DARK IS THE SUN

by Philip Jos≤ Farmer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 17, 1979

A big episodic quest-novel, featuring one of those end-of-the-universe scripts and motley human-and-alien casts that require an awful lot of invention to be halfway tolerable. And Farmer, in rather good form here, provides much (if not all) of what's needed. His protagonists are Deyv and Vana, a pair of semisavage humans on a sunless Earth nearing the day of final gravitational collapse in the surrounding galaxy. Searching for their stolen ""soul eggs"" (records of individual electrical potential) with the aid of the mighty plant-centauroid Sloosh, they encounter and find themselves linking forces with a succession of parties responsible for the theft, finally coming to the domain of the alien Shemibob. Eventually Deyv and Vana are able to shed their tribal mentality and join the two aliens in an attempt to help humanity escape to a younger universe. The plot is little more than a peg for exotic landscapes with attendant interesting flora and fauna, and Farmer's writing is undistinguished; but this is one of his more enjoyable recent ventures, with enough pizazz to carry one and all along.

Pub Date: Sept. 17, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION