dcn@ihuxl.UUCP (Dave Newkirk) (03/12/84)
I just read "The Practice Effect" by David Brin - a new book that caught me by surprise last weekend. I checked the publication date to make sure, and it said 1984! Anyway, it is a light-hearted book that makes the old idea of alternate universes (where magic really works) enjoyable and almost believable, even to a hard SF fan such as myself. As our hero is leaving his world, he is informed by his rival that one of the laws of thermodynamics seems to be a little different in the other world. The first half of the book is the hero's attempt to discover just what is different about the alternate universe and his attempts to return to Earth. The second half turns into a slightly less interesting chase sequence and a battle, but overall the quality and imagination remains at a fairly high level, with an occasional chuckle thrown in. I recommend the book highly. Dave Newkirk, ihnp4!ihuxl!dcn