Subject: Marianne

From: [email-masked] (Dani Zweig)
Date: 6 Dec 88 17:15:17 GMT

"Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods" (by Sheri Tepper, Ace
12/88, $2.95) is a sequel to "Marianne, the Magus and the Manticore".
Unlike most of the sequels which have come out in the pat month, it
isn't significantly worse than its predecessors.  It isn't even
actively bad (it helps that Tepper knows how to write) but it is
disappointing.

It had the potential to be excellent.  The first part, describing
Marianne's second childhood, was wonderful.  But short.
Unfortunately, half the book, like its predecessor, is taken up by
what is functionally a dream sequence.

Few authors handle extended dreams well.  There are too few apparent
restrictions, and the details of the dream are too likely to be
unimportant to the book as a whole.  What Marianne goes through isn't
*precisely* a dream, but it looks like a dream and acts like a dream
and has much the same impact on the plot.

It does end well -- a happy ending with ominous overtones.

If you enjoyed "Marianne, the Magus and the Manticore" you'll probably
enjoy this one as well.  If you haven't read it, there is limited
sense in reading this sequel.

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