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4 total messages Started by jdnicoll@panix.c Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:05
(Shockwave Reader) The Squares of the City by John Brunner
#36979
Author: jdnicoll@panix.c
Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:05
10 lines
421 bytes
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/
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Re: (Shockwave Reader) The Squares of the City by John Brunner
#36996
Author: William Hyde
Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2025 16:56
24 lines
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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
Re: (Shockwave Reader) The Squares of the City by John Brunner
#37007
Author: Cryptoengineer
Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2025 20:24
11 lines
325 bytes
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
Re: (Shockwave Reader) The Squares of the City by John Brunner
#37013
Author: jdnicoll@panix.c
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2025 01:48
22 lines
883 bytes
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
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