ReaderPaul

As a reader, I DON'T HAVE TIME to continually look up unfamiliar terminology and/or words. I will do it a few times, and then find a story where I don't have to do that. If explained in the context of the story, great! If not, I will look for a different story. Some of the best UK and Australian and New Zealand authors I have read either include a "definition of words and phrases which may be unfamiliar to readers of another country." They want their audience to be able to understand the story. Most of us may have wide vocabularies, and be somewhat familiar with a bit of terminology or slang not of our language or culture. But so far, I have met no one who knows it all. It is NOT an insult to be aware that not everyone knows what you know.

That is fine if the word or phrase is explained. Mark Twain once complained that, in his time, too many persons thought that most persons should be able to read three or four foreign languages. But he felt that the words should be explained, because most Americans CANNOT read multiple languages. Even from culture to culture within the same languages, there are phrases and/or terminology which might need enlightenment for many persons.

I can see I have more time that I must find to read. Thanks, @Myr.

@JamesSavik, most of your stuff does have crossover appeal. In the Shadow of the Dragon is one of the best stories I have ever read. Operation Hammerhead is very good, but slightly harder to follow. And I wish you would bring the other 16 or 17 Cadet Cruise stories here, as well and write more. Hood's Revenge is a super excellent short story, as all of the "Get Into James Shorts" collection here on GA. The chapter views and story views are interesting, but not the "end-all-and-be-all", as one of my relatives used to say. On authors I like, I look at every new comment brought to my attention. I also read a chapter more than once on authors such as yourself, James, or @Geron Kees, @Myr, @Backwoods Boy, and several others. Reader taste varies. We are fortunate that this site is available for those of us who love to read, and there are great authors here TO be read.

I have seen several writers work terms into their stories seamlessly to explain the differences between countries. At times, this in itself will be a fascinating part of the story. I am aware of one site which is owned from the UK, administered from the UK and Germany, and yet features more than half of the stories there featuring American writers. It can be an enriching experience to read stories set in various countries.

Several really good authors here. Thank you for the lists, @Myr

The point is, print books are becoming less common, and not that well read. One point the article did NOT make is, that if the average fiction book sells about 500 copies, the majority of fiction books published sell LESS than 500 copies. Reasoning: Sales from a Christopher Paolini or a John Grisham or a Larry Niven or a Nora Roberts (or her pen name J. D. Robb) are averaged in with those. I have worked in three different bookstores over the years ,as a part time worker and part time management -- and the decline in physical bookstores is to be lamented. When the town closest to me had half the population it does now we had 5 bookstores. One by one, they all closed except one, and the last one has maybe half the business it did 15 years ago. The convenience of electronic books and publishing on the internet have taken a major toll on physical books. Traditional publishing, with the marketing power of traditional publishers, is losing power, but still produces best sellers once in a while. The readership on GA and other online sites may be limited, but seems to be quite loyal. We are fortunate to have the resource of GA and some others.

Here is an interesting, if somewhat poorly written, article from June of 2022 (according to the date at the top of the page) about book sales, including average fiction book sales, non-fiction book sales, what type of sales figures are required to be a best seller, and so on. https://www.tagari.com/how-many-copies-do-most-fiction-books-sell/#:~:text=Most fiction books sell only a few hundred,must sell at least 5%2C000 copies per week.

Hey, @Geron Kees, a comment/question/suggestion combo. We have seen the guys grow and gain abilities, and also the growth of Horace, Ragal, Uncle Bob, Pacha, and more. A brief recap: Kip, if memory serves correctly became of his skwish first, with feelings and certainties. Adrian was next. Erma called them "Listeners" of a type different than she is. Pacha learned to teleport/translocate from Max, and also to stretch time so he and his crew could do more. Charlie developed second presence, and Rick is able to follow him even into other dimensions (the block people dimension as an example). But Charlie heard Mike's call when Pacha's ship was crushed by ice on the ice planet. So MIKE is also developing the ability to call persons and get their attention, as Charlie can with Horace, Ragal, Casper, and Durapar as examples. Adrian developed the ability to send electricity between two points, and Rick the abilities of being able be a magic mechanic and to sense the skwish in other people. Keerby gained the ability to travel between dimensions/alternate worlds, with the help of Blinken. Uncle Bob gained the ability to teleport, both himself and objects. Kip gained the ability to fly and levitate. Charlie and Rick have the ability to call each other by telepathy, and Adrian and Kippy can tag along. Charlie can take others with him in his second presence. Durapar can sense things the Madracorn wish him to sense. Pacha already had gravity control, as did Max, who taught Keerby. Charlie can shape shift. Ragal and Uncle Bob can shoot out the inky blackness and control it, and even tint windows with it. Horace can summon. Casper can send mind pictures to Murcha, and likely to Onglet and Illia as well. Horace can make openings and reseal them, as revealed when the group first met Sheriff Lane Tallfield. But there is one power of Charlie's that I have not seen referred to again-- the ability of his second presence to physically materialize. (This is revealed in "I Think This Place is Haunted, Charlie Boone!" -- in the following passage: Charlie closed his eyes, tried to clear his head. He spun wildly once more within the slowly shrinking prison of his mind, and collided with something then; something that reached out to him and offered a warm embrace. Charlie was shocked at the touch, and stopped squirming long enough to look. And then he gasped as his second presence roared past him and surged forth into freedom. He opened his eyes, looked back at Tallfield, just as his second self materialized behind the man. The other Charlie quickly spread his arms, moved closer to Tallfield's back, and then swung his hands together with tremendous force, slamming his palms against the lawman's ears! Tallfield yelped and threw his head forward in surprise, and Charlie gasped as he was suddenly released from the powerful grip of the other man's will.... Just think of the fun Kippy could have in intimate time with Charlie AND Charlie's second presence! But more seriously, The ability of Charlie to now be in two physical places at one time might come in handy in the future....

