By Jack L Chalker.
An enjoyable piece of ‘80s pulp science fiction. Actually I think it would be more accurately described as science fantasy, not only because most of the book takes place on a planet where technology can’t exist, but also because the science that is actually discussed is far closer to magic than science. However, so long as you don’t examine that science too closely this is an enjoyable adventure that owes much to Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story is well placed and has plenty of twists and turns, though the big reveal was pretty obvious very early on in the book and I suspect I already know the essence of how the series will end. However I do have quite a few complaints about the writing.
Despite being rather pulpy this was still an interesting idea that could have made an excellent story but it was let down by thin characterisations – only the main character was really fleshed out and he was pretty two dimensional – and some very sloppy writing. I don’t know if I’m particularly fussy when it comes to inconsistencies in a book, maybe I am, but I am always noticing them (particularly in older sf including most ‘golden age’ sf) and they always wrench me out of the story with a “hang on a minute, didn’t he say … a few pages/chapters back?” This book suffered from some very bad examples of this. Here’s one of the worst that doesn’t even go back a page the inconsistency is within the one paragraph: “…a young woman emerged. She was tall and thin and had an almost aristocratic bearing about her. Years ago she’d probably been a really pretty woman, but she was now well into middle age… Her hair was white and her face more wrinkled than even her age should have permitted.” Later in the book the same woman is referred to as an “elderly matron!” Elsewhere a particular kind of death is referred to as “causing an ugly and painful, although mercifully swift, death.” And then just a few pages later the same death is described as “…you died, too—painfully and slowly, in horrible agony.” I’m sorry but these things just bug me!
The author also seems to be struggling with an understanding of the size of particles. One of the main topics of the book is an organism (this is the word used in the book) called the Warden organism: “ …an alien organism, microscopic beyond belief and acting in colonies within the cells.” So just how small is this organism? Surely it must be made up from molecules of some sort? And yet we have this description later: “Consider the number of molecules that go into its [the planet’s] composition. A colony of Wardens for every molecule.” So it seems we have multiple Warden organisms for every molecule of solid matter on the planet. So either these organisms are somehow smaller than molecules or we have an infinite recursion in describing them. Maybe I’m being picky but if you’re going to include technical details in your book then you really need to get them right or at least logical. Or instead just leave them vague. Make them precise and wrong and it’s just clumsy.
My most serious complaint however was with the relationship between Cal, the main protagonist, and a girl who has been manipulated so that she has the face and mind of an “eleven- or twelve-year-old” child on top of an adult body, and with whom, despite initial reservations, Cal proceeds to have a sex and eventually falls in love. ‘80s or not, I found this very disturbing.
So it’s an enjoyable ‘80s pulp science fantasy read that doesn’t bear close examination very well. There are three other books in the series which I may read for a bit of light entertainment but my concern is that I suspect they are largely the same story just set on different planets.
3/5 stars (just)
An enjoyable piece of ‘80s pulp science fiction. Actually I think it would be more accurately described as science fantasy, not only because most of the book takes place on a planet where technology can’t exist, but also because the science that is actually discussed is far closer to magic than science. However, so long as you don’t examine that science too closely this is an enjoyable adventure that owes much to Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story is well placed and has plenty of twists and turns, though the big reveal was pretty obvious very early on in the book and I suspect I already know the essence of how the series will end. However I do have quite a few complaints about the writing.
Despite being rather pulpy this was still an interesting idea that could have made an excellent story but it was let down by thin characterisations – only the main character was really fleshed out and he was pretty two dimensional – and some very sloppy writing. I don’t know if I’m particularly fussy when it comes to inconsistencies in a book, maybe I am, but I am always noticing them (particularly in older sf including most ‘golden age’ sf) and they always wrench me out of the story with a “hang on a minute, didn’t he say … a few pages/chapters back?” This book suffered from some very bad examples of this. Here’s one of the worst that doesn’t even go back a page the inconsistency is within the one paragraph: “…a young woman emerged. She was tall and thin and had an almost aristocratic bearing about her. Years ago she’d probably been a really pretty woman, but she was now well into middle age… Her hair was white and her face more wrinkled than even her age should have permitted.” Later in the book the same woman is referred to as an “elderly matron!” Elsewhere a particular kind of death is referred to as “causing an ugly and painful, although mercifully swift, death.” And then just a few pages later the same death is described as “…you died, too—painfully and slowly, in horrible agony.” I’m sorry but these things just bug me!
The author also seems to be struggling with an understanding of the size of particles. One of the main topics of the book is an organism (this is the word used in the book) called the Warden organism: “ …an alien organism, microscopic beyond belief and acting in colonies within the cells.” So just how small is this organism? Surely it must be made up from molecules of some sort? And yet we have this description later: “Consider the number of molecules that go into its [the planet’s] composition. A colony of Wardens for every molecule.” So it seems we have multiple Warden organisms for every molecule of solid matter on the planet. So either these organisms are somehow smaller than molecules or we have an infinite recursion in describing them. Maybe I’m being picky but if you’re going to include technical details in your book then you really need to get them right or at least logical. Or instead just leave them vague. Make them precise and wrong and it’s just clumsy.
My most serious complaint however was with the relationship between Cal, the main protagonist, and a girl who has been manipulated so that she has the face and mind of an “eleven- or twelve-year-old” child on top of an adult body, and with whom, despite initial reservations, Cal proceeds to have a sex and eventually falls in love. ‘80s or not, I found this very disturbing.
So it’s an enjoyable ‘80s pulp science fantasy read that doesn’t bear close examination very well. There are three other books in the series which I may read for a bit of light entertainment but my concern is that I suspect they are largely the same story just set on different planets.
3/5 stars (just)
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