duane@anasazi.UUCP (Duane Morse) (03/05/86)
The jacket reads: "If an alien life form can adapt to human shape and emotions and actually believes itself to be human, does that make it a man? That was one of the problems confronting the colonists on Marilyn when they discovered the shape-changing amorphs. At first the creatures were used simply as a labour force, then an experiment produced a super-amorph--and a rebellion. And out of that came something else, something with galaxy-shaking implications: an amorph female gave birth to a baby that would think no evil... to a new messiah?" The jacket description is very misleading in that it covers events from the beginning to the end of the novel, leading the reader to think that the birth mentioned occurs early enough to figure into the plot. It doesn't. All of the action takes place on the newly-colonized planet Marilyn. The conditions there and the behavior of the colonists seem quite believable. The main characters portrayed are somewhat stereotyped: dedicated supervisor, greedy and egotistical tycoon, long-suffering girl friend, eccentric scientist, and so on. The investigation into the nature of the amorphs is very interesting, mainly from the psychological and sociological standpoints. The story kept me well entertained until around the last quarter, and that last part isn't bad; it just doesn't measure up to what precedes it. I give this book 3.0 stars (very good). I don't hesitate to recommend it to others to read, but it's not a book I'd keep permanently. By the way, this was Mr. Coney's first book (copyright 1972). -- Duane Morse ...!noao!terak!anasazi!duane (602) 870-3330
duane@anasazi.UUCP (Duane Morse) (03/05/86)
The jacket reads: "If an alien life form can adapt to human shape and emotions and actually believes itself to be human, does that make it a man? That was one of the problems confronting the colonists on Marilyn when they discovered the shape-changing amorphs. At first the creatures were used simply as a labour force, then an experiment produced a super-amorph--and a rebellion. And out of that came something else, something with galaxy-shaking implications: an amorph female gave birth to a baby that would think no evil... to a new messiah?" The jacket description is very misleading in that it covers events from the beginning to the end of the novel, leading the reader to think that the birth mentioned occurs early enough to figure into the plot. It doesn't. All of the action takes place on the newly-colonized planet Marilyn. The conditions there and the behavior of the colonists seem quite believable. The main characters portrayed are somewhat stereotyped: dedicated supervisor, greedy and egotistical tycoon, long-suffering girl friend, eccentric scientist, and so on. The investigation into the nature of the amorphs is very interesting, mainly from the psychological and sociological standpoints. The story kept me well entertained until around the last quarter, and that last part isn't bad; it just doesn't measure up to what precedes it. I give this book 3.0 stars (very good). I don't hesitate to recommend it to others to read, but it's not a book I'd keep permanently. By the way, this was Mr. Coney's first book (copyright 1972). -- Duane Morse ...!noao!terak!anasazi!duane (602) 870-3330