From rec.arts.sf-reviews Tue Jun 25 11:27:51 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!news.funet.fi!fuug!mcsun!uunet!cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!know!cayman.amd.com From: pteich@cayman.amd.com (Paul Teich) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-reviews Subject: Review: Poul Anderson's THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS Message-ID: <30287@know.pws.bull.com> Date: 24 Jun 91 18:13:04 GMT Sender: wex@pws.bulL.com Reply-To: pteich@cayman.amd.com Followup-To: rec.arts.sf-lovers Lines: 129 Approved: wex@pws.bull.com X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL8] THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS by Poul Anderson review Copyright (c) 1991 Paul Teich Disclaimer: I usually don't finish books I don't like, no matter how good the ending is alleged to be. I won't spend the time to review a mediocre book which I barely managed to finish reading. Therefore, you may assume that I thoroughly enjoyed any book that I've taken the time to write a review about. I tend to be a "hard" sf reader; though I like general fiction, I avoid fantasies completely - I require some technical/cultural ties to our (my) own reality (B.S. in CS, minor in E.E., probably overly literate for my education). My views are those of myself, and no other ("Mine, mine, all mine" - D. Duck). %T The Boat of a Million Years %A Poul Anderson %C New York %D 1989 %G ISBN 0-812-50270-1 %I A TOR Book, Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. %O paperback, US$4.95 %O Reviewed: large format BOMC paperback, US$9.95 %P 470 (large format) I shall refer to the book as _TBMY_ throughout the text of this review. Every once in a while, I find a book which captures my attention and refuses to release it until I finish reading the last page. _TBMY_ is no slim volume - it is a full fledged novel, and a long one at that. The single attribute of the novel which permitted me to put it down long enough to eat, sleep, say hi to my wife, etc. is that it is told as a series of short vignettes (19 chapters, each divided into many sections). Due to the superb nature of Anderson's storytelling, I have confined any overt reference to any, even seemingly innocuous, details of the book to the spoiler section following the review proper. I found Anderson's character development to be the most satisfying feature of _TBMY_. Even the secondary characters display a richer texture than many science fiction novels allocate to their main protagonists. This novel stands in the same arena as the best of Ellison, Bradbury, and (switching genre) Anne Rice; for there is nothing in _TBMY_ which excludes the characters or story line from being part of our history, our continuum. His characters could exist, and the story line blends with recorded human history. _TBMY_ can also be compared favorably to novels such as Joseph Heller's _Catch-22_ or Kurt Vonnegut's _Slaughterhouse_Five_ for its scope, human texture and the complexity of interaction between the protagonists, their environments, and secondary and tertiary characters. In _Slaughterhouse_ _Five_, Mr. Vonnegut portrayed the many events and personal conflicts with such a deft hand that they made sense even when delivered out of chronological order. His empathy for Billy (protagonist) is clear; perhaps Mr. Vonnegut's personal experience in Dresden during the bombing is as fragmented in his mind as well. In addition, Billy's experiences (on Earth) do not create a separate reality from our own. In _TBMY_, Anderson accomplishes much of the same (maintaining, however, chronological order) - the tale could be separate from our reality, but fits so well that my spine occasionally tingled. Anderson has obvious empathy for his characters, of which I say more in the spoiler. _TBMY_ is not "hard" science fiction; Anderson seems to eschew technology in favor of plot and character development, which works extremely well for him. He does not digress from our own historical timeline, and presents a plausible vision of the future where he maintains his focus on his characters. I plan to read this book again in a few months, it is almost impossible to retain all of the detail from this novel as the protagonists and their timeframes evolve. My primary complaint about the book is the positioning of the Chronology and Glossary. I did not find them until I finished the book, as it is not my habit to look at the last few pages before I start reading. They should be situated at the front, or some mention of their existence should be made on the title sheets. If they remain in the