davidroy

Realms of Fantasy - December, 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Wed, 21 Dec 05 11:27:00 UT

The Stories
"En Foret Noire" - by Tanith Lee
"Empty Places" - by Richard Parks
"Mortegarde" - by Liz Williams
"A Knot of Toads" - by Jane Yolen
"Lavenderâs Blue, Lavenderâs Green" - by Patrick Samphire

The December issue of Realms of Fantasy is the perfect way to end the year. Itâs larger than usual (though it has fewer stories, and perhaps the extra pages are given to the Harry Potter coverage), but all of the stories are quite good, with yet another Richard Parks story among them. Iâm really becoming a fan of his. Patrick Samphire is also becoming a regular in these pages, and he gives us yet another family that is having problems. Yes, itâs becoming quite common, but itâs not getting old when heâs doing the telling. Jane Yolen, however, steals the show with a wonderful story about a Scottish fishing village and the family that a young woman left behind. If you like fantasy short stories, you should pick this one up.

"En Foret Noire" - by Tanith Lee
Young Louis is traveling from Paris to visit the love of his life, Celie, when the carriage passes a dark, evil-looking forest. He asks around about it, and finally, at an inn where the carriage stops, an old man gives him a book that will give him some information. Unfortunately, he doesnât have time to read all of it that night, and continues on his way. His Celieâs family reacts in horror when he mentions it, and they tell him stories of people who have gone into that forest never to be seen again. Her brother does not care for Louis, and arranges a visit for Louis to the forest, where he finds out that itâs even worse than he imagined. This story is very dark, but effectively told. Itâs different in substance (though not in tone) from what Iâm used to from Leeâs stories, but itâs still quite effective. I would have liked a little bit more motivation for Celieâs brotherâs hatred, but thatâs just a minor quibble. The ending is an effective twist, turning the result that we expect on its ear.

"Empty Places" - by Richard Parks
Young Jayn is a master thief, but yet it appears heâs being followed by somebody he canât see, which isnât a pleasant feeling when youâre alone out in the wilderness. It turns out that the person following him is Timon, a wizard with a very dark reputation, who supposedly kidnapped a woman and murdered her rescuer just on a whim. Timon has a job for Jayn, something only he can do. It doesnât involve murder, it doesnât even involve stealing. Jayn is to place something next to the crib of the Queenâs new child. The task, while difficult, is right up Jaynâs alley, but even he canât fathom what Timon could be after. When he does find out, itâs the surprise of his life. Everything Parks sells to Realms of Fantasy seems to be gold, and this is no exception. Usually, he writes in weird or little-used locales, but this is a straight western fantasy world. However, the story is not normal at all. The interplay between the two characters is remarkable, with touches of humour from both Jayn and Timon, with Timonâs humour often being based on his dark reputation. We spend the entire story wondering what the purpose of this all is, but since Jayn is wondering the same thing, we get to just enjoy it. This is a great story.

"Mortegarde" - by Liz Williams
Travelling from one âworldâ (or dimension) to another isnât exactly childâs play, as it involves a lot of pain. However, it is fairly common, and whatâs more, information also passes from world to world. Dr. Gwilliam Anstruther is a master of forensics, and he has come up with some interesting theories about whatâs hidden in our blood. Itâs not mystical at all, but scientific, with little particles in it that do a lot of work, from carrying the breath that lets us live to little tiny soldiers that fight off infection. He is roundly criticized for his beliefs, but when heâs called to Mortegarde to present his theories to the snake people who inhabit this dimension. He thinks heâs among people interested in hearing his ideas, but they are much more religious than he thought. A mistake that might just see him dissected! This is an interesting little piece about the perpetual conflict between science and religion, and one man who gets caught in the middle of it. The characters are good enough that they held my interest for long enough, though they probably wouldnât support a longer story. However, the ending makes up for the slightness in the rest of the story, as Anstruther finds that he has learned something very valuable, that a scientist has to have a heart as well. Not one of Williamsâ best stories, but itâs still quite good.

"A Knot of Toads" - by Jane Yolen
Probably my favourite story in this issue. Itâs the early 1930s and a young woman is called back from Cambridge to her native fishing village in Scotland because her father is dying. When she gets there, she finds that heâs already dead, but the reason for his death isnât what she thought. It appears that heâs been frightened to death. The woman gets a chilly reception from her fatherâs long-time housekeeper, but she chalks it up to the strained relations she had with her father. Sheâs given some of his old journals, which may hold the key to what happened to him. What is with all of the toads hanging around the house? Will she unlock an old evil that consumed her father as well? I loved this story from beginning to end. It has so many things going for it, from the emotional (the narratorâs relationship with her father and with the village she left behind) to the supernatural (the old witches that her father had been researching). The characters are all vivid, even down to the potential love-interest. Yolen knows just how much information to give us and how much to imply, and I loved the language and description that Yolen used. I really felt like I was there in the sleepy village on the sea. Excellent work.

"Lavenderâs Blue, Lavenderâs Green" - by Patrick Samphire
And here I thought weâd finally get through a Realms of Fantasy issue without a fairie story. But wait! Is it? Hm. A father and daughter are on a road trip, to an address left them by his wife. She has left, saying there was something she had to do. When he was first courting her, he asked her a little about her past, and she said that she was a fairie queen. She never told him anything else about her life, and her family never appeared (except a brother). When they get to this address, surprises await them, and perhaps secrets will be revealed. I liked this story, though I have to admit that the ending confused me a bit. I suppose that was probably intentional. Itâs a nice family piece about a father, a daughter, and the wife/mother that they never really knew, because nobody ever asked. Samphire gives us what appears to be a rational explanation, and then rips it all out from under us in the next paragraph, giving the ending an ambiguity that Iâm not sure was intended. Or, perhaps, I missed the symbolism (it wouldnât be the first time) and it wasnât ambiguous at all. Still, I liked the characters, and Iâve always liked Samphireâs prose, so I quite enjoyed the story. A fitting ending to the issue.

Other features of this issue
"Movies" - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is previewed, and weâre given a âthe story so farâ for the first three Potter movies.
"Books" â reviews of upcoming and just published books, especially Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
"Folkroots" â Milk, honey, and bread in myth and legend
"Interview" â The artist known as Brom discusses his gothic work, especially his new illustrated book, The Plucker
"Games" - Reviews of upcoming and just published RPGs and video games, especially Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (are you sensing a trend here?

Fantasy & Science Fiction - October/November 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Wed, 28 Sep 05 13:47:00 UT

The Stories
"The Calorie Man" - by Paolo Bacigalupi (novelet) 32 pages
"Helen Remembers the Stork Club" - by Esther M. Friesner (short story) 18 pages
"Foreclosure" - by Joe Haldeman (short story) 13 pages
"Spells for Halloween - an Acrostic" - by Dale Bailey (short story) 4 pages
"Help Wonted" - by Matthew Hughes (novelet) 33 pages
"Ode to Multiple Universes" - by Terry Pratchett (poem) 1 page
"Billy and the Ants" - by Terry Bisson (short story) 5 pages
"The Gunner's Mate" - by Gene Wolfe (short story) 14 pages
"Fallen Idols" - by Jay Lawrence (short story) 4 pages
"Silv'ry Moon" - by Steven Utley (short story) 14 pages
"Echo" - by Elizabeth Hand (short story) 9 pages
"Boatman's Holiday" - by Jeffrey Ford (short story) 15 pages
"Two Hearts" - by Peter S. Beagle (novelet) 37 pages

This is the annual double issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and it's chock full of goodness. There's some great fantasy interwoven with some leading edge science fiction in here, with most of the stories having at least some hook that grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Even the weaker stories are well worth the time taken to read them, and there's enough variety in here for everyone. And it's even got a poem from Terry Pratchett! Good stuff.

"The Calorie Man" by Paolo Bacigalupi
It's sometime in the near future, and agriculture is strictly divided into SoyPRO and HiGro, two genetically modified forms of nutrients that are grown all over the country. In fact, natural food is illegal. All things in life are categorized into calories and how many joules of energy they produce. Everything is spring-loaded, from the boats that navigate the Mississippi river to the guns wielded by the IP (Intellectual Property) soldiers that enforce these restrictions. In this world is a man named Lalji, an Indian immigrant who remembers what it was like when food was grown. He's tasked with going up the river to find a "generipper", or a man who has managed to perfect some naturally grown food. His memories haunting him, he takes the job not just for the money, but for the guilt that's been eating him up ever since he left India. It's a dangerous trip, that could end his life, but he feels it's worth it. Bacigalupi illustrates the world vividly, making it all seem possible (some would say we're already on the way), and his characters are top-notch. He switches back and forth between Lalji's memories and the job at hand, giving the reader a clear indication of why he is ultimately doing this. The world and how it works are clearly described and the finale is tense, ending with a mixed sense of tragedy and uplift, and the emotional journey of this man, like the journey up the river, holds the reader entranced. A great way to start off the issue.

"Helen Remembers the Stork Club" by Esther M. Friesner
Whatever happened to Helen of Troy? Being half-god, she's still alive and living in New York, though age has affected the looks a bit. Old and wrinkled, but still spry and hearty, she's living a rather depressing life in New York, a refugee of high society in the middle of the 20th century, now she's just going through the motions. She has to buy companionship, gets treated horribly at Saks Fifth Avenue (though she retaliates in a way we all would love to be able to do in a wonderfully caustic scene), and is lost in her memories. Until one of her paid companions takes too much advantage of her, and she gets to resort to her magic of old to get revenge. While this story still has its humorous moments (the aforementioned Saks scene in particular), it's much more poignant than the other stories of hers I've read. There's a lot of depth about the treatment of the aged in our materialistic society. The story is mostly an internal monologue on Helen's part (though told in third person present tense) where Helen describes her life and getting ready for a night on the town with her latest companion. The prose is wonderful, Helen's cynicism coming off the page beautifully, and the final fate of her companion fits perfectly into the mold of the story, one that's quite horrific to the mindset of this character. Another excellent story, and I'd say one of the best I've read from Friesner.

"Foreclosure" by Joe Haldeman
A real estate agent in 1967 is in for a weird day. A strange, balding man comes into her office and says that his race is foreclosing on the Earth. They arranged a lot of environmental changes in preparation for the property they had bought, but humanity had developed and taken it over. He's giving notice that the human race has until 2017 to get everybody off the Earth or they will be exterminated. She enlists a science fiction author to try to figure out the weird three-dimensional moving pictures that he man has given her, but she ends up getting marginalized in the news report about her. But come 2017, she may just have the last laugh. This was a cute story, kind of fluffy and meaningless (though there is probably an environmental message in there), but it was fun. The science of how the aliens come and go is unexplained, but that's not a problem. The ending twist is kind of neat too. Ultimately, it's a short story that doesn't take too much time and is enjoyable while you're reading it. Not Haldeman's best by any stretch of the imagination, but you won't regret reading it.

"Spells for Halloween - an Acrostic" by Dale Bailey
A series of vignettes, using the letters of Halloween, this is an enjoyable piece. Each letter's vignette is interesting, especially one of the "L's", which stands for Lilith and tells who she is. I don't think Lilith is commonly known (I certainly didn't until she showed up in a Sandman comic) as the first wife of Adam, so this one grabbed my attention even more than the rest. These were originally serialized in a North Carolina newspaper, and the editors thought it should have a wider audience. I can't say I disagree. I especially would like to here more about Abaddon, the land of the dead, and the Antarctic expedition that supposedly found a staircase leading downward, chopped into the ice and smelling of brimstone. That could be a story in itself.

"Help Wonted" - by Matthew Hughes
Guth Bandar is an explorer of "The Commons," the vast domain of the collective human consciousness. Unfortunately, it's very easy for even the most experienced explorer to get trapped in a world not of his devising, and Guth is an expert at getting into sticky situations. In this case, he has entered the Commons through dreaming, an unusual way to do it (usually, it's done by singing a specific set of notes), and he is drawn to an opening that shouldn't be there. After entering it, he discovers that his theories of the Commons being sentient are actually true (despite what the Institute says), and it has plans for him. He's trapped in the body of a mute slave, and he must avoid being absorbed into the setting, losing his consciousness forever, until he figures out what the Commons wants with him. Hughes always has a way with characterization, and while Bandar is not my favourite character of his, I always enjoy reading about him. Hughes has such a "formal informal" way of writing (the prose itself sounds formal, but the concepts are not) that it always flows effortlessly. In fact, the formality of the language mixed up with insane situations Bandar finds himself in are one of the joys of these stories. This is another well-written piece by Hughes.

"Ode to Multiple Universes" - by Terry Pratchett
It's a poem by Terry Pratchett. It's humorous, it's short. It has Pratchett's characteristic wit. Not much else to say, but it is worth reading!

