From: leifmk@Lise.Unit.NO (Leif Magnar Kj|nn|y)
Subject: Re: Looking for 2 books: help on author & title needed.
Organization: Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 14:29:09 GMT

In article <RENE.92Sep30164320@hegel.iesd.auc.dk>, rene@iesd.auc.dk (Rene Boe Soerensen) writes:

 > Rene> The second book was ...
 > The second book was by a Norwegian SF-writer named Jon Bing and
 > probably titled something like "Alexandria".
 > 
 > Again thanks for the help
 > 
 > Rene Boe
 > --
 >  | Rene Boe Sorensen              |    ////   | E-mail : rene@iesd.auc.dk     |
 >  | Department of Computer Science |   c-OO    |                               |
 >  | Aalborg University (AUC)       |       \   | contraria sunt complementa    |
 >  | Denmark                        |      -    |              Niels Bohr       |

More specificially, there were four books published in the "Alexandria" series.

Far future, the galaxy has been mostly colonized by slow colony ships.  No FTL
communication exists, and nobody is able to keep up with what is happening where.
The only large-scale exchange of information across interstellar distances is
conducted by independent Library ships, which forever travel from sun to sun,
teaching as much as possible to each world they stop at, while at the same time
learning from each world.

The Alexandria uses cryogenic sleep to preserve its crew during the decades- or
centuries-long interstellar voyages.  It is primarily powered by solar wind, which
means it is NOT very fast....  but it is very big (built up of lots of spherical
modules, complete with hangars containing high-powered dropships and probes, and
lots of other neat stuff).  Common theme (except for the last book):  Planets 
with repressive societies are visited, and the Alexandria helps out by spreading
knowledge.  Quite a bit of an upbeat mood runs through the books, which were
written for a fairly young audience....I was young at the time they came out, and
Mr. Bing must take much of the responsibility for getting me into SF in the first
place.

The first book came out sometime in the (late, I think) 1970s, and the other three
in the first half of the 1980s.  Their titles were (in Norwegian, loose English
translations in parenthesis)

-AZUR, kapteinenes planet (AZUR, planet of the Captains)
	Short summary:  The Alexandria calls at a world where, centuries ago, 
	near-ecological disaster had been prevented by a coup of armed forces
	officers (the Captains), who were now a repressive ruling class.  
	Nicely described ocean-world with lots of islands and stuff.  Techno-
	logical knowledge is strictly controlled, and therefore books are
	outlawed.  Librarians, like the crew of the Alexandria, are subversives
	by default....young boy from planet becomes apprentice Librarian and 
	goes to the stars....

-ZALT, dampherrenes planet (ZALT, planet of the Steam Lords)
	Short summary:  Next world along, which has little water, and what water
	it has is all in the very salient ocean--thus it needs processing before
	it can be used.  The ruling class of this world control the oil rig-like
	solar powered processing plants (which do give off quite a bit of steam).
	Again, a young local decides to join the Alexandria....

-MIZT, gjenferdenes planet (MIZT, planet of ghosts)
	Short summary:  Another book, another world.  This is a cool planet with
	lots of evergreen forests in the habitable band around the equator.
	The ruling class of this world is a semi-legendary group of people known
	as the 'ghosts', who are lusting after immortality, and spend most of
	the time in cryosleep, from which only a few wake at a time, and only 
	when their attentions are needed.  Other features:  A young girl, this
	time, from the local population, complete with faithful robot servant....

-TANZ, mysterienes planet (TANZ, planet of mysteries)
	Short summary:  En route to the next solar system, the Alexandria
	encounters a small planet in interstellar space...an obviously artificial
	and hollow planetoid with a habitable--and inhabited--interior...from
	an initial geological survey of the outer shell, its age is determined
	as being somewhat greater than that of the Universe.  Various clues
	and speculations as to the origin of life in the universe.

Leif the .sigless
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written