back of the book, they should also be separated from the last page of the story by a blank sheet (I hate spoilers, and I read very fast). ***SPOILER WARNING***: I don't disclose any plot twists, or the ending; I do disclose some of the plot mechanism which is gradually presented to the reader during the first few chapters, and I reference the ending in a vaguely general way. For those who like to read as a "virgin:" stop here and read the book. The premise of _TBMY_ is that the same statistics which bring detrimental mutation to any (in this case, the human) species also allow an occasional very beneficial mutation. Remember your "bell" curves and standard deviations from Sadistics 101? The particular mutations we are talking about here favor the immune system and reduce transcription error in cellular division to nil. The protagonists in this book are effectively immortal - if they can keep from getting killed. They heal fast, but they cannot regenerate appendages; they are robust, but can be run down and killed, just like any mortal. Stupidity, even a momentary case, can snuff the life of an immortal. All things being equal (more or less), immortals of any race, sex, intelligence, whatever can be born - that's statistics. After birth, an immortal must survive for a normal human life, and then reckon with his/her peers. Their peers have probably noticed the lack of aging, as their children become apparently older than the immortal. This is where the survival of immortals becomes skewed to those more astute than the norm. Some survive on luck for a while, but given a _long_ time the odds even. It is the portrayal of their lives against the tapestry of human history (O.K., just one cliche...) that gives _TBMY_ its vibrance. With regard to story texture, character depth and historical context, I compare _TBMY_ very favorably to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Both have truly impressive historical scope and attention to detail; both display deep empathy for their immortal protagonists. Anderson's mood is not as dark as Rice's, but he does generate deep pathos (along with high adventure) for much of the book. _TBMY_'s point of view shifts among the protagonists, which differs >from the Vampire Chronicles' fixed point of view (for each book, though _The_Queen_of_ _the_Damned_ experimented with alternate POVs), but provides more depth to the interplay between the protagonists. At the close of _TBMY_ Anderson makes a startling hypothesis about evolution itself. Though the ending may be too nicely wrapped for some, I thought that it concluded a fascinating book in an intriguing manner. _TBMY_ opens more than 2 millennia ago, and progresses past our present turn- of-the-century timeframe. _TBMY_ is (are) the story (stories) of a group of immortals (as individuals and, later, a group). Anderson tells their stories with such empathy that I began to wonder why his picture is not on the jacket of the book. His bio indicates that he was born in 1926, which means that he's 65 years old now. Hmmm... Paul R. Teich pteich@cayman.AMD.COM Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Direct 1-512-462-4268 5900 E. Ben White Blvd., MS 561 WATS 1-800-531-5202 x54268 Austin, Texas 78741 FAX 1-512-462-5051 From rec.arts.sf-reviews Tue Jul 2 09:15:17 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!mcsun!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!know!ac.dal.ca From: HOBBIT@ac.dal.ca (C. Roald) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-reviews Subject: TAU ZERO, Poul Anderson Message-ID: <30562@know.pws.bull.com> Date: 29 Jun 91 03:17:00 GMT Sender: wex@pws.bulL.com Reply-To: HOBBIT@ac.dal.ca Followup-To: rec.arts.sf-lovers Lines: 50 Approved: wex@pws.bull.com TAU ZERO by Poul Anderson review (c) 1991 Colin Roald %T Tau Zero %A Poul Anderson %C New York %D 1970 %G [not given] %I Lancer Books %O paperback, US$0.95 [1971] %P 207pp. I realize that this is hardly a review of a hot new release--and yet I hope there is a place for it, because a decent fraction of the net readership is too young to have seen this when it came out (myself included); and pointers on what has stood the test of time can be useful. TAU ZERO is vast, spectacular, audacious, diamond-hard science fiction. The scope is epic; I would be tempted to call it "space opera", except that that phrase has been pre-empted by an entirely different genre of sf. Several scenes possess a grandeur and sweep that seem to beg for musical score and Kubrick effects. The physics is accurate (to the limits of special relativity, anyway--I'm not well versed in general relativity), explicit, and astounding. The Leonora Christine is an manned Bussard ramjet, on an exploratory mission to Beta Virginis, following up probe data indicating a habitable garden world in the system. But halfway there, there is an accident which leaves the deceleration module crippled. The LC is forced to continue to accelerate endlessly, approaching lightspeed ever more closely, and experiencing ever more severe time dilation. The crew of the doomed mission cycle between hope that grows ever fainter, and despair that grows ever deeper, on an Flying Dutchman ride that can never go home. And at the moment of death, comes rebirth. And I won't say more, because I've probably said too much already. Anderson describes with an impersonal tone, choosing to tell the story of the entire ship, rather than that of any one particular crewmember. Day-to-day details are completely ignored. The net effect is of representative sketches of the crew rather than exhaustive characterisation, and so might disappoint those who like the psychological. The strength of TAU ZERO lies in its masterful vision of the wonder of our real universe, not a fabricated one full of hypothetical author-invented objects; and it speaks that vision with epic voice and clarity. Should be mandatory reading for anyone who considers himself a science fiction fan. From rec.arts.sf-reviews Tue Oct 15 09:27:31 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!seunet!mcsun!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!pacbell.com!pacbell!pbhyc!djdaneh From: thropw@sheol%dg-rtp.dg.com (Wayne Throop) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-reviews Subject: KINSHIP WITH THE STARS and A LIGHT IN THE VOID by Poul Anderson Message-ID: <6854@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 14 Oct 91 19:42:05 GMT Sender: djdaneh@PacBell.COM Lines: 68 Approved: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com These two books are reprints of some of Poul Anderson's shorter works from the "golden age" of science fiction in the 50's. In reading (and in many cases, since I'd seen them before, rereading) these shorter peices, it strikes me strongly how well Anderson's work from that period holds up. Much better than many another author of the period. Further, his treatments of many now-cliche themes are quite strong. In many cases, stronger than better-known examples from other authors. The striking examples of this from the _Kinship_ collection are perhaps "Backwardness", treating the pandora's planet theme, "Enough Rope" and "The Live Coward" treating the galactic patrol notion from an interesting perspective, "The Critique of Impure Reason" which is (from my perspective anyway) a vast improvement on the Asimov robot-pure-reasoning-gone-amok treatment. From the _Void_ collection, we have "Flight to Forever" which vaguely echoes his own _Tau_Zero_. The other striking thing about this collection is that it reminded me again that one of Anderson's strongest points is his treatments of tragic themes, perhaps most strikingly in "Terminal Quest" and "The Star Beast" from _Void_. I don't think anybody does it better. But his range is broad, and we also have the hilarious "Bicycle Built for Brew", featuring that oldest and (to me) most fingernail-on-slate-like cliche of "girl hates boy, boy annoys girl, boy and girl fall into each others arms in uncontrollable passion". The story was slick enough I could even forgive him that, which is saying something. Perhaps the prize of the whole collection, though, is "Uncleftish Beholding". It's worth the price of the _Kinship_ collection all by itself. I enjoy clever wordplay and this is among the most enjoyable. The introduction Poul himself supplies is a bit of a spoiler, so you might want to skip it, since considerably more than half of the fun here is realizing what he's up to, and being surprised afresh at each instance of his wordplay, even when you're finally expecting it. In short, "Try them... you'll like them!" %A Poul Anderson %B Kinship with the Stars %C New York %D October 1991 %G ISBN 0-812-51814-4 %I TOR %T A Bicycle Built for Brew %T Inside Straight %T The Critique of Impure Reason %T Backwardness %T Duel on Syrtis %T Uncleftish Beholding %T Escape from Orbit %T Enough Rope %T The Live Coward %A Poul Anderson %B Alight in the Void %C New York %D April 1991 %G ISBN 0-812-50874-2 %I TOR %T Terminal Quest %T Earthman, Beware %T The Star Beast %T Son of the Sword %T Flight to Forever %T Ballade of an Artificial Satellite -- Wayne Throop ...!mcnc!dg-rtp!sheol!throopw From rec.arts.sf-reviews Fri Oct 4 10:59:05 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!seunet!mcsun!unido!fauern!ira.uka.de!yale.