Subject: The City Who Fought

From: [email-masked] (Dani Zweig)
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1993 07:37:24 GMT

I just read "The City Who Fought", by Anne McCaffrey and SM Stirling.
As I've remarked before, I don't approve of hardcovers.  Not only are
they expensive, but they're for people with excess shelf-space...which
doesn't describe anyone I know.  But I had some serious procrastinating
to do, so I made an exception.  I shouldn't have.

I also remarked recently that McCaffrey's shown generally good judgment
in her coauthors -- and that making Stirling a coauthor tends, in itself,
to represent good judgment.  What I neglected to consider was that some
teamups just don't work.  I'm not sure quite how to describe the writing
in this book.  It isn't precisely bad.  'Inept' comes to mind.

The main protagonists are Simeon, the shell-person running a major
space station, and Channa, his initially reluctant brawn.  Here,
quoted for your edification -- and not noticeably out of context --
is their first conversation:

	"Hubba-hubba!"

	The dark eyes widened slightly, "Excuse me?"

	He laughed, "That's ancient Earth slang for 'sexy lady.'"

The station is attacked by truly nasty pirates.  Think of them as *mean*
Draka -- with a complete lack of class.  (They've also, in the course of
a few centuries on a nasty planet, evolved faster reflexes, high-gravity
adaptions, and near-immunity to disease, poison, and radiation.  In case
you were worrying that someone was going to try slip some hard sf into
your science fantasy.)  The station is attacked and taken over, and must
cope (with the pirates looting and raping and torturing at will) until
the cavalry can arrive.

Since, for practical purposes, the station is Simeon's body, this gives
them a tremendous advantage.  (The cover blurb and the early part of the
book, make much of the fact that Simeon is a wargamer, but this turns out
to be almost irrelevant.)  So a lot of people die and a lot more are hurt,
but not so many as might have been were McCaffrey one to let plot logic
get in the way of a romance.

I had some cynical things to say about "The Ship Who Searched", but at
least in that instance both authors were pulling in the same direction.

-----
Dani Zweig
[email-masked]

   If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down.  It's going to be the
   best you can do, and it's the fact that it's the best you can do that kills
   you! -- Dorothy Parker