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In the science fiction house there are many mansions -- the two major ones are Science Fiction and Fantasy. Far too much time and ink have been wasted over the years in attempting to draw a line between these two genres, and I don't intend to waste more now. Suffice it to say that sf generally deals with things (like missions to Mars, genetic surgery, and lifeforms on distant planets) that are possible within the framework of current knowledge, while fantasy concentrates on those things (like elves, wizards and magic spells) which are impossible so far as we know.
Science fiction fans come in three varieties: Those who read both sf and fantasy, those who prefer only sf, and those who read nothing but fantasy. Life being what it is, individuals in the latter two groups usually marry one another.
This month, we have something for everyone.
Frederik Pohl is a legend in the sf field. In his 45-year career he has played every possible role: fan, editor, agent...and writer. His latest book, Narabedla, Ltd., is a page-turner chock full of excitement, adventure and Pohl's own brand of good-natured satire, sure to please sf lovers.Nolly Stennis once had a promising opera career, until an adult case of mumps stole his golden throat. So he became an accountant specializing in the tax returns of opera stars. One thing haunted him: the multi-billion dollar conglomerate Narabedla Ltd.
Narabedla had once made Nolly a strange offer: a tremendous salary for a musical tour to parts unspecified, the only condition being that he would be totally out of touch with the rest of the world. Disease intervened, and Nolly never accepted Narabedla's offer. But some of his clients received the same offer, and those who accepted...vanished.
Nolly Stennis is not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be -- he is Everyman, who in his own bumbling fashion starts investigating Narabedla. A few cloak-and-dagger episodes later, he is knocked unconscious, and awakes in the strangest place he has ever seen.
For Narabedla, you see, is nothing more than a backwards spelling of the star Aldebaran...and Nolly's adventures on the second moon of Aldebaran's seventh planet would drive any man mad.
Narabedla's business is performers: for centuries, the company has been kidnapping singers, actors and dancers, then sending them on tours throughout the Galaxy.
Any red-blooded man would want to escape and return to Earth, and Nolly is no exception. Not even the knowledge that some of his fellow performers are hundreds of years old, kept young by Narabedla's advanced science, can keep him from wanting to return home.
But then Narabedla offers to restore his lost voice...
Nolly Stennis is every one of us, faced with a shocking, unfamiliar and sometimes dangerous new world. Yet when the chips are down, there's a heroism within him that agrees with something w‚e‚ feel. Fred Pohl makes us laugh at ourselves; yet at the same time he makes us aware of what a truly wonderful thing it is to be human.
(Incidentally, Pohl is not the first to pull the "Narabedla" trick -- the word also occurs in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Falcons of Narabedla, which was first published in 1957.)
Those who prefer fantasy will not be disappointed by John Gregory Betancourt's The Blind Archer. It has a wizard, a quest, all-powerful gods and evil demons -- in short, everything that makes a good fantasy.Young Ker Orrum is the son of the Baron of Vilchir. His father wants Ker to become a scholar, but Ker desires to learn magic and become a wizard. On his thirteenth birthday, Ker makes a traditional pilgrimage to the village Oracle, and his life changes. The Oracle tells him that he is fated to win a great ruby that belongs to the god Derethigon (the blind archer of the title).
Against his father's wishes, Ker sets out on this task. It isn't long before he runs into Derethigon, who challenges Ker to an archery contest. Brash and foolhardy, Ker agrees -- and unsurprisingly, he loses to the god. Derethigon, laughing, claims his prize: he steals Ker's face.
Blind, mute and unable to smell, Ker stumbles away. But then a wizard, one of Derethigon's servants, takes pity on him. "Serve me for five years," he tells the boy, "And I will get your face back."
Now begins the real tale. The wizard, whose name is Biur, takes Ker back to Treshemna, the magical kingdom of the gods. Ker becomes Biur's apprentice, and starts learning the ways of magicAlmost at once, Biur and Ker set forth on a holy mission, tracking down some demons who have stolen the sacred bones of the god Shon Atasha. On that mission, Ker learns more of magic and its strange ways than he ever wished, and finally finds true fulfillment and the meaning of his life.