"Billy and the Ants" - by Terry Bisson
This is a parable about a boy named Billy and his obsession with killing ants. As the day goes on and he kills more ants, the ants keep getting bigger. You would think the sequence would be obvious to the character, but this sort of thing never is in a parable. Finally, the inevitable happens, though Bisson gives it a rather wicked twist at the end. This is a very short story, but Bisson captures a lot in such a small space. The complete obliviousness of Billy's mother, Billy's obsession, and his quick thinking as he has to come up with new and different ways to kill the ants as they get bigger. A very enjoyable story.

"The Gunner's Mate" - by Gene Wolfe
Muriel is an attorney in New York, but when she vacations on a very secluded Caribbean island (it only has a hotel on it), she starts to feel at home. Most other people get creepy feelings, but Muriel gets good ones; so good, in fact, that she begs the hotel manager for a job, wanting only room and board (he wouldn't even have to pay her) in order to stay. But one of Henry Morgan's old pirates may be causing those feelings. I have to admit that I don't often "get" Gene Wolfe. I liked the The Knight but I can't say I understood it, and I couldn't get into The Wizard (though I will try again one day). This one was kind of the same way. It's beautifully written, and the characters are evocative, but it just didn't grab me that much as I didn't seem to get what Wolfe was saying.

"Fallen Idols" - by Jay Lawrence
Sometimes, all you need for a plot description is the first line: "Zeus showed up one night at the sex addiction meeting in the basement of Christ Lutheran Church." After years and years of putting up with Zeus' infidelities, Hera has finally left him for good. This is the story of Zeus' first (and only) appearance in the sex addiction group. Sadly, despite everything he says in the meeting, he's never going to change. This was a funny little story, the idea of Zeus finally coming to terms with all of those mortals he's impregnated and what that must have done to Hera, the narrator trying to relate some aspects of Zeus' problem to his own former life with his ex. The twist is obvious in retrospect, but not exactly predictable, and I liked Lawrence's little touches. How the narrator all of a sudden notices the therapist's breasts rise and fall, reminding the reader that, yes, we are in a sex addiction meeting. It's not worth more space than it's given, but it's perfect for the size it is.

"Silv'ry Moon" - by Steven Utley
This is another of Utley's "Silurian era" stories, where time travel to the era has been perfected and it is studied by scientists of the current time. In this story, Dr. Canepi and his wife pay for an excursion into the era, and since the funding for it is dropping, the scientists take whatever they can get. But Canepi is a doctor who specializes in extraterrestrials, convinced that they have visited Earth before, and he wants to use the radio telescope that was assembled there to send a message in the past, so that the reply may be picked up in the present. Their guide, a veteran of this study, is suitably skeptical. This isn't one of Utley's best stories, though it is pretty good. The conflict between the characters doesn't really go anywhere, and I thought the ending was rather short. The characters are well-drawn, and the dialogue is great, but the story itself could have used some work. Or at least an ending.

"Echo" - by Elizabeth Hand
This is a strange little story. Analogous to the story of Echo and Narkissos, a woman watches civilization end, isolated on a deserted island with limited electricity and contact with the outside world. She's also pining for a lover who speaks to her mostly through emails and letters as he gets further and further away from her. It's a story about loss and how some people deal with it. And the cycle gets repeated. This is a very moody piece, with no real plot, but just imagery. It's not bad in that imagery, and if it were any longer, it probably wouldn't work. However, it is just good enough to not wear out its welcome. The prose is also first-rate, as we really start to feel for this woman's loss and her longing for the man whom she will likely never meet again.

"Boatman's Holiday" - by Jeffrey Ford
Charon is a busy man. It's hard work ferrying souls across the river to Hell, and it's a never-ending job. However, once a century, he's allowed a day off. Usually, he games with some of the other demons of Hell, but this time, he's going on a little quest. There is an island in the river Lathe, an island that might offer an escape from Hell, or at least an escape *in* Hell. Is it right to offer even an employee of Hell hope? This is a beautiful story, wonderfully told. The imagery of Hell, not to mention the river that Charon navigates, is exceptional, and the ending is just perfect. There is little dialogue, as Charon is usually by himself, but the tale told by Charon is great. If this doesn't make you feel for a denizen of Hell, I don't know what will.

"Two Hearts" - by Peter S. Beagle
A sequel of sorts to Beagle's The Last Unicorn, as well as a bridge to the next novel set in this universe, this story is a fitting end to the issue. Young Sooz, a 9-year old girl (almost 10!), lives in a village that's being terrorized by a griffin (half eagle, half lion creature). After the king has sent many different men to deal with it (all of whom met grisly ends), she takes it upon herself to journey to the king and get him to come deal with it himself. She happens upon a couple in the woods, and finds they're going the same way, so she joins them. When they get to the castle, however, he is not the same vibrant king they all remember, old and tired, and he may not be the one who can vanquish the beast. I haven't read The Last Unicorn, so all of the characters were new to me (I gather the king and the couple are from that book, from what I've read). However, that wasn't a bother, as we are introduced to them through young Sooz, a vibrant young girl who will do anything to save her family and village. All of the characters are beautifully drawn, though it is funny that Sooz's first feeling about Molly is that she has a stiff face and that Sooz doesn't like her much, but then there never really is a change of mind on Sooz's part. Molly shows great caring for Sooz and Sooz never really says acknowledges her first feeling again. Still, the story is wonderful, the setting is interesting, and Beagle's prose (especially as told through Sooz's eyes) is masterful.

The Articles:
"Books to Look For" - by Charles de Lint
The Mysteries - by Lisa Tuttle
Day of the Dead - by J.A. Jance
Kiss of the Bees - by J.A. Jance
Four and Twenty Blackbirds - by Cherie Priest
Urban Shaman - by C.E. Murphy
The Surrogates - by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele
Sex and the Slayer - by Lorna Jowett
Finding Serenity - edited by Jane Espenson
The Ice Queen - by Alice Hoffman

"Musings on Books" - by Michelle West
Spin - by Robert Charles Wilson
Cagebird - by Karin Lowachee

"Films" - by Lucius Shepard
London Voodoo
Nochnoy Dozor (renamed Night Watch in the States)

"Curiosities" - by Douglas A. Anderson
The Flying Cows of Biloxi - by Benson Bidwell (1907)

Realms of Fantasy - August, 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Sun, 4 Sep 05 11:42:00 UT

The Stories
"The Penultimate Riddle" - by Richard Parks
"A Statement in the Case" - by Theodora Goss
"The Queen's Wood" - by Josh Rountree
"A Bedtime Tale for the Disenchanted" - by Amy Beth Forbes
"The Secret of the Broken Tickers" - by Joe Murphy
"Countless Screaming Argonauts" - by Chris Lawson
"When the Dragon Falls" - by Patrick Samphire

The August issue rebounds from the June one, as there aren't any stories that I didn't like in it. As always, some are better than others, but they are all really enjoyable. Richard Parks gives us his third story in a row, and while it's not as good as last issue, it's still interesting. Patrick Samphire returns after a hiatus with a great coming of age story, and we get another clockwork family story. This is definitely an issue to pick up.

"The Penultimate Riddle" - Richard Parks
Everybody knows what a sphinx is, with the famous "answer my riddle or be eaten" motif. Helena is a sphinx on a desolate road, where nobody ever seems to come since she took up residence there. Then Leontas shows up, but he's certainly a strange one. He seems glad to have met up with a sphinx, and he has some questions for her, as well. Helena's intrigued by this man, and finally relents to answer some questions as long as he will try to answer her riddles as well. And, of course, if he gets one wrong, there will be consequences. What could Leontas' purpose be, if not suicide? This is a decent tale, though not as strong as Parks' "Fox Tails" in last month's issue. It's told almost entirely through conversation between the two characters, and Parks handles this pretty well, giving both characters some depth, though we never see Leontas deep enough to know whether his stated reasons for seeking the sphinx are really true or not. It has a cute ending, though. Parks has had a story in each of the last three issues, and all of them have been quite different. I like his versatility.

A Statement in the Case" - by Theodora Goss
This is the standout story in the issue. Told in a sort of testimony to a police detective, this is the story of Istvan Horvath, a man who came over from old country many years ago. The narrator is a man battered by life, who doesn't really allow anybody to get close to him after his wife dies of cancer. But Istvan, an apothecary down the street, is the one exception, as he helped the narrator deal with taking care of her toward the end. They develop an interesting friendship, but soon Istvan has to go back to his country because his mother is dying. When he returns, he brings over the woman who had been taking care of his mother, only now she's his wife. She's also not quite what she seems, and the business that she gets involved in, dealing with some unique treasures from Bulgaria, ends up costing her life. Is Istvan responsible? And if the narrator knows, will he tell the police? This is a fascinating character study with just a little fantastical twist (which wouldn't even really be needed if this wasn't in Realms of Fantasy. We learn a lot about the narrator as well as Istvan, and I loved the friendship between them. As events move toward their climax, the tragedy just gets deeper. The ending fits the story, and the characters, perfectly.

"The Queen's Wood" - by Josh Rountree
Evidently the sequel to "The King's Snow" (which must have been published before I started picking up the magazine), this is another Turion adventure. Nicholas, the Witness, and Marabelle are on the annual quest to fight and defeat the Turion, which will give their king another year of immortal life (he's immortal as long as this pilgrimage happens). They are forced to cut through the Faerie Queen's wood, and the Queen tempts both of them three times, in order to stop their quest. This is a story of religious faith and doubt, and whether that bit of doubt is necessary for the true believer. It's fairly interesting, but it's also not that gripping. The characters are interesting, the revelations about Marabelle and her ultimate decision are quite good, but maybe I've seen too many "temptation" stories. This one had a sameness about it. It didn't help that it also had the typical faerie elements of talking animals, the queen, not being able to eat any food in the land, that sort of thing. It was good, but not as good as it could have been.

"A Bedtime Tale for the Disenchanted" - by Amy Beth Forbes
This is a weird little story about trying to change a mate, and the consequences that can bring. Percy is a traveler, one who constantly walks the roads and keeps the roads from forming their own republic (which would be an interesting concept in itself). As long as he walks the roads, they are docile. But Jeta, his lover, is getting tired of the traveling life, and arranges for a shaman to give him some roots, which ends up turning him into a tree. Unfortunately, as a tree he can't talk to her. He pretty much just stands there. The roads go nuts, causing travelers everywhere to not reach their destination, and Jeta must say those two magic words to get everything back to the way it was. This is a very short, but very cute story about changing natures. Given the length, there isn't much room for characterization, but I liked what we saw of both Jeta and the shaman she got to do the dirty deed. In fact, the interaction between the two of them was wonderful. Not the best story in the issue, but definitely worth a read.

"The Secret of the Broken Tickers"
Another story in the same universe as "The Secret of Making Brains" (December, 2004), with the clockwork Maezel family and Sprokly, the young clockwork girl. In the previous story, her brother Billy went off to college, one of the first to go out into the world. Now, their Ma is sick, and Grampser (their creator, who can never tell the truth), hasn't been able to do anything for her. Billy comes home, bringing a young medical student (Sylvine) who he has fallen in love with. He's also told her a lot about the family and how it works. Sylvine tries to convince them to bring her father, a noted physician, in to help Ma, but Pa won't hear of it. As little Sprokly gets to know Sylvine, she tells perhaps a little too much about their family, and when Sprokly and Grampser end up creating what they need to fix Ma, it could have unintended consequences. This is probably my second favourite story in this issue, as I just love the concept of this independent clockwork family. The magic is very neat, with little gadgets that form letters in the air, forming reality. Sprokly is a sweet, innocent girl, who will do anything to help her family, but doesn't always realize what she's doing. And I just love Grampser, who always says the opposite of what he means. The ending leaves room for another sequel, which I eagerly await.

"Countless Screaming Argonauts" - by Chris Lawson
Ok, somebody (either Lawson, or whoever else came up with the title) must be a They Might be Giants fan. I love it!! This is a mythological tale about that includes a lot of various aspects of Greek myth: the Cyclops that Odysseus maimed, Jason & the Argonauts, the Colossus of Rhodes, and oracles. Chares of Lindos has been given a surprisingly straightforward prophecy by a young oracle. After he completes the quest, she tells him that what he has done will play a large role in what is to come. Fifty-six years later, the Cyclops whose eye Odysseus poked out is determined to finally get revenge on Odysseus. Jason, of Argonaut fame, is a hero, but not always the most intelligent sea captain around. His crew ends up having to save him a lot when his courage overshadows his intellect (which is often). When the Cyclops attacks, he just has to get involved. But even now, his lack of forethought may be the death of him, and Chares' fortune now comes full circle. This was a fun story, sprawling out over many pages and many ages, giving us a lot of mythological goodies. Deep down, though, it's about "what is a hero?" and what a hero needs to do to keep on being a hero. I loved the characterization and the use of the various myths, and Jason was the best part. He is not completely stupid, but he does rush in without thinking way too often, and his crew usually pays for it. This is one of the good ones.

