From /tmp/sf.4258 Tue Feb 1 03:52:50 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: pcrxs@nasagiss.giss.nasa.gov (R.B. Schmunk) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review: Odom's STALKER ANALOG Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9312020222.AA19584@presto.ig.com> Date: 03 Dec 93 01:19:28 GMT Lines: 89 STALKER ANALOG By Mel Odom A book review by R.B. Schmunk (Copyright 1993) STALKER ANALOG is a new science fiction mystery novel by Mel Odom, author of the related LETHAL INTERFACE which came out a year or two ago. I say related because the scene of the action has moved from Dallas to Houston and a new set of detectives is involved, but a cameo appearance by the hero of the older novel helps demonstrate they are part of the same future. And because LETHAL INTERFACE was a decent read, I snatched STALKER ANALOG off the shelf when I spotted it a few days ago. The reason I refer to STALKER ANALOG as a combination of two major fiction genres is because it involves the hunt for a serial killer sometime in the near future. As is soon revealed, the killer is a Catholic priest name Judd Almendariz who is gruesomely killing women he encounters on the bus and whom he believes to be succubi. His nemesis is a Houston homicide detective named Bethany Shay. But other characters play major roles, including Shay's partner Tully Keever, her former husband Kiyoshi Izutsu, and the reclusive billionaire Felix Carey, reputedly 120 years old. These characters are generally well-drawn, particularly Shay and Almendariz, for whom enough background is provided for one to have an idea of how they think. Like many other recent novels set sometime in the 21st century, STALKER ANALOG mixes in a fair amount of computer technology advances. I hesitate to call it "cyberpunk" since it does not have the outlaw feel of such books; our hero[ine] is after all a police officer. However, the manner in which the technology is presented does bear similarities to Gibson's NEUROMANCER, with some of its characters decking in and receiving direct input of imagery. Furthering the similarity is the fact that the writing takes such technology for granted, omitting the grittier details one encounters in books like Stephenseon's SNOW CRASH. But before you think that STALKER ANALOG is terribly derivative, I should admit that Odom has added an embellishment which makes the book a bit interesting: virtual reality Bible software. That's right, instead of the hypertext software infiltrating today's software market, STALKER ANALOG offers you-are-there reality, in all the painful possibilities that the Bible offers. (Remember what happened to John the Baptist? Now imagine taking his place.) On the flip side, of course, is the mystery, and here STALKER ANALOG does not really stand out. Happily, the cops are competent and no ridiculous hunches or leaps of intuition are required for them to figure out what's going on. But violent serial killers can be found about every six inches down a mystery book shelf. The only detail in which STALKER ANALOG's mystery departs from run-of-the-mill is how billionaire Carey relates to the case, as you'll soon be wondering why he is showing such interest in the murders. Unfortunately, there is one aspect about STALKER ANALOG that I found seriously deficient: the city backdrop. My first inkling that Odom may have erred came when I encountered a passage referring to a prostitute working the River Oaks district of Houston. Since that area is the home of many of Houston's wealthiest citizens, often living in large mansions, I found the idea of a streetwalker area cruising the area a bit odd. But since STALKER ANALOG is set in the future, I figured anything can happen in fifty (or whatever) years. However, somewhat later on, when I found Braes Bayou called Bray's Bayou and South Shepherd Drive called South Shepard drive, I decided that Odom must not have spent much time in Houston, and closer thought revealed the problem more clearly. Different features delineate the character of major cities; Manhattan is known for its skyscrapers and taxi-laden streets, Seattle for its rain and view of Puget Sound, etc. For those who have been to Houston, the main images are of endless suburbia and the freeways that have to be navigated to get much of anywhere. In fact, most mysteries set in Houston feature explanations of how the detective gets from one part of town to another (e.g., David Lindsey's excellent books), but those features were just not present in STALKER ANALOG. In effect, the book is set in Any City, USA. Thus, STALKER ANALOG as a decent read for those who like to mix their science fiction with murder. However, if you've any amount of time in Houston, I expect that this book will make you shake your head a bit. %A Mel Odom %B STALKER ANALOG %I ROC (Penguin USA/Dutton Signet) %C New York City %D 1993 %G ISBN 0-451-45257-7 %O paperback, US$5.50 / Canada$6.50 %P 367 pp. -- R.B. Schmunk Email: pcrxs@nasagiss.giss.nasa.gov Smail: NASA/Goddard Institute, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025 USA Vox: 212-678-5637 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri May 28 12:48:11 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!nntp.primenet.com!newsfeed.cwix.com!18.181.0.26!