>For what it's worth, the stories you put out -are- perfectly readable
>on their own, with no knowledge of the original works whatsoever.
>Hell, when I first started reading, I didn't know most of those
>originals even -existed-. I have to second Terminus on this. I've been an eager fan of UF works for well over a decade and a half now, and I'm still stumbling over stuff and going "Oh, that's thus-and-so from thus-and-such-UF-story!" (And for a few years I would follow that up with "I never realized they came from an outside source" until I wised up. <grin>) The fact that I never knew their origins never affected my ability to enjoy the UF story I first saw them in.
Of course, as Terminus also states, picking up on the little details and in-jokes you get when you know the source adds a lot to the reading experience -- but not getting them doesn't reduce the experience at all.
-- Bob
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My race is pacifist and does not believe in war. We kill only out of personal spite.