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Circus World by Barry B. Longyear
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Circus World (original 1981; edition 1981)

by Barry B. Longyear (Author)

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277594,952 (3.58)9
Two hundred years earlier, a circus starship is stranded on the Planet Momus. Recently discovered by the rest of the galaxy, the population of Momus--the remaining descendants of the original circus--must deal with interstellar power politics and war, and they do so in their own special way.
Member:battlinjack
Title:Circus World
Authors:Barry B. Longyear (Author)
Info:Berkley Publishing Group (1981), Edition: First THUS
Collections:My Library, Science Fiction, Series
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Circus World by Barry B. Longyear (1981)

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Showing 5 of 5
It's pretty good for an almost 40-year-old fixup novel.

It's also an interesting read for me personally. Longyear's book on writing was a book I read pretty early on in my writing life, and a lot of the stories that were used in this novel were also used as writing examples. Made for a lot of "Oh, so that's how that story went" (the rest of those tales show up in It Came from Schenectady, btw). ( )
  Jon_Hansen | Jan 31, 2019 |
Part of Longyear's cycle about a planet settled by traditional circus people. The concept of traditional circuses lasting long enough to get into space may have seemed more credible when Longyear wrote in 1980 than it does now, though eve then they were fading. However, credibility really is not the point of these stories, which depict a quasi-anarchist society based on (at least ceremonial) haggling and its attempts to fend of the larger, more powerful and more conventional neighboring galactic federations. ( )
  antiquary | Dec 31, 2017 |
Read prior to 2004.
  librisissimo | Jun 2, 2016 |
Outstandingly original concept and entertaining stories. First of a series of excellent books. ( )
  librisissimo | Jun 13, 2013 |
Now this is what science fiction is supposed to be. Funny, clever, intelligent stories. They're all too rare these days!

Circus World is a collection of linked short stories in the classic SF style. They share the setting of [b:City of Baraboo|1009457|City of Baraboo|Barry B. Longyear|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180202545s/1009457.jpg|995583] and [b:Elephant Song|95242|Elephant Song|Wilbur Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171299520s/95242.jpg|91830], which were published after it but are set before. This is vintage Longyear, light, amusing, clever, and very enjoyable.

It's the story of a world settled by the survivors of a crashed traveling circus starship. As such, it's particularly recommended for science fiction fans and those who love circuses.

In general, Circus World is somewhat reminiscent of the Hoka stories by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson - the humor is nowhere near as broad, but the tone, theme, and styles are somewhat similar. If you like Circus World, you'll probably also like the Hoka books (which I'll review later).

The mystery and science fiction writer Fredric Brown also included old-time carny (carnival) themes in some of his stories in both genres (he worked as a carny for a while), so fans of Circus World are likely to enjoy his books as well. ( )
  PMaranci | Apr 3, 2013 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Longyear, Barry B.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Alpers, Hans JoachimAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maitz, DonCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rush, JohnCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tegtmeier, RalphContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wöllzenmüller, FranzCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Two hundred years earlier, a circus starship is stranded on the Planet Momus. Recently discovered by the rest of the galaxy, the population of Momus--the remaining descendants of the original circus--must deal with interstellar power politics and war, and they do so in their own special way.

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