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%T Robot Visions
%A Isaac Asimov
%I ROC
%D March 1991
%O paperback, US$4.99
%P 482
%G 0-451-45064-7
This book collects most of Asimov's positronic-robot short stories ("Catch
That Rabbit!" and "Escape!", both anthologized in I Robot, are
missing). No further recommendation ought to be necessary; these are classics
of the field. If you've never read them, you have a treat in store. If you
have, buy this to have them collected in one place. As a bonus, it includes a
number of interesting nonfiction essays by Asimov on robotics and his robot
stories.
%T The Fall of Hyperion
%A Dan Simmons
%I Bantam
%D March 1991
%O paperback, US$6.95
%P 517
%G 0-553-28820-2
This isn't exactly a sequel to last year's terrific Hyperion;
they are parts one and two of a meganovel which is unquestionably one of the
best large-screen SF epics of the last decade. There's so much good
stuff in these novels that I'm not even going to try to synopsize them -- just
urge you to buy them and prepare to be delighted, provoked, thrilled,
stimulated, challenged, and entertained. Incredible stuff, up there with the
best work being done in hard SF today.
%T Forsake the Sky
%A Tim Powers
%I TOR
%D April 1991
%O paperback, US$2.95
%P 217
%G 0-812-54973-2
This revised edition of a 1976 Laser Book is a fluffy bit of Sabatini
pastiche that one can enjoy as pure fun. But there's something else of
interest here; this was the first novel of the man who's since become the best
historical fantasist writing today, author of The Drawing Of The
Dark, The Anubis Gates, and On Stranger
Tides. This look at Powers's style in embryo should especially
intrigue fans of his later books.
%T Down the Bright Way
%A Robert Reed
%I Bantam
%D April 1991
%O paperback, US$4.50
%P 312
%G 0-553-28923-3
The plot centered on human attempts to make sense of a universe
studded with the artifacts of godlike Makers is a venerable SF trope,
providing an equivalent of creation myths for the post-religious
world. In this novel the author finds a new change to ring on the
theme; Earth itself is an artifact, with a million counterparts along
a hyperspatial highway called the Bright Way. Myriad variants of
humanity have been touched by the quest for the Makers; now the
initiator of that quest has come to Earth --- and encounters the first
serious threat to her mission in the two million years of her extended
lifespan. For, at the other end of the explored Way, a terrible
threat has arisen, bringing with it a fundamental challenge to the
ethic of the quest. You may disagree with the conclusion of the book
(I did) but you will find Reed's vision compelling and thought-provoking.
Up to Eric's Home Page | To Index | Tue Jul 02 14:22:10 EDT 1991 |
Eric S. Raymond <esr@snark.thyrsus.com>