"When the Dragon Falls" - by Patrick Samphire
This is a coming of age story about a how sometimes, our childish sensibilities of what is fantasy and what is reality can be brutally ripped open, letting the real world in too soon. Tam has found a fossil by the lake. Some think it's a dinosaur. His young friend, Rosie, thinks it's a dragon. Whatever it is, Tam feels like it's his. It gives him something to cling to as both of their families are slowly falling apart due to infidelity. Rosie still sees everything as fantastic, with bright faeries darting every which way, but the fantastical veneer is being pulled away from Tam's life, as he is forced to grow up all too soon. This story is also extremely short (just two pages), but Samphire packs a lot into it. It's alternately sweet and sad, as Tam realizes he can't cling to his fantasy any more. Rosie gives a good counter to this, as she is still too young to let reality crowd everything out. Perhaps this is a warning to us all that we need that little bit of fantasy in our lives, even if it's not as much as when we were kids. Definitely a thought-provoking finale to the issue.

Other features of this issue
"Movies" - An article on Tom Cruise & Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, as well as a Summer Fantasy preview
"Folkroots" - mythology and the use of fire through various mythologies
"Books" - reviews of upcoming and just published books
"Gallery" - Selections from the pages of Spectrum
"Games" - Reviews of upcoming and just published RPGs and video games

Realms of Fantasy - June 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Sat, 3 Sep 05 13:30:00 UT

The Stories
"The Storyteller's Wife" - by Eugie Foster
"Deliverance" - by Jim C. Hines
"Foxtails" - by Richard Parks
"Midnight Hunt" - by Susan Yi
"Moments of Grace" - by Aaron Schutz
"Stones in Winter" - by Karen D. Fishler

The June issue of Realms of Fantasy has some interesting stuff in it, with the theme of life, death, and that in-between. Some if it is just plain weird ("The Midnight Hunt"), some is poignant ("The Storyteller's Wife"), and some is just rather unpleasant ("Deliverance"). The good stories outweigh the one that I didn't care for, and while this isn't the strongest issue of the year, it is quite good.

"The Storyteller's Wife" - Eugie Foster
Janie Harper is on the last day of her dead-end job, as she was laid off three months ago. It was a job she hated, but it made ends meet while her painfully disabled husband stayed at home and wrote. When she gets home that day, she finds a horrible note from him, stating what he has done. However, when the paramedics come, she goes upstairs to see her husband one last time, only to find a wooden simulacrum instead of her husband, despite the paramedics insisting it's his body. It seems a faerie creature had taken a liking to his stories, and spirited him away to his land to entertain his queen. There, he is alive and well, but he does not remember Janie. Will she condemn him to a few more years of pain and suffering so that she can have him, or let him live out his life here, even though he will never remember her? It seems there has to be a Faerie story in every issue of this magazine, but Foster at least provides a little poignancy to the whole thing. The ending is a little too pat, robbing Janie's ultimate choice of some of its impact, but her character is well-rounded and the choice that she has to make is an interesting one. Best of all, she has to make it, rather than being robbed of it. An excellent way to start the issue.

"Deliverance" - by Graham Edwards
Claire, Terry, and Jennifer are living in a weird situation. Claire has died, but she's a ghost hanging around the house with Terry. Even weirder is, somehow, she got pregnant *as a ghost* (they figured out some way to have sex despite the fact that sheâ¦isn't quite there. Claire died in a fire three years ago due to Terry's negligence, and Jennifer (Claire's sister) has never forgiven him, only hanging around because Claire is still there. Unfortunately, as the baby grows, it seems to be having an adverse affect on Claire. Eventually, they may have to decide between the baby and Claire's ultimate dissolution. This story seems to really drag as none of the characters are in the least bit interesting and I didn't find the situation even fantastically believable. Not only are they not interesting, but they're not likeable either, which makes a rather short story (only around 6200 words) feel much longer.

"Fox Tails" - by Richard Parks
Asian noir isn't really a genre, but this story could make it one. It's a story set in ancient Japan with a modern-day detective feel to the whole thing. Yamada-san is a detective hired by a local noble to find his missing son, supposedly kidnapped by his mother. It turns out that the mother is a sort of "fox-spirit," and things get more complicated when other factions enter the whole proceedings. Does the son even want to leave his mother? And what's with the noble's mother? Yamada-san may be in a situation a lot trickier than he thought it would be. This tale is simply delightful, though the combination of noir and ancient Japan took a little getting used to at first. Once I had, though, Parks has Yamada-san's character shine through, making the story seem fresh and interesting compared to other detective stories. The ending has a nice little twist, and I ultimately enjoyed this story a great deal.

"Midnight Hunt" - by Susan Yi
Winning the title of "Weirdest story of the issue" is this one. In a world where humans co-exist with thingsâ¦not human, shall we say, terror lurks around every corner. The monsters feed on this terror attacking villages and other human settlements just for the terror it brings, which they drink up. One of the leaders has taken a human wife, however, and his son Kyle is to be introduced into the hunt. Kyle's mother is horrified, and when Kyle seems to be falling into the trap of his half-blood heritage, she determines that they cannot stay any longer. Will they be able to escape, or will her sacrifice be in vain? This is a weird world, with a rather strange ending where the reader has to determine whether or not it's tragic. The entire story is from Kyle's point of view, and his struggle between the mother who loves him and the father who wants him to become like the rest of his people is quite well-portrayed. Not for the squeamish, as this story is quite bloody.

"Moments of Grace" - by Aaron Schutz
An old man is picked up on the road by a young woman in the Southwest desert. The old man isn't quite what he seems, but Betty's daughter seems to take a liking to him. He has a weird form of magic all his own, and it comes in very handy in Betty's situation. Her ex-husband, Ray, is a lunatic state trooper, and his family has the power to keep her in this dead-end town. When the situation threatens to become explosive, the old man, who has almost become a part of this family as he stays with Betty, has to step in and resolve things in a way only he can. This story was quite good, with all of the characterizations being interesting, and the old man's magic is definitely appealing. I've never seen that kind of magic before in a story, and it suits the story, fitting into the theme of memories and how they can affect somebody even into adulthood. I think Ray was a little too stereotypically bloodthirsty, but I believe Schutz takes him to the extreme in order to make the ending even more poignant. Everything's tied up a little too tidily at the end, but overall, this is a strong story.

"Stones in Winter" - by Karen D. Fishler
An interesting and extremely literary piece of fantasy. Arnora is a Norse woman who loses her man in battle. She has the unusual ability to actually see the Valkyries as they come to collect the fallen, and she determines to follow Gedmund to his final resting place. She forces her way into Valhalla, but is rudely sent back. She decides she has to die in battle to get to Gedmund, and endeavours to do so, until finally, she has to take the Valkyries on herself. This story is a good way to end the issue, with a bit of literary quality about love that will never die. Fishler does a good job with the Valkyries, as well as with Anorna herself. Arnorna stubbornly refuses to let her man go, and is willing to do anything for it. The ending fits the story perfectly.

Other features of this issue
"Folkroots" - an article on gems and their traditional lore
"Movies" - "Crossing the line of perception in fantasy and horror." Also, a small article on Kingdom of Heaven
"Books" - reviews of upcoming and just published books
"Gallery" - the art of Tony Diterlizzi
"Games" - Reviews of upcoming and just published RPGs and video games

Articles of the Federation

hist@shaw.ca — Fri, 2 Sep 05 15:10:00 UT

Political Trek, eh? Most Star Trek books deal with a Starfleet ship or station and the various crises that they encounter. Articles of the Federation is basically "The West Wing in Trek." Sounds like it might not be that interesting, right? However, this one is written by Keith R.A. DeCandido, the master Trek novel writer, so it was definitely worth a shot. And besides, politics can be interesting too, can't they? Iâm happy to say that they can certainly be not only interesting, but fascinating. It helps that the author has a cool president character, the talent to write great characterization of myriad people, and the memory of an elephant for Trek continuity.

In A Time for War, A Time for Peace, Nan Bacco was elected president of the Federation. Articles of the Federation is the story of her first year in office. And what a full plate she has. The Romulan situation, as left in Titan: Taking Wing, is starting to deteriorate, as a ship full of Reman refugees approaches an outlying starbase. A first contact diplomatic mission goes awry in a very public manner. The Federation Council makes things even more difficult for her to get legislation through, and a large number of people keep seeing her as a lowly planetary governor, too small for such an immense office. The final capper, though, is when what really happened on Tezwa, as instigated by her predecessor, comes home to roost. If that gets out, there will be nothing stopping yet another galactic war.

Bacco is DeCandido's creation, and you can tell that he really loves writing her character. She is a fully-formed, three-dimensional creation who just springs off the page. She's also the unifying force in this book, as even when she's not "on screen," the events happening are going to have a great impact on what she does and who she is. She's pragmatic, willing to strong-arm two planets into negotiations by threatening to go to war with one of them (pretty much an empty threat, but she makes it believable). She loves the newly revived game of baseball, religiously following the teams in the league on her home planet, and even arranging a publicity tour in such a way that she's available to throw out the first pitch of the season. She's quick with a sarcastic remark, especially to her chief of staff, Esperanza Piniero, who gives it right back to her. Their relationship is also wonderful to read about, as their friendship that goes back decades really deepens both of their characters.

While these two are the main characters, the book has so many other characters that you would think they'd all start looking the same after a while. That's not so in any DeCandido book. Even those who are only in the book for a short while still have a feeling of depth to them. There are many policy advisors and other governmental positions in the book, and those characters' names do start to run together after a while, but not their personalities. How DeCandido manages to keep them all straight, I'll never know. But he does. Various other characters pop in to fill their small roles (Spock, Scotty, Chancellor Martok, Voyager's Doctor, to name just four), but their appearances never seem choreographed for a "Wow" factor, instead feeling absolutely necessary.

This brings me to continuity, as the book is literally brimming with it. In the past, I have been on DeCandido's back about the excessive continuity and how his explanations of it have ground a book to a halt. Surprisingly, in a book this continuity-heavy, he largely avoids this. All references are perfunctory, with just enough explanation to give the reader an idea of what happened and just enough information to make clear whatever the characters who mention it are doing about it. To help those who are still confused, he has created a page of annotations, saying who these characters are and where these events took place (I'll give this at the bottom of the review).

In fact, this book is not slow at all. Yes, there is no "action" in it (unless you consider the wheels of politics and diplomacy as action), but it still grips the reader all the same. Every two month period of Bacco's first year is given its own section, and each section is opened with somebody watching one of those news analysis show like you see on CNN or Fox News, with "experts," journalists, and former politicians or military officers as guests. This sets the stage for what is going to happen, as well as reacting to what has already occurred. I thought this was an ingenious way to move things along and let us see how the outside world thinks about what Bacco is doing. The only one that felt a little forced was the opening one, but otherwise these flowed very nicely.

The book is certainly not flawless. Bacco is a bit too flippant at times (such as in council or diplomatic meetings). I had trouble keeping the advisors straight occasionally, and a couple of the in-jokes just made me scratch my head until I heard the explanation of them (Martok saying that the Romulan Praetor sounds just like his wife comes completely out of left field and pulled me out of the book wondering until I discovered that the same actress played both characters). However, these are so small that they quickly disappeared as I went deeper and deeper into the book. I was fascinated by everything and had trouble putting the book down. It's dense for a Trek book, but that just made it all the more enjoyable. While you certainly don't have to have read any of the "A Time to" books, Articles of the Federation has a lot more impact if you have. It's a wonderful continuation of the Trek mythos, and you could enjoy it even if you don't like political books.

Note:
Hereâs the annotations web site I mentioned above. Contains some spoilers for previous books, but it will help make sense of the jumble of characters if youâre having problems.

http://www.sff.net/people/krad/aotfann.htm

Tales from the Captain's Table - Star Trek

hist@shaw.ca — Mon, 22 Aug 05 23:44:00 UT

A few years ago, Pocket Books came out with a series of six Star Trek books that were called Captain's Table, each a story of one of the series' captains at that time (Picard, Janeway, Sisko, Calhoun, Kirk, and Pike). That series was quite successful, but there have been quite a few more captains in the series since then. Thus was born the latest Trek anthology, Tales from the Captain's Table, edited by Keith R.A. DeCandido. This is a series of short stories about our new captains, told in a bar (called "The Captain's Table," of course) where only captains are allowed, and the price of your drinks is a story told to whomever will listen. This bar is timeless, with one story including a captain from the future. You can also find the entrance to the bar on any planet.

