James Nicoll Reviews

1988’s House of Shards is the second volume in Walter Jon Williams’ Drake Maijstral comedic SF series.

Silverside Station enjoys a splendid view of a star being consumed by its companion black hole. Silverside specializes in lavish luxury. Silverside offers society’s best and brightest the chance to socialize with each other under the watchful gaze of the media.

Silverside offers Allowed Burglar¹ Drake Maijstral the opportunity to steal the famed Eltdown Shard… if Drake can bypass one or two impediments.

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The Crown Jewels is the first volume of Walter Jon Williams’ SF comedy-of-manners Drake Maijstral¹ series (according to the ISFDB and various booksellers) or Williams’ Divertimenti (the collective name originally applied to this series). Guess which one I prefer?

Drake Maijstral is a respectable gentleman. Drake Maijstral is a known thief. How can those two facts be reconciled? Thank humanity’s conquerors, the Khosali.

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1986’s Hardwired is the first volume in Walter Jon Williams’ Hardwired cyberpunk series. To my surprise, the title is not camel-capped.

Having decisively won the Rock War, the Orbitals provided the defeated Earth with a bold New World Order. Key axiom: that the Orbitals should extract as much short-term wealth from Earth as possible.

This state of affairs provided Cowboy and Sarah with very different careers, careers fated to intersect.

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Walter Jon Williams’ 1982/1983¹ Privateers and Gentlemen is an age-of sail tabletop roleplaying game. The game shares a name and setting with Williams’ Privateers and Gentlemen historical novels. The eye-catching cover is by Tom Freeman. Williams published as Jon Williams.

And what did the gamer find when they opened the box²?

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Walter Jon Williams’ Ambassador of Progress is a stand-alone anthropological science fiction novel. Although Williams was a veteran author by 1984, Ambassador was his debut SF novel.

Fiona, her close friend Kira, and the rest of their starship crew intend to guide a planet (Demro to some, Achadan to others) towards modernity. Fione’s path takes her to Arrandal. Kira’s takes her to Neda-Calacas.

Arrandal and Neda-Calacas are about to go to war.

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Walter Jon Williams’ 1985 Knight Moves is a stand-alone¹ science fiction novel.

Eight centuries ago, Doran Falkner saved the world. Falkner Power Systems provided abundant power, which (as science advanced) could be used to build nuclear dampers and relativistic star drives. Thus, the energy crisis, the threat of nuclear war, and access to the rest of the universe, all solved all thanks to one man.

Prudent investment allowed Falkner to deliver another miracle to the world: vastly extended life. This came with a steep price-tag: any would-be immortal would have to surrender their terrestrial real estate to Doran Falkner and move to another star system.

Today, Doran is the proud owner of most of the Earth and very large, very dirty secret.

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