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OtherRealms Issue 17 Part 03
Electronic OtherRealms #17
July, 1987
Part 3
Bimbos of the Death Sun
Sharyn McCrumb
Windwalker Books, 219 pages, $2.95
[***]
Reviewed by
Danny Low
hpccc!dlow
Copyright 1987 by Danny Low
This is a straight forward murder mystery that just happens to be set
in a Science Fiction convention. There have been other murder mysteries
set in SF cons but this is the first good one that I have read. There
are three reasons for this book being superior to its predecessors.
First, the mystery is properly done. The clues are presented in a
timely manner. They are not grossly obvious and there are sufficient
false clues. Second, the SF con is pertinent to the solution to the
mystery. The con is not just a backdrop for the mystery. This is a
common fault of mysteries of this type. The con setting is not fully
utilized so the murder could have been done at any type of convention
with no change to the story. Third, McCrumb has a proper knowledge of
not only fandom but also of what happens behind the scene at a SF con.
As a result, the atmosphere has an air of authenticity to anyone who
has ever worked on a SF con. The in jokes are much more extensive
although you don't have to know them to enjoy or understand the story.
The murder does not take place until the story is half done. The first
half is an extensive study of fandom and fannish personalities. People
with thin skins should avoid this book. The commentary is biting and
very accurate. However, like any cultural stereotypes, the fan
personalities present in the book do not reflect the full diversity of
people in fandom, just the ones that tend to be prominent in fandom.
The murder victim is that old cliche, the famous obnoxious writer who
hates fans and what he is writing but needs the money. The reaction of
the concom (convention committee) to the murder struck me as being very
real. Given the love/hate relationship between the victim and the fans,
I thought the fannish reaction was also reasonable. The reaction of the
mundanes (i.e. non fannish) characters struck me as realistic. I have
encountered mundanes at real SF cons who have reacted in a similar
manner to what was going on. The solution to the mystery was derived in
such a manner that it could have only been done at a SF con. It is a SF
variant on the "gather all the suspects in the room and have the hero
talk the murderer into confessing" scenario.
The Biofab War
The Battle for Terra Two
The AI War
Stephen Ames Berry
Tor Science Fiction
[***]
Reviewed by
Danny Low
hpccc!dlow
Copyright 1987 by Danny Low
Yes, they do write skiffy like they used to. This continuing series of
books is filled with blaster rays lancing through the blackness of space,
piercing energy shields in a blaze of pyrotechnics. The series is a
modern descendent of the Doc Smith Lensmen series. It is Space Opera in
the Grand Ole Tradition. The characterization and dialogue is a bit
more modern (i.e. better) but the story line is straight 1930's pulp SF.
The Confederation has succeeded the Old Empire. It is in danger of
being overwhelmed by the alien S'Cotar. In the first book, the true
nature of the S'Cotar is revealed. In the second book, an alien race of
androids from a parallel universe who want to conquer our universe is
discovered. In the third book, the true nature of the AI's, as the androids
are known, is revealed. The S'Cotars and the AI's are all part of a
conspiracy that is hundreds of thousands of years old involving races from
two different universes. This is strongly reminiscent of the Arisian/Eddore
rivalry of the Lensmen series. The main difference is that in Berry's
series, the age old conspiracy is not revealed to the reader beforehand.
The reader uncovers the facts at the same rate as the characters.
There should be at least two more books in the series. The story
appears to be going towards a definite ending. The books are not deep
books but in the measures that count (heroic characters, fast paced
action, Byzantine conspiracies within conspiracies and a universe
spanning scope), but they are well done. These books are fun to read
and have no social redeeming value other than being fun.
Dark Seeker
K.W. Jeter
Tor Horror, February, 1987
Reviewed by
Davis Tucker
ihnp4!druri!dht
Copyright 1987 by Davis Tucker
This book is not your usual horror fare, with some terrible beast
lurking around, or some unexplainable, demonic force wreaking havoc
with mundane suburban lives. Or maybe it is -- because the beast Jeter
shows us is the beast within, brought out by a strange, psycho-active
drug called the Host. We are forced into a demimonde of cult killings,
psychiatric rehabilitation, revenge, fear, and attraction to the evil
inside us. In this age when everyday news makes Stephen King's most
horrific creations seem almost bland and comprehensible, it's good to
see a writer treading the familiar ground of "the beast inside" in a
manner that is believable, realistic, and matter-of-fact, without
resorting to Satanism, demonic possession, and the like.
Michael Tyler was one of the Wyle Group, a cult-like gathering of
college students around a famous professor (Wyle), who committed a
number of grisly murders five years before the opening of the book.
Jeter does a good job of defusing the similarities between these and
the Manson killings by having a couple of characters contrast them
openly, so the reader isn't being asked to see similarities that aren't
there. The Host drug was responsible for a "group mind" effect, or as
Tyler's supercilious court- appointed shrink prefers to think of it,
the "illusion" of a group-mind. The Wyle Group killed without mercy or
meaning, merely for blood, like a crazed animal or a psychotic. Tyler
is now under medication that will counteract the Host, dull it, and he
will be on it permanently, because like malaria, the Host never goes
away, it is permanently in the bloodstream and the brain stem. And like
peyote, the Host has a common manifestation to all who take it - not
the sometimes benign, sometimes stern Mescalito, but the Host - a beast
with sharp, carnivorous teeth set in a wide, mocking smile.
The action is fast-paced, but not as frenetic as some of Jeter's
science fiction work (Dr. Adder and The Glass Hammer). Tyler's ex-wife
(also a member), on the run for five years, is arrested after another
member steals their child. Tyler is forced out of his semi-somnolence
and must come to grips with the Host, must go back to it by taking
himself off his medication, and try to find his son. The fear of
letting go and becoming a psychotic madman combines with an almost
irrational drive to find his son and take revenge on the man who stole
him. Tyler becomes obsessed and semi-insane even before he begins to
contemplate what it would mean to go back to the Host again, with its
hallucination of bloody, smiling teeth. He begins to see the Host
lurking behind other people's eyes. even those he thinks he loves.
The book is filled with excellent minor characters: a washed-up writer
who wrote one sensational book about the Wyle Group murders with
Tyler's help, who needs him again now that the story is back in the
news; Tyler's girlfriend, Stephanie, who along with her young son lives
with Tyler but doesn't really understand him, and maybe doesn't love
him; an obsessed ex-policeman who thinks the Wyle Group got off light;
and Slide, an evil and manipulative man who steals the boy in a
calculated attempt to get the Wyle Group back together again. Jeter
fleshes them all out with economical brushstrokes, and tight, terse
prose, and they all fit in to the puzzle of plot he has constructed.
Despite the fact that this is obviously a commercial attempt by Jeter,
this may well be his best book yet. It is directed, dynamically paced,
extremely well-written in a modified Chandleresque style, gritty and
unsentimental about the failures of humanity, tight and economical, and
with a lot to say about people and the devils inside them. It never
lags but it is deliberate when it needs to be; the plot denouement,
usually the Achilles' heel of horror, is splendidly worked-out. It
often seems in this genre that even the best writers can set up all the
elements for the last twenty pages, yet never come through on them.
Jeter has done an admirable job for his first attempt at horror.
Star of Gypsies
Robert Silverberg
SFBC Edition, 378 pages
[****-/****+]
Reviewed by
Jim Johnston
ihnp4!icarus!jj
Copyright 1987 by Jim Johnston
Curiously enough, although I'm not much of a fan of Silverberg and I
couldn't make it through the Majipoor novels at all, I liked Star of
Gypsies quite a bit. It's a good story (hence 4-) written about a
really fantastic idea (the 4+) for a story. The reason that I say that
it was a only a "good story" is that it is too short. The ideas that
provide the basis for the story are wonderfully designed for extensive,
almost baroque elaboration on the locales, customs, histories, and so
on, all of a fascinating nature, and Silverberg almost manages to
provide that sort of description. Although things are described rather
completely, the prose sometimes seems disappointing terse, and missing
just that extra little bit. Perhaps the realities of publishing
enforced a length limit, if so I regret that such happened.
Star of Gypsies is a wanderer's tale. The wanderer is naturally
remarkable, although he is a human (maybe, chuckle) with no unusual
powers. More to the point, he is a king, an abdicated king, whose
abdication hasn't been accepted by his people (or has it now?), even
though he has made it quite clear that he'd rather not be king, thank
you, and best regards. I really don't want to spoil the tale, so I'm
not going to say much more. I do suggest, if you get the SFBC version,
that you ignore the blurb until after you read the book! In fact, the
art is unremarkable, so perhaps you should just throw the dust cover
away and not take the chance of reading the little list of spoilers
inside the front cover.
