Electronic OtherRealms #28 Fall, 1990 Part 13 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 1 of 2] Reviews by our Readers Agviq Michael Armstrong Popular Library, 1990, 0-445-20848-1, 275 pp., $4.50 Not since Ruesch's classic Top of the World have I had such an interesting nose-nuzzle with the Real People. Armstrong's version of isolated survivors of World War Last strands a blonde anthropologist among North Slope Eskimos when the bombs fall. He paints an authentic, legitimately chilling panorama of Inupiaq life, both before and after "civilization." Claudia Kendall is digging at the abandoned village of Pingasagruk, in search of artifacts and her doctorate, when her undergraduate assistant, Rob, hears the first radio confirmation of nuclear Armageddon. Fortunately, Rob has read Dean Ing, and turns their excavation of an old Inupiaq house into a fallout shelter for the next three weeks. The two emerge, somehow still chaste, and begin to walk to Wainwright. They are turned back to Barrow, however, by three men who have retaken their tribal lands from the taniks and no longer welcome Whites. On their way to Barrow, Rob falls through the ice and drowns. Claudia continues on alone, only to meet new horror outside Barrow where a ravine contains the bodies of hundreds of dead taniks. As she cautiously enters the ravaged town, Claudia is met by armed men who recognize her, Inupiaq cousins who have returned to Real People ways and names. Tuttu takes her before the village elders, now led by his grandfather, Malgi, who decrees that they have use for this tanik woman -- if she shows proper respect -- for the Real People need instruction on their ancient ways. Before she can become a proper wise woman and hunter in the tribe, however, she must fight for her life with her new extended family. The ensuing battle destroys most modern supplies and food, and survival of all Barrow depends on a successful return to hunting agviq, the bowhead whale -- if Claudia and Malgi can remember how! As one of the few whose "after things fell apart" novel does not depend on nuclear war, I sympathize with Armstrong. The rapid rust-through of the Iron Curtain flenses the blubber from his whale tale. Despite excellent feel for the territory, a few plot elements gnaw at suspension of disbelief. Laptop PCs and snow mobiles turn up at too convenient moments, and most lesser characters are sticks to be blown away. And while much is made of the Inupiaq lesbian character, Tammy, the lack of any credible sexuality in this Eskimo story is a real snow job. -- Dean R. Lambe Arachne Lisa Mason William Morrow, 1990, 0-688-09245-4, 263 pp., $19.95 You've got to admire the spunk of a novice novelist who writes her own puff sheet for her first novel, especially when that book finds the rail right from the starting gate and gallops almost all the way to the finish line. But then unusual things might be expected of a woman who escapes the Byzantine world of corporate law with her soul intact -- which is pretty much what the novel is about. After the second Big Quake, in a San Francisco almost a century hence, young Carly Nolan straps into a telelink chair for her first case. As her brain fuses with the worldwide Telespace network, something terrible goes wrong and she encounters images of spiders and mayflies instead of the cutthroat legal interchange that will strip a widow of her just due. Suddenly the perfect world of this genetically-engineered superYuppie, on the fast tract of megacorporate Ava & Rice, crashes to the mean, gridlocked streets, where neoAztec gangs cut the hearts from those who offend the corn goddess, dropouts carry Aboriginal spears, pirates sail the Bay, and robots conspire to collect human "electro-neural energy." As her mentor's brain crashes to mush, and the Telespace judge threatens disbarment, Nolan tries loveless sex and illicit drugs as her condition worsens. Finally, intertwined human and AI forces push her into the claws of Prober Spinner, a robot shrink with its own secret meta-program, who may have to destroy her mind in order to save it. Mason knows just enough about computers to get details wrong, and nothing about neurophysiology, yet this dead-on tour of the real "paper chase" glows with energy and creativity. The combination of now-standard cyberpunk metaphors with Jungian archetypes, Greek mythology, and New Age metaphysics works surprisingly well, so long as the reader doesn't inquire too closely about the Freudian images at the back of the neck. At the end, well, we're not . . . at the end, but such sequelitis may be blamed on the geeks of modern publishing, and we do want to read more by this talented writer. -- Dean R. Lambe Circumsolar! Richard A. Lupoff Ace, August 1989, 262pp, $3.95, 0-441-11791-0 The novel is set in a universe which may be familiar to readers of Lupoff's Circumpolar! To readers who did not read that novel the setting remains a bit of mystery. Forget all laws of physics, probability, and do not count on logic when reading this book. "Suspension of disbelief" is strained beyond the breaking point, and in general the book reads like a modern version of the kind of movie that gave SF a bad name in the 50's. In this novel the Earth, which is doughnut shaped, like all other planets, finds out in 1927 that it has a second hemisphere which is reached by traveling through the central hole. First contact is made with the people living on the "far side" and out of this new technology, such as "magnetic ray propulsion" comes. Then (in 1942), it turns out that there is a second Earth, in the same orbit but exactly opposite the first Earth, and it is calling for help. Two unlikely groups of characters respond by setting out to reach the alter-ego of earth. The good guys are Einstein, Northrop, and two baseball players, while the bad guys are Peron and Evita, a renegade German aircraft designer and an English noble. They all set out in two airplanes that can move in space by Magnetic propulsion and