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!pacbell.com!pacbell!pbhyc!djdaneh From: schmunk@spacsun.rice.edu (Robert Schmunk) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-reviews Subject: Review: THE TIME PATROL Message-ID: <1991Oct31.224256.12629@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 31 Oct 91 22:42:56 GMT Sender: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf-lovers Organization: Pacific * Bell Lines: 162 Approved: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com THE TIME PATROL By Poul Anderson A book review by R.B. Schmunk (copyright 1991, R.B. Schmunk) THE TIME PATROL is a "compleat" collection of the short fiction in Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series. The only tale omitted is the recent full-length novel THE SHIELD OF TIME. Most of the contents of this volume have been anthologized previously, in such books as GUARDIANS OF TIME, TIME PATROLMAN and offerings by the Science Fiction Book Club. Since I don't have copies of these previous volumes, I snatched THE TIME PATROL off the book rack in a hurry, despite its hefty $21.95 retail price. The nine stories and novellas comprising THE TIME PATROL were written over the course of 36 years; two appeared in sf magazines in 1955 and one is making its debut in this volume. At least one story is considered a classic of the genre, particularly in that smaller classification known as "Alternate History". These stories are: "Time Patrol" -- In 1952, a WW2 vet and engineer named Manse Everard answers an ad in the newspaper and finds himself joining an organization which claims responsibility for maintaining historical continuity. He undergoes training and undertakes his first mission, investigating an odd death in England c. 1890. "Brave to Be a King" -- Everard travels back to central Asia during the time of Cyrus the Great to find a missing friend and fellow patrolman. He finds that his friend *is* Cyrus the Great, and wants out. "Gibraltar Falls" -- A young Time Patrolman has fallen in love with one of his fellows. When she and her timecycle are swept away while examining the cascade created when Atlantic waters broke through to the Mediterranean basin, he isn't happy. "The Only Game in Town" -- Everard and another patrolman are ordered to destroy a Mongol mission exploring the west coast of North America, even though history records that no word was ever heard back from the explorers. "Delenda Est" -- Virtually a certified science fiction classic, this tale begins with Everard and a fellow patrolman becoming bored with a Time Patrol resort located in the Pleistocene. Looking for some action, they skip forward to 1960 New York, and find it populated with Celts driving steamcars. Its up to them to go back and find what's fouled up the course of history, but first they have to escape captivity. "Ivory, and Apes, and Peacocks" -- Extortionists with timecycles threaten to render the ancient city of Tyre uninhabitable, during a time period when the city-state is a crucial ally of Solomon of Jerusalem. Everard travels back to look for evidence of the extortionst's plans. "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" -- Carl Farness is a Time Patrol researcher, studying the folklore and history of the Goths during the fourth century AD. While looking into the saga of Ermanaric, he marries a native of the era and has a child. Eventually he realizes the role played by his descendants in the heroic tragedy, and he is doomed to play out his part as Odin the Wanderer. "Star of the Sea" -- This story is first seeing print with its publication in THE TIME PATROL. It is the tale of a rebellion in Rome's territories on the lower Rhine around 70 AD, as chronicled by Tacitus. A Patrol researcher has, however, come across a version of Tacitus' chronicles in which the rebellion is concluded differently, and she and Manse Everard go back to investigate. "The Year of the Ransom" -- This is a prequel to the novel THE SHIELD OF TIME, wherein Everard is introduced to Wanda Tamberley, who plays a large role in the later novel. As in "Ivory..." and SHIELD, the problem central to the story is an Exaltationist plot, but this time it is an attempt to loot the ransom for Atahualpa being collected from the Inca empire by the Pizarros. Unfortunately for them, Time Patrol researcher Stephen Tamberley and a conquistador happened to be in the vault just when they arrived. The first story in the series, "Time Patrol", also explains how the Time Patrol