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OtherRealms Issue 19 Part 07
Electronic OtherRealms #19
Winter, 1987
Part 7
Pico Reviews
Part 2
Mathenauts, Tales of Mathematical Wonder
Ed. Rudy Rucker [***]
Arbor House, $9.95, 1987, 300 pages
A collection of new and reprinted short SF stories that revolve around
mathematical concepts, puzzles and mathematicians. The stories are of
very mixed quality. A few I didn't see the math connection to but most
include interesting mathematical puzzles and several go almost too far
to include math terms. Some are computer oriented and seem the most
dated, even if written within the last 10 years.
--Mary Anne Espenshade
mae@aplvax.arpa
Matters of Form Scott Wheeler []
DAW Books 240 Pg. $2.95
This book is incompetently written. Most of the time, the first person
narrative is used to describe events, including those where the
narrator was not present. Periodically, the narration switches to the
third person. The switch may occur for a few paragraphs or a few
chapters. The switches happen suddenly with no transition passages or
story breaks to signal that such a switch is to take place. The
narration is so long and boring that sometimes the unexpected switches
in viewpoint was a relief.There is no character development. Even the
narrator is not developed as a character. The story is a unoriginal
nonvariation of an old SF theme. I am amazed that something this
incompetently written could ever have been published by a well
established publishing house such as DAW. Good or bad, DAW books have
usually been competently written.
Danny Low
hplabs!hpccc!dlow
Micronauts by Gordon Williams [***]
Bantam, 1977, 282 pages, with illustrations.
This has the best attempt at a scientific explanation for how you might
miniaturize humans. The first part of the book deals with Earth in the
not to distant future where mankind is starving to death because he has
polluted the environment so badly. The second part deals with the
secret research of a group of scientists to provide a new 'world' for
mankind by reducing him in size. Both parts of the book make good
reading and the entomology and botany of the second part help to
enhance a good adventure. There is a sequel, Microcolony, which I would
probably read based on the first book.
russell.Wbst@Xerox.COM
Mindplayers Pat Cadigan [*]
Bantam, $3.50, ISBN 0-553-26585-7
This is Cadigan's first novel, and while I really enjoy her shorter
work, I couldn't finish Mindplayers. She's attempting to write in an
artificially Cyberpunk style about a society advanced heavily into
technological decadence. She is a good writer, but I wasn't able to
find a single character I was able to care about -- there is such an
emphasis on the style and the decadence that none of the people in the
story really seem to exist. Without that point of reference, none of
what she wrote mattered to me. Folks with more of a bent towards
Cyberpunk or with a little more tolerance of weak characters should
enjoy this a lot more. I, personally, will have to settle for looking
forward to her next book.
-- chuq von rospach
The Model Robert Aickman, [***+]
Arbor House, 1987, hardcover, $ 14.95
This strange and dreamlike fantasy is set in czarist Russia, and has a
genuine hypnotic effect. It concerns a young girl, Elena, who dreams of
becoming a ballerina. She builds a model of an opera house, scavenging
the necessary materials from her large and rather mysterious household,
and fantasizes herself as the main dancer. Then, strangely, her
fantasies start to come true, with sometimes dreamlike, sometimes
nightmarish results. Events are not really ever explained, but draw
their effect from the strong archetypal images which Aickman introduces
at every turn. It all adds up to a strange book, but one which will
reward the reader, especially if she is in search of a different sort
of fantasy book.
Fernando Gouvea
New Destinies Vol II Jim Baen, Ed. [***+]
Baen Books, 232 pages, $2.95
ISBN 0-671-65346-6
This is the latest edition of Jim Baen's quarterly anthology magazine.
It contains a number of fiction pieces (including good ones from Harry
Turtledove, and Phillip Jennings) and some really well thought out non-
fiction by Charles Sheffield. this is basically a theme-less original
anthology, and while the quality varies to some degree, there's enough
here to please just about anyone.
-- chuq von rospach
Never the Twain Kirk Mitchell [***]
Ace Books 294 Pg. $3.50
This book is really a straight historical novel. The time travelling is
only a gimmick to get the story started. As a historical novel, it is
better than most. The story is even written as if it were a straight
historical novel from an alternate timeline created by the events of
the book. Howard Hart was a poor orphan who only wants to be wealthy
and well placed. Unfortunately, he is not competent enough to succeed
honestly and not unscrupulous enough to succeed dishonestly. The result
is that he is about to lose the little wealth and position he managed
to gain and faces a Federal prison term as well. Fortunately for Hart,
his best friend has just found a way to travel back in time. Hart sees
this as way out of his troubles and realize his life's ambition. The
plan calls for him to kill Mark Twain before he is ever born by making
Samuel Clemens so rich that he will never become so desperate for money
as to take up writing for a living. The story and the time travel
paradoxes are handled very well. There are clues throughout the book as
to how the story will proceed. The historical details are well handled.
