THE ZANZIBAR CAT

by Joanna Russ ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 1983

Russ' first short-story collection--16 sf, fantasy, and mainstream pieces, 1962-79--displays her familiar virtues (intelligence, intensity) and her penchant for oppressive settings; unlike her more relaxed, more approachable novels, though, the stories are often furiously keyed-up--and if you're not on her wavelength she can be exasperatingly opaque. Still, there's much here that's broadly appealing. Tales of alienation feature an interstellar saboteur corrupted by his target (a dreary, mechanical society) and an ice-crystal death-fantasy woven out of a young girl's anguish. There's a vivid look at a peasant's revolt, the progress of which is magically controlled by the moves in a game resembling chess--complicated by the fact that the players are more or less on the same side. Two vampire stories stand out--one with a feminist theme, another class-conscious--while the occult inspires a masterful yarn about the adventures of a young Victorian girl's ghost in modern Rome. And among the sf/ fantasy highlights are a charming, ironic Jules Verne pastiche; an extended family of the future whose main entrance qualification is supergenius; and a successful all-female society that must inevitably change when sly, stupid men rediscover the planet (a foreshadowing of The Female Man). A distinguished, challenging assemblage, with Russ at her best when tackling specifically feminist themes.

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Arkham

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1983

Categories: FICTION