As with most anthologies, the quality of the stories varies. I can say, however, that they are all enjoyable, even the ones from authors I have questioned before. DeCandido does a wonderful job tying all of the stories together, almost giving them a sequence as one captain leaves and another comes to the bar. With a mixture of tall tales, tales of "dubious credibility," and a couple of stories that fill in a hole or two in the respective series, Tales from the Captain's Table is definitely a must read for any Trek fan. Who knows? You may find a series that you like and decide to go read it.

The Stories: (The text in bold is the name of the book series the captain is from)

"Improvisations on the Opal Sea: A Tale of Dubious Credibility" by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels (Captain Riker, Titan)
This story is quite a good start for the book. Riker is a new captain, so Picard takes him on his first visit to the Captain's Table. For his drink, he decides to tell the story of his honeymoon with Deanna Troi on a water planet. Unfortunately, this planet has a number of pirates, and in a case of mistaken identity, they kidnap Riker. Troi and the rest of the crew that followed along (they were all going on leave, so came to the same planet) come to his rescue. But Riker ends up having to save them in the end, using his musical ear to improvise the mistaken identity just long enough for Troi (who had been captured in the first rescue attempt) and him to be saved. I found this story enormously funny, from the way Riker tells it to the incredulous interruptions of the other captains (Klag, Picard, and a couple of others). Watching Picard's face fall when it looks like Riker has broken a few Starfleet regulations is great. The story, as the title suggests, is highly suspect, but it's great fun. Now, we just need the *real* story of their honeymoon, as what self-respecting fictional character can actually have a honeymoon where nothing weird happens?

"Darkness" by Michael Jan Friedman (Captain Picard, Stargazer)
Picard is asked to provide his own tale, and he tells the story of what happened just after he had lost his own ship, the Stargazer. He is very depressed after the inquiry into the loss of the ship, as even though he was acquitted of any wrong-doing, he still feels responsible. He's on a journey to see an old friend, to see if she can offer any solace and advice to him on where to go from here. On the way to her planet, he passes through an ion storm that ends up messing with his engines, forcing him to ditch his ship. The population of the planet he lands on is being subjugated by the Skillig, ruthless raiders, and he ends up getting involved with them. Helping them and discovering a forgotten portion of his past brings him to a decision point about his present and future. As with many of Friedman's stories, I found this one kind of forgettable, though it is well-told. The twist at the end is well done, but otherwise it felt much the same as other stories I've read. There's not really a lot different here. To show how forgettable the story was: most of these mini-reviews, I've had to look at the story again to get a detail or a name right. This story, I had to look at the story again to remember what happened in the story. That's not a good sign.

"Pain Management" by Peter David (Captain Shelby, New Frontier
Shelby is one of my favourite New Frontier characters (what I've read of it, anyway), so I was looking forward to this story. Here, the Trident is in for refit and repairs after being damaged in a massive ambush during the Selelvian/Tholian war. At the starbase, Soleta, science officer of the Exalibur, happens to be there for a conference and offers her a ride back to Excalibur to see her husband while the Trident is being repaired. On the way, they are shot down by an Orion ship and crash land. Surrounded by Orions in a cave, Soleta does what she has to do to take them out, knowing that either she will die, or her horrible secret (she's half-Romulan) will be revealed. Shelby must choose between an oath to a friend, and loyalty to that very same friend. And she's not happy about it. This story is also quite good, filling in a little bit of backstory on both Shelby and Soleta, detailing how Soleta's heritage came to be known. There's a little bit of that old "Peter denying Jesus" feel at the end, where Shelby has to choose whether to deny knowing about Soleta's secret in order to save her own career. The action is well done, and David's characteristic humour is there for all to see. He manages to make Soleta both very Vulcan and yet very sardonic at the same time. At times tense, at times heart-wrenching, this story is one of the good ones.

"IoDnl'pu vavpu' je (Brothers & Fathers)" by Keith R.A. DeCandido (Captain Klag, IKS Gorkon)
DeCandido has managed to do it again. I'm not really that interested in Klingon-centric stories, but he impresses me yet again with this Klingon story of two brothers, and the father that one of them denies after he returns from Romulan captivity. Klag tells three stories that all tie together. First, a story of two Klingon boys taking on a prey that is much bigger than they are, disregarding instructions by their mentor. Then, of a woman and her lover, with the woman bent on avenging the murder of her husband despite the fact that she never loved him. Finally, the story of those same Klingon boys all grown up, the older as first officer of a ship and unwilling lap dog to his captain, and the youngest going his own way, and of a father who returns from Romulan captivity and doesn't take back his warrior's life. The two brothers quarrel over this, and perhaps one of those brothers was the murderer of the woman's husband? This is a story of honour, loyalty, and how pride can go so far as to barricade one from ever seeing the father that he once loved ever again. While the three stories were quite good, I actually enjoyed the interplay at the Captain's Table between Klag and his audience even more. The Romulan was hilarious, with his scoffing of another tale of Klingon honour, and his constant insults directed in Klag's direction. The beginning is even better, with Klag starting to tell the story he's told every time heâs in the bar (the one also told to us in Tales of the Dominion War) and getting shouted down. DeCandido manages to keep the Klingon interesting, and the wonderful twist at the end makes it all worth while.

"The Officerâs Club" by Heather Jarman (Captain Kira, Deep Space Nine)
A great story from an author I have criticized. I greatly enjoyed her last short story (in Tales of the Dominion War), but this one was even better. It's a story of Kira's time in the resistance, where she has to infiltrate an officer's club run by collaborators, apparently including her brother, in order to kidnap one of the Cardassians' greatest communications techs in order to stop the upgrading of communications in the Bajoran sector. What she discovers there is not what she expected, as apparently the club is a front for another resistance cell. Or is it? Who can Kira trust? And is her brother the collaborator she thought he was? Kira will have to sacrifice a lot in order finish her mission, and she will not remain unaffected by it. This story is even better than the previous Jarman story I mention above. It has a completely believable Kira, who hasn't been completely hardened by the circumstances of her life yet, though she's well on her way. It has betrayal, intrigue, and wonderful characters all the way around. It's the longest story yet (though it's not the longest in the book), so Jarman has space to create these characters, manipulate them, and make us care for them. There are also enough twists and turns that the reader is kept guessing until the very end what the truth really is. This is probably my favourite story in the book.

"Have Beagle, Will Travel: The Legend of Porthos" by Louisa N. Swann (Captain Archer, Enterprise)
This story, on the other hand, is extremely light and fluffy. While it's not bad, it didn't really grab me too much. I haven't read any Enterprise stories in print yet, so perhaps I was hoping for something with more substance. I don't know. Shran, Captain Archer's Andorian friend and sometimes adversary, takes Archer into the Captain's Table, along with Archer's dog, Porthos. A few of the patrons (including one cat-like alien) would love to have Porthos for lunch, so Archer tells the tall tale of Porthos double oh one, and the Beagle Brigade. Archer and Porthos are on a mission to find a missing scientist, kidnapped by Naussicans. Porthos is the experienced one in the bunch, and it ends up falling to him to save the day. While the story was funny (especially the reactions of the bar patrons), it wasn't as fun as Riker's story, and was equally inconsequential. Enjoyable, and thankfully short.

"Iron & Sacrifice" by David R. George III (Captain Demora Sulu)
This story is the longest in the book, and it's a story within a story. Sulu comes into the bar chasing a man with vital intelligence who would be willing to blow himself up to keep Sulu away from his wife (who he stole the intelligence for). Sulu tells a story that is directed at him, though he is only one of the audience. It's the story of the time she was called to the planet where her grandmother was dying, a world that had turned its back on technology. Her grandmother is sour, self-sufficient, and stubborn, and refuses all of Sulu's help. But she thinks back to a mission gone horribly wrong, and the death of a wonderful family man, and realizes that she has to stay and help her grandmother anyway, to do what is right. Thus, we hear not only the story of her grandmother, but also the story of the mission. George tells this story in his wonderfully verbose way, which has grated on some readers (I've read some complaints). Usually, I don't like overly wordy stories either, but I seem to like George's writing, and can forgive his stylistic excesses. George also does a neat workaround on Sulu's father, Hikaru. He deftly avoids revealing whether or not he's dead (George just says that there's no way he could come). I do have to say that the story dragged in spots, so perhaps the usual criticisms of George do come into play with this story. But I loved the characterization of Demora and found the story very enjoyable.

"Seduced" by Christie Golden (Captain Chakotay, Voyager)
Another story by an author I have criticized before, this story only made me cringe at the very beginning (and when I saw the title). Golden is known for her emotional style, and I have severely disliked all of her Voyager re-launch (post-television) books because of that. However, this story, of Chakotay's first meeting with Captain Demora Sulu, the woman who sponsored his entry into Starfleet and took him away from the backward ideas of his people. It's a coming of age story for Chakotay, and it's told with a minimum of mysticism and emotional language (though there is definitely some there). She captures a young Chakotay wonderfully, the grating feeling of his people's backwardness against him coming through perfectly. Sulu is also good, an older and much wiser woman (who isn't captain of the Enterprise, which I found interesting, considering the Enterprise was her first captaincy), very comfortable with herself. She sees something great in Chakotay, if he isn't afraid to see it himself. Overall, this is a great story, with only one minor niggle: I found it very unlikely, even if he was extremely busy, that Chakotay's father would go what appears to be weeks without ever discovering that Captain Sulu is female. It strained credulity for me. But when this is my only problem with a Golden story, you know it's good.

"An Easy Fast" by John Ordover (Captain Gold, Star Trek: S.C.E.)
To round out the stories in this book is a fable told by Captain Gold, about revenge and how it can eat a man up in side. It's told to a captain from 200 years in the future, to help him on his quest for revenge, and thus it is quite effective. It's the story of a Starfleet officer who is conned on a run-down planet, and when he fights rather than repay the debt, he ends up getting killed. Thankfully, it's right then when he's transported away, and his ship's doctor manages to save him. Through the years, he looks for revenge on the three people who set him up, but each time circumstances reveal that revenge isn't always as tasteful as it may appear. While I did enjoy this story, I was disappointed with it. I donât read the S.C.E. (Starfleet Corps of Engineers) books, so I was looking forward to a story about Gold that would highlight why I should maybe start picking them up. Instead, we only see Gold in the Captainâs Table scenes (there's no indication whether any of the actions in the fable actually happened, but it's doubtful). It is a well-told story, though, and it has a kicker of an ending.

Asimov's - June 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Sun, 1 May 05 17:04:00 UT

The Stories
"The Edge of Nowhere" - by James Patrick Kelly (Novelette) 18 pages
"The Ice Cream Man" - by James Van Pelt (Short Story) 11 pages
"Martyrs' Carnival" - by Jay Lake (Short Story) 12 pages
"Bad Machine" - by Kage Baker (Novelette) 23 pages
"Rainmakers" - by Ruth Nestvold (Short Story) 15 pages
"The Little Goddess" - by Ian McDonald (Novella) 33 pages

June's Asimov's is another great issue, with only one story that didn't really grab me. A couple of others had their misfires, but the overall quality of the stories was very high. Ian McDonald's "The Little Goddess" has to be considered the best, though. We're given a nice mixture of other worlds, stories set in different futuristic Earths, as well as some interesting science fiction concepts. Add to that an interesting examination of the singularity as a literary device and another great article by Robert Silverberg about the hazards of censorship, and you've got another great issue.

"The Edge of Nowhere" - by James Patrick Kelly
Rain is the proprietor of the Very Memorial Library in a small town, but this isn't just any small town. It's surrounded by fog, thought to be the "cognisphere of humanity." One day, she gets an unusual request for a book. The first unusual thing is that the request is made by three dogs created by the cognisphere, not humans who have been revived to be live in the town. Secondly, unlike most book requests that she can fulfill by pulling the book out of the cognisphere, this book hasn't even been written yet. Her boyfriend, Will, is currently writing it. This request causes both her as well as Will to question everything they've been told about their existence. This is quite the surreal story, but Kelly manages to make it all convincing. The humans have come from different times and places as they were put in suspended animation until they are revived in this town, and we get a good sense of how these memories (or, more often, the lack thereof) shape how they interact. The dogs are quite well done, with a nice combination of doggish traits as well as human. Probably the best character, however, is Chance Conrad, the person who procures everything from the cognisphere that the inhabitants ask for. He flirts with Rain, but you can tell that he also cares about her. He helps Rain understand what might be going on with all of these weird events. He's a philosopher as well, and I found him the most interesting of the bunch. This story is a great way to open the issue.

