Just when they were coming out so slowly you thought the show was defunct, along comes a new episode of Voices in Your Head, my show on IT Conversations. This one is with SF author James P. Hogan. I consciously was looking for someone from a different subsection of the genre than my previous guests, and Mr. Hogan was great. We talked about a lot of good stuff in his writing and his background in writing hard science fiction. Since he is published by Baen Books I definitely wanted to get his take on their innovative use of electronic books. Even better, I found an interview from him about 5 years ago when he expressed his skepticism about ebooks. He has changed his mind and really went off on that, talking about the silliness of suing your customers (ala RIAA) which led into us talking about post-scarcity economics (an SF idea if there ever was.) I had a take, and I was a little surprised at how similar his was to mine.
Let me know what y’all think about it, especially those who have heard all three shows. Do you think this stands up with the other two? I think it does, but then I have a dog in this race. Tell me true, I can take it.
Wanted to give you my thanks for the interview. I enjoyed it greatly. Like you, I’ve been a big fan of Baen and their ebook program. It is a great resource for those wanting to try out an author without a big upfront investment (i.e. hardcover book price). I’ve only read one Hogan book before (Paths to Otherwhere) but enjoyed it. After listening to the interview, I’m intrigued by the story of “Inherit the Stars” and it has now moved up on my (somewhat large) reading list. Just gotta finish the new Thomas Covenant book first…. 🙂 Again, many thanks and I enjoy your normal Podcasts as well. Keep up the good work.
Gary, thanks for the feedback. I’m not in general a fan of Baen, although I love the way they do business. I don’t like military SF, so that leaves me out of the bulk of their output. I have read some of Kathy Wentworth’s books, but she, Hogan and Charles Sheffield are some of the few authors of theirs that I would pursue in earnest. That’s not a condemnation, just that my tastes don’t line up with most of their output. I wish they did, I’d buy a webscription in a heartbeat.
1980 – Thrice Upon a Time (http://www.jamesphogan.com/books/thrice/ballantine80/titlepage.shtml)
Steve, I’m with you. I picked up Inherit the Stars at the hobby shop in Norton KS in the late 70s. This tiny town didn’t have an actual bookstore. The hobby shop carried a tiny bit of gaming stuff and a shelf of used paperbacks. I still have that copy, and I used it to prepare for the interview!