Lacking Natural Simplicity

• H.M.S. Surprise, The Mauritius Command, and Desolation Island, by Patrick O'Brian.

• SPQR V: Saturnalia, by John Maddox Roberts. I've always enjoyed Roberts's books, including his earlier SF, and was glad when, after a hiatus, more of his SPQR novels turned up. In some ways Decius Cecilius Metellus seems more of a typical Roman than the protagonists of Saylor or Davis. I enjoy Saylor's books the most, I think, with Davis's books coming after Roberts's.

Space Opera Redefined is an interesting article that that points out that the term space opera has changed in connotation from “bad science fiction” to “colorful, large scale, science fiction adventure”. I was vaguely aware that such a change had happened, but was uneasy with it, and sometimes described books as “well written space opera”.