It will have a better start, but Joel is right. Eventually there will be problems. Joel wants to be as prepared as possible. Part of the reason for making the environment as much like Earth's ideal is so that humans don't have to always be in a pressure suit or a dome.

@W_L -- I agree that Harry Turtledove is the best at alternate history that I have read. He produced several books of alternate history, and had a lot of detail well-presented in them.

Thanks for these, @Myr I have read stories by several of these great authors, and really enjoy -- @Geron Kees, @astone2292, @dkstories, @Myr, @W_L, @R. Eric's Ark II series, @Mawgrim, @Bill W, @Rob Colton, @Thorn Wilde, @Refugium, @northie -- And I have read some of the other authors when I was going through a "non-commenting phase" because I lost my login and password due to not putting my cryptic reminders in enough places. Myr, are the Flintlock sub-genre and Gaslamp sub-genre also a subcategory of Historical Fiction?

Great chapter, @R. Eric.

@JamesSavik -- I like how you have several threads going of sub-stories and weave them together as necessary.

@Palantir, I love the comparison to Flinx. One of my favorite fictional characters. @JamesSavik -- have you by chance read any of the 14+ stories of Flinx and Pip?

I have never had that problem -- except a couple of times when my phone malfunctioned. As Gary (Headstall) mentioned, find the story listing and scroll down to Chapter 1. I admit is it easier on my desktop computer than my phone, but I have learned to navigate my phone as well. This is one of the easiest story sites to navigate, in my opinion. Also, if you know the author of the story you wish, you can click on the name to get to the list of stories, then scroll through the stories of that author until you get to the one you want. Click on it, and select the first chapter.

Wow -- with authors such as @Geron Kees, @wildone, @Backwoods Boy, @Laura S. Fox, @Refugium, @Ivor Slipper, and more it is easy to see why those are some of the most read stories.

@chris191070 and @hankster, another great story. I knew two hetero couples who had a story much like that. Well done.

Thanks for the explaining of the functions above, @Myr. I was familiar with some of those, but not all. I am fortunate to have a good memory for things which catch my interest, but even so, I sometimes lose a story.

Regarding the internal navigation issues, the stories formerly on Codeysworld dot com now have different addresses in the revised domain. Those links are being updated, and eventually all of them should work again. A big thank you to John (Alien Son) and the rest of the crew at AD for working on this large task.

So do I!

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't there already a font-size adjustment on the mobile phone when reading a story? I know I have adjusted font size in the past. And I don't think it is a function of the phone, but of the site.

Okay, @Geron Kees -- a quote from "There's a Devil in the Dark, Charlie Boone!". Adrian looked pointedly at Ricky, who quickly nodded. "I was getting there." He grinned at Charlie. "I seem to have found something new." "Let's hear it, soldier," Kippy snapped out, his tone one of mock officiousness. Ricky nodded. "Well, you know I can sort of analyze magic, and sometimes tell people what they're doing wrong, or at least what seems not right to me. And I can sometimes help fix the magic on my own. Sort of put a wrench on it and tighten the right bolts?" Charlie laughed. "That's a good analogy." "I think so. It's what it feels like to me, anyway. Well, I have found something else that sense is good for." Rick looked around at the others. "I can sort of detect skwish in other people now. Not just their magic, but the basis for it, if they have any at all." Kippy nodded. "Adrian and I can do that." "But this is a little different," Ricky insisted. "You guys feel it when it has some power to it. I'm sensing it when it's just the seed, if you know what I mean." Charlie leaned forward, his interest captured fully now. "You mean you can tell which people here on earth are magical? When they can't even feel it themselves?" "Yeah." Ricky gave his head a little shake. "I first noticed it in my Uncle Bob. And then my dad. They're both pretty strong with the beginnings of skwish, for non-magical people. My mom has it, too, but it's less." He licked his lips, and then shrugged. "My brother and my sister have it. They're both pretty strong, really. I just only realized what it was I was sensing, and told Adrian yesterday." Kippy turned an amazed look on Charlie. "That's good to know, isn't it? This stuff probably runs in families, huh?" "Probably," Charlie agreed. "It's food for thought. It might mean that Rick's family could do magic, if they were exposed to it and it was allowed to grow." Ricky nodded. "That's not all. I sense it pretty strongly in Adrian's mom. And both your parents, Charlie." He turned to Kippy. "And your Mom." Kippy's jaw dropped. "Really? What about my dad?" Ricky laughed. "I never see your dad. He's always working. And you're almost always at Charlie's house...." Yes, it is time for Rick to get with his younger sister and his even younger brother and see what they have already discovered, possibly in the company of Charlie, Kip, and Kiernan. We could also hope that there is a spark between Kiernan and Ricky's slightly younger sister. (From what you implied in a previous Halloween story near the beginning of the series, Rick's sister is al least one year younger, but not more than three years younger, than Rick.) That would put her close to Kiernan in age. Or, we still don't know if Jeremiah Hawkins has a daughter or niece close to Kiernan's age. Geron, this is not only a really good story, but an excellent series -- as is your "The Odd, Onward Door"/Doorways series.

What is the "htaccess file"?

Wow -- many good stories and authors on this list. I MUST find more time to read.