The only flaw is that the ending is just not believable. The ending
requires a major character change on the part of Howard Hart. The
ground work for this change is well done and that part is believable.
The problem is that Hart also has to become very competent but
throughout the story, his behavior only emphasizes his incompetence
with no indication of any improvement. The implication that Hart's
change of character was all that was needed to transform him from
insecure incompetent into self-assured self-made man is too
unbelievable. Still, except for the fairy tale ending, the book is very
well written and worth reading.
Danny Low
hplabs!hpccc!dlow
Pro by Gordon R. Dickson [***]
This is a pleasant little adventure about two men and their different
approaches to helping a planet's civilization advance. Interestingly
enough, our hero disappears from the book at the end chapter of two and
doesn't really reappear until almost the very end of the book. The way
he triumphs is also relevant. Sort of reminds me of a lot of American
companies -- the experienced but not degreed old timer versus the new
kid on the block right of college. The book is well paced and makes a
cozy afternoon's reading.
Larry Kaufman
lsk@sun.COM
The Quest for Saint Camber Katherine Kurtz [****]
Arrow Books, 423 pp, #3.50, 0-09-950360-3
Another typical Kurtz novel. Typical for Kurtz in that she creates a
tapestry of a world so lush and full that you wish it was real. Kurtz
has a knack of description and characterization that makes her works
swallow up the reader. The Quest for Saint Camber follows King Kelson
and Dhugal, on their journey to find the relics of Saint Camber.
However, they don't know that Kelson's cousin, Conall, is eager for the
throne, and has taken up Deryni training, and (or) also having planned
a few mishaps for the travel party. The integration of the Deryni/human
conflict plus the conflict in the royal family moves the greater story
of the kingdom forward.
-- Laurie Sefton
The Ragged Astronauts Bob Shaw [***]
Orbit (UK), 310pp, #2.95
ISBN 0-7088-8227-7 (also
Baen books hardcover)
One of the 1987 finalists for the Hugo, this is an interesting Science
Fantasy but I'm not sure it belonged on the ballot. It's a look at a society
under siege by a natural menace that is trying to escape to a nearby
planet -- by balloon. Shaw is writing this as a Hard SF book, but I could
never quite decide if he was playing games with the Science or not.
-- chuq von rospach
The Riders of the Sidhe [****]
Champions of the Sidhe
Master of the Sidhe Kenneth C. Flint
Bantam,$2.95 each
These aren't only a good re-telling of the Lugh Lamfda saga, these are
a fun re-telling. The stories have the feel of of a Spielberg movie,
while keeping true to the legend. Flint is able to dress out the Tuatha
de Dananns, so they aren't just figures in a story; they feel like
people we've known. The explanation behind the existence of the de
Dannans, the Firbolgs, and the Fomorans is unique and believable.
Manannan MacLir is particularly well done; those who expect all their
gods and demi-gods to be stuffy are in for a shock. Even the slightly
melodramatic endings of the first two novels don't rankle. A good story
for those who like their legends to come alive.
-- Laurie Sefton
Roderick by John Sladek [****+]
Caroll and Graf, 1987, $3.95, 348 pages
I'll recommend this book, but with a caveat. It has a somewhat surreal
approach, reminding me of Illuminatus works, so it probably won't be to
everyone's taste. But with that in mind, it touches on a wide variety
of subjects, and quite thoroughly explores the notion of a robot
created as an infant-like learning machine growing up in a parody of
our own society. The thing that grabs you in this book is the dialog.
Most everything is revealed as a by-product of fascinating discussions
between the characters. This is not something I take to, normally, but
Sladek gets away with it nicely. I rate it [****+] if you like
surrealism, a real dud if you don't.
-- Wayne Throop
mcnc!xyzzy!throopw
Shadowspawn Andrew J. Offutt [**-]
Ace Fantasy, $3.50
The fourth Thieves' World novel, and the first full length book to
feature a character other than Tempus, I really enjoyed Shadowspawn as
a character in the anthology series, but this novel just didn't do
anything for me. The characterization was flat and I just didn't care
much for the plot. It could have been much, much better than it was.
-- chuq von rospach
The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson [***+]
Gold Medal, 1962, 192 pages.