was formed about a millenium from now, when time travel was first discovered. Its discoverers were immediately visited by the Danellians, "humans" from millions of years in the future, who in the interest of self-preservation demanded the formation of an organization to protect the course of history from tampering. Despite the occasional comment about timelines and variable reality, the premise is that there is only one history, and tampering with it may result in a future which exists only in the tamperer's memory. There are those events which resist tampering due their minor nature or which may be self-correcting (something like Fritz Leiber's Law of Conservation of Reality), but there are also nexi upon which history turns (the Great Event hypothesis). The Time Patrol tries to keep an eye on the latter, but there are always events which are more important than they seem. Trying to think through the paradox possibilities in single-timeline time travel is, of course, enough to make your head spin, and after a while I gave up on that and just enjoyed the stories in THE TIME PATROL. I did appreciate it, though, when in one tale, two Time Patrolmen unknowingly go back in time to fix an event which they will have caused to occur in the course of their mission. (I hope you understood that. As Anderson mentions several times in the book, English just doesn't have the tenses to adequately discuss time travel.) The adherence to historical continuity does, however, bring one of the small problems I had with this series of adventures. Time Patrolmen themselves are admonished from tampering with what is known to have happened, even when it comes to correcting past mistakes in their own lives. (This also applies to Time Patrol missions which have gone awry.) In several of these tales, patrolmen violate this restriction and are not punished for it, not even a slap on the wrist, and it could even be said they are rewarded. The Time Patrol may be a loosely formed organization, but methinks that discipline could use a bit of toning up. The quality of the writing is what I have to come to expect from Anderson, rarely dazzling and sometimes workmanlike, but always a dependably good read. (After finishing the book, I discovered that the only sf author I have read as often during the past dozen years is Heinlein. Asimov wasn't even close.) "Gibraltar Falls" was the only story I found uninteresting, and "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" was very affecting. The long time period over which the stories was written was evident, since the earlier stories generally lack the historical and geographical detail evident in the later stories. It would have been perhaps a bit of an improvement to see some tales set in more "exotic" locales, say Africa or the Orient, but Anderson has prevented himself (deliberately?) from doing so by making the white-skinned Manse Everard the central character of the series. Since this book has the high price tag mentioned above, my recommendation to other readers must be qualified. Those persons who already have copies GUARDIANS OF TIME and TIME PATROLMAN will only be missing two of the stories included here. They and/or those who are concerned about money can wait until THE TIME PATROL appears in paperback, though given today's costs, that will be rather expensive too. Those who want a compleat collection of the Time Patrol stories, however, may want to spring for this hardback edition, as it is a volume which may well end up occupying an important space in their science fiction library. And one last comment: this book contains nine *science fiction* stories, in which I came across three allusions to Sherlock Holmes. No other fictional character even seems to be mentioned. Am I to assume that Anderson is a Conan Doyle fan? %T THE TIME PATROL %A Poul Anderson %I A Tor Book (Tom Doherty Assoc.) %C New York %O hardback, $21.95 %P 458 pp. %D October 1991 %G ISBN 0-312-85231-2 %T "Time Patrol" %T "Brave to Be a King" %T "Gibraltar Falls" %T "The Only Game in Town" %T "Delenda Est" %T "Ivory, and Apes, and Peacocks" %T "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" %T "Star of the Sea" %T "The Year of the Ransom" -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robert B. Schmunk SPAC, Rice Univ, Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 -- (713) 527-4939 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than thirty cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of sixty thousand population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. --Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Nov 