pete@stc.UUCP (12/02/85)
Very readable, quite entertaining. I haven't read much
RAH recently; this was better than I was lead to expect.
Needs a strong-minded editor to compress the first half.
One alternate universe is much like another. Shouldn't
Alec have noticed environmental differences? (More/less
atmospheric pollution, etc.)
Born-again Christianity isn't such a big deal here - this
makes the discussions in the first half pretty boring.
Perhaps they could have been Irish Protestant and
Catholic? (But this would have made it all too serious?)
Heaven/Hell sequence is good fun. Makes good play of the
fact that even Heaven must be pretty bad if the
inhabitants don't live up to their surroundings. (There
goes the neighbourhood!)
Niven/Pournelle did Hell much better in Inferno
(recommended).
--
Peter Kendell <pete@stc.UUCP>
...!mcvax!ukc!stc!pete
`I've suffered for my art. Now it's your turn.'