Raymond's Reviews #150

%T Holocaust Horror
%S Mutants Amok
%V #4
%A Mark Grant 
%I Avon
%D September 1991 
%O paperback, US$2.99 
%P 196
%G 0-380-76192-0 

"Holocaust Horror" demonstrates that Mark Grant, whose leaden pen spouted the hilariously purple phrases that kept us laughing through Mutants Amok Numbers 1, 2, and 3 is finally learning how to use the English language. Unfortunately, his sudden improvement in writing style actually detracts from the reader's enjoyment. Without the ridiculously bad language to add needed humor, his hackneyed plot line, sexist assumptions, and gore-splattered descriptions of carnage merely result in a trite and revolting account of how a handful of heroes save the world from nuclear holocaust. Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss. [CCO]

%T Jokertown Shuffle (Wild Cards IX)
%A George R.R. Martin, ed.
%I Bantam 
%D September 1991
%O paperback, US$4.99
%P 390
%G 0-553-29174-2

"Jokertown Shuffle," like the other story collections set in the Wild Cards universe, features quality writing, increasingly bizarre joker and ace characters, drama, angst, and graphic descriptions of exotic and gory acts of violence. A fine read for hardened Wild Cards fans; readers with weaker stomachs or no knowledge of the series should ease into this unsavory world by reading the earlier collections first. [CCO]

%T Sword and Sorceress VIII
%A Marion Zimmer Bradley, ed.
%I DAW
%D September 1991
%O paperback, US$4.50
%P 285
%G 0-88677-486-1

This is yet another collection by Marian Zimmer Bradley of fantasy stories, mostly by new writers, where magic-wielding women prevail over male oppression by means of their magic, their wits, or both. The assortment of stories range from interesting to merely pretentious, though I would have enjoyed them despite their flaws had Bradley refrained from prefacing each story with cynical commentary about how bad most of the stories of its type usually are. [CCO]