26 10:39:00 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!news.funet.fi!fuug!mcsun!uunet!think.com!mips!pacbell.com!pacbell!pbhyc!djdaneh From: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: KINSHIP WITH THE STARS by Poul Anderson Message-ID: <1991Nov25.200450.8484@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 25 Nov 91 20:04:50 GMT Organization: Pacific * Bell Lines: 77 Approved: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com KINSHIP WITH THE STARS by Poul Anderson A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper These nine stories from the 1950s and 1960s are not Anderson's best. True, Anderson on an off day is at least as good as many authors on their best day. And you probably already have the best Anderson, given that he (and Harlan Ellison) have collected more Hugos than anyone else (at least in the fiction categories)--seven each. (Interestingly, both have won all of them in the shorter fiction categories. Zelazny and Leiber have won six each--two in novels and four in short fiction.) And Anderson has not lacked for appearances in various anthologies. It's true you probably don't have these, which have been unavailable for years. (I don't think "Uncleftish beholding" was ever widely available.) But I can't really recommend this collection except for die-hard Anderson fans. The lead novella, "A Bicycle Built for Brew," is about--as the back blurb reveals--a spaceship powered by beer. My disinterest in beer made me leery of the story, but even teetotalers can enjoy the humorous politicking in the asteroid belt. Harder to enjoy is the blatant sexism of the story. "Inside Straight," which first appeared in the August 1955 MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, postulates a society based on gambling (shades of Jorge Luis Borges's "The Lottery of Babylon"). An outsider who sees the custom as a foolish quirk soon learns not to be so hasty in his judgements. "The Critique of Impure Reason" (November 1962 IF) was based, according to Anderson, on a cover--and not even a real cover, but a cover invented by his wife one day when Anderson asked her, "Tell me a cover." Her reply inspired this tale of robots, literature, and pulp fiction. "Backwardness" (March 1958 MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION) takes a quick look at what MIGHT happen if aliens land. The first four stories all feature con men, a theme that occurs far more frequently in this volume than in Anderson's writing overall. So it is with some relief that we get a change of pace with "Duel on Syrtis" (March 1953 PLANET STORIES), a story as serious as the previous are, if not humorous, at least whimsical. "Duel on Syrtis" is an all-too-possible story of what our contact with aliens COULD be. The one truly unusual story is "Uncleftish Beholding." It seems to have had limited exposure before this, perhaps because it is hard to classify. Think of it as a science article from a world in which the Norsemen conquered Europe. "Escape from Orbit" (October 1962 AMAZING) returns us to the familiar, this time to the science fiction puzzle story. Even Anderson can't make this tale of astronauts trapped in orbit--and how they inevitably get out-- more than average. The problem, of course, is that there's only one unpredictable approach and Tom Godwin used it up years ago (seven years before Anderson wrote this, to be precise). Anderson returns to the political theme in "Enough Rope"--again, predictable, but more entertaining than "Escape from Orbit." And the final story, "The Live Coward" (June 1956 ASTOUNDING) is more politicking and diplomacy, albeit a bit too neatly wrapped up for my tastes. Readers should be warned that many of the sensibilities of the stories are of their time. (In plain English, this means that the female characters are often there for decoration only, and their decorative features are dwelt upon at length.) If you can accept that as an artifact of the time these works were written, you might find these stories of some interest. But unless you have exhausted all the better-known Anderson of the period, this is not recommended. %B KINSHIP WITH THE STARS %A Poul Anderson %C New York %D October 1991 %I Tor %O paperback, US$3.99 %G ISBN 0-812-51814-4 %P 276pp Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Nov 27 12:32:35 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!news.funet.fi!fuug!mcsun!uunet!indetech!pacbell!pbhyc!djdaneh From: ecl@mtgzy.att.com (Evelyn C Leeper +1 908 957 2070) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Corrected repost -- KINSHIP WITH THE