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OtherRealms Issue 28 Part 14
Electronic OtherRealms #28
Fall, 1990
Part 14 of 18
Copyright 1990 by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved.
OtherRealms may be distributed electronically only in the original
form and with copyrights, credits and return addresses intact.
OtherRealms may be reproduced in printed form only for your personal use.
No part of OtherRealms may be reprinted or used in any other
publication without permission of the author.
All rights to material published in OtherRealms hereby revert to the author.
From Beyond the Edge [Part 2 of 2]
In the Country of the Blind
Michael Flynn
Baen $3.95 527 pg.
H.G. Wells wrote a short story that was based on the saying "In the
country of the blind, the one eye man would be king." The story debunked
the saying by showing that a community of the blind would have developed
ways of surmounting their handicap so an one eye man would not have any
real advantage when pitted against the entire community. This novel is
an attempt to portray realistically what would happen if a secret
society really did try to influence human events. The story starts with
the premise that while Charles Babbage failed in his attempt to build an
analytical machine, others succeeded and used the machine to develop
mathematical models of human behavior that allowed them to predict
future trends and manipulate them to their own ends.
By our time, this secret Babbage Society has grown rich and powerful.
However it has also become divided and corrupt which limits their
ability to control and influence. Sarah Beaumont is secretly buying up
houses in an old section of Denver, planning to gentrify it. Unknown to
her, one of the previous owners, Brady Quinn, of one the houses she
tries to buy was a dissident member of the Babbage Society. In her
attempt to research the history of the building and Quinn she
inadvertently alerts the society of her research. Thinking she has
discovered their existence, they try to kill her. Sarah survives,
learns of the society and vows to destroy it.
A tremendous amount of historical research went into this book as well
as a large amount of thought into the implications of a secret society
that was able to predict the future through mathematical models. The
result is quite realistic and very believable. Basically such a society
would have tremendous influence on our society but would not be all
powerful. Our society is too large and unity is very hard to maintain
in a large group over a long period of time for such a society to
achieve total dominance. The result is an engrossing mystery that
always has the ring of authenticity. Anyone who has ever had to deal
with large group politics would immediately understand why such a
society could not truly rule the world from behind the throne.
Despite large amounts of philosophizing, the book is mainly an action
story as Sarah first tries to escape the society's assassins and then
tries to strike back at them. Sarah's ability to survive is well
established by her background. However, she is not superwoman. Her
success is due in large part to the assistance of a breakaway faction of
the society. The characterization is well done. Too many of the
Babbage society leaders are too psychotic but is within acceptable
limits given the premise that power corrupts. In all, this is a highly
recommended book. [****]
-- Danny Low
A Matter of Taste
Fred Saberhagen
TOR Horror; 0-312-85046-8: 284 pages; July 1990; $16.95
It has been several years since I last read a Saberhagen novel and I
guess I've got some catching up to do. A Matter of Taste is a vampire
novel with a little twist as it's told from the vampire's perspective.
Angie Hoban's fiancee just happens to be the nephew (of sorts) of a
vampire, Matthew Maule. She and her fiancee visit 'Uncle Matt' to ask
him to attend their wedding, but shortly after arriving Maule is
suddenly taken quite ill. Angie discovers that Maule is a writer and
presently working on a new novel. Maule asks her to listen to some
tapes that might help explain what's happening. We learn how Matthew
Maule became a vampire and how intent he was on revenge against the men
who betrayed him. We follow his trek across Europe to Italy, where he
eventually settles and becomes the right hand of Cesare Borgia.
Saberhagen gives us a fine history lesson of Italy and what transpired
between the aristocracy and the papacy in the late 15th century. We
cross paths with such illuminaries as the Borgias, Leonardo da Vinci and
Copernicus.
A Matter of Taste is standard Saberhagen fare- fast paced, well written,
good plot-line with dialogue not as stilted as his previous works. The
characters are quite exciting, very believable and realistic. In fact
Saberhagen does such a good job with Matthew Maule that we empathize
with his plight and the fact that someone wants to murder him. We feel
sorry for him and what he's gone through since becoming a vampire, much
the same way we felt after reading 'The Godfather' by Mario Puzo. We
genuinely like character Maule, and we are upset by the way he's been
constantly harassed. We come to appreciate why Maule does what he does
and we're pleasantly surprised at the feelings he has for those he cares
about.
