From the webmaster: If you, as a book reader, are not aware of the Google copyright settlement, you should be. |
email me | donate | FORUMS | search site | site directory |
Great Science-Fiction a critical list with discussions Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by
|
Standard Disclaimer:
This is a brief discussion of Magnus Mills and, of course, of some speculative-fiction books by Magnus Mills This discussion and list does not necessarily include every book by Mills: it includes only those books that I both know and like. Just as with the author list itself, omission of a particular item may mean I didn't think highly enough of the omitted item, or it may simply mean that I have not yet sufficient familiarity with it. (In a very few cases, I have listed some books merely on the strength of my opinion of the author: all such books are clearly marked below, as throughout these lists, with a hash mark (#) before the title so you know what's what.) I don't pretend that this discussion is a deep analysis. My intent is no more than to give you a rough idea of what kinds of tales Mills tells, how those tales are usually told, and what makes them and Mills worthy; in sum, to help you rank Mills (and the works by Mills listed here) on your personal literary "to do" list. |
Regrettably, I have not yet had an opportunity to write an essay on this author, but the "Other Resources" section below will lead you to some information about the "Notable Books" listed farther down this page.
Curiously--he is a literary lion, at least in Britain--there is no dedicated Mills web site. Indeed, there is not much cohesive Mills material: mostly it's just brief overview bios, one-off book reviews, and the usual few interviews.
Of Mills pages, clearly the best is Magnus Mills at The Complete Review; also worth noting is The writings of Magnus Mills (click the "Show Transcript" link there).
There are a couple of perceptive reviews by Rick Kleffel at The Agony Column of Mills novels, well worth reading: of Three To See the King, and of The Scheme For Full Employment (which Kleffel is perceptive enough to see as speculative fiction, something not all reviewers got). There are certainly many, many more one-off reviews of those and other Mills books, and here Google Is Your Friend.
There are the usual occasional interview pages, too; a representative one is this 1999 Barcelona Review interview.
And if you want to know what Mills' own "Top 10" favorite books are, you can find out (as it happens, two of them are in the lists here).
Site Mechanics:
|
|||||
Site Directory:
The site's Front Page |
|||
(essential one-time reading) |
Introductory Material: | ||
Welcome:
a quick site overview and some mechanical details |
|||
Apologia:
the criteria used to make these lists (A long page, so also available in two parts for those with slow internet connections.) · Apologia: Part 1 · Apologia: Part 2 |
|||
Site Organization: what's where, and why |
|||
(the heart of the site) |
The Authors: | ||
Author List (just a lightly annotated list of the authors here--not the best place to start) |
|||
Master Authors/Books List (the centrum of this site, but a big page--there are alpha subpages available) A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
|||
Specialty Lists: several author "sub-lists" (such as the 5-star greats) |
|||
Author Links: links to useful external pages or sites for each listed author |
|||
More Books: yet-unread candidate books by authors already in these lists |
|||
Other Candidates: authors, and books, that--pending actual reading--seem likely candidates for these lists |
|||
(typically gotten to by author) |
The Books: | ||
All Listed Science Fiction & Fantasy Books (a long file to download) |
|||
Preferred Editions: for those books having such (a work in progress) |
|||
The Other Books: all cited books not in the master fiction list, collected in one place |
|||
Overlooked Gems of Science Fiction & Fantasy: wonderful works sadly under-known |
|||
Light-Hearted Science-Fiction & Fantasy: there's more than you might think |
|||
Religiously Themed Science Fiction & Fantasy: something the field handles wonderful well |
|||
Science Fiction & Fantasy For Younger Readers: a selection from these lists of appropriate works |
|||
100 Great Works of Science Fiction & Fantasy: using an expansive definition of "works" |
|||
"Guilty Pleasures" of Science Fiction & Fantasy: sometimes even gourmets just want a big bag of potato chips |
|||
(new, used--find any book, anywhere in the world) |
About Buying Books From Here: | ||
Buying Books New:
· about buying books from Amazon · searching for new books at any Amazon division · international book-buying considerations |
|||
Buying Books Used:
searching for used books anywhere in the world |
|||
Our Speculative-Fiction "General Store": | |||
About the Science-Fiction Book Club: info & online signup |
|||
(often the most interesting part of any site) |
Miscellaneous Topics & Info: | ||
Musings: an ever-growing collection of, yes, musings |
|||
Obiter Dicta: collected miscellaneous |
|||
"That Other Genre": crime/mystery fiction |
|||
Science-Fiction & Fantasy Art and Illustration: online galleries of diverse works |
|||
Other Sites:
sites that have noticed this one |
|||
The English Language: a few thoughts on its modern rape |
|||
Scumware! read this if nothing else whatever |
|||
Change Log what was done when |
|||
Your Host: a comically little about me |
|||
Donate: you can help support this site |
|||
Comments: some things said about this site by others |
|||
(on- or off-topic, there's a forum here for you) |
The Discussion Forums on This Site: | ||
The Forums:
the forums "front page", with a menu of forums--or jump to one direct:
|
Site Info:
Comments? Criticisms? Questions? Please, e-mail me by clicking here. (Or, if you cannot email from your browser, send mail to webmaster@greatsfandf.com)
This web page is strictly compliant with the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
So if your browser experiences any difficulties with this page(or, really, even if it
doesn't seem to), |