Science Fiction

Purchase books through Amazon.com by clicking Order.

Arthur C. Clarke's Mysteries. By John Fairley. Prometheus Books, 2000. 256pp. $24.00. 00-044141. ISBN 157392833X. Index; C.I.P.
Order

In this volume, Arthur C. Clarke has chronicled the sense and nonsense of reality in our global community that sometimes seems wilder than our imaginations. He looks at the Bigfoot mysteries, the Loch Ness "monster," sea creatures that have plagued sailors throughout recorded history, people who appear to be stigmatic, and stones and statues that appear to be made from tools and metals that defy explanation in terms of what was available to ancient peoples. While those scientists and members of the public who watched the televised versions of the mysterious worlds presented in the book know about most of these anomalies, Clarke has added a dulcet tone, which is the book's real value. Clarke offers his take on each event as the objective view of an observer of science and reportable facts. He reminds us that it is always dangerous to believe that there are events and findings that we cannot ever explain. Science is constantly uncovering the lock to a long-held secret. This book is useful as a companion piece to an archivist or to a class studying cultural anthropology, as well as the social impacts of how such discoveries or mysteries shape the concept of community. Not a book to devour at one sitting, it would be a good read for someone focusing on a specific area of mystery.

Crime Zero. By Michael Cordy. William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1999. viii+414pp. $25.00. 98-56284. ISBN 0-688-15509-X. C.I.P.
Order

Crime Zeropresents a genetic solution to the global epidemic of violent crime in the year 2008. The book is a pleasure to read. A long weekend devoted to reading it will please most sci-fi fans whose bent is not towards space and plasma physics. The biological and psychological science and pseudoscience are presented in a clear, concise manner that supports the central theme of the novel. The characters are believable, well presented, and true to themselves to the last. A little speculative twist at the story's end gives the reader a bit of food for thought. I recommend the volume heartily.

Double Full Moon Night. By Gentry Lee. Bantam, 1999. 310pp. $23.95. 98-31411. ISBN 0-553-09007-0. C.I.P.
Order

This futuristic fantasy tells of several generations of a small group of planetary colonists who are carried off to strange alien lands by mysterious all-powerful beings who appear infrequently thereafter. The colonists learn to cope with the nature of their surroundings, grow, and occasionally die or vanish, but never quite flourish. Sometimes the mysterious hosts capture or rescue the colonists from near disasters and carry them to unusal new lands. The colonists dwindle as the generations pass, and eventually the final descendants learn of their origins and the fate of their various kin. Among the colonists are members of a religious order who seem to understand and have faith in their alien hosts. Double Full Moon Night is a tale of adventure, love, generational discord, and survival, with overtones of mysticism and religion. While the landscapes in these artificial lands seem very terrestrial, the fauna is quite exotic and often dangerous. Oddly, there are usually fresh fruits to eat, and the water is universally refreshing. Except for brief glimpses of the aliens and their powers, the colonists' lives are simple, without technology more advanced than clubs, knives, and some sort of lanterns. The level of gore in the battles with hostile species is relatively low. The author is to be commended for his great imagination used to create the various creatures and their appearance, communications, abodes, and behavior. Preventing the book from being recommended to young children is a brief passage in which the discussion of sex is perhaps too explicit. This is the second solo book by Gentry Lee, a former aerospace engineer who was Carl Sagan's colleague in the production of the Cosmos series and a co-author with Arthur C. Clarke.

Experiment. By John Darnton. Dutton, 1999. 422pp. $24.95. 99-28860. ISBN 0-525-94517-2. C.I.P.
Order