The success of a book like The Blind Archer depends largely upon its concept of magic. In Betancourt's world, magic is an inborn talent, like singing or gymnastics, which requires rigorous practice and coaching -- rather than a discipline like accounting which can be learned. Ker Orrum has the talent, Biur provides the coaching, and events conspire to force Ker to practice. His transition from inexperienced beginner to full wizard takes the entire book, and is completely believable.
In the final analysis, this is a book about growing up. When we first meet Ker, he is a typical twelve-year-old: impulsive, emotional, rebellious and somewhat paranoid. Based on nothing more than an oracle's prediction, he challenges a god -- only when it's too late does he realize that he's been stupid. Throughout the story, Ker's pride and his inexperience are the obstacles he must overcome.
Overcome them he does, to the reader's great amusement. The Blind Archer will be a popular book for adolescent readers, especially those who like stories of wizards and magic; adults, too, will enjoy watching Ker bumble his way to the threshold of manhood.
Every Easter weekend a group of Baltimore sf fans presents the Compton Crook Memorial Award for the best new sf novel of the previous year. (Compton Crook was a Baltimore-area sf writer who published under the pseudonym "Stephen Tall.") This year's winner of the Crook Award is one of those rare books which will appeal to readers of both fantasy and sf.Christopher Hinz's Liege-Killer is set in the year 2307. In the 21st century the world ended: wars, ecological disasters and economic collapse left most of Earth's surface completely lifeless. The worst element of the Apocalypse were the dreaded Paratwa -- products of genetic manipulation, more-than-human creatures bred for fighting. No army, let alone any single man, could stand against a Paratwa armed with the terrible Cohe wand.
Under the direction of the E-Tech Alliance, Mankind moved into space. Now, two centuries later, over a billion people live in the Colonies, artificial habitats in Earth orbit. The society of the Colonies is a peaceful one, a happy and rewarding one for most of its citizens.
Rome Franco, current director of E-Tech and one of the most influential men in the Colonies, is satisfied -- until the morning when he hears of a murder in Lamalan Colony. Further investigation reveals an awful truth: a Paratwa assassin has been reanimated, and is free.
Following his predecessors' instructions for such a calamity, Rome reanimates two sleepers from the past: two men who fought -- and defeated -- Paratwa in the pre-Apocalyptic world. But as his investigation continues, Rome uncovers layer upon layer of hidden meanings, assumed identities and centuries-long secret schemes. Do the Paratwa still exist...and are they still planning the ultimate conquest of Humanity? By awakening the sleepers, has Rome saved his civilization...or doomed it?
Christopher Hinz has written a thriller, an adventure story, a brilliant sf novel and a powerful fantasy all within one cover. There is enough fighting, enough scheming, enough scientific and sociological extrapolation, enough characterization and more than enough well-developed background to hold any reader. The world of the Colonies is shown in loving detail; the complex plot unfolds in a straightforward and inevitable manner, with each surprise coming in exactly the right place and with exactly the right amount of foreshadowing.
If Hinz's writing is sometimes a bit unpolished, it doesn't matter...the excitement of the book keeps us glued. If the book seems somewhat too strongly flavored with trendy "cyberpunk" elements, we are quick to forgive. Liege-Killer is a joy to read, a story that stays in the mind long after the last page is done. The Crook Award committee made the right choice: this is the best first novel to come around in a long time. Would that many veteran writers could turn out a story this good!
There we have it: one for the sf fanciers, one for the fantasy devotees, and one for everybody who likes a good book no matter what the genre.
BOOKS REVIEWED:
Narabedla, Ltd. by Frederik Pohl. Del Rey, 1988. $16.95. 375 pages.
The Blind Archer‚ by John Gregory Betancourt. Avon, 1988. $2.95. 233 pages.
Liege-Killer by Christopher Hinz. St. Martin's Press, 1987. $3.95. 458 pages.
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