CASCADE POINT And Other Stories

by Timothy Zahn ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1986

A collection of 15 stories, including one original, from the author of Spinneret (1985)--and they're all pretty much of a muchness. Disaster strikes during an attempt to harness a captive black-hole as an energy source. A starship maintenance man, conditioned to being alone during voyages, evinces a desire to rejoin the human community. Two yarns deal with a world where mysterious, terrifying Shadows accumulate around anything technological--including the simplest machines, refined metal, etc.; all too obviously, though, Zahn hasn't thought the notion through. A man who creates, and participates in, computer games unwittingly thwarts some aliens investigating Earth. A man plagued by visions of horrible disasters finds they all come true--somewhere. A young man seeking revenge on a dictator rendered invincible by his control of mechanical ""dragons"" finds instead that the dictator intends to train him as his replacement. And, in the title piece, a ship gets lost on an interstellar voyage and must find its way home through higher dimensions. Standard variations, near-weightless treatments: an insipid, mediocre bunch. Still, Zahn does have his fans.

Pub Date: May 1, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Bluejay--dist. by St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION