You are correct, of course. I should have checked my rare book depository.
The Ivanhoe Gambit was the first of the Timewars series of 12 books which the author left unfinished as he did the Wizard of 4th Street series.
Simon Hawke was not a pen name of L. Sprague De Camp, though.
Actually, most people love him until Demon, then hate him! 
Not me though. I loved Demon and the Gaean trilogy is one of my favorite re-reads (just finished re-reading 'em a few weeks back as a matter of fact). And I still think that one of the most psychotic, yet memorable scenes: on a par with …those two characters from Left Hand of Darkness helping each other across the ice-plain or Kip’s trek across the moon in Have Spacesuit is the scene where Gaea is in her fifty foot-tall Marilyn Monroe body (“Fifty foot two and eyes of blue!”) and fighting with Nausau(sp) the giant snake.
Fenris
Fenris: Call me crazy but I think that series ( Varley’s Gaea series ) actually improved with each book. I found the first pretty decent, but not overwhelming. I thought the second was pretty damn good. But the third was riveting 
. But then I’m actually a big booster of Steel Beach, which a lot of critics dumped on. Probably helps that The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my favorite Heinlein - I just love all the cross-references :).
I will say though, that I don’t really think that the Varley books cited ( or Cherryh’s ) qualify as obscure. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, now that’s obscure .
- Tamerlane
“Flatland” by A. Square (pseud.)
“There And Back Again” by Pat Murphy
Ok. “You’re craaaaaaa-zy!” ;), but if that’s the critera, so am I. Sadly though, our opinion is the minority. Most people/sf fans/Varley fans thought that Varley went overboard with Demon. You and I know they’re wrong, but what can you do…?
Fenris
I liked the series up to about halfway thru Demon then I said “You gotta be freakin kidding!” Sadly enough , he wasn’t. Oh well…
Sounds like Thomas Disch’s Echo Round His Bones.
I’d also like to put in a vote for The Flying Sorcerors, although I’m distressed to find people calling it “obscure”. Then again, AFAIK there were only two editions.
TFS is filled with sf in-jokes. I’m sure I didn’t catch them all. The book is worth reading for the in-jokes alone. (Example: “Elcin”, the diminutive and hot-tempered God of Thunder is clearly Harlan Ellison. Another: When Purple (the Asimov character) gives names to the village women, they’re all the names of famous female sf/fanyasy authors: Zenna (Henderson), Anne (McCaffery), Kate (Wilhelm), etc.) In addition, it’s as good a “science vs. magic” story as I’ve read, trying to do justice to both sides. And it’s a good yarn. Judging by some of the replies here, though, TFS doesn’t work for everyone.
Ditto. And might I add that it’s also one of the most…human books Niven ever wrote. Gerrold’s ablilty to add personalities to Niven’s plotting and world-building is a welcome compliment. I wish Niven and Gerrold were as prolific as the much inferior Niven and Pournelle.
Although Niven and Pournelle did produce a few great books. Everyone knows about The Mote In God’s Eye (which Heinlein helped with), but their other great book (IMHO) is pretty much forgotten: Inferno. N&P send a SF writer to Dante’s Hell. The SF writer refuses to accept that magic works, or that he’s in Hell. He assumes he’s in some sort of Riverword-esque scenario.
The scene where he tries to build a glider and use the thermals coming off of Dis’s red-hot iron walls and the updrafts from the pit of the lustful to try to escape from Hell is wonderful. As are the updates of the various sins (Hoarders and wasters become radical eco-nuts and polluters)
And I agree with Vonnegut’s fate.
Fenris
There are 2 sequels to Bridge of Birds. One is entitled Eight Skilled Gentlemen and I can’t remeber the other title for the life of me. :o
An omnibus edition of the* Master Li & Number 10 Ox* novels is available, probably from Amazon, but if not keep looking. It is in print.
By the way, what religious crisis? I’m curious, but if it’s too personal–hey, that’s cool too.
Why did that last paragraph make me sound like the gym teacher in the TV show The White Shadow? I gotta go get some caffiene. :rolleyes:
Hi Bosda:
Yeah, I have all three of the Master Li and Number 10 Ox novels. I dream of meeting a man of the size and width of Ox. The religious crisis is more than I want to post here but I will email you about it.
Toshi
actually, I think his name sounds Russian - Nicholas Yeremayev or something. (he is American)
He did pretty much finish the Time Wars, tho. I thought it fairly closed, though he could reopen it.
Depends on how hard you want your sci-fi. Me, I’m not that hard-core. I love Heinlein’s works, but Arthur C. Clarke just about ruined me on the genre for life as a kid.
That being said, I’m currently on the track of Lois McMaster Bujold’s works, which I have not found easy to find. I think part of that is because she tends to novellas, and she’s had bits and pieces published in several different anthologies, and some are already out of print. If you can get your hands on them, try Shards of Honor and Barrayar – I have them as separate books, but I think they were also published together as one volume.
One poster here mentioned David Palmer. Another mentioned Donald Kingsbury. Both have written a very small but very highly regarded body of work. And from what I understand for the same reason; both authors have admitted to being slow writers who’ve had to devote most of their time to their regular professions.
A few other recommendations:
The Divide by William Overgard
The Harvest by Robert Charles Wilson
The Paratwa Saga (Liege-Killer, Ash Ock, and The Paratwa) by Christopher Hinz