Raymond's Reviews #158

%T Mirabile
%A Janet Kagan
%I TOR
%D October 1991
%O clothbound, US$18.95
%P 276
%G ISBN 0-312-85220-7

Janet Kagan has uttered a novel that is funny, wise, original, touching and exemplifies the SF tradition at its best. As you read the tales of the Mirabile colony's "jasons", the specialists who deal with the mutants and chimeras sprung from imported Earth stock, you'll be more and more impressed by her inventiveness, talent and gift for the offbeat character. Do not miss this! Buy it, even at hardcover prices!

%T The Giants Novels
%A James P. Hogan
%I Del Rey
%D October 1991
%O clothbound, US$16.00
%P 517
%G ISBN 0-345-37381 

Here's a true treat for the hard-SF fan --- a handsome reissue of James Hogan's trilogy Inherit The Stars, The Gentle Giants Of Ganymede, and Giant's Star. Hogan blazed like a nova in the SF firmament of the late Seventies when these came out and they're still terrific the second time around. Indulge yourself, and make this a permanent addition to your collection.

%T Playgrounds of the Mind
%A Larry Niven
%I TOR
%D October 1991
%O clothbound, US$22.95
%P 485
%G ISBN 0-312-85219

If you are a Larry Niven fan (I am), you must have this book. It's a fascinating collection of familiar and unfamiliar --- short stories, novel excerpts, reminiscences, outlines for stuff not yet written, all manner of odds and ends that add up to more than the sum of their parts. Maybe you want to wait till the paperback happens, though...

%T Chernevog     
%A C.J. Cherryh
%I Del Rey 
%D October 1991
%O paperback, US$5.99
%P 315
%G 0-345-37351-0 

"Chernevog" shares with "Rusalka," the first novel in this series, an unusual distinction; both are fantasy novels that primarily explore moral ideas. In Cherryh's medieval Russia, wizards can change things, places, people and events by simply wishing them to be different. But should they? And if so, how and when? If you crave swash and buckle in your fantasy reading, these books will bore you. However, if you appreciate the opportunity to watch believable, likeable characters grow into better people as the story unfolds, you will find these books absorbing. [CCO]