NEW DIMENSIONS 9

by Robert--Ed. Silverberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 11, 1979

New Dimensions continues to drift toward the second-rate, with only a few pleasures among these eleven contributions. Above all, there's a gem from newcomer Tony Sarowitz: ""A Passionate State of Mind,"" a remarkable account of an inventor's lifelong struggle with Zeno's paradox. The ever-competent Gregory Genford provides a very witty chapter in the life of a future California ""sociometrician""; Felix C. Gotschalk has a good time with a perilous robot courier mission completely carried out in 90-degree-angle spatial perceptions. Ursula K. LeGuin plays prettily with an idea about a planet which turns out to be literally such stuff as dreams are made on. Peter S. Alterman makes a good stab at a story about a sentient computer program hooked up to a brain-damaged adolescent. Against these attractions one must weigh three of Peter Dillingham's blisteringly boring science-fiction poems, a pretentious parable of life-affirmation (""The Attendant"") by Bruce Taylor, and a grandiose piece of attitudinizing by Donnan Call Jeffers, Jr., all about ""revenant"" spirits and faith and epistemology. Also--so-so contributions by Timothy Robert Sullivan, Jeff Hecht, and Michael Conner. Aside from the auspicious debut of Sarowitz, a remarkably forgettable collection.

Pub Date: April 11, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION