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He writes mostly brain candy--The Warlock In Spite of Himself, and such. and I wouldn't compare him to Tolkien or Shakespeare, but it is the most educational brain candy I've ever had.
His one series--The Wizard--is an alternative history where the alternative is that The Divine Right of Kings is REAL. This is a laughable theory that almost no one still believes in (save a certain President we shall not name here), yet he makes a fairly good and entertaining case for it, and the political and theological fall out it represents. How can you have a Divinly inspired king that can do no wrong, and still give that King (or Queen in this case) free will?
In the less inspiring but still fun Warlock Series he admits that his goal is to put factual information in an enjoyable media to increase the intelligence of the average person. Schools are not the only place for learning. He has a character say this, then goes on and does this throughout all of his books.
He teaches everything from Medevial history to Computer science in his books, and keeps you turning the pages.
I've learned more Catholic doctrine, (Not Dogma or Apologies, but philosophy and doctrine) from his writings than from anywhere else, including from our resident Catholic expert Dag.
However, his greatest achievement is his latest book--St. Videocon. I suggest any engineer, computer tech, or electronics person get a copy and keep it nearby.
And when the imp of Finagle, father of Murphy, attacks your systems again, throw up a prayer to Saint Videocon.
posted
I enjoy Stasheff, though I've only read the Warlock books. I have several Wizard ones lying around, though. Maybe I should go pick them up and actually read them.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I have read him, although not in about a decade. It seemed to me that he was writing just to make money, which is fine...but your fans should never be able to tell that about your writing.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I bought St. Vidicon at the grocery store on a lark. It was interesting, and I definately liked having the joy of troubleshooting shown in a story...That said, I'm still trying to finish it (After a month). That's mostly due to my recent inability to focus on anything more abstract than toast.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I liked his Warlock series, although I started losing interest after the characters got so powerful there were no real challenges for them and it turned into a series of romance novels.
I really liked his Starship Troupers series.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I've read several books in the Wizard and Warlock series, but only one of the Starship Troupers series. I like his writing. However, I also like Robert Jordan and David Eddings, so take that as you will. Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Stasheff is a former television writer and now a professor at Eastern New Mexico University, so I don't think he writes for the money. Maybe he did way back when. Anyway, I always found his books funny and absurd, books such as Wizard in Absentia, at least.
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However, I also like Robert Jordan and David Eddings, so take that as you will. ![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