"The Ice Cream Man" - by James Van Pelt
Keegan is the ice cream man in a world where mutations have gone horribly wrong. No child has been born in years, and mutants are live in separate conclaves than the ordinary humans. Keegan is friends with both sides, a pacifist who just wants help everybody. He drives his truck around, dispensing ice cream in exchange for weapons or any other item that might be needed. There is a war going on between the two sides, though, and soon Keegan might get caught in the middle. This is a very tender story, with Keegan being disfigured but well-liked by both sides. He's just a man who wants to serve his ice cream and wants the world to be a safe place for everybody. When he learns of a human hunt for the mutants commencing that night, it is almost heartbreaking watching him try desperately to warn the mutants of their impending doom. Will he be able to save anybody? You'll have to read the story. Van Pelt's characterization of Keegan is wonderful, and you'll really be glad that you read this story.

"Martyrs' Carnival" - by Jay Lake
Adkins is the sheriff of Gypsum Flats, a small mining town in Dryland, where rain is almost non-existent. A group of Christians have taken their religion to a wild extreme, celebrating the upcoming Easter holiday by crucifying three willing martyrs on metal crosses. Adkins is determined to keep this from happening, and forces them to move outside the city walls, not allowing them in until their martyrs are taken down, despite the fact that noone can survive outside for long in the blistering heat. The plan backfires when they congregation refuses to come inside even when the ban is lifted, no matter how many might die. Adkins soon finds herself the target of a population sympathetic to the martyrs. Some may see this story as anti-Christian, and it perhaps could be. However, it also contains a Wiccan character who is sympathetic to the plight of the Christians and willing to put his life on the line to protect what he feels is their right to do what they are doing. To me, the story is more about taking any belief system (even the secular system espoused by Adkins) to an extreme and how people who do that almost pervert what it is they are said to believe. Lake give us an interesting protagonist in Adkins as well as an intriguing situation, but the story drags in the middle and the ending leaves a little something to be desired. It has an explosive finale, and then just kind of peters out. It's still worth a read, though.

"Bad Machine" - by Kage Baker
Another story set in the future of "The Company" novels that Baker has written. Alec Checkerfield is a 16-year-old boy exploring his sexuality with various girls in his class. This is causing some questions among the bureaucrats, especially the buying of prophylactics by somebody underaged. Captain Morgan, the artificial intelligence that Alec programmed when he was a boy, catches wind of these inquiries and sets out to put a stop to them. It's amazing what super-intelligent computers can do to people when they put their minds to it. Alec is swiftly learning that sex does not necessarily bring love while Morgan is busy doing his thing. Neither one appears to know what the other is doing, and Morgan finds himself having to reassure Alec when he finds out that there may be another reason why all these girls are willing to sleep with him. This story isn't bad (it's by Kage Baker!), but it is kind of pedestrian for an Alec story. Some of this ground feels like it's been covered already in The Life of the World to Come. We don't learn anything really new about either Captain Morgan or Alec. It is perfectly understandable and interesting for those not familiar with the world of the Company, so it would serve as a good entry into the series, but that's about it. Well-written, as Baker's stories usually are, this one's enjoyable but not outstanding.

"Rainmakers" - by Ruth Nestvold
Chepanek is a world with a population led by "rainmakers." The world has a weird orbit which requires mass migrations from one hemisphere to another during certain times. The rainmakers are the ones who tell the rest of the population when to do this. Unfortunately, human colonies have been stealing these rainmakers and trying to modify the world to stabilize the weather patterns. The natives give the colonists an ultimatum: get the technology off of the planet by a certain time, or the technology will be removed forcibly. Rekaya is called in to mediate, but she isn't told that her sexuality (being a lesbian) will have a negative effect on the natives if it is found out. Negotiations do not go well, and Rekaya begins to wonder if they were even supposed to. She finds out more about herself as she tries to figure out what her next step should be. The ending to this story is quite abrupt, leaving the reader to wonder what the next step will be. I'm sure the ambiguity is intentional, but it didn't really work for me. When Rekaya discovers what her secret truly is, it changes everything, but no indication is given as to what Rekaya can do to solve the conflict between the natives and the colonists. Also, I found myself not really caring that much for any of the characters. The situation Nestvold puts them in is interesting, but the combination of dull characters and the abrupt ending make for a less than satisfying story.

"The Little Goddess" - by Ian McDonald
It's India and Nepal in the future, and the two countries has been divided into numerous little nations. Nepal has returned some of the old ways, and a little girl is installed as the latest goddess of her people. The requirements for this are to laugh at pain, blood, and death, and she's the one who passes the test. Given two "mothers," who help train her in what she needs to do, she will retain the position until she "bleeds" for the first time. Most of the time, this "bleeding" is caused by the onset of puberty, but one of the mothers is giving her drugs to keep puberty at bay. That is, until something else happens, forcing the girl to leave her sheltered life and go out into the world. She gets involved in the world of arranged marriages where men buy their brides, as well as the smuggling of artificial intelligences across national borders. Told in first person from the girl's point of view, we get to see a large portion of the girl's life, as well as a vivid world with a mixture of the futuristic and the historical. McDonald has created an interesting set of societies, with all of the different nations that India has broken in to. The ending, however, makes this story really worthwhile, as young Devi uses what she's left with to install herself as her own little goddess. McDonald makes her an interesting character to read about, and the pages just fall away effortlessly as the reader gets wrapped up in what's happening to her. Certainly the best story in the entire issue.

The Articles
"Reflections" - by Robert Silverberg
Revisting some horrible cases of censorship, almost going into the realm of "thoughtcrime," that have happened recently.

"Thought Experiments" - by Cory Doctorow
An interview with Ray Kurzweil, futurist inventor who believes the Singularity is more than a literary device. He sees it coming in the relatively near future. The Singularity, to quote the article, "describes the black hole in history that will be created when at the moment when human intelligence can be digitized.

"On Books" - by Peter Heck
Absolution Gap by Alastair Reynolds
The Green & the Gray by Timothy Zahn
The White Rose R. Garcia y Robertson
Lost and Found by Alan Dean Foster
Davy by Edgar Pangborn
Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil De Grasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith

Realms of Fantasy - April, 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Tue, 26 Apr 05 23:30:00 UT

The Stories
"The Vampire Kiss" - by Gene Wolfe
"The Wooden Baby" - by Graham Edwards
"Death, the Devil, and the Lady in White" - by Richard Parks
"The Language of Moths" - by Christopher Barzak
"Blackthorn and Nettles" - by Liz Williams
"Dancing in the Light of Giants" - by Jay Lake
"Christmas Apples" - by Margaret Ronald

The April issue of Realms of Fantasy isn't quite up to the February one, but that would be tough to do. The average quality of the stories is right up there, though that average is boosted by Barzak's "The Language of Moths." It's been a while since I've read such a beautiful story that's affected me like that one did, and it more than made up for the more pedestrian tale that's the issue's only real clunker, "The Wooden Baby." Include the fascinating articles, and this is another winner of an issue.

"The Vampire Kiss" - by Gene Wolfe
A young boy tells his master the story of the slow deaths of his parents, the life slowly sucked out of them over time by a weird creature from down in the cellar. When the opportunity comes for him to deal with it, however, he can't bring himself to do it. Was it fear, or something else that stayed his hand? This story is a little far from what I'm used to from Gene Wolfe, but it is still quite effective. It's relatively short (about 2000 words), but Wolfe captures the boy's voice perfectly, giving an extra tragedy to the story as he watches his parents die. Even more effective is his description of the life he led with his mother after his father died, the extreme poverty and how he would scrimp and save just for crusts of bread. It makes his mother's death at the hands of the creature even more poignant. Is it mercy? And is that why the boy can't bring himself to do the deed when he has the chance? Wolfe gets a lot into few words, and this is a powerful opening tale in the issue.

"The Wooden Baby" - by Graham Edwards
A private dick with a special gift inhabits an office that doesn't advertise itself. If you need him, you go for a walk, and you find him on your doorstep. Miss Henson is one of those people, and she comes with a strange one: her baby has turned to wood. Our intrepid detective has some idea of what's happened, and he agrees to take the case. It becomes a case of faerie politics and changeling tradition, but thankfully, our hero knows what he's doing and can turn the tables. It seems that Realms of Fantasy always has to have at least one faerie story per issue, and this one is it for April. It's fairly light, but it has an effective noir tone to it that makes it more entertaining than it really deserves. There wasn't much suspense to it, as the detective always seemed to have a good idea of what was going on, even going so far as to bring the weapon that he would need to deal with the situation. Miss Henson's constant amazement at the detective's special tricks is funny, but overall the story is fairly pedestrian. Worth a read, but it won't stick with you far.

"Death, the Devil, and the Lady in White" - by Richard Parks
The Lady in White is a ghostly image around a deep forest pond. Legend has it that any man who approaches her will sink into the mud and leave their bones to decorate her lair. A young man has fallen in love with her from afar, however. Then Death happens along with a proposition to help him win his love. Ultimately, he learns that while Death may be honest, you always have to look beneath the honest to find out what he's really after. I loved Death in this one, in the guise of an old, worldly man who knows a lot about the nether realms that border the pond, and the situation the lady finds herself in. He's charming and he's able to convince the young man, John Alby, that he can help John win his love. The dialogue between the two is very good, and I loved the coda to the story. It's poignant, as you know that whatever happens, the lady will always be John's one, true love. The scenes between the lady and John toward the end of the story aren't quite as effective, as Parks doesn't really convey the sense of between worlds that they inhabit, but overall the story is quite effective and enjoyable.

"The Language of Moths" - by Christopher Barzak
The crowning glory of this issue, Barzak gives us two intertwining tales. One is about Eliot, a young man who is coming of age and finds love in an unexpected place. The other is about Dawn, his sister and an autistic girl. She inhabits another world, speaking another language and socializing with the moths and butterflies around her. The two of them are taken on a summer-long camping trip by their parents. The father is an entomologist and swears that he saw a unique moth in the woods around the Allegheny mountains when he was a kid. Their mother, a philosophy professor, is distracted in her own way with the essay that she needs to complete, so Eliot is the one who has to look after Dawn. He does find time to go to the local town, befriending a young boy and falling in love. It's a summer that will change all of them, and while the parents are ultimately successful, it's Eliot who will carry what he learns with him throughout his days. He finally is able to understand his sister, the girl he has resented for years, with one beautiful gesture on her part. This story is amazing. When I looked at how long it was and saw the brief description, I was apprehensive. I've never skipped a story in one of these issues before, but I was tempted on this one. I'm glad I didn't. It's extremely powerful, with the alternating viewpoints of Dawn and Eliot showing us the two aspects of their world, as both resent the actions of their parents in their own way. Dawn's outlook on the world is beautiful, and I loved how she considered Eliot the "little old man," seeing the older spirit in his young body. The ending is extremely moving as well. Barzak has written probably the best story I've read in this magazine so far.

"Blackthorn and Nettles" - by Liz Williams
A story of two women trying to possess the same man. A young woman becomes involved with Gwydion, a man whose sister is also quite possessive of him, they begin a circle of hate with each other, eyeing each other warily. Despite the fact that Gwydion has told the woman not to broadcast their situation while his sister is in the castle, word has gotten around anyway, making them instant rival. Still, a reluctant friendship begins to manifest when Gwydion is called away, but there is a fine line between love and hate. And sometimes, hatred can take on a physical shape. This is an interesting story about relationships and how rivalries can lead to unexpected consequences. I have to say that the climax took me by surprise, as I had no idea that Williams would make the situation literal, with hatred growing inside. I found the ending a bit confusing, with a bit of symbolism that went over my head, but overall, I found the story grabbed me enough to be glad I read it.

"Dancing in the Light of Giants" - by Jay Lake
I'm not a fan of short-short stories, so this one didn't really move me much. It's the story of the coming of age of a young giantess, and the ceremony that's involved in it. The story seems to be about living each day of your life fully, as you are already moving one day more toward the grave, which is a great message. A lot of meaning packed into so few words, making it much more effective than some shorts, and it is a quick read.

"Christmas Apples" - by Margaret Ronald
Genevieve is a young woman who is bitter about holidays. She has no use for Christmas, as it doesn't contain anything but bad memories. Thus, when a strange man walks into her office on Christmas Eve, asking her to help him find a place, she reluctantly agrees. They drive late into the night, always in danger of skidding off the road as they drive through the mountains, she begins to talk about her life. When they finally find what Charlie is looking for, Genevieve discovers that she's found something she had been missing, too. This is a great way to end the issue, though it's a couple of months late (the issue came out in February). Genevieve is an interesting character, and I loved the revelations she had when they finally get to where they're going. I also really liked the sense of unreality that the house had, especially at the end of the story as there is no sign of how they got there. It may as well have been a journey in Genevieve's mind for all the evidence that's left, but she has a wonderful re-awakening. A nice, gentle way to wrap up the issue.

Other features of this issue
"Television" - Behind the scenes of Lost. Also, a Winter 2005 fantasy television preview
"Folkroots" - a great article on the superstitions of the stage, including talk of "that Scottish play."
"Books" - reviews of upcoming and just published books
"Gallery" - the art of Gary Gianni
"Games" - Reviews of upcoming and just published RPGs and video games

Fantasy & Science Fiction - May, 2005

hist@shaw.ca — Sun, 24 Apr 05 20:03:00 UT

My apologies for not getting March and Aprilâs issue reviews up. I will be doing them in the near future.

The Stories
"The Great Caruso" - by Steven Popkes (short story) 18 pages
"The Golems of Detroit" - by Alex Irvine (short story) 11 pages
"Born-Again" - by K.D. Wentworth (short story) 14 pages
"The Imago Sequence" - by Laird Barron (novella) 54 pages
"The New Deity" - by Robert Reed (short story) 6 pages
"I.D.I.D." - by Robert Thurston (novelet) 30 pages

The May issue has a delicate balance of light and dark stories. Funnily enough, the dark is all covered by one story, the novella âThe Imago Sequence.â The rest of the stories are quite light, making for a very even issue overall. The quality is also quite high, as the only story that I didnât enjoy was Robert Thurstonâs âI.D.I.D.â While one could always hope for an issue with no âbadâ stories, Iâll take this one in a pinch. The fact that a horror story managed to grip me makes up for the clunker. I was not looking forward to a novella-length horror story, but Laird Barronâs story is the high point of the issue. Well-recommended.

The stories
"The Great Caruso" - by Steven Popkes
An old woman refuses to give up her cigarettes, no matter how much her grown son tries to convince her to do so for her health. In an attempt to get him off her back, she decides to try a new brand of cigarettes that are supposed to be better for you. Instead of lung cancer, she develops something else, something artificial, something that can enhance her life. But what will the ultimate price be? Iâve enjoyed Popkesâ writing ever since stumbling upon him in one of the various Yearâs Best Fantasy collections, and he doesnât disappoint here, either. Norma is well-realized, and even her son is to an extent, which is pretty good considering heâs not a major player in the story (more of a catalyst then anything else). Whatâs happening within Normaâs lungs is very interesting, and the effect that it has on her is imaginative. For once, a story featuring smoking is not an anti-smoking message. It just uses it as a vehicle to tell a simple, yet fascinating tale.

"The Golems of Detroit" - by Alex Irvine
Itâs World War II, and Jared Cleaves is working late on the golem manufacturing line in Detroit. Heâs just discovered his wife is pregnant and thatâs what a lot of the talk on the line is about. These golems are being manufactured to go off to war in Europe, so theyâre vitally important, though not so much to Jared now that he has other things on his mind. Unfortunately, one of the cardinal rules of the line appears to have been broken, as a piece of metal makes it through the clay-sifting process, causing the golem created from that clay to go on a rampage. I havenât had a lot of luck with Alex Irvineâs stories, as they never seem to appeal to me. This one has an intriguing premise, but itâs part of an upcoming novel by Irvine, and thus the story itself seems unfinished. Thereâs a lot of backstory given that will probably be important in the book but makes the story drag a great deal. I think it was a bit of a waste as far as a story goes, but it served its purpose as it may just entice me to read the book.

"Born-Again" - by K.D. Wentworth
Taking DNA from the Shroud of Turin, a huge market has grown for Jesus clones. A young girlâs mother has invested in one thatâs in the process of growing up. Just what the world needs: a teen-aged Jesus whoâs trying to find out his purpose in life. Heâs trying the typical Jesus tricks: turning water into wine, creating loaves of bread, that sort of thing. Itâs when a gang of clones get together to try out their ability to raise the dead that things get a bit out of hand. The idea of cloning Jesus is a fascinating topic, but Wentworth goes for the comedy more than the deep introspection. The story is quite funny, with the interplay between Jesus and the two young girls being especially entertaining. I also enjoyed the Jesus Group, where clones get together to talk about what miracles theyâve accomplished (or almost accomplished). While entertaining, though, so much more could have been done with the concept. What we do get is a light, frothy story that is worth the time to read it.

"The Imago Sequence" - by Laird Barron
Marvin is an ex-con, one of those brutish, wrestler types who is usually employed as hired muscle. Having gone straight, he still does the odd job for friends. One of those friends, Jacob Wilson, enlists his help in tracking down the second and third photographs in a sequence of which he has purchased the first, as well as his missing uncle. The photographs are quite disturbing, and not just in the aesthetic sense. As Marvin goes on his search, the image of the first photograph continues to haunt him, making him almost unable to sleep. What he ends up finding may make it so he never wakes up. Barron is the author of Februaryâs âProboscis,â which I didnât really care for. Iâm not much of a horror fan, so I know this story didnât affect me as much as it would a fan. However, it hit me a lot harder than âProboscisâ did, and I found the entire story very intriguing. Barron indulges in a bit of philosophy along with the horror, as Marvin gets involved in what could be considered a cult. Barron also describes the various photographs in the story quite vividly, disturbing the reader almost as much as Marvin. Itâs a powerful story that will keep you riveted throughout its rather long length. Itâs even worth a re-read to make sure you didnât miss anything.

"The New Deity" - by Robert Reed
Down south, the local college football coach can be seen as almost god-like. Iâve been around when a coaching change has been made, and so, obviously, has Reed. In this story, Reed transposes this whole sequence into a city firing its local deity and trying to hire a new one. Thereâs not much plot to describe in this one. If youâve seen the hiring of a football coach, then youâll know exactly what happens in this story. If you havenât, then the story will probably not be as interesting to you as it was to me (though it will still be pretty good). For me, it was hilarious. Reed is one of the most prolific short story writers out there, and heâs always entertaining. While certainly not his best (or his most accessible), itâs still worth a read.

"I.D.I.D." â by Robert Thurston
A female scientist is on a remote island studying the two aliens who have crash-landed there. However, Congress is threatening to cut the funding, so she goes back to the mainland to testify at hearings. She makes the time to see her cousin while sheâs there, and she discovers that society has taken a turn for the worse while she was gone. Everything is overly politically correct, everything from language to parking to social status has changed to where she doesnât recognize it. This story did almost nothing for me. I found it unbelievable (I donât think she was on the island long enough for all of these changes to be new to her) and the aliens seems to be superfluous. I didnât like any of the characters. The idea that a society would evolve so that every group (whether ethnic, gender, or what have you) will use outside ways of identifying itself, whether hair style, clothes, or whatever, is mildly interesting, but the story completely failed to grab me.

The Articles:
"Books to Look For" - by Charles de Lint
Speaking in Tongues - by Neil Gaiman
Shoggothâs Old Peculiar - Neil Gaiman
Hawkeâs Harbor - by S.E. Hinton
The Spirit Catchers - by Kathleen Kudlinski

"Books" - by Elizabethâs Hand
A Handbook of American Prayer - by Lucius Shepard
Tijuana Straits - by Kem Nunn
There and Back Again: An Actorâs Tale - by Sean Astin with Joe Layden
The Devil in Design: the Krampus Postcards - by Monte Beauchamp

"Films" - by Lucius Shepard
A profile of some Korean science fiction and action pictures.

"Plumage From Pegasus" - by Paul di Filippo
Moodyâs Angels â where a young author who has sold all of 700 copies of her book is visited by a group of female writers who have all had the same problems. Much in the vein of Charlieâs Angels, these literary secret agents show the young author how she still win awards for her books despite not having the public fall in love with them. âPoor sales are not an indicator of quality!â is their manifesto. Quite entertaining, and very short.

"Curiosities" â by Steven Utley
a small article on Space Western comics from 1952-1953.

The Lost Era: The Art of the Impossible by Keith R.A. DeCandido

hist@shaw.ca — Wed, 13 Apr 05 15:40:00 UT

Keith R.A. DeCandido is one of the masters of Star Trek books. Whenever I see one written by him, I know it's going to be at least entertaining, even if there may be too many Trek continuity references for my taste. The Art of the Impossible, the third in the "Lost Era" series of Trek books, by definition uses a lot of these references, but here it can mostly be excused, as that's the whole point of the series. DeCandido tries to explain many of the minor references to past events that were made in the television series, making the Trek universe into a more cohesive whole. At times seeming like a mish-mash of Trek continuity, overall DeCandido succeeds in writing a great book.

It's about 35 years before the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the Cardassian Empire is in the process of expanding its borders. This has both the Federation and the Klingon Empire a little concerned, the Klingons even more so when the Cardassians stumble upon a planet with an ancient Klingon wreck on it. The Klingons think this is an ancient relic of their first spaceflight, and demand that the planet be given to them. The Cardassians dispute this, and Federation diplomat Curzon Dax hatches a plan that would allow both empires to peacefully compete for ownership of the planet. Over the next 18 years, galactic politics cause tension among all the empires, with this planet always remaining in the background. The Romulans, hiding behind their borders after the Tomed Incident (see Serpents Among the Ruins ), are still hatching plots and getting involved in a clandestine manner. The results of all this will cause huge changes in the Klingon Empire, as well as for the Federation-Klingon alliance.

This is one Star Trek that I cannot really recommend for anybody other than a Trek fan. While it would be mostly understandable to the Trek neophyte, I can't see that it would be that interesting. The Art of the Impossible covers the eighteen-year tensions between the Klingons and Cardassians that was referred to by Garak in a Deep Space Nine episode. As a fan of Klingons, it was enjoyable seeing the inner workings of the Empire at a time before The Next Generation. Many councilors are questioning the alliance between the Klingons and the Federation, feeling that it is making the Empire weak. We see the inner workings of the Cardassian Empire as well, seeing for the first time (at least chronologically) how the military, government, and Obsidian Order (the Cardassian secret intelligence) work together, or sometimes not together. All of this is probably fascinating for the Trek fan, but probably not that much to an outsider.

That isn't to say that DeCandido doesn't try. It is an extremely well-written book. The various characterizations, both of people we have seen (like Colonel Worf, from Star Trek VI) and original characters. Elias Vaughn, of Starfleet Intelligence, gets revealed even more, and is probably the best character in the book. I also loved the tension between the diplomat Dax and the Intelligence agent Vaughn. They really do despise each other and what they stand for, but are able to work together when they must to further the goals of the Federation. Dax is even able to admit making a mistake, which is nice to see. DeCandido even gives us interesting people who we know won't live for very long, such as Mogh and his wife (these are the parents of Worf, from the television series, which revealed that they died in a Romulan attack). I can't think of any character in The Art of the Impossible who seemed like a waste of space or time. Characterization is one of DeCandido's strong points, and again it shines through.

However, my head hurt bouncing from all the different situations, most of which were referred to in the television series in at least some fashion. We see the Khitomer attack. We get to meet Deanna Troi's father and hear more detail on how her mother did everything she could to erase the existence of her sister who died when Deanna was very little. We see Rachel Garrett, captain of the Enterprise C in the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise," before she became captain. We see the formation of the Klingon High Council that ultimately we become familiar with in various other Next Generation episodes. It just became a little too much, and with all of this other continuity, I found the inclusion of Colonel Worf to be pointless.

Given what he had to work with, DeCandido did a wonderful job with it. It's a testament to his writing that I found the book enjoyable despite the "kitchen sink" feel to the book. With Trek's already established history, DeCandido had a lot of ground to cover, and he does it really well. He succeeds in giving us characters that we like to read about, with events that go by quickly. The book is very readable and will keep you hooked. I finished it very quickly.

Just to let you know, while there is some action in the book, the drama comes mostly from the politics involved and how these politics interact with the characters. This is a thinking-man's Trek book, and if you find the give-and-take of the diplomatic realm boring, then you also may not like this book. Written properly, as DeCandido has done, the cut and thrust of diplomacy can be as interesting as any gunfight. Decandido has truly performed "the art of the impossible" with this book, tying together all of the disparate elements of Trek history into a wonderful tapestry. Just watch your head.

Star Trek: A Time to Hate

hist@shaw.ca — Mon, 21 Feb 05 14:55:00 UT

Robert Greenbergerâs A Time to Hate, the second part of his entry in the A Time toâ¦ series of Star Trek books, continues the story of William Riker and the choices that he has to make. Leading up to Star Trek: Nemesis, Riker has to consider the direction of both his personal and professional life. As with A Time to Love, this was a short yet powerful book with a lot of character development and action. Not only that, it sets the scene for the rest of the series, piling on a little Starfleet intrigue as well.

The planet Delta Sigma IV is falling apart. The Bader and the Dorset, with their natural aggressive instincts returned to them, are finding that one hundred years of peace has not prepared them for violence. Instead, riots have broken out, murders are becoming very commonplace, and vandalism runs rampant. Many blame the Federation, so they take it out on the Enterpriseâs security officers who are attempting to keep the peace. Captain Picard is trying to buy time for Dr. Crusher to come up with a way to fix things. Meanwhile, Commander William Riker has found his father, as Kyle Riker tries desperately to track down the person who committed the initial murder. Tensions have always been high between the two men, but with Kyle suspected of some involvement in whatâs happened, these tensions grow ever stronger. However, Kyle is just trying to rectify the mistakes he has made, and he tries to enlist Will to help him. Will personal tensions between the two men keep them from fulfilling their mission? And will Dr. Crusher be able to fix things before the entire planet erupts into chaos?

A Time to Hate is only a minor let-down from the first book, mainly because the first book was so good. There are a couple of minor issues with this one that bring it down a notch. The first is the virtual disappearance of the native who has been leading Will around. Once Will finds his father, Seer is not in the book anymore until the end, and I missed him. The relationship that had developed between Will and Seer was interesting to read about, and I was sorry he was gone. I was worried that he had been completely forgotten until he showed up at the end. I suppose he would have detracted from the arguments that Will and Kyle had, but he would have been a more interesting companion than Bison was. I just found Bison annoying, and even more so when he ultimately didnât have much to do with the ending of the book. Incidentally, Bison is the other minor strike against the book.

As with A Time to Love, characterization is the strength of this book. All of the regulars are once again wonderfully portrayed, especially the Rikers. The conversations between them were great, relating back to the episode of The Next Generation in which Kyle appeared, as well as the book (unread by me, so far) Deny Thy Father. Will is having a hard time forgiving the man for all those years of feeling abandoned as a child, but he slowly comes to realize exactly where Kyle was coming from. Their personalities still clash, but itâs nice to see the relationship that develops. What happens between the two men cause Riker to think about a lot of other personal issues, especially his relationship with Deanna Troi. The ending of the book is marvelous (though the climax is clichÃ©d), with some quiet scenes that lead into the next book, setting up both the Riker/Troi relationship as well as Rikerâs professional choices. We also see some of Deannaâs side to this, but this is really Rikerâs book.

Not as well-done as the Rikers, though still very good, was Dr. Crusher. She has to make a decision about taking over the position of head of Starfleet Medical, which would mean leaving the Enterprise and Picard. She agonizes over whether to tell Picard of the offer, as well as whether or not to take it. Beverly is still unsure what her relationship with Picard actually is, which makes the decision all the harder. I liked the way the book left this, and I look forward to how the last three books finally deal with this. There will be some stress there, especially considering how Picard found out about the opportunity.

Even with all this, Greenberger has time to develop a few minor characters as he uses them to illustrate the situation on the planet. Security Chief Vale comes into her own as she organizes everything, hurting with every loss of security personnel (though again, Greenberger avoids the clichÃ© of having every security officer given any characterization killed off). Some of the engineering staff are also given multiple dimensions, as they beam down to fix some of the infrastructure on the planet and have to deal with their own personal issues. The combination of characterization and plot is especially good in these instances. Because they are minor characters, they *can* die, but they donât always, and Greenberger gives us enough information so we actually care if they do or not.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of clichÃ©s in the book. The climax is one of them, and the other is that of âthe doctor saves the day when nobody else could figure it out.â However, this is mitigated a little bit because itâs not a perfect cure, and there are some moral issues to it. This not only makes for interesting drama, but it also may add some spark to the Picard/Crusher issue thatâs clearly brewing. Add that to the ending where we find out that not all is rosy in Starfleet as the Federation recovers from the Dominion War, and you get a top notch book.

A Time to Hate is the perfect ending to this part of the series. It clears up some stuff but leaves us begging for more.

More please?

Doctor Who - Domino Effect

hist@shaw.ca — Mon, 21 Feb 05 14:52:00 UT

The Domino Effect is a novel starring the 8th Doctor, Anji, and Fitz

Another Doctor Who novel, another alternate universe? Sadly, this will become the norm, as the current storyline is *about* alternate universes. As begun in The Infinity Race and Time Zero, alternate universes are springing up all over the place. This just adds another burden to a story that takes place in a continuing series, as we have to be given a reason to care about any of the characters in it, as we know itâs not going to âmatterâ to the story in general. Otherwise, itâs just going through the motions. Sadly, Bishop fails in this, as I didnât care about *any* of the characters, sometimes not even the continuing ones.

The TARDIS lands in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Anji is determined to leave again (what, so soon?) She just wants to get back to her normal life, and she figures she can catch a train back to London. Unfortunately, something seems to be way off with the locale. A number of racist statements by passersby, not even knowing what a credit card is, and other quite obvious clues all finally tell Anji that this isnât the 2003 that she thought she was coming back to. There isnât a non-white person anywhere and sheâs assumed to be somebodyâs servant at all times. The totalitarian British regime puts down all dissent, at times violently. After a bombing badly injures Anji, Fitz is caught by the police and is soon confessing on national television to the bombing. The Doctor must join with the Resistance to stop whateverâs happening to the fabric of Time as much more important things than a fascist government are happening. Can they save Fitz from execution as well as stop the sinister plan of the Oracle? And just what is the Oracle anyway? That answer could spell doom to this Earth, and a lot of the other Earths throughout the dimensions.

Itâs hard to decide where to begin on The Domino Effect. Characterization takes a back seat to imagery in the book, with none of the incidental characters eliciting anything other than disgust or boredom from this reader. The bad guys are super bad, moustache-twirling evil minions (Hastings is the worst), and the good guys are sniveling dweebs (except Dee, who is a violent good guy, thus not necessarily twirling her moustache). Instead, weâre given an almost brutal book. Hastings, the main character who interacts with Fitz, is just sadistic and nothing else (except when he turns into a sniveling dweeb). All of the scenes with Fitz consist mainly of beatings and torture in some fashion and thatâs about it. Thereâs a point to Fitzâs captivity, though he ultimately doesnât really do anything except introduce us to a character who becomes important elsewhere. But the beatings? Theyâre overdone. The atmosphere of the world has the same brutality, and Bishop constantly lets us know how oppressive everything is, sometimes to a fault.

All of this is being done in the name of stopping progress. There is a nice confrontation at the end spelling everything out, identifying just what the purpose of the scenes taking place in the past (where various instances of potential technological advances are nipped in the bud) is and how they interact. However, this scene suddenly takes a sharp left turn into the realm of technobabble that really doesnât make any sense whatsoever. Iâm still not sure what the other prisoner has to do with the whole thing. This technobabble goes on for pages at the end, trying to explain the whole plot, and worse: trying to set up subsequent books. This does not make me feel good.

Are there other silly aspects to this book? Of course there are. How about a policeman whoâs conveniently forgetful, who just happens to be the one policeman who runs into the Doctor and his cohorts. Gee, isnât it nice that heâs so forgetful that he doesnât remember seeing the Doctor and Anjiâs pictures on the âBritainâs Most Wantedâ television show? Not to mention the briefing Iâm sure he received just that morning! Nope, doesnât remember them. But gee, the Doctor sure looks familiar. Maybe he saw him on the telly! Iâm sure Bishop thought this was a cute scene, but trust me, it wasnât. Not to mention the fact that the police force in this âtimelineâ is so brutally efficient that thereâs no way this person would be on the force. Whatever shred of my disbelief that was left suspended, the fraying rope finally snapped. This was absurd.

Even worse, however, is Anjiâs complete *stupidity* in not knowing that something was wrong when she first arrives. She blunders through the first 50 or so pages, weathering all the overt racism (she's the only person of any ethnicity that is not a servant in the country), the scorn heaped on her when she does things like ask where the ATM machines are and tries to pay with money that has the Queenâs picture on it instead of the Kingâs. Anji is not an idiot, but you certainly couldnât tell from the beginning of this book. The TARDIS crew has just been through an adventure where the universe starts splitting, and their last adventure was *in* an alternate universe. Youâd think sheâd twig to the fact that this wasnât her 2003. But no, she doesnât. She keeps forcing her way through. Gee, great portrayal of the real Edinburgh there, David, that she might actually believe that this *is* the real Edinburgh for any length of time whatsoever. There is one line that attempts to rationalize this (blaming it on being shaken by her first encounter with the racism), but it doesnât wash. Even shaken, she is smarter than that.

So what did Bishop get right? Not a whole lot in this case. The book begins with a flashback sequence for Anji, even though the Doctor & Fitzâs scenes are told in the âpresent,â but this only goes for about 50 pages and then disappears. It doesnât really work, but the rest of the prose is ok. Fitz is ok for what he does, though unless it has some ramifications for him in other books, it doesnât really work. He should lose some of his gung-ho attitude after his treatment in this book. If not, then Fitz becomes even less than useless. The Doctor doesnât really do a whole lot, but the final confrontation (before the technobabble virus hits) is quite well-done. Heather is also mildly interesting, though there turns out to be a reason for this that is, sadly, predictable. Until she turns into a pod person, sheâs actually an effective character, though that could be because sheâs the only true character in this book. There are multiple betrayals in this book, but none of them work because I didnât care about them at all.

Unless youâre a completist, give this one a miss.

Star Trek: A Time to Love

hist@shaw.ca — Sat, 19 Feb 05 01:36:00 UT

A Time to Love, by Robert Greenberger, is the fifth book in the Time toâ¦ series of Star Trek: The Next Generation novels, taking place immediately before the movie Star Trek: Nemesis. The first four books were up and down affairs, wallowing in Trek continuity and occasionally telling a good story. A Time to Love, however, is the first one thatâs been fully satisfying. It is rather lightweight, but for some reason it packs a punch. It begins the story of how William Riker, first officer of the Enterprise, finally finds himself with a command of his own after all these years under Captain Picard. While concentrating on this and his relationship with Deanna Troi, the book also tells a great story too.

The Enterprise, and its crew are still recovering from their tough mission with the Dokaalans, along with the disfavour that Picard still has after the events of the first two books. Commander Riker and Counselor Troi are going through crew rosters, lamenting how officers are beginning to apply for transfers to get off of the âcursedâ ship. Something needs to be done to get the shipâs (and the captainâs) reputation back up to where it was. However, they wonât get the chance as they are assigned a mission to the planet Delta Sigma IV, where two rival races (the Bader and the Dorset) have established a peaceful colony. Unfortunately, the first murder in one hundred years has just happened, and things seem to be spiraling out of control. Will Picard and his crew be able to figure out what is going on in time to stop a global meltdown? And what does Kyle Riker, Willâs estranged father, have to do with all this?

A Time to Love is a short book (263 pages), but somehow Greenberger packs a lot into it. The first ten pages are a little slow as he summarizes whatâs happened so far in the series, but he does it in an interesting fashion: having Troi and Riker going through crew transfer applications, commenting on whatâs happened so far and how itâs affecting morale. This scene is also important as it begins the realization, carried throughout this book and the next, that Riker has to finally make a decision about his life. Heâs 42 years old, he and Troi have rekindled their romance (in the movie Insurrection, but they havenât moved forward. Just what is he waiting for? Plus, he has turned down many command opportunities to stay with Enterprise, but is that still the right thing to do? Iâve never seen such an effective summary before, giving us new information even as it goes over old. Some of the later scenes, such as Geordiâs, do slow down and tell us too much about the past without anything happening, but those scenes are not very long.

The characterization in this book is wonderful. Riker and Troi get the most, but everybody else is great too. Picard is getting fed up with the boring missions that heâs been given, mainly to keep Enterprise out of the spotlight and allow time for the furor to die down. Picard feels put upon, and he wishes for a mission that he can sink his teeth into. The Delta Sigma IV mission turns out to be just what he asked for, but perhaps too much. His frustration when the ruling council on Delta Sigma IV is frozen with indecision is palpable, as his annoyance with himself when he realizes that he hasnât kept on top of the situation on the Enterprise very well during the mission. Crusherâs indecision about the offer to head Starfleet Medical is hanging over her head, and she keeps coming to the realization that she and Picard will never have a romantic relationship and she must also look to her career. In the meantime, though, she is determined to do as much to help the people on the planet below as she is able.

Even better are the scenes with the various security officers as they try to quiet the situation down on the planet before it escalates into even more violence. We get scene after scene of these officers doing their job, many of which look like theyâre going to end with the typical âred shirtâ ending, but they donât always. This makes the scenes that *do* contain something bad even more effective. Greenberger writes these scenes with tension, keeping the reader entranced to know what will happen next. These scenes also give wonderful characterization to Lt. Vale, the security chief who is responsible for all of these men and women. Greenberger perhaps has too many times where he says that Vale would give her life for Picard, over-emphasizing it a little bit, but overall her characterization is quite good.

Kyle Riker doesnât figure a lot in this book, except by his absence and the effect of the search for him on Will. These scenes are extremely effective, with Will contemplating what barriers that have been in the way of the reconciliation of him and his father, as well as taking stock of his life. Riker is taken on his search by one of the natives and they visit the manâs home as well, emphasizing just what Riker has been missing all these years. While being full of action and conflict (emotional and violent), the book makes a very effective character study of Will, as well as the other regulars. I found it incredibly entertaining to read.

