THE LITANY OF SH'REEV

Sh'reev, a sapheaded aristocrat in a decadent and tyrannous society, is one of the few Healers who preserve the ancient art of curing by means of telepathic communication induced by a Taoist litany. The clumsy plot entails a revolution and Sh'reev's passionate involvement with two women at once--another embodiment of the Taoist dualities, see? The sort of book where sexual climax can be described as going nova (numerous astronomical metaphors are muddled into the yin-and-yang theme) and people keep straight faces while telling each other, ""We're not responsible for who we love. . . . And when we love, we're not responsible for what we do.