Subject: Review of _The Last Starship from Earth_, by John Boyd

From: [email-masked] (P. Douglas Reeder)
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 00:09:24 GMT

A review of _The Last Starship from Earth_, by John Boyd
Review by P. Douglas Reeder

This little romance was written in 1968, and it shows -- it's an SF romance
in the old style, with a extraordinarily talented hero, who singlehandedly
(well, almost) takes on a repressive society.  It's set in an alternate
history where Sociology, Pschology, and the Church rule, where professionals
have their mates selected by the state.

Many readers will find the heroine (who is as sophisticated about romance as
the hero is naive) dated.

The storyline is the conventional forbidden romance.  The romance develops,
is discovered, and the hero is exiled to the iceworld of Hell, where what
you expect happens -- until the very end, when the plot takes an unusual
turn, but one in tune with the theme of the story.

So why did I like it, in spite of the trite plot?  It's entertainingly
written, and the twist at the end brings the whole work together.  It's a
fine light read.

%A John Boyd
%T The Last Starship from Earth
%I Weybright & Talley, Inc.
%C New York
%D copyright 1968
%X hardback