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  • (Shockwave Reader) The Squares of the City by John Brunner

    From James Nicoll@3:633/280.2 to All on Tue Jul 8 23:05:12 2025
    The Squares of the City by John Brunner

    Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle
    for Ciudad de Vados' future.

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/moves
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

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  • From William Hyde@3:633/280.2 to All on Wed Jul 9 06:56:37 2025
    James Nicoll wrote:
    The Squares of the City by John Brunner

    Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle
    for Ciudad de Vados' future.

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/moves

    According to Brunner, he submitted essentially this same book for
    publication in 1960. It's rejection prevented him from being taken as a serious SF writer until "The Whole Man", which I think was in 1964.

    I have the Ballantine 1965 edition, with a cover which is somewhat representative of the novel and in which the two people portrayed are unaccountably clothed. Even the woman. Sixties, eh?

    Brunner is no Leiber, who was a strong chess player, but he knows what
    he is talking about and there are no moments when, as a chess player, I
    have to sigh and/or wince.

    When I read the book, Liona Boyd's father was my art teacher, so the
    character in the book wound up looking more like an artist than a
    traffic analyst. I think that made me a tad more sympathetic to him.

    William Hyde

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    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)
  • From Cryptoengineer@3:633/280.2 to All on Wed Jul 9 10:24:11 2025
    On 7/8/2025 9:05 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    The Squares of the City by John Brunner

    Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle
    for Ciudad de Vados' future.

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/moves

    When it came out, it was pretty clear that Ciudad de Vados was
    inspired by Brasilia.

    pt

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    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)
  • From James Nicoll@3:633/280.2 to All on Wed Jul 9 11:48:08 2025
    In article <104kcrb$3r928$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 7/8/2025 9:05 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    The Squares of the City by John Brunner

    Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle
    for Ciudad de Vados' future.

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/moves

    When it came out, it was pretty clear that Ciudad de Vados was
    inspired by Brasilia.

    I was a bit sad that while I got to visit Rio, Sao Paulo, Porto
    Alegre, and Florianapolis, I never got near Brazilia. More sad
    that every time I flew over the Amazon, it was night. But at
    least I got to see Eguazu Falls.

    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Public Access Networks Corp. (3:633/280.2@fidonet)