Think of Ira Levin's The Boys from Brazil and a couple of Michael Crichton's novels/movies (like The Andromeda Strain), put yourself in the midst of an "X-Files" episode, and imagine some mad maverick scientist starting with a "Guess what I just did?" This and a not-too critical attitude should prepare you for the second novel by the award-winning cultural news editor of the New York Times and the author of a previous science fiction title, Neanderthal. For The Experiment, John Darnton has apparently done his homework, whether or not you actually feel transported into his world of head-spinning, improbable coincidences. The book tells of a human cloning laboratory on a secret island off the Georgia coast where a young product, Skyler, finds his love, Julia (another lab product), mysteriously missing, like others before her. He smells a rat, escapes the colony, and manages to reach the mainland. Here, he happens to see a picture of a young news reporter-novelist from New York (Jude Harley) who looks much like him, but older. Obviously, he has got to meet him. On the other side, while investigating a murder story, Jude discovers that, genetically, he is identical to a younger New York State judge. But, a la "X-Files," Jude is not allowed to pursue this lead and is assigned instead to investigate identical twins separated at birth. In the course of this investigation, he meets and falls in love with a Rockefeller Institute researcher, Dr. Elizabeth Tierney ("Tizzie"), who specializes in work on identical twins. Tizzie, as Skyler discovers when he finally reaches New York, resembles his own girlfriend, Julia. The plot thickens further. The three identical and massive bouncer-like orderlies that used to be at the offshore lab are now on the mainland pursuing the escapee Skylar, his look-alike Harley and the Julia look-alike Tizzie in the midst of a series of other happenings (chases, murders, near misses, the FBI, and all that usually goes with such things). I, of course, cannot reveal how it all ends (even if I were to recall all the twists coherently). Darnton gives a fairly good glimpse of what he has learned about cloning and active research areas, including the medical ethics involved. He has had discussions (which he duly acknowledges) with one of the scientists, Keith Campbell (of the Roslin Institute in Scotland), who cloned the sheep Dolly. He injects progeria (or premature aging, which Dolly has experienced) into the story and talks about gerontology (with references to Hayflick's classic experiments on senescence in cells), telomerase, gene therapy, and other scientific issues. As someone familiar with the subject, I enjoyed the way he weaves the real science in. Darnton is by no means a lazy writer. Some may find the coincidences a big stretch and the scientific underpinnings of the story a little forced, but the book takes people for a scary, but entertaining, ride through some of the questions they may have asked themselves.

Factoring Humanity. By Robert Sawyer. Tor Books, 1998. 350pp. $23.95. 98-14527. ISBN 0-312-86458-2. C.I.P
Order

Factoring Humanity is a scientifically brilliant science fiction novel that weaves a plot with several twists into a scientist's discovery of travel through a realm beyond previous human imagination. Taking place in the 2020s, the novel capitalizes on its use of accurate facts and the incorporation of current events to give the reader a context for its story. The world portrayed in Factoring Humanity has been receiving extraterrestrial messages for 10 years, yet no one has been able to decode their meaning. The messages arrive periodically and can be converted to images. In a brilliant flash of insight, Dr. Heather Davis, an analyst of the messages, realizes that the images are meant to be viewed not two dimensionally, but rather, three dimensionally, by combining sets of three pictures. This idea bears an uncanny similarity to one set forth in Carl Sagan's Contact, complete with the notion of a person entering a three-dimensional structure and traveling through to the fourth dimension. Unlike Contact, however, the device built by Dr. Davis in Factoring Humanity takes her to a realm called the "overmind," which enables her to access the thoughts and memories of any person she chooses. The plot involves many complications in each of the character's lives. Kyle Graves, Heather Davis's estranged husband, is working on a quantum computer that will allow the user to break every encrypted piece of data in the world. Heather and Kyle's daughter, Becky, accuse Kyle of abusing her when she was young. Becky's younger sister had committed suicide, leaving little evidence as to why. By having free access to the mind of any person, Heather resolves all of the numerous subplot twists by the end of the book. Factoring Humanity is a book that, while maintaining a spellbinding plot, stays true to the science fiction tradition, giving fans of the genre and others who normally don't read sci-fi an interesting, informative novel.

Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction. By Robert Silverberg, (Ed.). Avon Books Inc., 1999. 482pp. $27.50. 98-46853. ISBN 0-380-97630-7. C.I.P.
Order

Robert Silverberg talked 10 creators of new worlds into writing an additional short story for this volume in the manner of their original series. He also added one of his own to the alternate-history series, "Roma Eterna," wherein the Hebrews never left Egypt. Each of the authors introduces his or her series with brief remarks and a listing of the stories in the series. If you know the stories, you will be pleased with the additional one; if not, here's your chance to delve into the writing of a new popular author. Perhaps you will be encouraged to seek out the others. I wasn't familiar with Nancy Kress' writing, and it took a while to understand "The Sleepless," but it was worth it. Also, I had been putting off reading the "Hyperion" books by Dan Simmons and now find that I must go out and get them after reading "Orphans of the Helix." Other contributors to this volume are Ursula K. Le Guin, Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Frederik Pohl, Gregory Benford, Anne McCaffrey, and Greg Bear.

Good Old-fashioned Future. By Bruce Sterling. Bantam, 1999. 279pp. $6.99 (paper). ISBN 0-553-57624-9.
Order

In this volume, Bruce Sterling continues his penchant for writing books made entirely of ideas. He demonstrates a flair for creating technological extrapolations that stretch the reader's imagination and creates within the reader a page-turning frenzy aimed at rapidly uncovering the author's own fast-paced rhetoric. The book consists of seven short stories about the uncertain futures of people who seemingly live as strangers in worlds that have, or that should have, fallen. These protagonists wage battles in wars already lost and, in so doing, become the heroes of last-ditch efforts to preserve the dignity and individuality of humanity. In one story, a hack Indian filmmaker examines the pulse of Britain, which is portrayed as a declining 21st-century civilization. In another tale, two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs join forces to make a killing by mining organic underground slime and producing computer-generated jellyfish. In yet another yarn, a man in a Japanese city takes orders from a talking cat while pursuing the drama of danger and adventure that has become the very essence of his life. Finland then becomes the setting for the " Littlest Jackel," a darkly hilarious thriller of "mercs and gunrunners. The reader is then taken to Taklamakan and experiences a stark vision of a postatomic netherworld. Readers of this volume will discover that Bruce Sterling has once again broken boundaries, icons, and rules to produce provocative and intelligent science fiction. Busy readers who love science fiction will find these fast-paced short stories a most enjoyable experience. I recommended the book to mature audiences.

History of Science Fiction. By Ron Miller. Franklin Watts, 2001. 144pp. $28.00. 00-036823. ISBN 0531118665. Index; C.I.P.
Order

This book covers the history of science fiction (SF) over the past 2,000 years. The author has a clear understanding of the subject and provides a rationale for its huge growth in the past century. The birth of SF is documented, along with the growth of science overall. The development of current SF is carefully laid out.It has made major contributions in movies and TV shows. The author focuses on major or popular themes of SF writers. Copious artwork helps the reader understand SF and its development. The volume suffers from all of illustrations being black and white. While these are distributed throughout the book, the author devotes a section on the unique art of SF. A limited number of additional readings and movies are recommended to supplement the book. Overall, the volume is a readable, well-documented overview of SF and its development, including SF today.

Kirinyaga: A Tale of Utopia. By Mike Resnick. Del Ray, 1998. 293pp. $25.00. 97-44476. ISBN 0-345-41701-1. C.I.P.
Order

In this volume, Mike Resnick has compiled his Kirinyaga stories (published over the last decade in various magazines) into a single work. While each story stands on its own, and, indeed, most have won short-story honors, including Hugo awards and Nebula nominations, the whole is vastly greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, Resnick explains that his parable of a Utopia patterned after old Kenya was crafted as a novel from its inception. This is science fiction only in the sense that the story is set on an asteroid where an African savanna is artificially maintained by some distant technological agency called "Maintenance." Kirinyaga is an exploration of inner, not outer, space. In it, Koriba, the mundumugu (witch doctor) of the Kikuyu people, encounters opposition in trying to establish and maintain a pure African culture unspoiled by Western influences. . While he struggles to preserve what he views as unspoiled perfection, those around him strive for perfection defined in other ways. Koriba wins some battles by means that dishearten him, but the sharp strike of triumph eludes him. Kirinyaga is science fiction at its best: vivid, compelling, and thought provoking. It will stand shoulder to shoulder beside classic Utopian novels in its power to probe the evolution of civilizations and to reveal why caged birds--and caged peoples--seldom survive.