The only weak spot in the novel (and this may just be setting up something for the next few books) is the Geordi and Data story, where Geordi has to scrounge for parts by trading with various other starships in the area like some supply sergeant. Data suggests that Geordi become a true supply sergeant by getting everybodyâs inventory and seeing what they have and what they need, facilitating the delivery of these parts through a Ferengi trader. This subplot doesnât appear to have anything to do with anything except to give these two major characters something to do. I hope that changes, but in this book they felt forced into the story, and as short as it is, I think the other storylines could have been developed a bit more.

Still, that is the only true fault. A Time to Love flows very nicely, flying by as you read it. The prose isnât wonderful, but itâs greatly functional, serving its purpose and getting out of the way. These are the characters I know and love, and Greenberger manages to tone the angst down considerably. No mean feat in this series so far. This is the first true winner in the series.

Doctor Who - Wolfsbane

hist@shaw.ca — Wed, 9 Feb 05 21:06:00 UT

Wolfsbane is a novel starring the 4th Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan, along with the Eighth Doctor

Wolfsbane does something that not a lot of Doctor Who stories do: explore the question of what would happen if one of the companions got left in a time period when the Doctor and the others take off again. This means a bit more in the era of the Fourth Doctor, when the TARDIS wasnât as controllable as it became in later seasons. However, Rayner gives him a bit of control to make the story feasible. Wolfsbane is one part werewolf horror novel and one part comedy of manners in the English aristocracy. The meeting of the two is sometimes ingenious and sometimes jarring, but always at least slightly interesting.

Something has drawn the TARDIS off course, which Harry and Sarah go and investigate. When Sarah goes back to the TARDIS, it takes off without Harry. Stuck in what turns out to be 1936 England, Harry happens upon the mangled body of a young lady, claw marks all over her body. An angry mob shows up, thinking that Harry is the perpetrator, but a young man who calls himself the Doctor saves him. Harry encounters a werewolf and nature gone mad. The land has come back to life, and itâs thirsty. Meanwhile, the 4th Doctor and Sarah have been able to approximate where they had landed, but they show up a couple of weeks later. In the church cemetery, they happen upon a grave stone. Harry Sullivan died shortly after they left him. Can that possibly be true?

One of the strengths of this book is the beautiful characterization of the regular cast, at least for the most part. The Fourth Doctor, notoriously hard to âgetâ in a novel (Tom Bakerâs performance on television is hard to catch in prose form), is actually pretty good. Heâs moody at times, always quick with an absurd witticism when it seems appropriate. The escape from the scientistsâ lab is one beautiful sequence showing the Fourth Doctor at his best. However, there are times where he seems a little too distant. He barely seems to register the fact that theyâve left Harry behind, and Sarahâs understandably angry with him. However, while the Fourth Doctor is decent, the Eighth Doctor is wonderful. This adventure takes place, as far as he is concerned, during his 100 years stranded on Earth, with his TARDIS slowly growing back from a featureless blue box and with no memories of who he is or what he was (explaining his not knowing Harry), Rayner captures him beautifully. Especially noticeable is the need to fight evil wherever it is, even if he doesnât quite know why he must do so.

However, this is not either Doctorsâ book. Instead, it is Harry and Sarahâs. Harry is the perfect person to be stuck in a âproperâ English household, always trying desperately to do the right thing, use the right spoon, and not intrude on private moments. He even has the language down, with âvery good of youâ¦but, mustnât intrude â house of mourning and all that.â He and George Stanton make a wonderful pair for dialogue when theyâre in a scene together. Harryâs comfortable allowing the Doctor to lead the way in the investigation into whatâs going on, but he keeps having doubts that this is *his* Doctor and so has trouble trusting him at times. Harry blunders along, trying to avoid the passes that Emmeline Neuberger, a German woman who appears to be looking for a man so she can stay in England, and Harry would make the perfect match. He shows a wonderful mixture of intelligence and naivetÃ© that is the hallmark of Harry. Sarah, on the other hand, is determined, willful, and the perfect embodiment of what Lis Sladen brought to the role. She is independent, but understandably scared when something really awful happens to her. Sheâs a wonderful character that springs off the page whenever sheâs on it.

The plot is a smorgasbord of stuff, from werewolves to Arthurian legends, along with the aforementioned British aristocratic comedy, and the tone of the book is slightly off at times when Rayner doesnât seem to be able to control the mixture. The scene transitions are jarring at times, from the dark foreboding of Sarahâs search for the truth about Harryâs death to the Stanton family and their stiff upper lip. While the overall atmosphere is very well done, it doesnât always fit. The other problem is one that may not be a problem for some. This is a Doctor Who novel solidly in the horror/fantasy genre. There is no rational explanation for any of the things that happen in the book. Instead, all of the explanations are magical in some way, either nature spirits or the werewolves themselves. If youâre a Who fan that canât stand any kind of âmagicâ in your stories, you will hate this book. Personally, Iâm on the opposite side of the fence, but I think Wolfsbane went a bit too far toward the magical side.

That doesnât take away from an otherwise excellent book. The characterization, aside from the regulars, is rather spotty and thin, but the intricate plot and atmosphere shine off the page. While reading, the plot doesnât really seem that intricate, but I loved how Rayner sometimes related the two different timelines; Sarah finds out something in her investigation and then we see the real story of what happened for that event with Harry. This often makes up for the jarring transitions. Especially atmospheric is the story of the Night of the Long Claws, where the Germans rounded up the werewolves, starved them, and then set them loose on a town outside Munich on the night of the full moon. This chapter, told by the wolf, is exceptional, and well worth the read by itself.

So, Wolfsbane does what it sets out to do: tell an entertaining story with a good use of the Who regulars. While itâs not a standout, there are enough excellent bits in the story to definitely make this worth a read.

Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Dominion & Ferenginar

hist@shaw.ca — Mon, 7 Feb 05 20:52:00 UT

After reading âOlympus Descending,â the Dominion story in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: The Dominion & Ferenginar, I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. This feeling was heightened when I realized that there is no new Deep Space Nine book out this year (the only one on the schedule, Hollow Men, takes place during the television series). What a powerful ending to a fascinating series of stories. âSatisfaction is Not Guaranteed,â the Ferengi story by Keith R.A. DeCandido, was also fun as well, but âOlympus Descending,â by David R. George III was the perfect capper to the whole series. While quibbles can be made about both stories, none of these little nits can overshadow the fact that these were both great stories. The future of Deep Space Nine is well in hand with these people in charge.

âSatisfaction is Not Guaranteedâ examines the new Ferenginar. At the end of the television series, Rom (Quarkâs somewhat dimwitted brother) had been named Grand Nagus of the entire Ferengi business community. He (at his motherâs behest) has completely overhauled Ferengi society: females can wear clothes, go out in public, and actually *gasp* conduct business. Taxes have been implemented, and worker satisfaction is way up. However, a lot of people (Quark included) donât like the new reforms, and are scheming to bring Rom down. They try to enlist Quark in their dealings, and he must travel to Ferenginar in order to examine the situation (as well as to be there for his brother when his Bajoran wife begins going through complications with her pregnancy). Forces are moving to put society back where itâs supposed to be, male-dominated and full of schemes and greed, and it comes out that Rom may have breached his original marriage contract when he married Leeta. Can a Ferengi be the Grand Nagus after heâs breached a contract between Ferengi? And will this opening allow Brunt, the nemesis of Quarkâs family, to take power? Quark, enlists the help of his nephew Nog and Lieutenant Ro, from the station, to find out whatâs going on. The results may have some personal consequences for Quark as well.

âOlympus Descendingâ is about the Dominion. At the end of the television series, Odo (the changeling security chief for Deep Space Nine) went back to his fellow changelings to see if he could help guide them to a peaceful coexistence with âsolids,â or non-shapeshifters. He has had a hard time of it over the last year. Currently, he is trying to figure out why the Great Link (the amalgamation of all changelings in one vast pool) sent one hundred âinfantâ changelings out into the galaxy to fend for themselves. His investigations bring about answers he never would have suspected, including a search for a creator that he never knew existed. Meanwhile, Taranâatar (the JemâHadar soldier who Odo sent to Deep Space Nine to observe solids) is having a crisis of his own. His hatred for solids, his inability to understand why Odo sent him here, and his desire to return to his people, are all coming together into an outburst that may have tragic consequences for the Alpha Quadrant, or at least Deep Space Nine.

DeCandidoâs âSatisfaction is Not Guaranteedâ is a fun story, a calm before the storm right in between Volume 2âs Bajoran story (âFragments & Omensâ) and âOlympus Descending.â It does almost the exact opposite of what the other stories have done, as Quark is (albeit reluctantly) fighting to keep the changes that have already happened on Ferenginar. Thus, this is a fight for the status quo, rather than a fight to change worlds as has happened in the other four stories of this series. Itâs all the better for it, too, as there is some great comedy in it. While I think Ferengi stories are able to have depth, I donât think they work if that depth is too out in the open, without a veneer of comedy. The best Ferengi episodes (not many, I admit) always worked on two levels, and âSatisfaction is Not Guaranteedâ is the same way. There are some wonderful scenes between Quark and Rom, especially when the possibility of Româs having signed a horrible marriage contract comes up and Rom admits to some things that he would rather not admit to.

I think the story works for a number of reasons. First, we donât have actors trying to act smarmy and speaking in annoying, sometimes squeaky voices. That puts it a step above most episodes anyway. However, thatâs not the only plus to this story. DeCandido is able to examine not only Ferengi society, but the internal workings of individual Ferengi as well. Thus, we see Quarkâs thoughts about what is happening on his home planet. We see the fact that, while he hates what Rom has been doing to his world, the idea of Brunt being in charge is even worse. DeCandido also avoids showing us a completely stereotypical Ferenginar, showcasing all businessmen as horrible people. I think the show sometimes went too far that way, but DeCandido shows us some of the good in Ferengi society as well. Thus, the story is very well-rounded.

Even better, we get to see an outsiderâs view of the whole thing. The television show went to Ferenginar once, and it was a pretty horrible episode, partially because it consisted entirely of Ferengi. This time, Ro comes along to help out, and we get some wonderful scenes of her adapting to the planet. Her reaction to the ads that canât be shut off that show Brunt grinning in extreme close-up was hilarious. Even her reaction to the near-constant rain and humidity were very amusing. She gives us that perspective that we really need so we donât get lost amidst all of the Ferengi avarice. The fact that the story also deals with the developing relationship between Quark and her is also a plus. In fact, I think Ro is the best part about the book, though the other characterization is equally well-done. This is excellent work, all the way around.

âOlympus Descending,â on the other hand, ratchets up the tension and is consumed by a very foreboding atmosphere. Yet that doesnât bring the story down at all, and in fact heightened my interest in it. I loved the entire philosophical discussions between Odo and Laas, especially when Odo begins investigating Laasâ question about why the 100 were sent out. I wonât reveal what answer Odo finds, but it brings up a lot more discussion of the nature of religion and the difference between faith and fact. The beginning of the story can be a bit slow, and part of me wishes that George had switched to Taranâatar a little bit sooner at the beginning, but overall itâs extremely interesting stuff that has far-reaching consequences for the Dominion, and perhaps the rest of the Deep Space Nine mythos as well. The story ends up tying into Ben Siskoâs dire warnings in âFragments & Omens,â which is a good thing and will probably lead into the next series of books.

If the Odo story is fascinating, the Taranâatar story is gripping. We have seen this JemâHadar struggle with the mission Odo gave him since the relaunch began, and itâs not getting any easier. In fact, heâs reached a point where he has to make a decision, but he canât do it without help. He and Kira go on a journey that he hopes will help him decide, but it only makes things worse for him. Iâve grown to like the character throughout all these books, and watching him go through this was almost agonizing, especially because I knew that something bad was going to happen (unfortunately, I also knew *what* was going to happen, as it had been spoiled for me).

Since the Bajor story had also left one of its plots dangling, it wasnât so jarring this time as âOlympus Descendingâ does the same thing. I think another reason for the difference in my thinking was because while âFragments & Omensâ just coasted to halt with that plot dangling, âOlympus Descendingâ was a true cliff-hanger. The wait for the next book is now going to be excruciating.

David R. George III has done it again with another outstanding story. A minor logic nit (impossible to explain without spoilers) is really the only thing that mars it. Taken together with âSatisfaction is Not Guaranteed,â these two stories make a wonderful conclusion to the Worlds of Deep Space Nine series. Entire worlds have changed, and we are left wondering whatâs going to happen next. Ainât anticipation grand?