🚀 go-pugleaf



                      Electronic OtherRealms #14
                             April, 1987
                                Part 3

                            Books Received

                                Bantam
                                Books

Crowley, John.   gypt, 390 pages, $17.95 hardcover, April 1 ship 
	date.   Latest from World Fantasy Award Winning Author.

                                 DAW
                                Books

Friedman, C.  S.   In Conquest Born, 511 pages, May, 1987, $3.95.   
	Friedman's first novel.

                                Signet
                                Books

Adams, Robert.   Trumpet's of War, 223 pages, March, 1987, $3.50.   
	Horseclans #16.

Clarke, Arthur C.  A Fall of Moondust, 254 pages, 1961, $3.50.   This
	(and the next three books) are the start of a re-issue of
	selected works by A.  C.  Clarke.   The works will have
	coordinated covers and new introductions by the author.

Clarke, Arthur C.  The Nine Billion Names of God, 253 pages, $3.50, 1967.

Clarke, Arthur C.  The Sands of Mars, 246 pages, 1952, $3.50.

Clarke, Arthur C.  The Wind from the Sun, 244 pages, 1962, $3.50.

Silverberg, Robert.   Isaac Asimov's Wonderful World of Science Fiction
	#6: Neanderthals, 351 pages, March, 1987, $3.95.   Another
	anthology from the prolific anthologers Charles Waugh and
	Martin Greenberg.

                            St. Martin's
                                Press

Pohl, Frederik and Kornbluth, C.M.   The Space Merchants, 169 pages, 
	1952, $3.50.   A new edition of a wonderful classic.

Pohl, Frederik.   The Merchant's War, 296 pages, 1984, $3.50.   Sequel 
	to The Space Merchants.

                                 Tor
                               Fantasy

Llywellyn, Morgan.   Bard:  The Odyssey of the Irish, 461 pages plus 
	bibliography, March, 1987, $4.50.

Polikarpus, Viido, and King, Tappan.   Downtown, 293 pages, March 
	1987, $2.95.

                                 Tor
                               Fiction

Sutcliff, Rosemary.   Sword at Sunset, 498 pages, $4.50, reprint of a 
	1963 novel about King Arthur.

                                 Tor
                                Horror

Gray, Linda Crockett.   Scryer, 346 pages, March, 1987, $3.95.

Killough, Lee.   Blood Hunt, 319 pages, March, 1987, $3.95.

Saberhagen, Fred.  An Old Friend of the Family, 247 pages, $3.50,
	reprint of a 1979 novel, part of Saberhagen's retelling of the
	Dracula myth.

                                 Tor
                           Science Fiction

Chalker, Jack L.   The Labyrinth of Dreams, 320 pages, $3.50, March, 
	1987.   First in the God Inc. series.

Dickson, Gordon R.   The Stranger, 254 pages, $2.95, March, 1987.   
	New collection of 14 stories from the 1950's to the 1980's.

Harrison, Harry.   The Jupiter Plague, 280 pages, $2.95, reprint of a 
	1982 book.

Saberhagen, Fred.   The Mask of the Sun, 234 pages, $2.95, reprint of 
	a 1979 novel.

Silverberg, Robert.   Invaders from Earth, 190 pages, $2.95, reprint 
	of a 1958 novel.

                                 Tor
                               Suspense

O'Donnell, Peter.   Modesty Blaise:  The Xanadu Talisman, 278 pages, 
	$3.50.   First paperback of a 1981 book.



                           Words of Wizdom

                              Reviews by
                           Chuq Von Rospach

One of the things I enjoy doing for OtherRealms is reading the first
book by an author.  Anyone who thinks you can't break into the
publishing business is wrong -- if you are talented, you can.  I see at
least one first novel a month these days, and I know I'm missing some,
since it isn't always easy to tell.  First novels need to be read not
only for what they are, but also for the author's future potential.
Because of this, I tend to judge first novels a little differently than
other books, and I try to give an author the benefit of the doubt when
things are a little rough on the edges.  First novels are rarely bad,
but they are also rarely things of glory -- William Gibson and R.A.
MacAvoy are exceptions, not rules.  The polish comes from experience,
and I take great pleasure in watching authors find their voice and
mature in their writing.

There are two first novels in my stack this month.  The first is The
Misplaced Legion by Harry Turtledove (Del Rey Books, 323 pages,
$2.95).  Turtledove has picked up a reputation for writing strong and
involving short works, both under his name and under Eric G.  Iverson.
This novel shows, if nothing else, how different writing novels.

A legion of Romans in Gaul battle the Celts.  In battle, the two 
leaders meet in single combat.  The Roman centurion carries a 
modified Celtic sword, and when the two clash, the result is the 
unleashing of a magic spell that sends the Romans elsewhere.