STARS by Poul Anderson Message-ID: <1991Nov26.184008.28178@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 26 Nov 91 18:40:08 GMT Sender: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Reply-To: ecl@mtgzy.att.com (Evelyn C Leeper +1 908 957 2070) Followup-To: rec.arts.sfwritten Organization: Pacific * Bell Lines: 80 Approved: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com [Moderator's note: For some reason, the first time through the inews software substituted my address for Evelyn's on the "From:" line of this review. Here it is corrected. --djdo] KINSHIP WITH THE STARS by Poul Anderson A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1991 Evelyn C. Leeper These nine stories from the 1950s and 1960s are not Anderson's best. True, Anderson on an off day is at least as good as many authors on their best day. And you probably already have the best Anderson, given that he (and Harlan Ellison) have collected more Hugos than anyone else (at least in the fiction categories)--seven each. (Interestingly, both have won all of them in the shorter fiction categories. Zelazny and Leiber have won six each--two in novels and four in short fiction.) And Anderson has not lacked for appearances in various anthologies. It's true you probably don't have these, which have been unavailable for years. (I don't think "Uncleftish beholding" was ever widely available.) But I can't really recommend this collection except for die-hard Anderson fans. The lead novella, "A Bicycle Built for Brew," is about--as the back blurb reveals--a spaceship powered by beer. My disinterest in beer made me leery of the story, but even teetotalers can enjoy the humorous politicking in the asteroid belt. Harder to enjoy is the blatant sexism of the story. "Inside Straight," which first appeared in the August 1955 MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, postulates a society based on gambling (shades of Jorge Luis Borges's "The Lottery of Babylon"). An outsider who sees the custom as a foolish quirk soon learns not to be so hasty in his judgements. "The Critique of Impure Reason" (November 1962 IF) was based, according to Anderson, on a cover--and not even a real cover, but a cover invented by his wife one day when Anderson asked her, "Tell me a cover." Her reply inspired this tale of robots, literature, and pulp fiction. "Backwardness" (March 1958 MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION) takes a quick look at what MIGHT happen if aliens land. The first four stories all feature con men, a theme that occurs far more frequently in this volume than in Anderson's writing overall. So it is with some relief that we get a change of pace with "Duel on Syrtis" (March 1953 PLANET STORIES), a story as serious as the previous are, if not humorous, at least whimsical. "Duel on Syrtis" is an all-too-possible story of what our contact with aliens COULD be. The one truly unusual story is "Uncleftish Beholding." It seems to have had limited exposure before this, perhaps because it is hard to classify. Think of it as a science article from a world in which the Norsemen conquered Europe. "Escape from Orbit" (October 1962 AMAZING) returns us to the familiar, this time to the science fiction puzzle story. Even Anderson can't make this tale of astronauts trapped in orbit--and how they inevitably get out-- more than average. The problem, of course, is that there's only one unpredictable approach and Tom Godwin used it up years ago (seven years before Anderson wrote this, to be precise). Anderson returns to the political theme in "Enough Rope"--again, predictable, but more entertaining than "Escape from Orbit." And the final story, "The Live Coward" (June 1956 ASTOUNDING) is more politicking and diplomacy, albeit a bit too neatly wrapped up for my tastes. Readers should be warned that many of the sensibilities of the stories are of their time. (In plain English, this means that the female characters are often there for decoration only, and their decorative features are dwelt upon at length.) If you can accept that as an artifact of the time these works were written, you might find these stories of some interest. But unless you have exhausted all the better-known Anderson of the period, this is not recommended. %B KINSHIP WITH THE STARS %A Poul Anderson %C New York %D October 1991 %I Tor %O paperback, US$3.99 %G ISBN 0-812-51814-4 %P 276pp Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com From new Thu Jun 16 18:53:22 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!emory!