Subject: THE WALL AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Jim Aikin

From: [email-masked]
Date: 11 Jun 93 00:33:07 GMT

THE WALL AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Jim Aikin
                     A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
		      Copyright 1993 Evelyn C. Leeper

     In the world of the future, in a society of telepaths, conformity is
more than the norm--it's required.  Periodic Cleansings make sure that no
one who deviates can contaminate the society.  Denlo Ree accepts this, until
he has to come to terms with what this means.  His struggle takes him
outside the Wall, into the supposedly barren outlands which he discovers are
not so barren after all.  He meets Linnie, who comes from a very different
society and they must learn to communicate with and understand each other.

     In its picture of a restrictive, ordered society, THE WALL AT THE END
OF THE WORLD has been compared to Ursula LeGuin's DISPOSSESSED, but I found
the resemblance deceptive.  LeGuin is contrasting two supposedly different
societies.  While Aikin does this to some extent, he is more concerned with
looking at how societies come about (or are built) and how people
communicate with each other.  The politics are important, but they are
driven by communication: telepathy (or its lack) between people who share a
common language and between people who don't, communication between of the
same social level and between people of different levels (though they may
disagree on who is the higher).

     THE WALL AT THE END OF THE WORLD is not a perfect book, but its flaws
are minor.  (I found myself spending what was probably too much time trying
to figure out where all the modified place names came from (e.g., Missopy
from Mississippi), but that's probably just me.  If you're looking for a
good, solid, socio-political novel, I recommend THE WALL AT THE END OF THE
WORLD.  (Do not read the LOCUS review until you've read the novel--it gives
too much away.)

%T      The Wall at the End of the World
%A      Jim Aikin
%C      New York
%D      March 1993
%I      Ace
%O      paperback, US$4.99
%G      ISBN 0-441-87140-2
%P      309pp

Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | [email-masked] / [email-masked]