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%T Supernova
%A Roger MacBride Allen
%A Eric Kotani
%I Avon
%D October 1991
%O paperback, US$4.50
%P 345
%G ISBN 0-380-76060-6
In some ways this reminds me powerfully of Black Sun (RR#142) --- another considerably
better-than-average disaster novel uplifted by good science and
featuring an astronomer as central character. This time the nemesis
isn't a solar glitch but Sirius B. No, the Earth isn't incinerated;
Sirius B isn't close enough for that. There is a subtler danger,
though --- one the authors explore rather tellingly. Also, the
depiction of life in academe is truer and more detailed here; the
characters more plausible. Decent airplane reading.
%T Jinx High
%A Mercedes Lackey
%I Tor
%D October 1991
%O paperback, US$3.99
%P 314
%G ISBN 0-812-52114-5
This book had a bunch of strikes against it when it landed on my
desk. It's a sequel, it's packaged like a juvenile, Stephen King
liked it, and there's a nasty demon face and a pair of witchy women on
the cover. All things considered, what was inside turned out to be
much better than I expected, and I begin to understand why Mercedes
Lackey is commonly touted as one of the best of the newer genre fantasists.
The book is sort of an R-rated technology-of-magic dark fantasy for
sophisticated teenagers, enjoyable by an adult as a light read. Diana
Tregare, romance writer and psychic investigator, visits a yuppie
suburb in Oklahoma and promptly trips over the doings of a
three-hundred-year-old sorceress who's causing strange and unwholesome
manifestations at the local high school. The plot wobbles a bit in
spots and the ending is very abrupt, but overall the mix works
reasonably well.
Up to Eric's Home Page | To Index | Fri Jan 17 18:17:27 EST 1992 |
Eric S. Raymond <esr@snark.thyrsus.com>