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: "Aaron M. Renn" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Reviews: The Forever Drug by Lisa Smedman and Headhunters by Mel Odom Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 May 1999 23:57:19 -0400 Organization: GNU's Not Unix! Lines: 90 Sender: wex@tinbergen.media.mit.edu Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2352 The Forever Drug, by Lisa Smedman Headhunters, by Mel Odom Review Copyright 1999 Aaron Renn I hate movie, TV, and RPG spinoff books as much as the next guy, but I've got to admit that Shadowrun is a secret pleasure. I picked up the first trilogy of novels set in this Fantasy/SF role playing universe not knowing they were for an RPG series. I thought the books (the Secrets of Power trilogy by Robert N. Charrette) were pretty good and soon I was hooked. The Shadowrun books - for an RPG tie-in series - have a lot to recommend. First is that the publisher hasn't saturated the market. There have only been 37 books in the series since 1990. This contrasts greatly with the infinitude of Star Wars and Star Trek books that seem to come out every month. You can keep up with the series without blowing your budget or precious reading time. The books are light fiction (Shadowrunners are basically mercenaries who go around blowing stuff up and the like), which everybody needs some of from time to time. Plus, there is always a healthy dose of mystery involved, oftimes with deep, dark secrets about the nature of the world revealed. The Shadowrun universe is a near future cyberpunk setting with magic thrown in. It lets me get my fantasy, cyberpunk, and military SF fix all at once. Unfortunately, all of the trend lines for this series seem to be going the wrong way. Books are coming out more frequently and are of generally lower quality. The most recent in the series - The Forever Drug by Lisa Smedman - exemplifies everything bad that has been happening to it. First, I noticed that the title was recycled from a 1995 book by Steve Perry. Interestingly enough, he is also an author of numerous media tie-in type books. Not a good sign. And the book was thin, weighing in at only 271 pages in large type. Unfortunately the content was also thin. The main character Romulus, a shape shifting wolf who does independent work for the local police, is trying to find a way to get himself officially onto the force. Lone Star, the private entity that holds the policing contract, refuses to hire non-humans. To accomplish his goal, he attempts to solve two mysteries. The two mysteries are barely related, dividing the story in half in a way that doesn't mesh well. One of the situations is so minor as to be completely unimportant. The other involves a couple big names in the Shadowrun universe, but is ultimately of no consequence either. The Forever Drug is by far the worst novel in the Shadowrun series and only hard core Shadowrun collectors/gamers will want to buy it. Lucky for me I also picked up another Shadowrun book this week - Headhunters by Mel Odom. This one was from 1997. I'd read it before but somehow lost the book. I figured since I was buying a replacement copy to keep my collection complete, I might as well re-read it. This story is much meatier. Jack Skater and his band of Shadowrunners are well known as a tough and professional outfit in Seattle. They're hired for an apparently simple run. The job is to extract a dead body from a funeral home and deliver it back to Mr. Johnson (that being the code name Shadowrunners use to refer to the person (usually anonymous) who hired them). The drek hits the fan fast as another group of well armed runners shows up looking for the same piece of meat. Skater's crew escapes with the body and they spend the rest of the book dodging the other runners and trying to figure out what's so important about this body. The secret this time actually means something and the story ties in indirectly with the assassination of President Dunkelzhan that occurs in Jake Koke's Dragon Heart Saga trilogy. There's a lot of action, a lot of familiar faces, an interesting mystery to be solved, and a number of personal dilemmas that must be resolved. For people who've never read a Shadowrun novel, this is a good pick as the first one to try. I just wish I could say better things to say about the way the series is going. %A Smedman, Lisa %T The Forever Drug %S Shadowrun %I New American Library/Roc Fantasy %D 1999-06 %G ISBN 0-451-45747-0 %P 271 pp. %O mass market paperback, US$5.99 C$7.99 %A Odom, Mel %T Headhunters %S Shadowrun %I New American Library/Roc Fantasy %D 1997-10 %G ISBN 0-451-45614-0 %P 293 pp. %O mass market paperback, US$5.99 C$7.99 -- Aaron M. Renn (arenn@urbanophile.com) http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/