Whynosseros?

Apart from being the title of a fine book and series of stories by Australian writer Terry Dowling, Rynosseros is aptly descriptive of the Beast who dwells on this site.

Said Beast is poor of vision, misanthropic, and charges a lot (in both the quixotic and fiscal senses).

‘Twas a nice lady I shall not name, who coined the term Ryno. The Beastie was carrying collapsible tables from A to B, assisting in the set-up of a social function that need not concern us here or now. With typical laziness, your humble bloggist had determined that he could lift a couple of the tables with each hand. This was still just within the capacity of his injured back, but halved the number of fairly lengthy trips required.

Apparently my muscular, determined effort was good enough for a nickname, but not quite enough to impress the lady suitably. C’est la lucky-dip.

The quirky spelling is Dowling’s fault, via Giles Earle His Booke (and any writer who doesn’t spread the contagion of their own wide reading is a poor writer indeed). Damn him with sufficient praise: he is one of the few people to have written books which are both interesting enough, and furnished with a completeness of detail, that I’d want to live in those books. The clincher is, he’s a very good friend of the other author with this distinction: Jack Vance.

I do not profess to be an authority on Terry Dowling. I’ve met him a total of once, and enjoyed a brief-but-enlightening chat. Terry’s books and stories are worth delving into: you will almost certainly want more.

Update:
Terry’s books are most probably available via an online bookstore in your country. The latest, Rynemonn, contains the final stories in the Rynosseros cycle. I ordered mine from the publisher, and initial impressions appear in this blog. A review of the Rynosseros cycle will follow as time and circumstances allow.