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!concert!bigblue.oit.unc.edu!browc From: browc@ils.unc.edu (Carlton Brown) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: All About Anderson's _Time Patrol_ Date: 17 Mar 1994 23:33:31 GMT Organization: Univ. of North Carolina, Information/Library Science Lines: 35 Message-ID: <2mapcb$fco@bigblue.oit.unc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: ruby.ils.unc.edu Since I've seen other queries about Poul Anderson's _Time Patrol_, I'm posting an excerpt of a message I received from Mr. Patrick Nielsen Hayden, a senior editor at Tor Books. Many Thanks to all the Anderson fans who answered my initial query! W. Carlton Brown * No man shuns his doom * browc@ruby.ils.unc.edu ################### BEGIN EXCERPT ######################### THE TIME PATROL (our volume, not the long out-of-print SF Book Club volume of the same name) is an omnibus of several works, including one substantial new work. We published it in hardcover in 1991 and in trade paperback about a week ago. (Copies should be arriving on bookstore shelves soon.) The omnibus consists of: All the stories in the old collection THE GUARDIANS OF TIME (now o.p.) All the stories in the early-'80s collection TIME PATROLMAN (now o.p.) The YA [sic] novel THE YEAR OF THE RANSOM, previously published only in hardcover by Walker & Company A new 50,000-word novel of Manse Everard and the Time Patrol, STAR OF THE SEA This volume plus THE SHIELD OF TIME will give you the entire Time Patrol series. ----- Patrick Nielsen Hayden : pnh@panix.com senior editor, Tor Books : opinions mine ############## END EXCERPT ##################################### From ../rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Nov 14 14:28:12 1995 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Sep 1 09:36:38 1995 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!sunic!sunic.sunet.se!news.sprintlink.net!simtel!news.kei.com!nntp.et.byu.edu!news.mtholyoke.edu!uhog.mit.edu!news!nobody From: reederp@lot.eng.ohio-state.edu (P Douglas Reeder) Subject: review of _The Avatar_, by Poul Anderson Message-ID: <41iqr7$a9t@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: news@media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Electrical Engineering Dept., Ohio State University Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 15:17:41 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 53 A review of _The Avatar_, by Poul Anderson review copyright 1995 by P. Douglas Reeder %T The Avatar %A Poul Anderson %I Berkley Publishing Corp. %C New York %D copyright 1978 %N SBN: 399-12228-1 %O hardback 380pp %X SF Humanity has started star travel by means of 'T-machines', loosely based on concepts by the physicist F.J. Tipler and others. The T-machines were built by a mysterious race known only as 'the Others', who left the (crucially important) directions to only one other star system. An alien race, the Betans, have been encountered and a ship, _Emissary_, has been sent to open contact. Upon its return, elements of the world government that oppose exploration and expansion imprison the crew. Dan Broderson, businessman and starship captain, learns of this by craft and gathers a crew to bring the word to Earth. The expected action then ensues, but halfway through, the storyline takes an unexpected turn. By the end, however, Anderson brings the story to a fufilling conclusion. The characters are well drawn, and more three-dimensional and realistic than is usual for Anderson. The Betans are plausible and interesting, though mostly off-stage, except for one, Fidelo, who returns on the Emissary. Much of the book is about how people in a group of a half-dozen, isolated from all others, interact with each other. Most of this is fairly well done, though at times, problems appear without prequel. One of Anderson's chief themes is love and sex, and how strict monogamy is unnececcsary. I find it plausible that some people can have polygamous relations without anyone's feelings getting hurt, but not that all of the polygamous relations that go in in this book could happen without more upset, or that they would all work out happily. Expansion versus inwardness of humanity is also a major theme, and, no surprise, the people in favor of expansion are the good guys. All in all, this is a thoughtful book that is not too artsy, nor too much concentrated on action; it stands in the classic tradition of SF. IMHO, this is Anderson's second best book, next to _The Saga of Hrolf Kraki_. I enjoyed reading it and reccomend it. -- P. Douglas Reeder Graduate Student Electrical Engineering Dept.,Ohio State University reederp@er4.eng.ohio-state.edu