Land that Time Forgot, Commemorative Edition. By Edgar Rice Burroughs. University of Nebraska Press, 1999. xi+428pp. $14.95 (paper). 98-50000. ISBN 0-8032-6154-3. Glossary; C.I.P.
Order

Yes, this book is old: Its first combined publication was in 1924. But it's definitely not a chestnut: Burroughs has an appeal much like that of Conan Doyle or H. G. Wells and is similarly timeless. This is a story of adventure, exploration, survival, and...evolution, as told by three participants. With allusions that now seem almost quaint, the setting is World War I. One needn't make allowances on that account, but it is well to remember. I first read this story as a child; about 60 years later, it still grips my imagination. Fast paced and with more and worse perils than Pauline ever had, it is a satisfying read. In the fashion of the times, the very happy ending ties up all the loose ends. Burroughs' ideas about evolution are much less robust than those argued in the Scopes trial. In fact, they are quite wrong. In the fanciful world of Caspak, seven varieties of "men" "come up from the beginning" in successive stages. Each "feels" the right time and sort of matriculates into the next higher level. The paradigm is that of the familiar cartoon depiction--from left to right--of a continuum from stooped ape to modern human. The concept of natural selection is treated almost correctly, ...but in an incorrect context. Hey! This is science fiction. There is the occasional stereotype. Given the book's publication in the 1920s, I'd hope a modern reader could excuse them and read for the story. The few (original) illustrations would have been nicer on glossy paper, and the cover should have been sturdier. Both touches would better befit a commemorative edition.

Lathe of Heaven. By Ursula K. LeGuin. Avon Books, 1997 (originally published in 1971 by Scribner). 184pp. $12.00 (paper). 77-162760. ISBN 0-380-79185-4. C.I.P.
Order

The Lathe of Heaven is the best-thought-through treatment of change of the past that I have read. In this case, it is present change with retroactive change to accommodate the present. It also treats the concept of the evil consequences of good intentions, the question of whether "we can do it" always means "we should do it." LeGuin lets you get inside each of the characters in developing the outer story, so it is as much psychological as "science" fiction. George Orr has regular dreams, but also "effective" dreams which become true retroactively. He thinks he has gone crazy (no one else remembers the changes for more than a fraction of a second because to do so is too worldview-wrenching). So Orr goes to a psychiatrist, who himself comes to see the "effect" of these dreams. Now, with hypnotic suggestions, the good doctor can save the world...

Manifold: Space. By Stephen Baxter. Ballantine Books, 2001. 452pp. $24.00. 00-050804. ISBN 0345430778. C.I.P.
Order

I recommend this highly entertaining work of science fiction to general audiences everywhere. Individuals educated past the high school level can easily grasp the few technical details needed to render the story line plausible, if not probable. The author takes the plausible--aliens visiting our solar system--and weaves an entertaining tale spanning millennia. The protagonist is a hero, swept up in time travel based on faster-than-light transport. He must combat the forces of aggressive aliens whose purpose, although not intrinsically evil, will be detrimental to humans and numerous other alien species on colonized worlds. His efforts to preserve the prominence of our species in our solar system and (comparatively) nearby galaxies are chronicled, along with the efforts of multiple alien species to exploit our and other worlds for their own benefit. The interaction of the protagonist with alien species bent on their own survival is presented as an interesting morality play that ends with an unexpected and dramatic denouement.

Martians. By Kim Stanley Robinson. Bantam, 1999. 336pp. $24.95. . 99-13115. ISBN 0-553-80117-1. C.I.P.
Order

The title leads you to expect aliens are landing, and you would be correct. But "they are us," as Pogo said, and we are going to Mars--to stay. Kim Robinson's book begins with several hundred candidates, each hoping to be selected as one of the first hundred colonists. Under the watchful eyes of psychologists, they live at the South Pole, learning to deal with the climate and each other, all hoping to pass the evaluation.
If James Michener had written about Mars, his book may have looked like this one. Each chapter can stand alone. The story comprises a series of episodes spanning several centuries. Chapters center on a few characters and their relation to the planet and each other. Robinson's greatest strength is his ability to describe the Martian planet and weather so well that you believe that he has been there to experience it.
The highlight of the book is the description of a group of people on a mountain-climbing tour of Olympus Mons. When the rest of the book has faded into a distant memory, I will still be catching my breath from the climb. It would not have been so bad, except for that unexpected storm, high up, in that thin atmosphere . . . .
The plot, which carries loosely through many, but not all, of the episodes, centers on the struggle between the original colonists, who want Mars left as it was when they came upon it, and those who came after and brought "terraforming," warming up the planet and producing an atmosphere that brings rain and rivers to barren Mars. Genetic engineering provides flora and fauna that are well suited to the planet, and if it isn't just like home (Earth), it sure isn't Mars either.
A civil war occurs--between episodes. The causes are dealt with and the aftermath is presented, but the novel is a study of a changing planet and its people, not a blood-and-guts book.
The science that is presented is superb--primarily factual and not fictional. When science fiction is used, it seems to be proper, fitting, and about two months "down the road" from our current knowledge. It does not look like NASA will get us to Mars anytime soon, but until then, if you want to go, Kim Robinson can take you there.

Men in Black: The Green Saliva Blues. By Dean Wesley Smith. Bantam, 1999. 274pp. $5.99 (paper). ISBN 0-553-57768-9.
Order

There is a certain guilty pleasure one takes in reading a book that is not on the required-reading list. Dean Wesley Smith's science fiction novel, Men in Black: The Green Saliva Blues is strictly for fun. It's a case of Little Shop of Horrors Meet Men in Black. The men in black are back! This time they battle the ultimate in exotic alien species: carnivorous plants. So the plot is a little thin and the outcome predictable. But the movie Men in Black was so much fun--full of great lines and cool gadgets. Can a book capture some the zest of the movie? This one comes close. The book's main characters resemble the actors, and there are a few plot twists and new gadgets. Besides, I miss the characters from the movie! Would a 10-year-old kid enjoy reading the book? Yes, indeed! My 17-year-old son saw the cover and swiped my copy. I give kids books I think they would enjoy reading, rather than books they ought to read. If they love to read, sooner or later they will read meatier works. Put Men in Black on the shelf at the library, or pick up a copy for your niece. It is a fun, fast-moving book.

No Limits: Developing Science Literacy Using Science Fiction. By Julie E. Czerneda. Trifolium Books Inc., 1999. vi+122pp. $18.95 (paper). C98-932091-X. ISBN 1-895579-94-5. C.I.P.
Order

This textbook consists of material that is also contained in a companion book, Packing Fraction, together with a discussion of issues worth exploring in class and suggested lessons and activities. The short science fiction stories that make up the volume extrapolate basic scientific principles to a fictional dramatic supposition. The age of the protagonist in each of the stories is an obvious appeal to teenage readers who can relate to the experiences. The objective of the text is to stimulate an interest in science, a comprehension of related moral and ethical issues, and an understanding of human motivations. The stories are first rate, and the suggested activities and points of discussion are excellent. The text calls one's attention to points in the artwork and poetry that one very well may miss in reading the companion book. The approach is analogous to the case-study approach I have used in teaching college freshman an introductory engineering course and college seniors a course in professional ethics. I believe that the approach will work well, and I recommend the book strongly for its intended purpose.

Outer Perimeter. By Ken Goddard. Bantam, 2001. 427pp. $23.95. 00-064232. ISBN 0553108832. C.I.P.
Order

In Ken Goddard's Outer Perimeter, Colin Cellars, Oregon state policeman, battles some rather nasty aliens. Shape-shifting predators for the most part, at least one can also appear as a beautiful woman, and all can turn into stone. The latter talent enables some of them to get side jobs as cathedral gargoyles. Now, I enjoyed John Carpenter's The Thing, based on John Campbell's classic alien shape-shifter tale, Who Goes There, but enough is enough! I'm sick of shape shifters. Complex organisms that can actually change their anatomy raise a host of problems: What sort of genome could such creatures possess? Where would the fantastic amounts of energy needed to produce rapid cellular changes come from? Needless to say, Ken Goddard doesn't provide credible answers to those sorts of questions. Shape-shifters are the most improbable of life-forms, and it's time to relegate them to the realms of fantasy, where they belong. However, while the science may be shaky, Goddard is a great action-mystery writer: Outer Perimeter is well plotted and fast paced, and his treatment of police procedures, autopsies, and forensic techniques is believable. This should come as no surprise, because Goddard is an experienced crime scene investigator and is currently director of the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory. Shape-shifters or not, Outer Perimeter is still a good read.

Packing Fraction and Other Tales of Science and Imagination. By Julie E. Czerneda Ed. Trifolium Books, Inc., 1999. 122pp. $4.95 (paper). C98-932167-3. ISBN 1-895579-89-9. C.I.P.
Order

This delightful little book is a joy to read from beginning to end in one sitting. It is a collection of short science fiction stories that extrapolate basic scientific principles to a fictional dramatic supposition. While an understanding of some of the science relationships may be beyond the reach of junior high school students, the book can still be read by good readers at that age level and by more advanced students, for the moral, ethical and emotional issues raised, as well as for the scientific implications. The age of the protagonist in each of the stories is an obvious appeal to teenage readers who can relate to the experiences. The artfulness of the tales is appealing to adults. At first, my ranking of the stories was in the order I read them, from beginning to end, in the book. But then I found myself recalling them and thinking about the little "twists" in each story. As a result, in the end I think they are, on the whole, equally appealing. I must confess, however, that I did not give much attention to the poems or the artwork until I read the companion book, No Limits. I heartily recommend this little volume without any reservations to teenagers and adults. It will be a joyful read.

Science Fiction of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History. By Frank M. Robinson. Collector's Press, 1999. 256pp. $59.95. 99-27614. ISBN 188054298. Index; C.I.P.

Who, arguably, wrote the first science fiction (SF) story--and when (p. 16)? For that matter, who coined the term, "science fiction" (p. 184)? Who first wrote a story entitled "A Voyage to the Moon," wherein the vehicle was propelled by rockets (p. 16)? This comprehensive survey, by a noted SF author, comprises a capsule history of the genre, referring primarily to magazines, but with chapters devoted to paperback and hardbound books and to films. The author includes many vignettes such as the preceding ones, and the volume is illustrated in color with very well reproduced cover art from magazines and books. I was delighted to find my favorite SF magazine, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, here. The cover of its first issue (fall 1949, then called The Magazine of Fantasy) is reproduced, along with many others. "F&SF," as it is called by its familiars, is still published over 50 years later. The covers of the first (and other) issues of Analog Science Fact--Science Fiction, Astounding Stories of Super-Science, and Amazing Stories, among other magazines, also are included. Besides being a colorful addition to anyone's coffee table, this volume is wonderful to browse, with many leads to books or magazines that would be fascinating to find. Though it is going to be a little hard to carry it to the library, bookstore, or magazine stand, I may try anyway. And, for those few who just won't be tantalized to purchase or at least look at the book by the questions at the beginning of this review, the answers to the questions posed are Francis Godwin in 1638, Hugo Gernsback, and Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655).

Shadow Child. By Joseph A. Citro. University Press of New England, 1998. 283pp. $12.95 (paper). 98-24018. ISBN 0-87451-884-9. C.I.P.
Order

Shadow Child is a mystery story that deals with death, dangers, and ghost lore in Vermont. The author, Joseph Citro, was born and raised in that state and describes tales of Yankee yarn spinners that might have been told more than 100 years ago around the fireplace. In this volume, he creates a Vermont with small-town folks whom the reader can readily visualize. The disappearance of a man and a dog in the woods causes much concern and a search, which leads to frightening observations. Who are the little men in the woods? Where did they come from? How is the mysterious stone structure in the woods affecting the people's thinking and behavior? This interesting mystery story is difficult to put down, and the reader is not likely to until he or she has completed the book. The author writes, "To some degree I think, Shadow Child works on an allegorical level--a sort of fairy tale for adults." I recommend the book for high school and college students, as well as a general audience.