a nuclear engine (also originating from the far side of the Earth. Not to spoil it for those of you who will want to read this book, let me just say that from this point on the characters undergo a series of unlikely events, and most of these events serve only to add dramatic, action filled moments to the novel, while having no apparent connection to the plot. They can also ignore all physics and logic at will (e.g. they make several landings but still have to de-accelerate to shed the speed given by passing through the center hole of the moon when they left the Earth.) In addition they have some unexplained and seemingly purposeless mystic experiences, and can, sometimes, survive in space with no spacesuits at all. When they finally get to their destination a pale excuse is given as to who summoned them and why. Then all is made well suddenly and without any basis, in a classic Deus Ex Machina conclusion, which left me convinced that Lupoff, like me, got tired of his characters and flimsy plot, and took the easy way out. The only saving grace is lots of action. If you want to read a classic 40's or 50's "B" movie - this may be the book for you. Otherwise, this is a waste of time and money. [*] -- Michael Orr Contrarywise Zohra Greenhalgh 1989; Ace Fantasy Special; 290 pp; $3.95 Below the Presence (God), there are the twenty-seven Greatkin (lesser deities). Among these is the whimsical and perverse Rimble, called "Trickster". While the other Greatkin are patrons of Love or Imagination or Mathematics, Rimble is the force of chaos, wandering the world in many guises, upsetting apple carts and sowing confusion. He plans to keep on doing so, even if it causes the end of the world. I found much to admire in this book, and also much which seriously bothered me. The author seemed to toss in every idea she could think of, as if she couldn't bear to waste one, even if it didn't advance the plot. Among these is the offensive notion that different racial groups have inherently different personality traits. Periodically the book breaks out, like a rash, in attacks of terminal contrariness. I could have done without the low dialect, or the frequent dependent clauses left standing waveringly on their own. However, the level of inventiveness is high throughout; and the good writing (when the author controls her bad habits) is quite good indeed. Given more practice and more restraint, Ms Greenhalgh shows the makings of a promising fantasist. Those who admired such earlier Ace Fantasy Specials as Emma Bull's War For The Oaks might want to check out Contrarywise. [***] -- David M. Shea Dreams Of An Unseen Planet Teresa Plowright 1986; Arbor House; $16.95; 273 pp; 0-87795-863-7 Optimistic young intellectuals brought the Ventura habitat to orbit rugged Gaea, but as the years pass, agronomist Miera Tull is depressed: contact with Earth has been lost, the birth rate is dropping, and her own biological clock is ticking.... Actually, that's about it. If the name of the planet is not sufficient hint, we find such lines as, "...to suckle a moment of peace...", "...a pregnant pause...", "...new life burst forth..." And that's all in the first three chapters. That last one is about plants, by the way, but you get the picture. In short, it's an I Want To Be A Mommy book, thinly disguised as sci-fi. Will Michael be faithful to Daphne? Will Miera get knocked up and/or validate her womanhood? Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. -- David M. Shea Fire Alan Rodgers Bantam; 0-553-28777-X; Sept. 1990; 525 pages The Fire in this excellent second novel by Alan Rogers concerns the Battle of Armageddon as foretold in the Bible when fire will consume the world. However it is not God but one man, Herman Bonner, a man held in high esteem by the government who wants to 'sterilize the planet and get rid of Sodom and Gomorrah'. The President's wife has accidently died while on a trip to Russia and in retaliation he declares war against them. A recently discovered microbe is accidently released during these nuclear explosions. This microbe, trilobite, can reconstruct a fossil from bits and pieces of its DNA. The horror of this is that it resurrects all the people and creatures that have died. In effect you die, then are resurrected, then die again and the pattern repeats itself, ad infinitum. Nothing can stop it! Can you imagine being electrocuted, dying and then coming back to life only to repeat the same death over and over? The thought of that continuing agony makes me shudder. Also released in the blast is a creature whose appearance resembles the Beast of Revelation -- a physical abomination with several heads growing from its neck. This creature apparently can communicate telepathically and it convinces Ron Hawkins to travel with it on a cross-country journey to try and stop this Apocalypse. The ending was superb. Rogers ties everything together in a most fitting and satisfying conclusion. Fire has enough action, violence and suspense to fill a couple of books. The ending was a minor letdown for me only because I wanted this fine epic to continue. I feel it cries out for a sequel. This marvelously crafted novel challenges the reader's imagination by theorizing on many of man's religious dilemmas regarding death and the end of the world, while leaving the answers to one's own beliefs. It does make one think. The characters are superb and more than believable, but the one I most enjoyed was old Tom the dog. Tom seemed to have the best role and at times had more personality and insight than the others. Rogers even managed to sneak in a couple of Bantam Books executives as characters, namely his wife Amy Stout as a store manager and Lou Aronica as a sheriff. Alan Rogers is a rising star in the horror field and Fire will only enhance his future position. Don't miss this novel. -- Richard Weilgosh The Founder Christopher Rowley 1989 Del Rey 251 pp; $3.95 Set in the Fenrille universe, this novel is a prequel to the author's award-winning The War For Eternity (1983) and The Black Ship (1985). Like most prequels it has the built-in disadvantage that one knows, to some extent, how it comes out. However, this book contains enough action for any two ordinary novels: Clan Fundan's escape from the Sol system; civil war aboard the starship; and humanity's first contact with the fein, the chitin, and the woodwose. Rowley has a knack for portraying the human race's darker side, without losing touch entirely with our meager virtues. Those who know the Fenrille universe will find new insights; those who don't, might start here and then catch up with the other books. Recommended. [****] -- David M. Shea Heritage Of Flight Susan Shwartz New York: TOR, 1989, $3.95, 338 pp This is a difficult novel to categorize and perhaps is best described as ecological science fiction. Not that there aren't other elements present, there are: Galactic war, discrimination within and between races, colonization of new worlds, the struggle for survival and the struggle for growth of self all dart in and out from chapter to chapter. But these serve more as sheep dogs, herding the plot along to its somewhat predictable, if only in a general sense, end. In fact, this is ecological SF from a science perspective. Sort of like a treatise on the impact of oil spills as written by Exxon. The points are all there and well made, but the final conclusions and the actions taken are somewhat contradictory and driven by expediency. For example, one of the major themes in the novel has to do with the fledgling colony's contact with a race of moth-like beings who turn out to possess intelligence. Unfortunately, much like their Earthly counterparts, these moths -- or Cynthians as they are called -- pass through a larval stage to reach adulthood. And the larvae are ravenous, directly threatening the area staked out by the colony. And so, the settlers are forced to make a choice -- albeit a somewhat loosely explained one -- in which they decide to eradicate all traces of the Cynthians -- larvae and adults. This produces a great deal of cultural angst which is present throughout the book. Not that the decision is lightly made, it isn't, only following much discussion and soul searching. The driving voice of reason, in the person of one Beneatha, the group's Xenobiologist, is unfortunately muted due to Shwartz's decision to make the character a whiner and a nag. While Benethea says all the right things about protection of the environment and its native species, the message is warped by the medium. And the message is important, if not crucial, to the theme and plot. This message, embodied by the act of genocide, returns in discussions concerning what sort of cultural heritage the colony is leaving for its children. Parents and the colony's leaders fear that their actions will leave the children mentally scarred beyond healing. The emotional impact of making major decisions rings true and Shwartz has done an excellent job of capturing the mental anguish of leadership in no-win situations. Characters thoughts, words and deeds ring true to life. This is both a very good thing and a very bad thing. While I found myself nodding in agreement with the internal dilemmas I was also somewhat annoyed with the amount of time spent on them. True to life, yes, but, I think, too true for fiction to be comfortable. Shwartz's ability to show the dilemmas faced by this tiny colony whose only mission consisted of the order "to live and be human," is quite detailed. Too much so, perhaps, in that a great deal of time is spent with these characters guilt, anger and depression and too little with their search for possible solutions. A number of times I found myself wanting to reach into the pages and slap some sense into these people. If they were truly worried about their children they should have been more concerned with the effect their constant moaning and groaning was having. The primary groaner is Pauli Yeager, former deep space fighter pilot and now colony commander, mother, wife, chief decision maker and conscience for the people. Pauli mumbles and stumbles her way through the book, wracked by indecision concerning the future and regrets about the past. When the opportunity presents itself, in the form of a contact from a now unified galaxy, Pauli freely gives herself up to authority, in fact, demanding court martial and the subsequent penalty for genocide -- death. It should be noted that this book is composed of three short stories, two which previously appeared in Analog in 1983 and 1986. While this in no way affects the plot, it does make the flow somewhat choppy. The breaks, where one story ends and another begins are fairly obvious, but this proves far less distracting than Shwartz's adherence to "real life" in her characterization. -- Stephen Sawicki Heritage Of Flight Susan Shwartz Tor; 1989; $3.95 Pauli Yeager was trained as a combat pilot. But when her ship fled an unsuccessful battle, she and a handful of other officers were assigned a thankless task. Dumped on a virtually unexplored planet with a shipload of refugee children, Yeager and her companions are instructed simply to "survive, and stay human". With limited supplies and virtually no briefing, a handful of soldiers and a troop of half-feral children are left to make it on their own. Survive they will; but at what appalling cost? Like Yossarian's fish, I have ambivalent feelings about this book. The author, best known for historical fantasies, proves she can spin a credible space opera. The book is well-written, the pace is crisp, and the characters are believable. Still, Heritage Of Flight is an uncomfortable companion. It's about things I'd rather not think about: things like atrocity, guilt, atonement. (It's a very Jewish sort of book ...) And that, presumably, is the point. That this book insists you think about the unthinkable is at once its best recommendation and its chief drawback. [****-] -- David M. Shea [continued] ------ End ------