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| OATES, JOYCE CAROL
Zombie |
PARK, PAUL
Coelestis |
POHL, FREDERIK
Gateway |
|
| POWERS, TIM
The Anubis Gates |
PRIEST, CHRISTOPHER
Inverted World |
A disturbing look into the mind of a madman. Quentin, or Q_P_ as he calls himself, is in his early thirties and works as caretaker in the family owned building that lets rooms to foreign University students. He has recently been placed on probation after having been found guilty of child molestation, but no-one is aware of the gruesome crimes he has and continues to commit.
Like THE WASP FACTORY by Iain Banks, it is hard to say you've enjoyed
a story of this type. There were scenes that make you cringe and send shivers
down the spine. It is a convincing depiction of serial killer.
Bram Stoker winner.
Very Good (8.5)
A rather grim depiction of a planet occupied by humans who treat the aboriginal population and their planet very poorly. Some of the aliens undergo drug treatment in order to more closely resemble the invading humans and thereby fit into their society. A rebellion occurs amongst the alien population which results in a human male and an alien female under pursuit. The alien is denied her drugs and slowly reverts to her original form.
Good (6)
Hugo and Nebula award winner.
The alien Heechee civilization has disappeared except for some artifacts left on Venus and a small planetoid in our solar system. This planetoid is known as Gateway. A large number of functional Heechee ships remain on Gateway although humans don't have the ability to do much with them except let the ships take them on predetermined journeys.
Bob Broadhead wins a lottery to go to Gateway where he can escape the gloom on Earth and try his luck at prospecting, i.e. getting on a Heechee ship and bringing back a find worth millions of dollars. The problem is no-one is sure if a ship will return and if it does there is no guarantee there will be any survivors.
The story takes us through Bob's experiences at Gateway as well as visits to his therapist once he returns to Earth. A very enjoyable tale. I look forward to the sequel, Beyond The Blue Event Horizon.
Very Good (8.5)
POWERS, TIM
Winner of the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award. A group of people from 1983 travel back in time to the early 1800's. One of them, Brendan Doyle, is kidnapped and remains in the past while the rest of the group return. Doyle becomes involved with a number of evil scorcerers who try to learn the secrets of time travel from him. Doyle also has to deal with Dog-Face Joe who has the ability to switch bodies with unsuspecting victims who usually end up dead.
While not being a fan of Fantasy, it was an enjoyable story which kept me interested until the end.
Good (6.5)
PRIEST, CHRISTOPHER
There’s not much I can say about this book without ruining it for you.
I began reading it without any idea of the story, which is the way I approach
most books, and for a while I remained completely in the dark. As I read
further, I found my predictions about where the story was heading constantly
being altered and by the time I’d worked out what was going on, the story
had finished.
Helward Mann is the central character. He was raised, not in a family,
but a crêche, never knowing his mother and seldom in contact with
his father. When he is mature enough he is sent out into the world in order
to learn the ways of his people. Prior to his apprenticeship, he had never
seen the outside world and he comes to learn about the strange place he
really lives in.
This story is set firmly on the ground and a weird ground at that. In
places I was reminded of Hal Clement’s MISSION OF GRAVITY which is also
set on a very strange planet and at other times, the work of Philip K Dick
sprang to mind. At around 250 pages, this is a unique story and one that
you will find easy to read.
Very Good (9)
(August 2001)
INVERTED WORLD (1974)
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