A Matter of Taste has enough to capture and hold the readers attention
resulting in a solid, entertaining story.
-- Richard Weilgosh
Nightside City
Lawrence Watt-Evans
1989; Del Rey; $3.95; 227 pp; 0-345-35944-5
Dawn is coming to the gambling spa of Nightside City; and dawn means the
end of the world. Despite this, someone is buying up real estate in the
doomed resort. A client wants cyberdetective Carlisle Hsing to find out
why. Unfortunately, some heavy hitters are willing to resort to drastic
measures to keep their plans from becoming public.
This book has no great ambitions, it's just a good crisp
adventure/mystery with lots of computer jargon tossed in. The setting
has a suitably gritty future-urban ambience; the plot is logically
constructed around an interesting problem in planetology; the writing is
consistent and well-paced, each chapter ending with a neat narrative
hook. A very solid, professional piece of work. [***+]
-- David M. Shea
Nightwatch
Robin Wayne Bailey
TSR $3.95 311 pg.
This is a police procedural story set in the AD&D Greyhawk universe.
Garett Starlen is the commander of the nightwatch for the Greyhawk
police department. One night all the seers of Greyhawk are murdered.
Then all the mages disappear. Garett is the one assigned to solve the
mystery.
As a police procedural, this novel follows the format well but the
mystery is very badly done. It is very obvious who is the villain. The
motivation is obvious as well. The reader can guess the motivation well
before any of the characters. The action is fast paced. However in
all, this book is of interest only to Greyhawk fans. [*]
-- Danny Low
N-Space
Larry Niven
TOR Books; 0-312-85089-3; 509pp; Sept. 1990; $18.95
Reading science fiction is always a pleasure especially when written by
a master such as Larry Niven. His latest book. N-Space is a collection
of his finest short stories complete with essays by Niven himself on the
how's and why's of each story. Most of these stories have appeared in
previous collections, but several including 'Brenda' and 'The Kiteman'
are collected here for the first time.
This retrospective contains several of my personal Niven favorites,
including 'Inconstant Moon'; 'Flare Time'; 'Man of Steel, Woman of
Kleenex' and 'Passerby'. I guess the main reason I enjoy Niven's
writing is that the worlds and characters he creates appear so
realistic, so believable and most enjoyable to read.
Niven goes into considerable detail explaining his collaboration with
Jerry Pournelle in the writing of The Mote in God's Eye. Larry Niven is
perhaps most famous for the Ringworld & The Ringworld Engineers novels
and also for the marvellous collection of KNOWN SPACE stories.
N-Space begins with kind words from David Brin, Fred Pohl, Greg Benford
and several others who comment on how they first met Niven and the
appreciation they have for this immense talent. Niven also comments on
the people who influenced his career. A complete bibliography, at least
I presume it is, brings to an end this superb collection. I urge you
not to miss N-Space; highly recommended.
-- Richard Weilgosh
Out of Sync
Isidore Haiblum
Del Rey, $3.95, 184 pg.
Basically this is a hardboiled detective story with enough pertinent SF
elements that it is not just a detective story with a SF coating. James
Morgan is one of those people who make their money on the fringes of
society. He is not quite a criminal but also not a honest citizen. He
has finally amassed enough wealth that he has invested in several
casinos. The problem is someone is robbing them. While other casinos
are being robbed as well, the robbers seem to have a special grudge
against Morgan. The story, which is rather short, is about Morgan's
attempts to find the robbers while evading their attempts to stop him.
As in any good mystery and especially one with an SF twist, the plot is
very twisted and requires a fairly long explanation at the end for those
who did not figure it out. The mystery seems to hang together well.
The story is not prolonged due to the characters acting like idiots.
Someone knowledgeable about mysteries and science fiction can probably
figure out what is happening from the events in the book. This is a
minor work but is enjoyable. [***]
-- Danny Low
Petrogypsies
Rory Harper
Baen, 0-671-69840-0, 275 pp., September 1989, $3.50
Imagine an alternate Earth where all petroleum products are recovered
through the use of huge "critters", crewed by Gypsies and you've got a
head start on this book.
Petrogypsies follows one Henry Lee McFarland from the time he leaves his
daddy's farm to join a gypsy drilling crew. We join Henry Lee in
learning his new trade and in seeing the wonders inherent in being a
gypsy on one of the gargantuan living machines which travel the country
searching for petrochemicals.
The book is really three novelets strung together. Still, this does
nothing to deter from Harper's fast and loose style of writing. To
Harper's credit he does not go into too much detail on exactly how these
"critters" came to exist, but instead delves into the human side of the
equation, rounding out a cast of interesting characters that are
enjoyable to spend time with.
Petrogypsies reminds me of the stories one would find in Analog
somewhere in the sixties -- character driven from a point of pure
speculation. This is a fun book, at times touching and at time
humorous. Tom Kidd's cover captures the essence of the novel in a few
brush strokes. This is Harper's first novel and based on its content,
the future looks bright for this Texas native.
-- Steven Sawicki
The Renegades Of Pern
Anne McCaffrey
Del Rey, 0-345-34096-5, 384 pages, $19.95, November 1989
While this is a continuation of McCaffrey's Pern series, the reader
should be warned not to expect that this novel deals, once again, with
dragons. While the telepathic, thread fighting, flying behemoths are
certainly present, they play but a minor role.
The renegades of the title are essentially the homeless (or perhaps
holdless would be a better word) of Pern. There's Thella, who leaves
the security of her family's hold to establish a hold of her own
(something that would never happen if she'd stayed.) There's Jayge,
whose family plies the overland routes between holds, trading and
delivering goods. And there's Aramina, whose family has been rendered
holdless through the machinations of a conqueror.
The interweaving of these three lives and how each complicates the
others makes up the body of the plot. It should also be noted that the
Southern Continent plays a large role. In fact, parts of this book seem
to replay previous explorations as detailed in The White Dragon,
although told from a different point of view.
While I admit to being initially disappointed as I kept wondering when
the dragons would show up, McCaffrey's deft storytelling more than made
up for their absence. With Renegades, McCaffrey seems intent on opening
up new chapters in Pern's history, something every fan of the series
should be more than happy about.
-- Steven Sawicki
Sparrowhawk
Thomas A. Easton
Ace Books, 1990
Traditionally, physicists are given credit for the thought experiment,
the what-if scenario at the cutting edge of scientific endeavor. And
some of the best science fiction tales have followed from such what-ifs.
With the biological revolution, however, life scientists have taken to
whacking and hacking with mathematical purity, and thought experiments
find a place among creatures great and small. In his first novel,
biologist Easton has run his what-if a few score years into an American
future where genetic engineering has replaced conventional industry and
technology to a large degree.
Easton's designer genes world of 2044 opens with the fall of a sparrow,
a Palestine Airways Sparrow the size of a 747, that is. The big bird,
it's biochip controller sabotaged, misses the airport with it's load of
passengers, and lands on a freeway where it begins to gobble Roachsters
and other Buggies, and the people who drive them. Nick and Emily Gilman
and their son Andy escape the gruesome gizzard because they drive a safe
Tortoise.
When gengineer Emily is interviewed about the rogue Sparrow at her
office at Neoform Labs, however, she feels an immediate attraction for
the hawker, the cop Bernie Fischer, who patrols aboard a giant kestrel.
Soon the reader learns that all is not well with Emily's marriage to her
poetic househusband, nor does harmony rein at Neoform, where bigoted
Ralph Chowdhury tries to design cars based on armadillos in competition
with Emily for Sean Galarean's research funding.
Back home, Andy Gilman enjoys an errant Chickadee in his yard, an
escapee from the local commercial airport, where drug smugglers let the
private birdplane roam. Then a Bittern with poisoned beak tries to kill
Emily, Chowdhury's underworld Cocaine Nettles and Heroin Jellyfish
operations expand, and the sexual fire between the gengineer and the cop
reaches flashpoint.
Despite first-novel foibles -- point of view shifts and inconsistencies
in futuristic projection -- Sparrowhawk moves right along as a twisty
police-procedural mystery. Characters have breadth and depth; you care
about them. Oddly, only the technology doesn't seem to work. While
Easton makes appropriate nods to the square-cube law and the problem of
elephant dung rung large, the society seems at a net loss in terms of
greenhouse gases. Just how much methane and cee-oh-two does an airline
fleet of sparrows and eagles emit? And where are the small appliances
that ought to have come first -- before bulldogs replaced Mack trucks --
the oh, so needed garbage gut and plastic diaper eater? Perhaps the
story is best enjoyed, tongue in cheek as Easton intended, without
dissection of the creature features.
-- Dean R. Lambe
Surrender None
Elizabeth Moon
Baen $4.50 530 pg.
In the Paksenarrion trilogy, the legacy of Gird had a major influence in
Pak's growth from a sheepherder's daughter to a Paladin. This book
tells the story of Gird. The first half of the book tells of Gird's
life before his rebellion and is detailed and well done. Unfortunately
the story goes downhill once Gird rebels.
One problem is the story gets more and more compressed as the rebellion
proceeds until by the end, the story is more of a synopsis than a true
story. Another more critical problem is the nature of Gird's deeds.
What he did certainly qualifies him as a major cultural hero but there
is very little that qualifies him for godhood. Someone who is not aware
of Gird's divine stature in the Paksenarrion books would be left
confused at what happens to Gird in the end. The divine element is too
minimal in this story whereas it was rather prominent in the
Paksenarrion stories. Yet this story requires more divine elements.
Paksenarrion only became a Paladin. Gird became a god.
Considering the length of the book, one gets the impression that Moon
wanted to avoid writing a multiple volume story even though the story is
big enough for two volumes. The very down to earth style of Moon's
fantasy works against her in this story. Gird's ascension into godhood
is too unexpected and unexplained. Those who are interested in military
SF will find the second half of the book quite fascinating. Here Moon's
military background is put to good use.
This is not a bad book but considering what Moon did with the
Paksenarrion novels, itis a disappointment. [**]
-- Danny Low
The Varayan Memoir 1: Son of the Hero
Rick Shelley
ROC, $3.95, 256 pg.
This novel is an interesting variation of the hero in a strange land.
Typically these stories involve someone from our world who is
transported to another world where he becomes the Hero that saves the
world. This novel is about the son of the Hero.
Gil Tyner always knew his parents were a little strange but just before
his 21st birthday he discovers why. He returns from college to find his
parents gone. He finds a message that says that if he is reading the
message, his parents are in deep trouble. He should go to their rescue
through the magic door in the basement. Magic door? Well there is one
and it leads to a land between Mundania (us) and Fairie. He discovers
his father is the official Hero of Varay. Varay is a land where magic
works and science too, sometimes.
Gil goes to rescue his father and partially discovers why his parents
have been living in Mundania and keeping Gil's heritage a secret from
him. Eventually Gil becomes the new Hero and completes the mission to
save Varay that his father died trying to complete.
While there will clearly be a sequel, the story in this book is
completed in this book. The writing is mixture of humor and seriousness
that blend together well. Shelley knows his horses. Instead of being a
convenient method of traveling from place to place, the horses in this
book get tired and have to be fed and care for. The characterization is
sparse but adequately done. Most characters can be readily
differentiated from each other. The story is logical. There are some
unexplained events but hopefully the explanation are forthcoming. This
is a fun book and is a cut above the average. [****]
-- Danny Low
Vettius And His Friends
David Drake
Baen, 0-671-69802, 304 pp., $3.95
A dozen stories and a short introduction make up this collection. All
were written in the late seventies and I think reflect Drake at his
beginnings. It's not that the individual stories lack a professional
polish or that they're not entertaining. They do and are. Yet one
comes away from each piece with the feeling that one is dealing with
fragments. And indeed two of the stories -- Killer and Ranks of Bronze
were expanded into novels -- successful ones.
Each story falls within the sub-genre of heroic fantasy, with the major
background being fourth century Rome. Seven of the stories focus on
Vettius, a roman soldier and his merchant friend Dama -- forming a loose
history of their relationship. Two additional stories, The Barrow Troll
and King Crocodile, encompass Norse and Egyptian settings respectively.
Only the first story, The False Prophet, was written for this book, the
remainder having been collected from various magazines and anthologies.
As a study of a writer at his beginnings, this anthology is well worth
the purchase. For the avid Drake fan this is probably a necessity. But
unless you're interested in either of the above, you'll find more
satisfaction elsewhere.
-- Steven Sawicki
------ End ------
