Brian Daley (1) (1947–1996)

This book was not at all what I was expecting from both the back cover blurb/synopsis and cover art. Rather than the serious, relatively low fantasy/romance it implies, we get a delightful high fantasy romp.
Imagine if the Amber series were less burdened by philosophy and seriousness. Imagine if Tanelorn was a place of silly and entertaining. Imagine if Callahan's were a medieval kingdom.
The Singularity (long predating that terms questionable use in transhumanism) is a kingdom like those show more above, a meeting place of countless realities, populated by the wanderers from them all.
We follow Crassmore, one of the many knights of the kingdom, through a variety of adventures. This is not a novel, but rather a collection of three novelettes of his adventures. We get a variety of interesting cameos from history and fiction of all sorts. There's some really great world-building going on here, and I with Daley would have found the opportunity or inspiration to return to it. Fun, action packed, funny, and creative. show less

Not amazing. I was very annoyed that there was a cute redhead who basically told Han he had to get some real human friends because Chewie doesn't count ... because he's a wookie? Isn't that basically racism in this universe? Jfc.

The best part was two-page discussion between Bollux and Blue Max as to whether or not war robots can really be blamed for their actions because they're robots, they're just doing what they've been told, and do they really deserved to be killed for it? Idk, I thoght show more it was nice.

A big part of the ending felt like it would have fit better on screen, as an action movie, but this has pretty much been the case for all three novels. show less

I read this less because I'm a Star Wars fan (I'm not at all) than because I just needed a hit of nostalgia and wanted to take a trip back to the sort of book I read when I was young (I read one of the other Daley books when I was 12.) This novel was written when there was only one film in existence, so there isn't a lot of lore to drag the story down or limit the author. It really can be read as just a science fiction adventure, unconnected to anything else. There's also none of that Jedi show more stuff, just a single passing reference, so it's more science fiction and not science fantasy like the films, or more recent spin-offs (I imagine). The only drawback is that you know nothing really terrible is going to happen to the two leads. Brian Daley was a solid writer and it's a shame he left us so soon.

P.S. Nude catgirls are a SF/F trope that never gets old. show less

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: The Fall of the White Ship Avatar Series: The Terran Inheritance Author: Brian Daley Rating: of 5 Battle Axes Genre: SFF show more Pages: 292 Format: Kindle Synopsis: Alacrity and Floyt are hot on the trail of Precursor artifacts and Alacrity is bound and determined to be on the council of the White Ship, which appears to be tied to his family's history. Only Floyt has seen the future, from the causality harp, and knows that Alacrity will not be the Lord and Master of the White Ship. Will their friendship survive? In fact, will they survive? My Thoughts: First, the kindle editions I have state on the inside cover that the series name is The Terran Inheritance. I don't have access to old paperbacks but I'd bet a dollar that that same page is in them as well. But everywhere I go I see the series as the protagonist's names. The Adventures of Alacrity Fitzhugh and Hobart Floyt, while descriptive, is simply to long and unwieldy. It is too bad that Daley still isn't around to kick some ass and get things straightened out. This was partly about Fitz and Ho getting off a planet of sentient cattle-like beings and then about taking over the White Ship. While Alacrity's past has been hinted at in the previous books, here it takes front and center and it is a bit disconcerting. He goes from a talented space bum to some kind of Old School Space Admiral in about 2 breaths. It wasn't that it didn't make sense but it was different from the previous 2 books. If I had wanted different I'd have gone and read a different book. Daley was a good writer and a fun writer and that just shines on through even in the more serious moments. I have to hunt down his Coramande books but I'm in no big hurry as that is all I have to look forward to from him. Because he's dead. " show less