One of the reasons that I like this book is that it is a good tale. The
science is secondary, providing necessary mechanics and no more, so
Rambo Kinnison fans will be terrifically bored, but those of you who
liked Brokedown Palace (Steven Brust), Silverlock (John Myers Myers),
and other books where the storytelling was foremost, and the look-wow-
science! was barely an accessory will have an entirely good time with
this one. I'll have to dig up some other Silverberg and see if it was
me, rather than the book.
Pico Reviews
Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones [***+]
Berkley, 1987, paperback, $2.95, 241.
This is a book by an author I'm not familiar with. What initially
attracted me to it was the cover art, a large Goon in a kitchen chair
eating a slice of cake with a switchblade, and sipping a cup of tea
with his pinkie extended. He is the titular character. For once, the
cover is pretty appropriate, and even the short cover blurb captures
the spirit of the story: He was Large, Ugly, and not leaving their
kitchen. He was a wizard's enforcer. He was... Archer's Goon. The
story is (for the most part) told from the viewpoint of a thirteen year
old boy, and its tone is really that of a juvenile. In fact, I think
it'd be a good story for the young adolescent. But it has plenty of
humor and an engaging mystery plot, and is thus interesting to the
adult as well. I liked it quite a lot, and I'm glad, for once, to have
given in to the attractive packaging.
-- Wayne Throop
dg_rtp!throopw
The Black Castle by Les Daniels [***]
Ace, 1978, 232 pp., $2.50
This is a story of good and evil, and the difference (or lack there of)
between them. The story focuses on 2 brothers, one who is the Grand
Inquisitor for the Spanish Inquisition, and the other a vampire. The
story is very philosophical, especially from the vampire's view point.
The book has a few surprises and a generally clever story. Definitely
not a book for people with strong religious convictions who don't like
them questioned, even in fiction, or people who don't like graphic
scenes (the Inquisition was not a fun time). I liked the book and
thought some interesting philosophies were made.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
Chthon by Piers Anthony [*]
Berkley, 1967 232 pp, $1.25 (paper)
This is one of the most confusing and uninteresting books I have ever
read. I am a very big Piers Anthony fan, but this book just doesn't
have anything going for it. The story is about a man who falls in love
and is thrown in jail because of it, and follows his exploits of trying
to get out of jail. The reasons for his falling in love being against
the law are explained, but would constitute a spoiler. The book is
confusing because it jumps between when he is in and out of jail,
bouncing all around the time line, without any smoothness. If memory
serves me correctly, this book was re- released a couple of years ago,
but a couple of chapters were missing. This may have been corrected
(follow the chapter numbering to find out; they chapters in my copy
weren't renumbered when the missing chapters were removed). At the time
I contacted the publisher and was sent another copy with the same
chapters missing, but this may have been corrected by now.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
The Cornelius Chronicles, Volume III by Michael Moorcock [**/***]
Avon, 1987
Once again, the Final Word on Jerry Cornelius and his crewly mots. The
first novel, The Adventures of Catherine Cornelius and Una Persson in
the 20th Century, takes those two characters through an alternative
century of war and violence, with a dubious reversal-ending. The
second, The Alchemist's Question, seems to dispose of the English
Assassin once and for all -- but leaves major questions to be opened if
Moorcock chooses. Both are well-written and witty, but both need an
advanced degree in Moorcock to extract the plot. Not a Sunday
afternoon's good read.
-- Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
ptsfa!pbhyc!djo
The Day The Sun Stood Still [***]
Thomas Nelson Inc., 1972, 209 pages.