Star Wars: Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter. By Michael Reaves. Del Ray, 2001. 305pp. $26.00. 00-110914. ISBN 0345435397. C.I.P.
Order

This book is quite interesting and worth reading even if you're not a Star Wars fan. Particularly exciting are the chase scenes and fights. Interspersed amidst the rather complicated plot are various philosophical statements (e.g., "for every solution there are two problems," p. 241). Then, of course, there is the Jedi Code: "There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force" (p. 151). Darth Maul, the principal character, is a representative of the Sith, an evil order that uses the Force as a means to an end: power. The distant future, as represented in Star Wars novels, still has oppressive poverty and street gangs engaged in various types of crime. Presumably, this adds depth to the plot.

Star Wars: Hard Merchandise. By K.W. Jeter. Bantam, 1999. 338pp. $5.99. ISBN 0-553-57891-X.
Order

This book is the conclusion of a trilogy exploring what happened to Boba Fett after he was swallowed by the Sarlacc on Tatooine in Return of the Jedi. It is a highly entertaining space adventure about the galaxy's best bounty hunter. The volume can be read by itself, although those who have read the first two books will enjoy it more. The nonstop action costars a dancing girl with a mysterious past whose memory has been wiped out, other bounty hunters, shady underworld figures, the head of the starship-building Kuat DriveYards, and many double-crosses. The emphasis is on fiction, not science, but the ingenious opening scene describes a bar that confiscates blaster power cells at the door by using alien "ergovores," which can detect them. Sharks can detect electric fields, and this is a nice extrapolation therefrom. Fett is appropriately supremely competent, but his personality is that of a droid bounty hunter: cold, calculating, and practically emotionless. His honor is important to him, but his only goals appear to be staying alive, getting paid, and using the money to repair his ship, which keeps getting shot up as he tries to get paid for his merchandise--people with a bounty on their heads. Hopefully, future books will reveal more facets of this character.

Star Wars: X-Wing Solo Command. By Aaron Allston. Bantam, 1999. 341pp. $5.99 (paper). ISBN 0-553-57900-2.
Order

This is the seventh book in the X-Wing series of Star Wars. In spite of the often-confusing numbers of characters, the book weaves an exciting story. The author excels in relating battle scenes in space and on land. The story centers on these battles, but it also offers fascinating subplots of intrigue. X-Wing Solo Command is aimed at that portion of the general public interested in science fiction; it dramatizes space travel and battles, and it deals with human ambition and conflict.

Star Wars: X-Wing Starfighters of Adumar. By Aaron Allston. Bantam, 1999. 291pp. $5.99 (paper). ISBN 0-553-57418-3.
Order

Reminiscent of Victor Hugo's The Three Musketeers, book nine in the "Star Wars X-Wing" series is a tale of adventure, honor, and intrigue, with a little romance added for good measure. The setting for the novel is the planet Adumar, a world where fighter pilots are idolized, duels are common, and honor is measured in battles won. General Wedge Antilles and his "merry band of reprobates" are drafted to serve as diplomats from the New Republic. It is their job to convince the people of Adumar to join the Republic in the war against the weakened Empire. Their job is complicated by the arrival of Turr Phennir and a squadron of Tie Fighter pilots from the Empire, who have been invited to convince Adumar to join the opposing side in the war. Morality and honor are the true prizes in this tale, but the battlegrounds are in the political and personal arenas as well as military settings. Younger audiences will undoubtedly like the quick pace of the story and the action, both in the skies and on the ground. More contemplative readers can appreciate the matters of honor and the hard choices that come with standing up for what you believe is right, regardless of the consequences.

