@PierceTheVin: No doubt! They probably would have some warm fur.

@ManchuCandidate: Or if MTV is mentioned, make sure the story doesn't say that music videos are being shown on it.

@MonochromeMolly: I wonder if they would make good guard marsupials?

@cortexiphansession: That's very true. I picked up a coffee-table book at a sale a while back called "Vanished Species" which details various species that have went extinct in recent (historical) time scale. Most were due directly or indirectly to human impacts. There are so many! Dodos, Giant Auks, Passenger Pigeons,…

@Ash (Not From Pallet Town): Mastodons should be just as easy to clone as Mammoths. Maybe technically easier since there has been actual frozen carcasses found in Siberia. I think that they are going for Mammoths instead because of the "wow" factor. Mammoths are significantly bigger and furrier. Mastodons would just…

@AgentW: There are 30+ works by C.J. Cherryh set in her Union/Alliance Universe that all share the same future history. The events at Pell were a turning point in that history, so references to it likely turn up in many of her books.

Josh: Excellent review of one of my favorite books, by one of my favorite authors! I think "Downbelow Station" is one of the first books I ordered from the Science Fiction Book Club when I was in high school. It has held up very well over time in my opinion, possibly due to it not being so focused on some form of…

@Touchstone: "Cyteen" is a must if you like strong women characters. It chronicles the times and tribulations of Ms. Adrianne Emmory, Union's greatest geneticist. It stands on it's own, like most of the Union/Alliance books, but it does have a recently written sequel. So, if you like it, you can read more about the…

@Dr Emilio Lizardo: Although there are over 30 books in C.J. Cherryh's Union/Alliance Universe, they almost all stand on thier own. There are a few trilogies, but one can generally start reading anywhere. I always tell folks to start with the Hugo winners, "Downbelow Station" and "Cyteen." Not really a series, more…

@lightninglouie: That's a good point, I remember "Cyteen" being put out that way in paperback.

@lightninglouie: True enough for fantasy works these days. However, many publishers want longer works broken into more volumes so they can make more money selling each half separately. One example is Peter Watt's appropriately named novel "Behemoth" which his publisher had him separate into two halves for…

Another problem that most publishers probably had with the work was its length. It's over 700 pages as I remember. Nowadays most publishers would want it broken up into a trilogy, or at least a two book set.

@Scott Michael Harris: Good point about the problems coming pretty quickly if it affected all life equally. We'd be up to our butts in bacteria in a few weeks . . .

@Greyhole: That can't be a completely bad thing?

@frostbyte.rcb: No doubt! If I remember correctly, "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" was where Captain Jack Harkness first appeared in Doctor Who. I still think those two episodes are my favorite of all of the New Who to date. One of the best conclusions to a Doctor Who, ever.

@corpore-metal: Don't forget practical jetpacks.

@iceph03nix: Have to agree with you on drum being a very tolerant species. If it were an environmental effect that caused the fish kill, like low oxygen levels, you would expect sunfish (bream) and bass to be killed off as well. They are more susceptible to most forms of environmental stress. A form of parasite or…

@NerD:blogOtaku: Me either! I really liked "The Hidden" so I'll have to look into trying to find the second one now. . .

@Fanboy185: I remember that term as well, so funny because it was so true.

@Szilagyi: Not only four to five operators, but four to five Time Lord operators. That he can operate it at all alone is pretty impressive.