Cities in Flight: James Blish

This is the selection for our book group's May discussion. Just finished it this AM. It is a collection of 4 related standalone novels:  

• They Shall Have Stars - introduces the concept, and is wonderful. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot. The whole story just worked on every level for me.
•  A Life for the Stars - reminded me of Asimov's Foundation and Laumer's Retief, with the plans within plans. I really enjoyed it.
• Earthman, Come Home - felt to me like it was either a) a contractual obligation, or b) a writer not knowing when to stop. I saw it as more of an analysis of the psyches of the characters and their cultures than as a gripping SF story. (Translation - Yawn.) There was a story, but there was a lot to slog through to get through the story.
• The Triumph of Time - had some aspects of the third, but not as bad. It seemed more to be an exploration of the idea of the end of time than a story.

I'm really glad we read Blish. My only previous experience with him was as a teenager when I read some of his Star Trek novelizations, which I hated. I decided then not to bother with any of his other work. Through this book, however, I see that he is a very good writer - with the personal caveat that I think there was too much "showing off" of his science knowledge when there should have been movement in the story.

I would read Blish again, but - um - not this week.