When Worlds Collide. By Phillip Wiley and Edwin Balmer, with an introduction by John Yarley. University of Nebraska Press, 1999 (first published in 1932). x+190pp. $14.95 (paper). 99-35221. ISBN 0-8032-9814-5. C.I.P.
Order

Revisiting Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's science fiction classic When Worlds Collide is a wonderful, interesting experience. First, there are the numerous topics that would be looked upon today as politically, environmentally, and socially incorrect: the smoking of cigarettes, big-game hunting in pursuit of trophies, calling the Japanese Japs, the use of asbestos as insulation in spaceships, and reporters acting as reporters rather than makers of news. In addition, imagine what $10,000 was worth in 1932, and compare it to what that amount would be worth today! Second, the science set forth in the book is surprisingly accurate for stories written nearly 70 years ago. For example, the location and amount of seismic damage caused by the first passing of the Bronson planets are amazingly depicted, considering the location of the plate tectonic boundaries that we are aware of today--boundaries not recognized until the 1960s. Likewise, the probability of a major earthquake in the New Madrid, Missouri, area such as that presented in the novel is strong, although the likelihood of major lava flows is not. The presence of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean, the "Ring of Fire," with ash drifting eastward, is well presented. The depictions of atmospheric processes, such as the hurricanelike winds in the Great Plains, also are realistic, and the design of the solar system that the Bronson planets came from is presented in a scientific manner.
Still, problems with the science that is presented abound. To name just a few, the finding of the type of metal that was used for the atomic engines in the story is difficult to understand, the projection of the earth's population at 1.5 billion is way short of the actual numbers, and the presentation of the age of the earth as 500 million years old is considerably short of the actual age believed today, 4.6-5.0 billion years old. Add to these the depiction of Pluto as being in the same orbital plane as the rest of the planets and the projection of Venus' temperatures as 151 degrees Fahrenheit (way short of the actual temperatures of nearly 900 degrees Fahrenheit, due to the large greenhouse effect on the planet), and it becomes quite clear that the novel is by no means contemporary.
Finally, John Varley's introduction is well written, presenting the important idea of trying to imagine what a number such as a decillion really means. One wonders whether anyone can imagine a billion trillion trillion! The discussion of this number is representative of the originality of the book. When Worlds Collide is as exciting and mind opening today as when it was originally written.

Wonder. By J.D. Beresford, with an introduction by Jack L. Chalker. University of Nebraska Press, 1999 (first published in 1911 by Lincoln and London.) x+295pp. $13.00 (paper). 99-35542. ISBN 0-8032-6162-4. C.I.P.
Order

This is a classic novel of the "homo-superior" theme, told as a biography by an unnamed narrator. Inspired by the work of Henri Bergson, the French evolutionary philosopher, the narrative relates the brief life of Victor Stott, a strange child of working-class parents. Victor displays mutant powers from infancy: Adults cannot look him in the eye without being intimidated. Oddly proportioned, bald, and seemingly mute, he is thought by some to be retarded. The local squire, however, takes an interest in Victor and allows him the use of his extensive library. The four-year-old Wonder begins his studies by reading the dictionary and all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. When finished, he asks, "Is this all?" Victor reports a synthesis of what he has read, but the squire cannot understand him. The only person over whom the Wonder has no control is the village idiot. When Victor is found drowned in a shallow pool, his death is ruled an accident; but most suspect the idiot of being involved. The narrator, however, believes that Victor may have been murdered by a religious fanatic. The story emphasizes the loneliness of the exceptional person, showing how being different can alienate one from society. John Davys Beresford (1873-1947) produced over 50 novels, 8 of which were science fiction. This, his first science fiction novel, was originally called The Hampdenshire Wonder and was renamed The Wonder when published in the United States. It was an important book in its day and a noteworthy predecessor to later superman novels. Even today, it is an entertaining and instructive story for all ages. Beresford was a contemporary of H. G. Wells and dealt with many Wellsian themes in his writing; unlike Wells, he concentrated more on human relationships and the grimmer aspects of human nature. With the recent movement toward incorporating mainstream techniques into science fiction, Beresford's work has been undergoing a revival, and deservedly so.