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%T Hellflower
%A Eluki bes Shahar
%I DAW
%D June 1991
%O paperback, US$3.99
%P 252
%G 0-88677-475-6
This is a better-than-average space adventure with a flavor
reminiscent of Jo Clayton's work (see RR#48,
RR#89). Butterfly St. Cyr is an honest smuggler
with a dangerous secret; her ship carries a forbidden AI that happens
to be her best friend. When she rescues a mercenary who turns out to
be a prince, the complications draw her into a lethal intrigue. The
author's vivid imagery and language are what lift this book out of the
ordinary; also her protagonist is very likeable. Recommended.
%T Go Tell the Spartans
%A Jerry Pournelle
%A S.M. Stirling
%I Baen
%D June 1991
%O paperback, US$4.95
%P 345
%G 0-671-72061-9
This is Stirling being a good influence again (see RR#110, The General). Take a
random Pournelle opus, rip out most of Pournelle's heavy-handed "ve
vill have order" conservative chuntering, replace with
Stirling's superior world-building and writing, and that's what you
have here. This book covers a gap in the future of The Mote In
God's Eye, chronicling the events that forced Sparta out of its
isolationism into the role of imperial power (and, eventually, nucleus
of the First Empire).
NOTE:
Jack Vance's excellent fantasy Madouc (RR#56) comes out in mass-market paperback this month (August 1991). So does Tad Williams's The Stone of Farewell (RR#41).
[ This short takes is a bit shorter than usual owing to some technical problems having to do with conversion to the new header format. RR129 will be of the normal length --- ESR]
Up to Eric's Home Page | To Index | Sat Jul 27 17:39:12 EDT 1991 |
Eric S. Raymond <esr@snark.thyrsus.com>