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From: ST401844@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (Stewart Crall)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: John Taine
Message-ID: <9006181706.AA09640@rutgers.edu>
Date: 18 Jun 90 17:04:21 GMT
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John Taine's "Crystal Hords" is a very funny book.  It has lots of
funny character sketches and scenes.  My favorite is the one where two
cowardly russian secret agents talk a chinese moslem prophet to
start a bloodless jihad. One of the agents is a lady's man who is trying
to seduce the prophet's clever granddaughter who is trying to take care
of her grandfather while letting him think he is in control.  This leads
to the moslems, the chinese armies, and the American marines
(pre-revolutionary China) running around in some caverns while a mad
scientist is trying to save the world.  It is a great book and very
cleverly thought out.

I have a tendency not to like much "humorous" science fiction, but this
was pretty good.  The book reminded me a bit of Tim Power's "Anubis
Gate", but this was better because it was much more concise and to the
point and it did not get so silly halfway through the book.  The style
reminds me of A. Conan Doyle because of the ease of the prose and the
light humor, as if the author was smiling and enjoying himself as he
wrote.  Or it reminds me of the better parts of Cornwainder Smith's
"Norstrillia".

One thing I really liked about this book was the correct use of whatever
scientific terminology was used in this book.  This author clearly had a
high level of understanding of what he was writing about;  he made a few
changes to the accepted theories, but they were consistently done.  The
descriptions of how the "Crystal hords" eat people and cause moving
earthquakes with the earth bubbling up are very vivid.  A small problem
with the author is that he is a bit bloodthirsty and a lot of people die
in this book.

"The Crystal Hords"  by John Taine is very easy to read.  I highly
recommend it.