Barwickian

I've read several of Banks' books, both SF and general fiction, and have throughly enjoyed them. Use of Weapons was the first of the Culture novels I read, and IMO the best. I've just finished Elizabeth Moon's Speed of Dark, which is absolutely awesome - one of those rare SF novels that transcends its genre. I guess most people will know Moon for her Paksenarrion fantasy trilogy or her pulpish Serano Legacy space opera. Speed of Dark is nothing like them. It's set in the very near future, written from the perspective of an autistic man whose employers want to use him as a test subject for a new autism treatment that could make him 'normal'. To some extent, it resembles Daniel Keyes' classic Flowers for Algernon in its ability to show society through the eyes of an outsider. Moon's obviously done meticulous research into autism, and uses this book to ask some of the 'big' questions - what is self? where is the boundary between normal and abnormal? who are we? Speed of Dark is unquestionably one of the best SF novels I've read. I hope in years to come it acquires a reputation as a classic, because it certainly deserves it. And to think I only bought it on impulse, looking for a little light adventure of the sort Moon usually writes. What a fortunate happenstance.

SF: Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres First novel by an Australian author. Sub-Gibson cyberpunk adventure set in Oz. Rather light reading, but reasonably enjoyable nonetheless. It follows the adventures of one Parrish Plessis, bodyguard, soldier-girl and gang slave, during a gang war. It's reckoned to be the first in a series; I'm unsure whether I'll pick up the second one. Fantasy: Waylander by David Gemmell I've lost count of the number of times I've read this book. Gemmell's one of my favourite fantasy authors, and Waylander is probably my favourite of his characters. Top-notch heroic fantasy. And, although they weren't asked for... Historical: Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O'Brian I started reading the Aubrey/Maturin series in chronological order last summer, planning to get to the 10th book, Far Side of the World, before the movie came out (I succeeded). I've thoroughly enjoyed the series, which I'd recommend to anyone without a moment's hesitation. Unfortunately, I haven't enjoyed Clarissa Oakes (the 15th in the series) as much as the others; I'm getting somewhat bogged down with it, so instead I turned to... Non-fiction: The Autobiography of a Seaman by Admiral Lord Cochrane Cochrane was the model for Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey - the first novel, Master & Commander, is directly based on Cochrane's cruise aboard HMS Speedy in 1800/1801, and the 11th, The Reverse of the Medal, is based on Cochrane's trial for stock market fraud in 1814. I've read a couple of biographies of the great frigate-captain alongside the Aubrey/Maturin series, but only just got a copy of his autobiography. It's superb reading. Hmm... Napoleonic Hero, anyone?

Now that's the suggestion that makes most sense. Sigh. I'd hoped to avoid dealing with multipowers this early in my acquintanceship with Hero. But you're right, It fits.

Hmmm... I'd considered Leaping, but rejected it because the hovercraft can remain in the air for some time, so can choose where to set down. It's not made clear in 2300AD, but it's also possible hovercraft can change direction in jump-jet mode. Leaping expressly forbids changing your mind about landing hex or changing direction.

I'm currently tryingto build some vehicles from the old GDW game 2300AD using the Ultimate Vehicle. Many of the military vehicles in 2300AD are duct-fan hovercraft (there's no anti-grav in the setting), with limited jump jet capability to enable them to clear certain obstacles. The in-game limitation on the jump jets is that they use fuel 10 times faster than ordinary hovercraft mode. Now, the obvious way to build this is to buy a power system (fuel cells and MHD turbines are common in the setting), make Running and Swimming cost END, and buy some Flight with Increased END Cost at x10 (a -4 limitation). However, I'm wondering whether this is not a rather mechanistic and inelegant way to translate from one game system to another. I'm also debating whether or not I actually want to keep track of END use for vehicles. Can someone suggest an alternative limitation for Flight to simulate these jump jets?