This book has three original novellas, one by Poul Anderson, one by
Robert Silverberg, and one by Gordon R. Dickson. All three have the
same starting premise: as the troubles in the world mount, someone
comes forth and gets the world to pray as a whole for a sign by God to
show that He truly exists, and God grants the sign, He makes the Sun
stand still for one day. The first two stories were not very
interesting and the authors did exactly what would be expected. The
third story, by Gordon R. Dickson, however, is something else all
together. In itself, "Things Which Are Caesar's," is worth getting the
book. This story doesn't focus on the prophet who got the world to pray
(though he does make a cameo), instead it focuses on a group of people
who meet at the time for the miracle and we watch these strangers face
the miracle and its after effects together. This different perspective,
coupled with the interesting characters created make this one of the
best short stories (or novella technically) I have read in a long time.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
Dreadnought! by Diane Carey [**-]
Star Trek #29 Pocket, 1986, 251 pp, $3.50
This was my introduction to the line of Star Trek novels, and a
disappointing introduction it was. The story is about a young
Lieutenant who is a captaincy candidate. When the new ultimate weapon
(designed and created by the Federation) is stolen, she and her friends
must save the day. The story has the feel of a Wednesday After School
Special where the Junior High School students solve the crime for the
police. I never got the feel that any of the main characters was over
the age of about 17 (thought one is stated as being 35). The old crew
of the Enterprise does make some very excellent cameo appearances, and
the Lieutenant's impressions of the old crew are often amusing, but the
scenes when the old crew were off stage were, as the song says, "not up
to contemporary professional standards". I would like to see the
author's next book concentrate more on the old crew, whom she
characterized well.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
The Riddle Of The Wren by Charles de Lint [****]
Ace, 1984, 289 pp, $2.75
This is a wonderful fantasy story. It is a quest story of a young lady
who becomes a traveller of worlds, worlds which are linked through the
Standing Stones (where would fantasy literature be without them?). Her
quest is to save a man she once met in a dream, so that he may save the
worlds from the evil Dream-master, Ildran. This story has much of the
beauty of true epic fantasies, with the simplicity of stories such as
the Wizard of Oz. A nicely written, pleasant story.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
The Source Of Magic by Piers Anthony [**]
Del Rey, 1979, 326 pp, $1.95
This is the second book of the Xanth series. In it we follow the
further adventures of our heroes from the first book, A Spell For
Chameleon. In this book they go in search of the source of the magic in
the land Xanth. While it is occasionally amusing, and is in general a
simple light read, it does not have any great merit or interest to
recommend it. It is by no means as good as the first book, and lacks
the puns of the later book (though it does have some). This makes a
good book for people who like the characters of Xanth or who just want
to read a simple quick book in between heavier reading material. But do
read A Spell For Chameleon first, it is a better book, it will help
explain and introduce what is happening in this book.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
A Spell For Chameleon by Piers Anthony [*****]
Del Rey, 1977, 344 pp, $1.95 (paper)
The first book in Piers Anthony's famous best selling Xanth series.
This is one of my favorite books of all times (and was my introduction
into modern non-epic Fantasy). It is the story of Bink, a young man
about to be exiled from his home land because he could not demonstrate
a magic talent. As the plot thickens we become more and more convinced
that he has magic, and strong magic at that, but he can't show it. So
we follow his exploits as he learns to cope with his problems. The
story is well wrapped up (ignoring the fact that there are now about 7
or 8 sequels to it, following chronologically), has a number of nice
surprises, interesting characters, and good humor. The puns which make
the Xanth series so popular do not drown out the plot as they do in
some of the later books, but are still present to give humor to the
story. All in all, probably my second favorite book, surpassed only by
The Silmarillion by Tolkien. You must read this book before reading any
of the other Xanth books.
--Jim Winner
winner@cua.bitnet
Wizard War by Hugh Cook [***+]
Popular Library (Questar), 1986, paperback, $3.50, 447 pages.
This is a book originally published in England under the title The
Wizards and the Warriors. The original title is a little more apt,
since most of the time the plot concerns relations between (oddly
enough) wizards and warriors. On the other hand, the new title isn't
totally inept, since the basic hook of the story is a conflict between
members of the Confederation of Wizards. But the nice thing about this
book is that it isn't just a simple little quest story, with a big
confrontation at the end where the Good Guys triumph. No, there are
multitudinous plot twists, and the original quest becomes somewhat moot
halfway or so through, and the end sort of trails off a little. You
know.... like real life does. And it is largely the homey real- life
quality and the interesting characters that make this book worthwhile.
I rather liked it.
-- Wayne Throop
dg_rtp!throopw
OtherRealms #17
July, 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 be reproduced in its entirety only for
non-commercial purposes. No article may be reprinted without
the express permission of the author.
