Review of The Alianthrope (Paperback)

Mr. Gangelhoff's magnum opus has caused a stirring success and with good reason. The Odyssean style narrative is in perpetual motion, engaging the reader at every turn to revel in the quirky, kinetic dance which is The Alianthrope. I liken the reading experience of The Alianthrope to the epic speediness of Philip K. Dick because, as with any of Dick's work, the visual construction of the words on the page encourage oculomotor coordinations to go into overdrive. I believe the locomotion of The Alianthrope and the reader's exercisedelineated above primarily motivate saccadic people, which is to say those who can effectively & with precision, give meaning to that strange French word, SACCADE, which describes the most elementary faculty that goes into reading. So when Mr. Gangelhoff says something in his own review of the book to the effect of, 'if you want to graduate from the ninth grade it may be a book worth looking into', he has a point, although one hopes the freshman has encountered things of this nature previously, as in perhaps the fourth or fifth grade.

In The Alianthrope we find characters cloaked in exquisite humor and mercurial impulses; everything is in a protean spin. Amongst a whirling salmagundi of humorous action and arcane references, we find that what at first appeared formidable and discouraging, in terms of language, has become fun and rather lighthearted. Mr. Gangelhoff is clearly not afraid to experiment with syntactical arrangements. Thus, for example, on page 299 Mr. Gangelhoff playfully employs a structurally unorthodox dialogue which bandies a mocking allusion to "postmodern verse" and carries with it a sense Derridian obloquy. Or perhaps obscenity.

Mr. Gangelhoff flips neologisms like a cook making a breakfast of champions might flip flapjacks. The reader is taken logo-dancing through the kitchens of Mr. Gangelhoff's new lexicon, a language spoken by a true logophile. In the book we find words like 'vaped'. We find examples everywhere of the author bending the parameters of the English language. On page 442 we can see such experimentation: "Yes, I've become the compleat anglophile," said Fandango. "A peon of Albion, I paean the pennons of Arthur! " Here the author is having homophonic fun with the language. The book is filled throughout with such linguistic fun. I intend to resume this review anon, and hope that it can be read as a benefit to those who have not yet had the ecstatic experience of The Alianthrope, but more importantly, that it be read by those who have and who know whereof I speak. This review is as yet in unfinished form.







Product Description
ALIENS INVADE EARTH AND STEAL ITS SCIENCE FICTION!


Aliens steal Earth's science fiction and disseminate it across the Universe.Coveted everywhere by all peoples, its possession causes a Universal War of Science Fiction.Only the sci fi fan extraordinaire, Sargon, abducted from Earth and prophesied to rule the Universe, can make the Universe safe for science fiction and return Earth to its rightful throne as the only legitimate birthplace of science fiction. Or can he?

About the Author
Rich Gangelhoff was born in 1957into a middle-class American family.He lived in England until his parents' death in a jet airplane struck by a stray missile, brought himin 1968 to Minnesota.Enraged by his bourgeois environment there,he fled the state in 1975.Dropped out of three universities by 1978, living off his inheritance, he insinuated himself into various libraries across the U.S.A.He then studied dishwashing for three years, after which Target, Inc. imprisoned him for another fourteen.He fled work one day in 1998 to focus on his magnum opus, The Alianthrope.He currently works in a used bookstore, in a self-imposed exile from nowhere.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Alianthrope (Paperback)

Review of Hybrids (Neanderthal Parallax) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a big fan of Sawyer.I loved the first two books of this trilogy, and Hybrid lived up to what I've come to expect from Sawyer.It was a real page turner -- UNTIL about 2/3rds through the book.

Did Sawyer just get tired of writing this trilogy?

All of a sudden, the book turns to silliness.It's almost a parady of Sawyer's work.The theological thoughts are no longer delightful little subplots of a page or two, but drag on and on into endless garbage.The ending reads like a B-Movie from the 1950s with a crazed individual trying to destroy a world.At the stroke of midnight on New Year's -- well, I don't want to spoil the ending for you.It was bad enough for me to have to read it myself.

I often recommend Sawyer's books to friends, but I can't recommend this one.Hopefully this doesn't reflect Sawyer's future work.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Hybrids (Neanderthal Parallax) (Mass Market Paperback)

Review of Alas, Babylon (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

This story deals with the Soviet nuclear attack on America that fortunately didn't happen. Where "On the Beach" was written from a British/ Australian perspective, this book is based in the American south, perhaps making Pat Frank the Pat Conroy of post-apocalyptic fiction. In 1960, during the height of the Cold War, Randy Bragg, descendant of an old Florida family, gets a heads-up from his career Air Force brother and prepares his family and his town for when "the button gets pushed". Younger readers who didn't live through the Cold War might find this story a bit campy, but as one of the kids taught by teachers to hide under my desk, I'm in no position to scoff. The book's short length (by today's standards) might make you take it for pulp fiction at first glance, but the fact that it's still in print four decades later is a testament to its quality. Rather than just crank this thing out, certain that no one would notice the picky details, Frank did his homework on this story. Even down to the dog tag on the collar of a wild stray German shepherd in one passage--as a one-time resident of Rochester NY the same as that dog, I can testify to the fact that the phone exchange on his tag really did exist back in those days...

Product Description
The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the nation with its vivid portrayal of a small town's survival after nuclear holocaust devastates the country.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Alas, Babylon (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

Review of Moonwar (Mass Market Paperback)

I shall write of both "Moonrise" and "Moonwar."

These are the stories of Moonbase, a permanent lunar settlement built by an American corporation in the mid-21st century.These tales chronicle the political and societal tension wrought by unpopular scientific endeavors, and the unforeseen consequences thereof.The books portray a future wherein a new fascism creeps across the entire globe, embraced by a superstitious public, and at dire odds with the free-thinking scientists living on the Moon--men and women who journeyed there to escape the shackles of Earthside ignorance and fear.You will find intrigue, betrayal, villainy, sexual bartering, rugged individualism, and even love within these books' pages.

But Ben Bova's vocabulary is disappointing.His dialog is often uninspired and even predictable.His narrative, his pacing, his exposition, his character development, and even his plot development are all very Saturday matinee.Even worse, his understanding of relationships is shallow.

But what gets these books off the ground and keeps the reader till their last pages is Ben Bova's love of space exploration.The man fervently believes that space exploration will benefit all of mankind, and not just the bureaucrats or big business.When Ben Bova describes an exclusively astronomical scene, his passion is undeniable.In the first book, there's a scene wherein an 18-year-old walks upon the lunar surface for the first time, and it borders on epiphanous.Ben Bova brings the Moon's unique beauty into sharp focus; sometimes, you can actually feel the regolith beneath your boots.It's this passion, I believe, that makes these books worth reading--in spite of their shortfalls.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Moonwar (Mass Market Paperback)

Review of End of An Era (Paperback)

In my recent trip to the beach, I took along my old copy of Robert Sawyer's End of An Era, a science ficton novel set in both the near future and the distant past. Ten years ago, when I read it for the first time, I was impressed enough by the work that I've been on a Robert Sawyer kick ever since.

A little about the story... In the not-so-distant future, a team of two scientists are sent back on a first, experimental mission into the past, to study and resolve questions regarding the fall of the dinosaurs at the end of the Jurassic. Old friends these two are, but there are recent, and large, strains on their relationship: a divorce, an affair, family illness, to name a few. So, perhaps sending them into the past together is not the best idea, but they have to make do with each other--and what they find.

Sawyer clearly and concisely reviews the theories regarding the extinction of the dinosaurs, and introduces his own...I grant you, with no real evidence, but it makes for an entertaining spin. Along the way, time travel paradox issues are also touched upon, as well as current issues such as public science funding, the economy, and AIDS. The story makes for an entertaining and quick read, and the main character is portrayed as flawed, yet likeable, and intelligent. Hard science fiction, this is not...but that's OK, as the introduction of new concepts and spins on classic problems make this a keeper.

Sawyer containues to be one of the authors I try to keep up with these days, and I do recommend this book to science fiction fans.




Click Here to see more reviews about: End of An Era (Paperback)

Review of Red Thunder (Paperback)

This book is a departure for John Varley, which he pulls off impressively.It has the feel of the later (non-juvenile)Heinlein "juveniles" (particularly Tunnel In the Sky), and this is obviously not an accident -- a number of references to Heinlein's work are scattered throughout, and I'm not sure I found them all.As in "Jubal, this is Manny my best friend."

The story is simple and outrageous -- 4 diverse twenty-year-olds stumble across a drunkard ex-astronaut, who just happens to have an eccentric genius cousin, who just happens to have invented the perfect space drive (an energy-producing device seemingly of infinite efficiency).For a number of reasons, it seems like a good plan for them to surreptitiously build a spaceship and go to Mars, hoping to beat the competing Chinese and American missions already on the way.

Of course, it's never that simple, and several varieties of black hats and paranoia impede their attempt, things go wrong, people need rescuing, but all is right, and more than right, in the end.

If you're looking for deep meaning or angst, look elsewhere.If you want a book to ENJOY they way you did when you were reading "Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" or "Double Star", go buy this book.

A fine book for hopeful people of all ages.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Red Thunder (Paperback)