I can't pin down one specific reason I like the Harrington series, but it's like crack for me. Many friends I have loaned the books to agree. I guess the biggest thing is that it's a long, coherent continuing story... the "space opera" thing. That's one of the reasons I'm such a fan of Stargate SG-1 and ST:DS9 as well.
While I've read a lot of books, I never read any of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, to which the Harrington novels are often compared. But, for the last few nights, I watched a series of Hornblower movies on A&E, and got hooked. I just got back from the local library with 4 of the Hornblower novels and plan to dive in as soon as I finish the 2 other books I'm reading.
I could go on for some time, but I'll end it here. The point of all of this is simple. Don't be too literal. Take the time to understand a work before you announce your dislike of it. For those of you who haven't yet, I highly recommend reading the book.
If you can find it, I suggest you also read "The Lost Worlds of 2001", also by Clarke. It's the original story/screenplay sections that were cut from the final draft, with an explanation of some of the more confusing scenes and the writing process as well.
"Due to security reasons we do not allow nor do we have a feature to delete Microsoft Windows from your system. Rest assured that if you do not access your computer within 12 months your hard drive will automatically be reformatted."
Meanwhile, they'll still charge you a monthly licensing fee for having a piece of their code sititng on your drive.
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I can't pin down one specific reason I like the Harrington series, but it's like crack for me. Many friends I have loaned the books to agree. I guess the biggest thing is that it's a long, coherent continuing story... the "space opera" thing. That's one of the reasons I'm such a fan of Stargate SG-1 and ST:DS9 as well.
While I've read a lot of books, I never read any of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, to which the Harrington novels are often compared. But, for the last few nights, I watched a series of Hornblower movies on A&E, and got hooked. I just got back from the local library with 4 of the Hornblower novels and plan to dive in as soon as I finish the 2 other books I'm reading.
I could go on for some time, but I'll end it here. The point of all of this is simple. Don't be too literal. Take the time to understand a work before you announce your dislike of it. For those of you who haven't yet, I highly recommend reading the book.
If you can find it, I suggest you also read "The Lost Worlds of 2001", also by Clarke. It's the original story/screenplay sections that were cut from the final draft, with an explanation of some of the more confusing scenes and the writing process as well.
"Due to security reasons we do not allow nor do we have a feature to delete Microsoft Windows from your system. Rest assured that if you do not access your computer within 12 months your hard drive will automatically be reformatted."
Meanwhile, they'll still charge you a monthly licensing fee for having a piece of their code sititng on your drive.