psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (05/01/85)
< Smokey the Bar says, "Stamp out software pirates" [squish!] >
Candidia Maria Smith-Foster has just survived World War III. She's a
good survivor. She is a extremely bright person, and extraordinarily
healthy. She's a Fifth Degree Master of Karate. She's the sole occupant of
a well stocked, well defended shelter.
Candy Foster is ten years old. . . .
The best way I can say this is bluntly: the beginning is terrific. The
second part becomes a more-interesting-than-most travelogue. Somewhere in
that second part, Palmer starts exhibiting the traits of Heinlein at his
worst. Mind you, Heinlein (or Palmer, for that matter) at his best is
pretty damn good. Heinlein at his worst is pretty bad. So is Palmer at
Heinlein's worst. The "Competent Man" syndrome starts nagging at the
reader's disbelief, along with the unlikely twists and turns the plot
follows. (The straw that breaks the verisimilitude's back, though, is . . .
is . . . ah, hell's bells, is too much of a spoiler to tell. Don't worry,
you'll recognize it when you see it.) A typical 1980s SF novel: terrific
beginning, unsatisfactory ending.
By the way, some people have complained about the novel's style, which
is to conversational English what Pitman shorthand is to longhand. I liked
it, but then, I'm weird.
--
-Paul S. R. Chisholm
...!{pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc The above opinions are my own,
...!{hocsj,ihnp4}!lznv!psc not necessarily anyone else's,
...!{pegasus,cbosgd}!lzmi!psc including my employer's.