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%T Alien Minds
%A Keith Laumer
%I Baen
%D May 1991
%O paperback, US$4.50
%P 326
%G 0-671-72055-4
Keith Laumer was never a writer of the first rank, but he did
produce a number of minor classics of the genre at one time (his
Retief and Bolo stories being perhaps the best known). This anthology
was evidently intended as tribute, but it mainly highlights what a
desperate wreck his career has become (see also RR#110). The two new stories in this anthology
("The Propitiation of Brullamagoo" and "Reverse English") are not
merely bad, they're embarrassingly awful make-you-wince bad. The
rest, including the good ones ("Hybrid", "Dinochrome", "Doorstep") are
all familiar anthology fare from going on thirty years ago. No reason
to bother buying this one.
%T The Host
%A Peter R. Emshwiller
%I Bantam/Spectra
%D May 1991
%O paperback, 358 pp, US$4.50
%G 0-553-28984-5
There's good news and bad news about Peter Emshwiller's novel, "The
Host." The good news is that Emshwiller is unafraid to wrestle with
and take bold stands on controversial moral issues (his protagonist's
principles have interestingly Objectivist overtones). The bad news is
that "The Host" features competent but unimaginative writing,
derivative plot elements (a culture where the rich live above ground,
the poor below, and the jaded rich hire poor folks to lend them their
bodies for amusement), unlikely slang, and credibility-straining
coincidences (e.g., a female doctor who has met the protagonist only once
throws aside career and safety to help him clear his name). But the
ingenuity and upbeat determination of Emshwiller's male hero to become
a "mother" add appeal to an otherwise ordinary "read-once" novel. [CCO]
%T Serpent Catch
%A Dave Wolverton
%I Bantam/Spectra
%D May 1991
%O paperback, 418 pp, US$4.99
%G 0-553-28983-7
"Serpent Catch" is a coming-of-age novel. Unlike most such works,
the hero is a half-Neanderthal, half human hybrid, resident on a
planet seeded with various animal, plant, and human species thousands
of years ago by an advanced race as a sophisticated kind of nature
preserve. The hero's quest is to capture a kind of sea serpent
essential to preserving the ecology of the country in which his people
live; to succeed, he must come to grips with both his human and
Neanderthal heritage. Both Wolverton's world-building and characters
are quietly convincing, though the inclusion of a member of the
advanced race that seeded the planet in the expedition smacks too
loudly of the "deus ex machina" nature and the happy ending seems a
bit forced. [CCO]
Up to Eric's Home Page | To Index | Sat Jul 20 22:15:44 EDT 1991 |
Eric S. Raymond <esr@snark.thyrsus.com>