Hence the title.  Where they are is Videssos, a country in a place 
completely unfamiliar.  The implication is that they are no longer on 
Earth.  They are contacted by the local military, and finally accepted 
by the Emperor and hired into his army as mercenaries.

In reality, little happens in the book.  You learn a little about Roman 
military lifestyles, but not as much as you'd like.  You learn a fair 
amount about Videssos' lifestyles, but the chance to exploit the 
Roman's complete ignorance isn't leveraged.  Most of the book is a 
series of subplots, none of them very important and few of them 
grabbing your interest.  There is a long, slow build to the inevitable 
battle, but the battle rushes by before you're ready for it, taking no 
more than 30 pages, and much of the battle is only sketchily described.

This is not a bad book.  It has flaws and pacing problems, It reminds 
me of the very early Varley books.  The similarity between 
Turtledove and Varley is very strong, as they both seem to write 
most powerfully at shorter lengths.  The Misplaced Legion has some 
problems, but none of them are fatal.  The pacing is inconsistent -- a 
lot of the book moves slower than I'd have liked, while others move 
too fast and forget what could have been interested detail.  There 
doesn't seem to be any reason for shoving Romans into this world -- 
there isn't any real culture clash, Turtledove never uses them to 
discuss the Videssian culture, and they never really develop an alien 
feel -- they fit in much too easily for my tastes to be aliens.  The 
transfer from Earth was never justified to my satisfaction, and I 
never accepted it as anything other than a convenient plot device.  
And I could never find a character I could relate to to use as a hook 
for drawing myself into the book -- all of the characters are 
somewhat static and kept at a distance.

Turtledove is a good writer who is simply looking for his voice at a 
greater length.  When he does, he's going to be a name to reckon with.  
This book is probably worth reading, even though it is more potential 
than application, as I expect future volumes in this series to be 
significantly improved.  [***-]



The other first novel is Project Millenium by Minnesota writer 
Curtis Hoffman (Ace Science Fiction, 198 pages, $2.95).  The cover 
by James Warhola, unfortunately, is uninviting, showing the God Thor 
flying his hammer into battle with a large spaceship.  Inside...

Inside is a series of interconnecting stories ranging from inter-
office politics to a replay of Ragnaroque, the Nordic myth of the 
death of the Gods.  It sounds like a bit of a hodge-podge, and it is.

At the request of a planet planning on celebrating its millenium, the 
Entertainment Company takes on a commission for a 100 year 
project to put together a major battle so the planet can congratulate 
itself on how civilized it has become.  This battle, of course, is 
illegal, so the operation is covert.  The two sides of the battles are 
coordinated by AI programs, one that calls itself Snorri Sturluson 
(after the Nordic bard) and the other Richard III (after the English 
King).  They are watched over by an intelligent robot, who is watched 
over by his robot-bigot boss.

Hoffman tries to tell a cohesive story while twisting his way 
through a large number of subplots and a number of different 
viewpoints.  Unfortunately, it gets very hard to tell the viewpoints 
apart.  I was constantly trying to figure out who knew what and 
where things were going, and I think Hoffman just tried to carry one 
more subplot than his writing skill currently allows.  Also, the 
whole enemy camp, from Richard III down, was basically ignored, 
and so the story is somewhat stilted.  As I read the story, I found 
myself getting more and more confused as to what was going on, 
because things switched around too haphazardly and too quickly for 
my tastes.  The climax and ending were telegraphed.

Hoffman has potential.  He tried to write a complex novel, and 
almost pulled it off.He is definitely on my reading list for future 
works, but unless you're like me and really enjoy reading new 
writers, I can't recommend this work.  [**]



Now, a new work from a master.  With the large number of Arthurian 
retellings and Celtic stories reaching the bookshelves, it is easy to 
forget that other cultures have their legends and lores as well.

Fortunately, Poul and Karen Anderson didn't forget, and with The 
King of Ys: Roma Mater (Baen Books, $3.95) they give us a carefully 
researched and fascinating look at the French myths.

Gratillonius is a Roman centurion, sent with his troops to be regent of
Ys, a position vacant for many years.  His mission is to rekindle the
ties between Ys and Rome and to use the powers of Ys to support an
upcoming overthrow of Rome by his general.  Through a sequence of
events, he becomes the Kind of Ys as well, and the husband of the Nine.

The Andersons have woven a complex series of conflicts and 
subplots into a work that is likely to be the opening book in a series 
of stories about Ys.  The storyline is relatively simple, primarily 
following Gratillonius from the time he is sent to Ys to the time he 
makes the choice to be King, rather Regent of Rome and King.  But the 
real attraction isn't the story, it is the history and the way the 
story is presented.

Ys is a coastal village, protected from the ocean by a large set of 
sea walls constructed many years ago by Augustus Caesar.  It is 
ruled jointly by the King, who by covenant must be chosen from 
outside the realm, and seated when they kill the previous King; by 
the Nine, Wives of the King, Sorceresses and Wisewomen; and the 
Speaker for Taranus, one of the governing Gods.  

One of the major conflicts in the book is religious.  Rome has 
recently outlawed all non-Christian pantheons, yet Gratillonius is a 
follower of Mithras.  Ys, on the other hand, worships a triumvirate: 
Taranis, Lis, and Belisama.  The lore of Ys states that it will be 
destroyed when it forsakes its Gods, for the floodgates survive at 
the whim of Those Who protect Ys.

The conflicts are obvious.  With Christianity gaining influence (the 
Andersons, unlike Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon 
chose not to portray Christianity as a nasty sect) over the God's that 
protect them, and with a Mithra worshipper as their King (a King who 
is willing to support their religions as long as they don't conflict 
with his beliefs, which, of course, they do).

Gratillonius also has to come to grips with his devotion to Rome and 
the realization that what is best for Rome isn't necessarily the best 
for Ys.

All in all, this is a very satisfying book, and an interesting view into 
another culture.  Ys is pretty obviously the French archetype for 
Atlantis, the society protected from the sea by their Gods.  
Somewhere in a future book, it is almost inevitable that the 
forsaken Gods will destroy Ys as Atlantis was destroyed, but I 
certainly hope it doesn't happen soon.  This book is highly 
recommended for people who like mature and complex Fantasy.  [****]



Tuf Voyaging by George R.  R.  Martin (Baen books, 376 pages, $3.50) 
is a novel pieced together from a series of stories that Martin has 
published since 1978, primarily in Analog magazine.  They are all 
about Haviland Tuf, a fat, bald vegetarian who loves cats and owns a 
bio-ship, a warship from ancient earth that can create or clone 
living beings from its vast database.  He travels from planet to 
planet, selling his wares and staving off disaster.

The stories span about 10 years of ship time, starting with how Tuf 
came to own the ship.  I've read a number of the stories when they 
were originally publisher, so I'd planned to skip through and read the 
unfamiliar sections.  Tuf was so engrossing I found myself reading 
the entire thing, and enjoying it immensely.

Haviland Tuf talks in a very formal style that might drive you up the 
wall after a while -- it is somewhat like listening to Miss Manners 
talk.  I never could quite figure out whether Tuf talked this way 
naturally or if he was just trying to drive the people he was with 
crazy.  Martin has a good sense of dialog, always keeping Tuf right on 
the edge of turning into a charicature.  This is a highly enjoyable 
work, and worth your time.  [****]



When Jim Baen was with Ace, he started a paperback anthology 
called Destinies that was essentially a SF magazine in book form.  
Later, when he started Baen Books, he revived the format with co-
editor Jerry Pournelle with Far Frontiers.  Now, Pournelle has 
dropped off the project, and Baen has renamed it New Destinies (288 
pages, $2.95) and turned out a solid first volume (issue?).

I was never overly impressed with Far Frontiers, but New Destinies 
has significantly improved the quality of both the stories and the 
fact articles.  Included are stories by Timothy Zahn, Poul Anderson, 
Joel Rosenburg, Doug Beason, Fred Saberhagen, and Keith Laumer.  
Fact articles are by Dr.  Robert Forward, John and Mary Gribbin, and 
G.  Harry Stine.  All of the stories are good, and I specifically want 
to recommend reading "Not for Country, Not for King" by Rosenburg, 
which is on my early list of contenders for a Hugo nomination.  In 
general, the only things I didn't like was Stine's article "The Space 
Beat: How to Stop a Space Program" which is simply a continuation 
of his constant whining about how rotten American politics treats 
its space ships.  Overall, a good start, and I'll be looking forward to 
seeing if the quality continues in future volumes.  [***+]



A quick final note: Signet is starting to re-issue many of Arthur C.  
Clarke's early works.  First out are two novels, The Sands of Mars 
and A Fall of Moondust, and two anthologies, The Wind From the Sun 
and The Nine Billion Names of God.  All have new, coordinated cover 
art and new introductions by the author.  The novels are somewhat 
dated, but still fun to rediscover after all these times.  His stories, 
however, are a real joy, and it is amazing how well they've aged.  If 
you've never read Clarke, now is a great time to start, probably with 
The Nine Billion Names of God.  If you already have these works, you 
won't want to buy a new copy unless you are a Clarke completist, as 
the new introductions are only a page long, and there is little new 
material here.



                        Letters to OtherRealms

                              On Mirror
                            of Her Dreams

I want to stress a point you mention in your review of A Mirror of Her
Dreams.  Anyone who disliked Steven Donaldson's Thomas Covenant novels
should read A Mirror of Her Dreams before writing Mr.  Donaldson off.
Unlike his previous novels, Steven Donaldson fills this novel with
likeable characters (which aren't all killed off in horrible ways) and
some hope that they can win.  Also gone is the excess verbiage of the
Covenant trilogies.  This novel is refreshingly different from
virtually all other fantasy novels in that it asks the characters (and
the readers) to think in order to figure out what is going on and how
to set things right.  (Actually, the novel isn't really a fantasy, it's
more of a SF novel in a fantasy setting.)

The only thing I disliked about The Mirror of Her Dreams (besides the
fact that it doesn't end) is that there is a major hole in the plot.
Without giving to much away, in one part of the book, a disaster occurs
that could easily be stopped by something which we are shown earlier in
the book that all the characters know about.  I can't believe they all
just forgot about it.

Overall, this is an outstanding novel that it so good I would recommend
it to everyone even though the second part hasn't been published yet.
It loses half a star only because of the plot hole.  [****+]

Micah Doyle
micah@athena.MIT.EDU


                              On Beasts

This may have been pointed out already, but I thought I'd mention a
minor bug in Alan Wexelblat's review of John Crowley's Beasts.  While
Beasts is indeed Crowley's second novel, Little, Big is not his first
novel but his fourth.  Bantam has reprinted Crowley's older novels,
which explains why Beasts is on the stands.  The proper order of
publication is: The Deep (1975); Beasts (1976); Engine Summer (1979);
Little, Big (1981); and Aegypt (1987).  Of course there may be other
books by Crowley which I've missed (I hope not!)...

I'm going to buy Aegypt as soon as I can get my greedy fingers on it.

Donn Seeley

	[[ This was something Alan missed, and I didn't take the time
	to check.   My apologies to anyone who was confused by this mistake.

	Aegypt looks like another winner of a book.   OtherRealms
	should have a review of it soon]] -- Chuq




                             OtherRealms
    Reviewing the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.

                                Editor
                           Chuq Von Rospach

                           Associate Editor
                            Laurie Sefton

                         Contributing Editors
                              Jim Brunet
                          Dan'l Danehy-Oakes

                           OtherRealms #14
                             April, 1987

                           Copyright  1987
                         by Chuq Von Rospach.
                         All Rights Reserved.

      One time rights have been acquired from the contributors.
          All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors

        OtherRealms may be reproduced in its entirety only for
       non-commercial purposes.  With the exception of excerpts
        used for promotional purposes, no part of OtherRealms
               may be re-published without permission.

OtherRealms is published monthly through July, then quarterly by:

    Chuq Von Rospach
    35111-F Newark Blvd.
    Suite 255
    Newark, CA.  94560

    usenet:  chuq@sun.COM
    Delphi:  CHUQ

    Review copies should be sent to this address for consideration.

                          Submission Policy


OtherRealms publishes articles about Science Fiction, Fantasy, and
Horror.  We  focus on reviews of authors and books that might otherwise
be missed in the crowd, but OtherRealms will publish anything of
interest to the serious reader of the genre.

Pico Reviews are solicited on any book.   Duplicate the format  in the
magazine, and limit your comments to one paragraph.

Your comments are solicited!  Letters to OtherRealms are always welcome --
tell me how I'm doing, what I'm missing, or where I've goofed.   All
letters will be considered for publication unless otherwise specified.

If you have an idea for an article you would like to see covered in 
OtherRealms, drop me a line.   I'm always looking for new and 
interesting things to bring before the eyes of my readers.

                               Artists!

OtherRealms is looking for a few good hands.   I'm looking for genre
oriented pictures, comics, dingbats, doodles, and anything else that
looks good on the printed page.

I need anything up to and including full-page cover art -- my inventory
is currently very small.

Book Ratings in OtherRealms


All books are rated with the following guidelines.   Most books should
receive a three star rating  Anything with three or more stars is
recommended.   Ratings may be modified by a + or a - to for a half star
rating, so [***-] is better (slightly) than [**+].

              [*****] One of the best books of the year
               [****] A very good book -- above average
                          [***]  A good book
                  [**]  Flawed, but has its moments
                         [*] Not recommended
                        [] Avoid at all costs

                            Subscriptions:

A single issue is available for $2.50.   Subscriptions are  for $8.50
for four issues.   Please make checks to "Chuq Von Rospach."  Fanzine
trading rules apply.   Publishers are welcome to a free subscription
upon request.  Authors write for discount rate.   OtherRealms is also
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                        Electronic OtherRealms

Electronic OtherRealms is a text-only version of this magazine that is
available on a number of computer networks throughout the world.

On the ARPA, CSNET, BITNET and UUCP networks, send E-mail to
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On the usenet network, Electronic OtherRealms is available in  
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Electronic OtherRealms is also available in the Science Fiction 
section of the Delphi timesharing system, and on numerous Bulletin 
Board Systems throughout the country.



Chuq Von Rospach	chuq@sun.COM		[I don't read flames]

There is no statute of limitations on stupidity