From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Mar 8 13:22:06 2001 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!news.tele.dk!212.43.194.69!fr.clara.net!heighliner.fr.clara.net!freenix!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu From: Bill Lee Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: review of 970 A.D.S. (e-Book) by Glenn Hough (incl. author's summary) Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Date: 06 Mar 2001 15:19:12 -0500 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.7/Emacs 20.4 Lines: 95 NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Trace: 983909954 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 8790 18.85.23.65 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2833 970 A.D.S., Glenn Hough Review Copyright 2001 Bill Lee I've not been a major fan of SciFi but I must confess that the title "970 A.D.S." tweaked my curiosity. That's the new title of the e-novel by Glenn Hough on the GLB Publishers' e-Book web site. And so did the cover, by the way-- way out. It seems, according to "970 A.D.S." that the world sort of destroyed itself in its many wars as many of our doom-sayers periodically tell us will happen, and what emerged was this race of Cybers in charge, their forms described as mixtures of metal and some soft tissues not well explained, that bleed when injured (damaged?). But that doesn't necessarily stop them. The next fact you should know is they're all female, at least with many of those instincts, but really turn out to be everything to everybody, men and women (yes, we/they still exist) alike. Technically they're not androgynous nor hermaphroditic -- both sex organs in one individual -- but when the norm in a culture is bisexuality, it isn't necessary to be one or the other to enjoy yourself. I've been saying that for a long time. There are also serious lessons to be learned here; more about that later. But even in this more perfect world, not everything goes swimmingly and some individualisms can cause problems, even when they are Cybers. The two main characters are Jean, a Prefect of the Sisterhood, and pretty near perfect as an administrator and mother, and Jasmin, a Knight and great fighter who gets carried away and destructive when her lover dies (yes, they do die occasionally). But the real character is Vex, apparently the one pictured in the cover art, who betrayed the culture to the Evil One and went into a cryogenic sleep for a couple of eons. So all the needed conflicts are there, including the undescribed supreme being, and when you add in a few male humans for some contrasts and sexual hi-jinks, it makes for interesting reading. I mentioned the serious side which should be featured a little. Hough apparently has been an observer of the human race for some time, probably centered in the Washington State area, since there are a lot of specific references to it and to our human history. If you can juggle bisexual Cybers and Seattle civics, you will receive gentle lessons that could even be applied to current politics. -- Bill Lee, Author of "Different Slopes" A Bisexual Man's Novel http://www.glbpubs.com/ebsumrevno97.html %A Glenn Hough %B 970 A.D.S. %C San Francisco %D October, 2000 %G ISBN: 1-879194-89-9 %I GLB Publishers %K Cyberdroids %O ebook, $5.00 for download, $1.00 for cover %P 170 SUMMARY by the AUTHOR 970 A.D.S., is a journey to a time of great strength, compassion, and understanding. Consider Jasmin Stingray, a Knight of the Cyber Sisterhood. She's a fighter Ace in an era where such a thing is not needed. With a strength over ten times the Human bell curve she lashes out at her home on a space station, nearly destroying it with her bare hands. This person of strength is reduced to a wailing mass of deepest sorrow; her love, Sea, is dead. Her sorrow is so deep and has festered for so long that only the deepest compassion and a vision of the Cyber's St. San can cleanse her long suffering Ghost. Jasmin's road to redemption is just starting and must end in the Circle of Sisterhood. Consider the life of Jean Stingray, a Prefect of the Cyber Sisterhood. Jean is about as ordinary as Cybers come. She's dedicated to building a community were each individual can achieve their dreams. Her lovers are many, and are men, women, and other Cybers. And now her love for life will take physical reality as she prepares to bring her first daughter on-line. Ryoko will be born and before she even crosses the sentience threshold, she and the rest of the Cyber Sisterhood will turn their attention to the Circle of Sisterhood. Consider Vex the mighty, Vex the unconquerable, Vex the demon, Vex the betrayer. In the early days, when Humanity and the Cyber stood together against the forces of a megalomaniac M.I., Vex stood with them, only to suffer draw after draw in their battles. And when the unconquerable crumbled into despair, she betrayed humanity and the Cyber to the Evil One. Over half a millennia has passed since the sorrows of those years and when Vex is accidentally awaken from her long cryogenic sleep, she must come before the Circle of Sisterhood for final judgment and redemption, if it is possible for her. Three different paths for these Cybers. All of them leading in the Circle of Sisterhood, which is the beginning and the end of the Cyberdroid race. -- Glenn Hough