Discussion:
(ReacTor) Taming the High Frontier
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James Nicoll
2025-02-05 15:19:01 UTC
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Taming the High Frontier: Five Works Featuring Space Colonies

From Babylon 5 to RPGs, everybody loves space colonies!

https://reactormag.com/taming-the-high-frontier-five-works-featuring-space-colonies/
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Lynn McGuire
2025-02-05 23:49:33 UTC
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Post by James Nicoll
Taming the High Frontier: Five Works Featuring Space Colonies
From Babylon 5 to RPGs, everybody loves space colonies!
https://reactormag.com/taming-the-high-frontier-five-works-featuring-space-colonies/
"Delilah and the Space Rigger" by Robert Heinlein
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delilah_and_the_Space_Rigger

Lynn
Lynn McGuire
2025-02-06 00:14:33 UTC
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Post by James Nicoll
Taming the High Frontier: Five Works Featuring Space Colonies
From Babylon 5 to RPGs, everybody loves space colonies!
https://reactormag.com/taming-the-high-frontier-five-works-featuring-space-colonies/
"Orbital Decay (Near-space)" by Allen Steele

https://www.amazon.com/Orbital-Decay-Near-space-Allen-Steele/dp/0441498515

Lynn
Robert Woodward
2025-02-06 05:49:19 UTC
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Post by Lynn McGuire
Post by James Nicoll
Taming the High Frontier: Five Works Featuring Space Colonies
From Babylon 5 to RPGs, everybody loves space colonies!
https://reactormag.com/taming-the-high-frontier-five-works-featuring-space-c
olonies/
"Orbital Decay (Near-space)" by Allen Steele
Wasn't that just a space station? OTOH, his _Clarke County, Space_ was
set in space colony.
--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward ***@drizzle.com
Tony Nance
2025-02-13 21:40:28 UTC
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Post by James Nicoll
Taming the High Frontier: Five Works Featuring Space Colonies
From Babylon 5 to RPGs, everybody loves space colonies!
https://reactormag.com/taming-the-high-frontier-five-works-featuring-space-colonies/
Neat collection of examples! I have the O'Neill, and I have both leafed
through it and read certain sections; but I can't say that I've read the
whole thing.

Babylon 5 remains one of my favorite shows, though I am nervous about
re-watching for fear that the Suck Fairy will commandeer the experience.

I thought of Banks' Orbitals from his Culture books, and Reynolds'
Glitter Band from his Revelation Space universe. Of course, some of your
commenters thought of these as well.

I haven't read it in a good while, but I'm thinking Leiber's Ship of
Shadows would fit here.

Neither here nor there:
Babylon 5 is the reason I ended up reading & participating here in
rasfw. Shortly before the B5 pilot aired[1], a friend of mine told me
about these things called "newsgroups", and that the creator of Babylon
5 was actually on a few of them talking about the show (and other
things). I discovered many of the posters on the B5 group(s) were on
this group, and I eventually joined it myself.

Tony
[1] Per wikipedia, February 22, 1993, which boggles my mind. Sheesh.
Tony Nance
2025-02-13 21:43:03 UTC
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Post by Tony Nance
Post by James Nicoll
Taming the High Frontier: Five Works Featuring Space Colonies
 From Babylon 5 to RPGs, everybody loves space colonies!
https://reactormag.com/taming-the-high-frontier-five-works-featuring-
space-colonies/
Neat collection of examples! I have the O'Neill, and I have both leafed
through it and read certain sections; but I can't say that I've read the
whole thing.
Babylon 5 remains one of my favorite shows, though I am nervous about
re-watching for fear that the Suck Fairy will commandeer the experience.
I thought of Banks' Orbitals from his Culture books, and Reynolds'
Glitter Band from his Revelation Space universe. Of course, some of your
commenters thought of these as well.
I haven't read it in a good while, but I'm thinking Leiber's Ship of
Shadows would fit here.
Corey's Expanse universe too, for that matter.
Post by Tony Nance
Babylon 5 is the reason I ended up reading & participating here in
rasfw. Shortly before the B5 pilot aired[1], a friend of mine told me
about these things called "newsgroups", and that the creator of Babylon
5 was actually on a few of them talking about the show (and other
things). I discovered many of the posters on the B5 group(s) were on
this group, and I eventually joined it myself.
Tony
[1] Per wikipedia, February 22, 1993, which boggles my mind. Sheesh.
James Nicoll
2025-02-13 22:14:27 UTC
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Post by Tony Nance
I thought of Banks' Orbitals from his Culture books, and Reynolds'
Glitter Band from his Revelation Space universe. Of course, some of your
commenters thought of these as well.
It suddenly occurs to me to wonder if Reynolds ever read Vinge's
Heaven Belt stories.
--
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
Tony Nance
2025-02-14 21:20:02 UTC
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Post by James Nicoll
Post by Tony Nance
I thought of Banks' Orbitals from his Culture books, and Reynolds'
Glitter Band from his Revelation Space universe. Of course, some of your
commenters thought of these as well.
It suddenly occurs to me to wonder if Reynolds ever read Vinge's
Heaven Belt stories.
I'm pretty sure he did...hang on...yeah, a quick google of
"alastair reynolds joan vinge" turns up some stuff, including
the following item from
https://revelationspace.fandom.com/wiki/Demarchists

" In the afterword of Galactic North, Alastair Reynolds comments that
the Demarchists are not his own invention. He credits the Joan D. Vinge
book The Outcasts of Heaven Belt as the inspiration for the Demarchist
Society. "

Tony

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