome book.)
  • I also want to tell you about the late Henry Fairlie's THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TODAY, which probably did more than any other single book to galvanize me into a lifetime interest in Christianity that led me, eventually, to faith. Ironic, because Fairlie was a self-proclaimed agnostic socialist! But reading between the lines of this insightful and deeply feeling book, one realizes that the love of God cannot have been far from Fairlie's heart.
  • Finally, I should draw to your attention a more recent acquisition, the very handsome NIV STUDY BIBLE (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) from Zondervan, indexed and bonded in leather in IBIC's theme color, burgundy (black and brown are also available). The notes to this Bible are amazing. They appear to provide you with a very substantial portion of what you need to know to have an intelligent layman's appreciation of the linguistic and historical issues involved in understanding Scripture.

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