From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Sep 4 14:26:32 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!feed1.news.erols.com!howland.erols.net!newsfeed1-hme1!newsfeed.internetmci.com!192.88.144.6!news.kei.com!eecs-usenet-02.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!news!wex From: sfrevu@aol.com (SFRevu) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: How Like a God by Brenda W. Clough Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 02 Sep 1997 21:03:30 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Lines: 60 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1522 How Like a God by Brenda W. Clough Review copyright 1997 by Ernest Lilley [contains spoilers for at least one major plot point. --AW] Rob Lewis is only human, with one little exception. He can change your mind. Computer Programmer Rob Lewis starts out at the beginning of HOW LIKE A GOD in his daily morning routine. Get the kids to school, his wife off to her job, himself to work. Barring the unforeseen it will be another day in suburbia, and Rob is content things the way they are. That's a pity because the unforeseen is about to hit him like a tsunami. Rob is easy to like and relate to, a dedicated father and husband, a vaguely Dilbertesque programmer who fondly recalls the comics he read when he was younger. He seems like someone you can trust. Unfortunately he's only human. While trying to get everyone where they are going, Rob discovers that he has suddenly acquired the ability to read and alter minds. He has no idea how it happened, and it takes a while for him to believe, but soon he's off to save the world with his new power. What Rob doesn't count on is the difference between power and control. First, a fireman is killed because Rob had covered leaving work by imprinting the suggestion that he was around somewhere. Then he realizes that he is rewriting his kids' minds involuntarily and that his wife is suddenly consumed by ambition to use his powers for their gain. He does the only thing he can think of - run away. Destitute and homeless in New York City, Rob shies away from human contact while he grapples with the darkness within himself and his uncontrolled power. A chance encounter with a neuro-scientist and the self-disgust generated from nearly raping a young girl leads Rob to seek help learning to control his power before the inevitable confrontation between human and divine spirit. Rob sinks low enough in this phase to make the author's point, but I'm sure I could have sunk considerably lower before accepting responsibility for my actions. It doesn't hurt the story much, if at all, but I think that the author pulled her punch a bit here. From corporate Washington to New York to Siberia, HOW LIKE A GOD takes us on a journey of self discovery reminiscent of LeGuin's LATHE OF HEAVEN, in which George Orr dreams Effective Dreams that change the face of the world. This book is considerably more thoughtfully than the reality hopping of MAINLINE by Deborah Christian. HOW LIKE A GOD is a thought provoking story about what it means not just to be a god, but to be human as well. It's clear that author Brenda Clough has mastered her powers of persuasion - I recommend this for readers of Fantasy and SF readers alike, as well as mainstream readers that wouldn't touch Fantasy or SF on a dare. Now if I could only reach out and adjust your minds! %G ISBN 0-312-86263-6 %P TOR %D March 1997 SFRevu - Reviews and interviews from the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy. http://members.aol.com/sfrevu/sfraug97.html