1983 - Year in SF&F: Reviews
THE WONDER TIMELINE: SF&F RETROSPECTIVE Read other issues here ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- William Gibson "Red Star, Winter Orbit" (with Bruce Sterling) © OMNI, Jul 1983 Burning Chrome, 1986 --novelette : 1984 Locus /19 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ style award --/ adventure award Great subject matter from the Eighties: the story is set on an aging Soviet space station and deals with some crazed Russian cosmonauts who stayed in orbit for too long. Another good example of such an affront to the pride of Soviet Space Program would be the similar episode in the movie "Armageddon", where the crazed cosmonaut is shown truly "spaced out" and very probably drunk. It is still "a mystery of mysteries" to me, how quite miserable Soviet technology could meet the demands of Russian ambitions in space (or how the rudimentary Sixties computers could put Americans on the Moon). It's almost like the mechanisms and chips themselves smarten up and begin to work better when hearing phrases like "the last frontier" or "the will of the people". Come to think of it, I'm amazed even by the consistent performance of millions of contacts and hundreds of chips in a normal fighter jet. So many things could go wrong and yet they rarely do. review: 2-Sep-06 (read in 1987) ---------------------------------------------- Tim Powers "The Anubis Gates" (nv) © 1983, Ace Books - novel : 1984 Philip K. Dick award W - fantasy novel : 1984 Locus/2 - novel : 1984 SF Chronicle award W - novel : 1986 British SF award - 1987 Apollo award W - fantasy novel (before 1990) : 1998 Locus All-Time Poll/14 - fantasy book : 2001 Geffen award W --/ FIRST place time sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ idea award --/ style award --/ awesome scale There’s a scene in The Anubis Gates that’s stayed with me ever since I first read it, some twenty or so years ago: our hero, Brendan Doyle, a professor at California State University Fullerton (one of my old alma maters, by the way), has found himself magically transported back to London in 1810. Doyle, fascinated by a time he’s only read about, but also devastated that he’s trapped forever in the past, is walking through a street market when he hears someone whistling a tune, a song he suddenly realizes he knows. The tune? “Yesterday” by the Beatles. For me, that’s a special moment of brilliance in a novel packed full of all kinds of brilliances: a shivering little touch of perfect story-telling. One of the things I think is particularly excellent about the book is the way that Powers sort of restrains himself in his writing. Put it this way, if someone else were to write The Anubis Gates, especially these days, they’d have a tendency to make the book’s language too closely mirror the style and language of the time. But what Tim Powers does in The Anubis Gates is, instead, get to the basic – and fantastic – nature of a book from that time without resorting to overly-elaborate tricks. The story-telling language in The Anubs Gates is the best kind of writing, smooth and seamless – infinitely readable and totally enjoyable. But back to what makes The Anubis Gates so special. Like I said, what Powers has done is create an marvelously enjoyable book filled with the characters and details that feel like they’ve come from every Penny Dreadful and broadsheet from the 1800s: Horrabin, the nightmare clown and king of the London beggars; Jacky, the beggar who is actually the daughter of nobility on a quest for revenge; Amenophis Fikee, magician and leader of a gypsy clan cursed to become the body-thief Dog-Faced Joe, and so much more. But The Anubis Gates is not just a playground for the author’s vivid imagination, for many real literary and historical celebrities also walk across the stage: Byron, publisher John Murray and many others. The world Powers creates – or just the past of the real world he plays in -- feels vivid, real, and always enjoyable. In the end, the Anubis Gates remains a classically stylish and brightly imaginative novel told in a delightfully elegant way – an enjoyable read that feels timeless, which is quite an accomplishment for a book about time and travel. Review by author M. Christian ---------------------------------------------- Return to the Wonder Timeline Labels: Timeline |
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"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews! Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here. All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE ("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only) Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE: --/ first place : --/ second place : --/ third place : --/ fourth place : --/ cool : (equal to fifth place) ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE These awards are given in the following categories: - novel : - series : - novella : - story : - collection : Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader: --/ wonder award sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness --/ idea award originality of idea / concept --/ adventure award exhilarating plot, excitement / action --/ style award outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style --/ romance award intense and beautiful love / relationships --/ humour award funny and cool --/ emotion award touching, lasting impression, sensitivity --/ shock value altogether wild --/ awesome scale mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder --/ rare find very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc. Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comment under every writer's entry; also recommend us other stories you liked. |
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