duane@anasazi.UUCP (Duane Morse) (09/20/85)
The jacket reads: Philip 733-2209-1, pilot for the Federated League, defied his government's oldest law to return to an Earth abandoned centures before...and Earth transformed...an Earth whose inhabitants had become masters of magic. What he found branded him a criminal and started a war--a battle between deadly technology and equally deadly illusion--that neither side could hope to win. He count not forsee that an enemy stronger than either side was soon to reveal its terrifying powers. Or that Earth and the Federated League would join foces in a desperate struggle against a foe whose very existence threatened to end all human life forever! Don't be deceived. The book's a lot better than the jacket makes it look. The story starts out with the following setting. A large number of people left earth before a looming catastrophe could take place. These folks travelled to another solar system and raised a new civilization, one predicated on genetic manipulation and suppression of emotions. Meanwhile, the earth was wracked with upheavals of various sorts, but many people survived and developed some "magical" abilities. The folks on earth remember that the others left and have some ill feelings toward those who fled. Earth hasn't been visited by the genetically superior people for hundreds of years, and the planet is still off limits. The breeding program hasn't worked perfectly, however, and a number of the space farers are discontent. One, Philip, uses the opportunity of a scouting mission to visit Earth. Enough of the setting. I found the story very engrossing. There are a number of interesting themes, and there's always at least two things going on at a time. The characters seem real and mostly sympathetic. The blend of fantasy and technology is fairly good. The pocketbook is 512 pages long. My only serious complaint is that the author tried to do too much in one book. He had enough good material for three books, and I found the development at the end of the book to be a little thin compared to what had gone before. I heartily recommend this book, giving it 3.5 stars (very very good). -- Duane Morse ...!noao!terak!anasazi!duane (602) 870-3330