Funny, eccentric, sophisticated fantasies from SF’s most erudite and accomplished literary stylist.
Another posthumous collection following The Avram Davidson Treasury (1998) gathers Davidson's more obscure but delightful alternate histories, literary pastiches, and comic meditations on a past that never existed. In addition to his prodigious ability to write formula mysteries and “straight” science fiction (i.e., about space ships and planets), Davidson (d. 1993) adored the arcane furbelows of the many historical periods, finding particular enjoyment in the Victorian era. Though not all the 23 tales here are set in the 19th century (“O Brave Old World!” imagines that George II's eldest son Frederick lived long enough to emigrate to the American colonies and incite rebellion—in Britain!), but they crackle with Davidson's wit (in “One Morning with Samuel, Dorothy and William,” Coleridge, before penning Kublai Khan, downs a “dreadful substance in the vile vial” and responds with “a glottal sound of gratification” until he is, alas, interrupted) and with his love of Victorian melodrama, as in the hilarious “Dr. Bumbo Singh,” in which the very bad doctor agrees to concoct, for a fee, “a smell disgusting beyond disgust . . . a smell which will drive men mad!” The collection includes “Mickelrede; or, The Slayer and the Staff,” Michael Swanwick's marvelous completion of a Davidson's unfinished “ghost novel” about a magical slide rule and a portion of 20th-century northern California that can't stop help itself from slipping into a mythic past.
Funny, eccentric, sophisticated fantasies from SF’s most erudite and accomplished literary stylist.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-312-84874-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Since Frank Herbert, author of the mighty Dune series (ending with Chapterhouse: Dune, 1985) died in 1986, rumors have been circulating that his son Brian (Sudanna, Sudanna, 1985) would continue the saga. Finally, in collaboration with Anderson (Star Wars novels, X-files novels, thrillers, etc.) he has: the action of this prequel occurs several decades before that of Dune, the series opener. In a far-future galactic empire, everything from commerce and politics to interstellar travel and longevity depends on a miraculous spice, mÇlange, whose sole source is the desert planet Arrakis. The Emperor, Elrood IX of House Corrino, sends scientist Pardot Kynes to Arrakis to study its puzzling ecology. Elrood’s son Shaddam, meanwhile, plots with the assassin Hasimir Fenring to murder his father, while simultaneously prodding the old emperor to conspire with the despised, genetic-whiz Tleilaxu to develop an artificial source of the spice. A young, lean Baron Harkonnen oversees Arrakis and spice production, while his deadly rival, Paulus Atreides, sends his son, 14-year-old Leto, to planet Ix to study its sophisticated machines. The manipulative Reverend Mothers of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood require both Harkonnen and Atreides genes to achieve their long-standing objective of breeding an omniscient psychic that they can control while remaining dependent on a poisonous spice-liquor to ignite ancestral memories. Undeniably, the authors have accepted a formidable challenge. So how does their effort stack up against Frank Herbert’s originals? Well, the plotting’s as devious and complicated if less subtle, and it’s comparable in scope, with gratifying inventive touches. Still, the disappointingly lightweight characters make for less powerful drama. In a word, satisfying: all Dune fans will want to investigate, newcomers will be tempted, and it should promote fresh interest in the magnificent original series. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1999
ISBN: 0-553-11061-6
Page Count: 624
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stunning, again.
In the second of a trilogy (The Fifth Season, 2015) by the science-fiction columnist for the New York Times Book Review, the latest in a series of apocalypses marches on.
The powerful orogene Alabaster has used his powers to tear a blazing rift across the continent, and humanity faces extinction. Finding refuge in the underground comm of Castrima, the now-dying Alabaster struggles to impart vital information and skills to his former student and lover, Essun, which could potentially cease the flow of the tectonically devastating Seasons. All the while, Castrima faces tension from within—those who fear Essun’s rapidly growing magical powers—and without, as an invading army prepares to take the comm’s dwindling supplies for its own. Although Essun’s greatest desire is to recover Nassun, the daughter she loves, the girl always wanted to escape her mother, whom she perceives as cold and who imposed harsh training to discipline and hide her daughter’s orogeny. Nassun willingly left with her adored father even though he murdered her brother and violently loathes all orogenes. This uneasy father/daughter pair travels to a mysterious, distant community rumored to “cure” orogeny, where Nassun discovers a key figure from her mother’s past—but he’s no longer quite what he used to be. The worldbuilding deepens in this installment, with fresh revelations about the distant past and the true and alarming nature of the enigmatic stone eaters. But as in the previous volume, it’s the people who take front and center. Jemisin’s depictions of mob behavior are frighteningly realistic. And she offers a perceptive and painful portrayal of two different kinds of abusive relationships between parent and child. She also generates huge amounts of nuanced sympathy for some (but not all) of the characters driven to do truly dreadful things, often accidentally, to save themselves and the ones they love.
Stunning, again.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-22926-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