This is the book that the movie The Incredible Shrinking Man was based
on . The story concerns one man who, because of a strange sequence of
events, starts shrinking 1/7th of an inch a day. The story alternates
between his last several days at insect size trapped in his own
basement, and flashbacks from his experiences leading to that period.
This is a fairly good horror tail and does a good job of conveying the
anguish one might go through in the course of shrinking out of the
familiar world of family and friends.
russell.Wbst@Xerox.COM
Starquake by Robert L. Forward [****]
Del Rey SF, $3.95, 1985, 339 pages
Starquake is the sequel to Dragon's Egg, continuing the story of the
Cheela civilization on the neutron star they call Egg. The Cheela have
passed their human teachers in scientific knowledge and are a
space-going race themselves when a starquake, a collapse of the outer
surface of the neutron star, all but wipes them out. The survivors in
space rebuild the civilization, reclaim the planet and go on advancing
their knowledge, all in the course of one 24 hour human day. The "slow
moving" humans can do little to help and are rescued by the Cheela
several times. Advanced degrees in nuclear physics probably helpful -
technical appendix and bibliography provided.
--Mary Anne Espenshade
mae@aplvax.arpa
A Storm Upon Ulster Kenneth C. Flint [***]
Bantam Books, 309 pp, 0-553-24710-7
A re-telling of one of the Cuculain legends, this of his holding off
the forces of Queen Maeve at the river Oun Dia. Flint is true to the
original story, instead of relying on another interpretation, as some
of the authors of "Celtic" legends have. The story tends to drag out a
bit, and the "evil druid" is played a bit melodramatically, a bad
Celtic Iago. If you can glide past this, it works much better.
-- Laurie Sefton
Tatja Grimm's World Vernor Vinge [**]
Baen Books, 277 pp, $3.50, 0-671-65336-9
This is a collection of shorts, cunningly disguised as a book. The
cover has more to do with one of the ruses in the book than the book's
character itself. The pieces of the stories are well tied together up
until the last quarter, where the premise starts to fall apart. It's
almost as if Vinge decided against his first outcome and rewrote the
ending. The story itself has to do with a woman who is an evolutionary
blip--she is so much more intelligent than anyone else on her planet that
she schemes and devises her way to the stars, just to find someone to
talk to. It's a great premise, and I wish it had been carried out better.
-- Laurie Sefton
Thieves' World Graphic #5 Robert Asprin & Lynn Abbey [**+]
Starblaze Graphics, $3.95, ISBN 0-89865-521-8
The continuation of the B&W Graphic novel version of the Thieves' World
story with art by Tim Sale. The art is good, but this issue seems a
little flat. If you read the anthology, the story will be familiar.
-- chuq von rospach
To the Haunted Mountains Ru Emerson [****]
Ace Fantasy, 314 pp, 0-441-79558-7
It's refreshing to see a fantasy that has nothing to do with anything
Celtic. Emerson is able to create a believable world for the fantasy,
the description of the environs is enough to make the reader comfortable,
without boring the reader with minute detail. The inner workings of the
characters are well done; the members of the group aren't cut-outs,
with one personality factor's difference. These are real people. The
one problem I had with the book was the discussion by the cat, a cat
infused with magic, but a cat nonetheless, at the beginning of each
chapter. It was almost as if the cat was providing crib notes for the
book; read the cat's discussion, and you know what's going to happen.
-- Laurie Sefton
The Traveler in Black by John Brunner [****-]
Ace, $0.75, 1971, 222 pages
A classic story collection of the One Who Has Many Names But One
Nature, and his attempts to bring reason and order to the chaos of the
cosmos. His method of changing a situation has a certain witty
elegance; he grants a persons spoken desire, but not generally in the
method desired. These are tales of magic and style, I am most reminded
of "The Dying Earth" by Jack Vance.
-- John Wenn
wenn@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu
Twisting the Rope by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $3.50, 1986, 242 pages
Music, mystery and maybe murder in another adventure with Martha
Macnamara and Mayland Long from Tea With The Black Dragon. The fantasy
elements are there if you know where to look, but this is mostly a
detective story, with a victim nobody was sorry to see dead and
suspects who aren't what they appear to be.
--Mary Anne Espenshade
mae@aplvax.arpa
Universe 17 edited by Terry Carr [***+]
Doubleday, 1987, $ 12.95
This latest Universe series is quite typical of Terry Carr's skill as
an anthologist: all of the stories are quite good, even though none of
them strikes me as a real winner. The best this time is Jack McDevitt's
In the Tower, a moody story set on an alien planet; there are also
strong stories by James Tiptree, Jr., Marta Randall, and Cherie
Wilkerson. What is mostly lacking in many of these stories are adequate
conclusions: some are marred by unbelievable endings, some by lack of
closure; in either case, the endings reduce the value of good stories.
Still, people who like short SF would do well to pick this up, at least
when it comes out in paperback.
Fernando Gouvea
The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay [***+]
Ace, $3.50, 1986, 271 Pages
I really liked the first book of this trilogy: it was an entertaining
high fantasy with several modern characters as well. But I am disappointed
by the direction of the second book: instead of the archetypal but
still new characters of The Summer Tree, he introduces a personage from
standard fantasy (you're guaranteed to find out who in three guesses).
The strengths of characterization and description are still present
here, but the entire concept doesn't work as well this time.
-- John Wenn
wenn@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu
Watchtower by Elizabeth Lynn [****]
Berkley, $2.50, 1979, 226 pages
I almost didn't review this book. Periodically I find books to review
by going through my library looking for little known books I liked. I
picked out Watchtower since it was a really good book, but even after
re-reading it I couldn't pinpoint the reason I liked it. After
reviewing several other books in my list, however, I figured out what
it was. All the elements: the style, the characters, the plot, the
descriptions, all combine seamlessly to tell a story. All work so well
together that I couldn't find anything to point to. It's a fairly
standard plot of a deposed prince seeking to regain his throne, but
told with uncommon skill. Also recommended are the sequels The Dancers
of Arun and The Northern Girl. They tackle more original plots, and (a
detail I like) each book is set ~100 years after the previous book, so
that the changes made previous book are shown in the current one.
-- John Wenn
wenn@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu
When HARLIE was One by David Gerrold [***-]
Ballantine, $1.25, 1972, 279 pages
An oldish entry into the "sentient computer" story sweepstakes. It
avoids the hard question (how DO you build a sentient computer) by a
lot of hand-waving, but does try to address the nature of a machine
intelligence. The main conflict is that HARLIE needs to financially
justify his existence to the bean-counters on the corporate board. The
story works fairly well, the major problem is that untold pages are
spent having HARLIE and his psychologist discussing philosophical
questions of existence, morality and love. Worthwhile if you enjoy
computer SF stories.
-- John Wenn
wenn@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu
Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild ed. by George R.R. Martin [**+]
Bantam, $3.95, 374pp, 0-553-26699-3
The third in the Wild Card shared world anthology series. In this one,
Martin does a strong editing job and turns it into a true mosaic novel,
with the various stories intertwined in a true novel format. This
works, mostly, but sometimes breaks the stories up arbitrarily, leaving
you with a choppy, hard to follow plotline. I was disappointed that,
with so many interesting things to talk about, they went back and
worked over the Astronomer again.
-- chuq von rospach
Wings of Flame by Nancy Springer [***+]
TOR 1986, pb. $2.95
Springer fits into that category of excellent, but overlooked authors.
Her characters have depth, her settings are interesting, and her plots
are worth reading. Wings of Flame deals with perceptions: national and
personal. Two countries have customs based on the worship of the Horse
God, Suth, but one country's sacred rituals are the other's
blasphemies. The main characters are a young warrior-prince, sent to
the other country as a hostage, a young outcast girl, lower than a
slave, and the pacifist magician-king. Together they must overcome
their prejudices about each other and themselves in order to end the
curse that has kept their countries constantly at war.
-- Brett Slocum
Wingwomen of Hera Sandi Hall [**]
Spinsters| Aunt Lute, 180 pp, $8.95,
0-933216-26-2
This is a book in need of a good technical editor; the story is there,
it just needs to be cleaned up. The premise of sister planets is good,
how they get there isn't. Comets just don't have the firepower to knock
one planet entirely out of orbit, and another into a figure-eight
around two stars. Also, the idea of popping into another universe to
get to a planet in the same star system is a little obtuse. The
comparison of the two worlds; one a highly regulated, frozen (in more
ways than one) sphere, with its only hope a girl child born to be its
future Guider; and the other a lush garden planet, with parthenogenic,
loving, sensual, and extremely intelligent "wingwomen" gives a big hint
who the heroines of this story are going to be. A good basis for a
story, good characterizations, but the technical flaws in this work
keep coming back to bite the reader.
-- Laurie Sefton
The Witches of Wenshar Barbara Hambly [***+]
Del Rey, 339 pp, $3.95, 0-345-32934
What happened to Starhawk and Sun Wolf after Sun Wolf was thrown our of
Mandrigyn? Well, they wandered south into the desert kingdoms, into the
area known for the evil of the witches of the ruined city of Wenshar. I
don't consider this a sequel; you can read this without having read The
Ladies of Mandrigyn, and still be able to enjoy the book. Sun Wolf and
Starhawk both grow in this story; Sun Wolf learns the control of his
power, and of the uses and abuses of it. Starhawk grows within herself,
and shows that you don't have to be a wizard to be powerful. I hope to
see more of the both.
-- Laurie Sefton
Wolf Dreams Michael D. Weaver [**+]
Avon, 186 pp, $2.95, 0-380-75198-4
This is a series of what appears to be separate stories about Thyri
Bloodfang, worked into a novel. The heroine, Thyri becomes a werewolf
after defending her cousin from another werewolf. After that, she
wonders, trying to keep others from sharing her fate. The book itself
is disjointed, the person keeps changing without notice, and the
chapters aren't given in chronological order. You spend a lot of time
wondering when something specific happened, and rereading chapters to
try to figure it out.
-- Laurie Sefton
World Enough and Time by James Kahn [***+]
Del Rey, $2.25, 1980, 340 pages
The basic plot is SF, but most of the story elements are fantasy. The
setting is post-apocalyptic: there are only a few scattered humans
after several wars and plagues. The fantasy elements come from the
winners: vampires, unicorns, centaurs, griffins, and the like. These
were the results of genetic engineering, and they rose together to
fight human civilization. The story is the quest of a human scribe, a
centaur, a talking cat and a neuroman go to rescue their families that
were kidnaped by the "new animal". It is the world presented during
their quest that was most interesting, a good mixture of both SF and
Fantasy. While this story stands alone, there is a sequel "Time's Dark
Laughter", which is also recommended. Rumor says that a third book is
planned, but I have no idea how one could follow the second book.
-- John Wenn
The Year's Best Science Fiction: fourth annual collection
ed. by Gardner Dozois [****]
St. Martin's Press, 1987, paper, $11.95
Of the several best-of-the-year anthologies supported by the SF field,
the one edited by Gardner Dozois is the biggest and, every year, the
first one to appear. Just that would be a recommendation, but Dozois
also has broad but discerning tastes which usually lead to excellent
results. If this year's volume is a little less impressive than the
preceding ones, it seems more the effect of a less-than-stellar year
for short SF than anything else. The parameters of the book have
remained essentially the same over the years, most especially the large
format and the generous amount of stories. The one significant (and, I
feel, unfortunate) change this year is that fewer novellas were
included.Still, this volume includes several excellent stories, from
Connie Willis's "Chance'' to Lucius Shepard's "R&R'' to Somtow
Sucharitkul's "Fiddling for Waterbuffaloes". Especially for those who
do not usually follow the magazines, this can offer several hours of
reading pleasure. The "Summation" by Dozois is, as always, a competent
summary of the year in SF, and the book concludes with a (much too
long) list of honorable mentions. Not to be missed by anyone who likes
to follow short SF.
Fernando Gouvea
Young Rissa by F. M. Busby [****]
Berkley, $2.95, 1976, 177 pages
The first of the Rissa/Tregare chronicles (the many ways that the
stories have been published is too long to go into here). This is good
space opera with characters well above space opera standards. The evil
empire keeps much of Earth's population in Total Welfare Centers, holds
control of its stellar empire with a stolen alien space drive, trains
its army under brutal conditions, and is generally not very nice. This
is the story of Rissa Kerguelen, a Total Welfare Client who escaped by
winning the lottery through a corrupt official's mistake, ran into the
Earth's underground, and escaped to the stars. All the characters are
well realized, although they suffer from extreme competence in every
field. The characters do have problems to balance their numerous
skills, making for a believable situation. One thing I enjoy is that
the space drive is slower than light (with relativistic effects). Many
of the implications of how one fights a battle under those conditions
are well thought out and presented. This, and most of the other books
of the series are recommended. The books I can't recommend are those
that happen after the good guys win.
-- John Wenn
OtherRealms #19
Winter, 1987
Copyright 1987 by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved
One time rights have been
acquired from the contributors.
All rights are hereby assigned
to the contributors.
OtherRealms may not be reproduced in any form without written
permission of Chuq Von Rospach.
The electronic edition may be distributed or reproduced in its entirety
as long as all copyrights, author and publication information remain
intact. No individual article may be reprinted, reproduced or
republished in any way without the express permission of the author.
OtherRealms is published quarterly (March, June, September and December) by:
Chuq Von Rospach
35111-F Newark Blvd.
Suite 255
Newark, CA 94560.
Usenet: chuq@sun.COM
Delphi: CHUQ
