bub@ames.UUCP (Bubbette McLeod) (09/17/84)
With all this pro-ing and con-ing of Piers Anthony nobody has mentioned
Macroscope, which I thought was just great. The concept of the signal
from space that would drive you crazy only if you were above a certain
level of intelligence was particularly intriguing (I mean, what would it
contain be?). Is Macroscope out of print (I read it a long time ago) or did
I just miss any remarks about it? I think most of his other stuff is
too similar. He seems to have a sort of standard plot and characters and
just changes the situations, location, and brand of aliens.
Bub
{dual,hao,ihnp4,philabs,vortex}!ames!bubhsut@ecn-ee.UUCP (09/24/84)
I agree. Macroscope is probably the best thing Piers Anthony
has ever written (what has he put out since then that's even close?)
I, too, read it several years ago and can only remember the
intriguing split personality sequences and the hallucinatory
battle scenes near the end which compare well with Zelazny. Anthony
also wrote a nice story for Harlan Ellison's "Again, Dangerous
Visions" called In The Barn, which is definitely worth reading. I
haven't been impressed with his recent stuff. Looks like a classic
case of a promising young talent's degeneration into hackhood...
Bill Hsu
pur-ee!hsut