Book Description
The satellite-sized alien Gaea has gone completely insane. She has transformed her love of old movies into monstrous realities. She is Marilyn Monroe. She is King Kong. And now she must be destroyed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Great Read
While not for the young (although I first read it when I was very young), this is a great book and by far one of the best I've ever read.John Varley is a unique and creative author.

Not Free SF Reader
The conflict between Jones, her allies, and Gaea, a particularly crazy
very powerful being, continues. Varley uses this to comment on and
satirise a religion or six, in passing, as well as throw in a whole
bunch of whacky movie stuff, like attack of the 50 foot Marilyn Monroe,
horny King Kongs and other such wildness.

So from that point of view, the last book is a bit more interesting, and definitely more fun via this crazy war.

If Andre Breton wrote Sci Fi this is what it would be like...
I loved these books - they have stayed with me a long time. There is something so vivid about the place, and so satisfying about the descriptive writing, that my memory of Gaea is a lot like my memory of the painted desert, the Forbidden City, or the west coast of Scotland - that is it seems exotic - but real.

I really wish Mr. Varley would go back to Gaea, b/c then I could go back.How 'bout it John?

A fitting resolution
Though not quite as good as Wizard, this is a satisfying and pleasing resolution to the story line. Though the conclusion is telegraphed 3/4's through the book if not earlier it still was not disappointing.

This is the most plot driven, character intensive of the three books. Exploration and discovery of Gaea are minimal and thus the wonderment of the previous books is lessened.

The plot is developed naturally from what we knew before, the Hollywood obsessed ancient goddess is losing more of her faculties and needs to be dealt with. A plan is hatched and carried out.

As with Wizard, the beginning sees the introduction of a new character who becomes a major companion of Cirocco as well as the reappearance of some of the original crew for the conclusion of the book.

Like all the best endings, it is merely an ending, not the ending with many questions created and possibilities revealed for the future of Gaea, and the characters.

A satisfying conclusion to this imaginative trilogy
Demon, the conclusion of the Gaean trilogy, is in my opinion the most satisfying of the three.In the first two books, I frequently got the feeling that Varley had bitten off more than he could chew, character-wise, and so filled in the gap with gratuitous sex scenes and fetishistically detailed descriptions of alien genitalia and reproductive modes.In constrast, Demon confines itself to being an epic adventure and does very well in this role.

Demon is more "stylistic" than the others.It is set up as a triple feature from the pre-cineplex days of motion pictures, broken into pieces like "Newsreel," "Short Subjects," "Feature One," etc...This affectation works well given Demon's subject matter.Gaea's godhood has finally driven her completely insane, and she has decided that all the world should be a film of her devising, that she is the arch-villain, and that it can only end with a hero coming to kill her.

In his descriptions of the insane deity, Varley uses all his considerable resources of imagination and humor.She has taken the incarnate form of a fifty-foot tall Marilyn Monroe and constructed an enormous movie studio / theatre / theme park called Pandemonium, where she and her lieutenants, mostly undead reconstructions of humanity's major religious figures (Martin Luther, Buddha, L. Ron Hubbard), await the coming of a hero and commit various atrocities.

Varley spares none of his imagination in constructing Cirocco's allies for this final conflict, either.The best-constructed of these is Snitch, a small reptilian imp surgically extracted from Cirocco's own brain and a direct link to the mind of Gaea.Many of the characters from the first two novels also return, although in a changed form.For example, Gaby has become a ghost in Gaea's brain, Chris is in the process of turning into a Titanide, and Nasu the anaconda has grown to several kilometers in length.

In short, in the long tradition of epic heroism, Demon places an array of unlikely characters against a self-proclaimed Pure Evil, and in the end, they triumph.It stretches a bit long in places, and many of the inter-character interactions are more than a little thin, but that isn't the point.This is a book about being a hero, and a fairly good one at that. ... Read more

Book Description
Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Strickland-otherwise known as Podkayne-is a third-generation Martian. Her grandfather, Manny, was one of the first men to set foot on Mars. So Poddy has some planet-sized shoes to fill. That's why she's joined the Music, Arts, and Drama Division of the Martian Navy. Though some may say her voice is a weapon in itself, Poddy passed the audition. And now she's going to Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, to be an entertainer. But she's about to learn that there's plenty of danger to go around in the Martian Navy, even if you've just signed on to sing. ... Read more

Book Description
Second in the Gaean Trilogy. Human explorers have entered the sprawling mind of the alien Gaea. Now they must fight her will. For she is much too powerful. And definitely insane. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Great series by a wonderful author
This series is perhaps easiest described as "Wizard of Oz - but with aliens".Sucked into an alien environment the crew of a spaceship struggles to survive and find a way to escape and return home. Varley does a great job painting pictures with his words, and the characters are all fascinatingly flawed.

I really recommend all three books (Titan, Wizard, Demon) in this series.I discovered this series, and this author, while buying and reading cheap used paperbacks whilein college in the 1990s.He has been one of my favorite authors every since.I think I've now read everything he's written.

I really believe the plots Mr. Varley weaves are as good as any author in Science Fiction history, and his characters and character development are much better in my opinion than some of the big name pillars of scifi such as Asimov and Heinlein (i like both of those authors, dont get me wrong - especially Heinlein - but I prefer Varley's characters and story telling style).This is an early series of his, so it doesn't have all of the depth and amazing vision of the future that his later novels and characters can provide, but that doesn't detract much from the wonderful story and plot twists in this series.

I really recommend his "Steel Beach" and especially "The Golden Globe", both excellent novels as well.The "Ophiuchi Hotline" and "Blue Champagne" are also especially good stories. I am not such a great fan of his softer scifi stories like Red Thunder and Mammoth, but thats just my preference in general with scifi subjects.

Highly recommended author.

Surpasses Titan
I'd give it 4.5 stars if I was able.

Whereas Titan was a very good explore the big space object novel as good as or better than Ringworld or Rendezvous with Rama, Wizard improves with some new characters and fleshes out Cirroco and Gaby from Titan.

Gaea, the living entity/world has now established an embassy on Earth and allows immigration/visitors a few generations after Titan. Supplicants in need of something from Gaea such as a disease cured are allowed to come to Gaea and she amuses herself by making them perform "heroic" feats to get the boon they wish.

We are introduced to two characters from Earth, a youngish girl from a space colony of lesbians suffering from a type of epilipsy, and a fellow with what seems to be multiple personality disorder. After reaching Gaea they join up with Cirroco and Gaby and the story really takes off.

All of the sense of wonder of exploration from Titan is still evidenced here, and is even more imaginative. However the characters struggling with their issues as well as the environment is what drives the story and makes you care what happens. Cirroco has become a functional alchoholic, Gaby remains the most normal but bears the scars of loving Cirroco.

Visiting the regional brains of Gaea allows the two visitors from Earth to develop their character while showing us more of the wonders of Gaea. Eventually we learn the visit is to sound out the possibility of a rebellion and the dramatic tension heightens.

Though the book provides full closure to the story, there is a definite hook to Demon which will make you want to move right on.

This is a fast-paced, fun read that is more than worth your while. I cannot believe I have waited this long to experience this bravura performance.

A pleasant few hours' diversion
The Gaean trilogy is one of the classics of space operatic adventure. Wizard tries to be more than that. It tries to be a novel of difficult moral questions, of individuals who are at odds with the standards of their society, of individuals that must make decisions that affect everyone in their society for better or for worse. It doesn't do a very good job of that, though. It is a wonderful space opera, but weak as a psychological novel.

Varley isn't afraid to sketch complex characters. Every one of the main characters of Wizard is to some extent or another mad. Since the events of Titan, Cirocco Jones has cracked under the weight of serving as Gaea's Wizard and become a depressive alcoholic. Gaby's century of unrequited love for Cirocco has filled her with bitter resignation. And over the course of the novel, Gaea herself no longer looks like the mostly benign, albeit callous deity she was in Titan, but instead is revealed as contemptous of mortal life and absolutely nuts. Of the new protagonists, Chris suffers from bouts of possession by other personalities, while Robin has a genetic epilepsy that has led her to cut herself off from the rest of her culture, a space colony of lesbian witches.

But having assembled this motley crew, Varley just writes an imaginitive, but fairly typical, adventure fantasy that revolves around the protagonists repeatedly being almost killed by alien monsters. Their respective psychoses manifest themselves when dramatically convenient and may as well be absent the rest of the time. Most of the inter-character development comes through the characters either jumping in bed with each other or talking about how they would want to jump in bed with each other if only it weren't such a bad idea. Doing these characters proper justice requires more subtlety than Wizard offers.

Wizard is good space fantasy adventure, but nothing more.

With a god like this, who wants heaven?
We were introduced to the alien Gaea in Titan, when our characters came to investigate. Now we get to explore it in a great-circle journey around the rim, visiting almost every region.
John Varley has created an intriguing, unique landscape in this installment of his trilogy. Not only is Gaea a world and a god, but she is also a political being with a sharp eye towards the future. It is only in Demon that we see how shrewd she really is, but for now she presents herself as the benign but not really caring omnipotent who grants cures to people with interesting diseases. The catch is that applicants have to perform an heroic deed first.
We get some fascination candidates; an Earth man and a Witch from an orbiting colony. These two meet our heroes from Titan, and all set out along the river looking for adventure. Our old friends Cirrocco and Gaby who were the first humans to encounter Gaea have an ulterior motive for this little venture though, one that could change Gaea forever.
All the characters here are so well written they become like old friends in a very short time. There are also moments of humor in here that made me giggle uncontrollably, endearing these people to me even more.
Titanides are the most original, interesting and wonderful creatures ever conceived in fiction of any genre, from their instictive ablilty to understand and make music of any kind in existence to the myriad ways and means of conception. They are the most talked-about species in the book, but there are tons of other strange things to see and/or run away from. Blimps, Subs, buzzbombs, angels, sandworms and even King Kong! Readers of scifi will see Varley paying tribute to many other scifi greats along the journey.
So here in Wizard, our little troupe sets off down the river, that flows around the world, that is Gaea, who is not sane. Anything can happen in a place like that, but to find out why, you have to READ IT!

What if the Goddess REALLY hated you?
Wizard is the second and best book in the Gaea trilogy, one of the best trilogies ever.It brings back most of the characters from the first book, shakes them up quite a bit, and adds some new ones.Cirocco Jones, the heroine of "Titan" and now officially known as the Wizard, is back - but she's a fairly hopeless drunk.Gaby, very much in love with Cirocco, has a hard time doing Gaea's errands without the magic powers granted to Cirocco, while taking care of Cirocco.Then there are the new characters - Chris, who loses his mind on a regular basis and has zero self-esteem; and Robin, a witch with an extreme condition resembling epilepsy and a major attitude problem.Together, they set out on a journey to visit all of Gaea's "regional brains", the demi-gods who live under Gaea's skin and control the lands surrounding them.From the moment they set out, they are threatened by evil humans and malevolent aliens, including the sinister buzzbombs.Buzzbombs, which are intelligent jet fighters complete with symbiotic heatseeking missiles, are my favourite aliens ever.""Wizard" is full of wonderful symbolism, imagery borrowed from classic films, and Varley's fantastic imagination.It also features some fairly graphic interspecies sex, and a little extreme violence, so it's not for everyone - Star Trek this is not.But it's a wonderful mix of social exploration, ethics, some of the most imaginative landscapes in the genre, and action that begs for James Cameron to film it. ... Read more

Book Description
John Varley's monumental Gaean trilogy--repackaged. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (57)

Not Free SF Reader
A fairly average story, of an encounter with a strange artifact, which
of course turns out to be alien. It often seems more obsessed with how
the characters look with no clothes on, and whether they are skinny
enough, than with the actual story. Almost a bit like the bad Heinlein.

Clearly there is supposed to be sexual role and identity commentary here, but I am not sure it works particularly well.

Make up your mind, Varley!
Titan is one of John Varley's most highly acclaimed books, Tom Clancy calling him "the best writer in America." Having read Varley's most recent work, "Mammoth", I would have given that sentiment some credence. That is why I chose to pick up "Titan". However, by chapter 3 this author had me so confused, I felt that I couldn't continue reading.

The book begins with the crew of the Ringmaster(spaceship)coming into orbit around Saturn, on a exploratory mission near one of its moons. Varley tells us there are seven people on the ship; 4 females and 3 males. Their names are : Cirocco, Gaby, April and August, then Gene, Bill, and Calvin. Easy to follow enough right? But then he keeps talking about a C. Jones on the ship, who may or may not be the captain. So I'm thinking is Calvin the captain? But he has already told us that Calvin is the Doctor, and he keeps implying one of the females is the captain. The dialogue often goes on without emphasis on who's speaking, making it more confusing. Then he talks about "Rocky" which must be a nickname for somebody on the crew, but it is not clear who it is.

If the characters were the only confusing part of the text, then I could just go on reading and hope to figure it out later in the book. But then the crew spots a satellite that has been as of yet unknown, and decide to call it Themis. Okay, no sweat. He describes the satellite

pg. 3 Cirocco: "Just how big is it?"
August:" I should say about two or three kilometers."

pg. 11 Someone "I bounced radar signals off it. They came back
telling me Themis is over 1300 km in diameter
Someone "That makes it Saturn's third largest moon

pg. 18 CiroccoShe had to keep reminding herself of the size of the
thing. 1300 meters in diameter, 4000 around the outer
rim.

pg. 24 Author Themis was 1300 kilometers across and 250 kilometers
wide.

I kept having to go back and see if I had read wrong. There is another part where he is describing what the ship looked like. He went through this long description, then finally just says, "It looked like the ship in the movie "2001: a space Odyssey"". Look, just draw a picture next time, and come up with your own ship.

This book just kept disappointing me. It's not often I stop reading a book before I'm finished, but too much inconsistencies just really turned me off to it.

My favorite Science Fiction Series
This book begins my all time favorite Science Fiction series: the Gaea Trilogy. I first discovered it by accident in my high school library. I was intrigued by the illustrations and decided to check it out. I quickly was captivated and amazed the High School would stock such a sexually explicit book! But the characters and their discovery of Gaea are what makes the book so compelling, even haunting. Cirocco Jones is one of the greatest female sci-fi heroes of all time and Gaby is no slouch either. Please if you love adventures that push characters too their limits and force them to question who they really are, then by all means give this book a chance.

disappointing early effort from an author better later
I greatly enjoyed some of Varley's later work, so I decided to back up and try this series.I am relieved I only bought the first book.Its shallow characters and predictable plotline left me unwilling to read very far in it.Worse, to my unpleasant surprise, it has line drawing illustrations clearly aimed at the fantasy life of adolescent males - don't read this in an airport where a child and her outraged mother might catch a glimpse of the illustrations.Sorry I bought it but I give it 2 stars rather than 1 because there is at least some effort at a plot.

Interesing and slightly unique, yet a little choppy....
Titan is an older story of astronauts caught into another alien world while exploring space. They are put into a world that has many earth-like similarities, yet are still alien. There is some emphasis on homosexuality, yet a lot of interesting scientific and technical references that will keep any sci-fi geek (like me) happy. While the book had a unique and interesting plot, Varley seemed to have dropped the ball on a couple of areas. First off the book starts off with a whole section dedicated to the captain and her promiscuous ways. It was an immediate turn off. I didn't see why we needed to read who "got it on" with who, when we were just beginning to get to know the characters. It was almost like listening to neighborhood gossip. Also the man can not write dialogue for women. His female characters seemed almost unreal and they had no true distinction between them. We knew one was the brave, untouchable captain, while one was the weepy, dependent one. The other two women that were sisters were like androids. Frankly the character development was lacking and awkward. I didn't care about the characters because there was not much given about them. Sort of like a sci-fi channel movie or straight to dvd flick.

Putting that aside, I would still recommend the book based on the whole idea of Gaea and the interesting alien world. I really enjoyed the concept of exploring in an alien world and relying on the surroundings for survival. Also the feministic undertones gave a nice perspective on the changing times of the 70's and 80's. Some new and old ideas are presented in the book. It is a quick and easy read that could enlighten anyone.
... Read more

Book Description
From the moment John Varley burst onto the scene in 1974, his short fiction was like nothing anyone else was writing. His stories won every award the science fiction field had to offer, many times over. His first collection, The Persistence of Vision, published in 1978, was the most important collection of the decade, and changed what fans would come to expect from science fiction.

Now, The John Varley Reader gathers his best stories, many out of print for years. This is the volume no Varley fan-or science fiction reader-can do without. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Essential Varley Short Science Fiction
If you're new to Varley and want to explore his short stories, or a long time fan but just want a collection of his short fiction, this is the collection to get.It has the very best of his short fiction including three Hugo and Nebula award winners.These are "The Persistence of Vision," "Press Enter" and "The Pusher."I have always thought "Press Enter" and "The Pusher" were two of the most powerful and original science fiction stories I've ever read."Press Enter" is spine chilling and creepy but only after reading the last page.Before then it's an enjoyable murder mystery and love story."The Pusher" is the best science fiction story ever written about time dilation for space travelers.In addition, "Tango Charlie and Foxtrot Romeo" will hold your attention to the very tragic end.Varley is one of the best writers in America today.He just happens to write science fiction.This is a collection of his best short stuff with the author's fascinating intros and comments for each story.

Great Storytelling from John Varley
John Varley sold his first story, "Picnic on Nearside," in 1974. By 1985 his stories had garnered him three Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards, and nine Locus Awards, with a tenth Locus in 1987. This collection includes all of the Hugo and Nebula stories and several of the Locus stories. It's a great place to start if you've heard of Varley but haven't read him yet. Even if you have his other collections, you'll want this one as well, not only for the new material, but for the author's extensive comments that precede each story.

This is the first time I've ached to give a book SIX stars . . . .
Okay -- Christopher Priest is arguably more poetic, and Tim Powers is more literary, when he cares to be. But it's a proven fact that John Varley is the all-around best SF writer working these days. That's even more true when it comes to the short form, as this recapitulative collection demonstrates. Varley is a Texan by birth and very close to my own age and, like me, he spent his early adult years in the San Francisco Bay area. As I rediscovered in his biographical introductions to these stories, we share a lot of the same life-shaping milieux. Of course, I've read Varley's stories and novels over the years with great appreciation as they were published, since the first appearance of his first short story, "Picnic on Farside," in 1974, but reading this volume straight through is like sitting down with a spoon to a quart of caviar. All of his best award-winning work is here: "Press Enter" (still a nerve-wracking read), "The Pusher" (still very unsettling), and "The Persistence of Vision" (still one of the most affecting pieces of writing I've ever read, from anyone). There are also five never-before-anthologized stories, of which "The Flying Dutchman" may, as the author says, convince you to take the train the next time you have to travel. Most of these stories are in the "Eight Worlds" series, though the Anna Bach sub-series (sort of police procedurals but really much more than that) are prominent, too. The weakest piece in the book, to me, is "Options," which is a bit too earnest and cloying for my taste, but it's still an excellent story. And there's one that's entirely new to us: "The Bellman," originally destined for Harlan Ellison's third "Dangerous Visions" volume (also something of a flying Dutchman . . .), which doesn't seem nearly as radical as it would have when it was written in 1978.

30 years of greatness
As someone who had only read the novels of John Varley, excepting one short story, which happened to be the last story in this collection, The Bellman, I came to it with fresh eyes and no fog of nostalgia from reading the stories when they were new.

Not only are the stories solid, we also get some brief autobiography and background of the stories containing such interesting info as Varley rates a car as one of the best places he's lived(during Woodstock), his first novel didn't get published, but his first short story, which is contained in this collection, did, he does not like writers groups and showing his work for criticism and generally does not rewrite his work.

Not only do the stories, particularly the 8-worlds and the Anna-Louise Bach stories, have the wow factor one expects from the field, they also make you think. Particularly the 8-worlds stories where gender changing, body changing and age changing is fast, easy and ubiquitious. What happens to gender roles and how people relate when your friend shows up at your door tomorrow as the opposite sex?

One problem of story collections is that it can be a little much to read nothing but short bites of the same author, to badly mix a metaphor, but this collection gets it right despite a moderate length by mixing the stories of his various milieus up. At the end you will be sated with Varley, but not fed up.

Highly recommended, as are his Gaea trilogy.

I don't like short stories but I like this book !
I like stories with indepth character and plot development.Shorts always leave me wanting more.However, this is just worth reading. ... Read more

Book Description
An intact wooly mammoth is discovered frozen in Canada. Huddled next to the huge creature is the mummified body of a Stone Age man around 12,000 years old. And he is wearing a wristwatch. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (51)

This Mammoth is a Little Shaggy
Although an enjoyable 'pot-boiler'-type adventure story, this novel is not really up to Varley's standards.The characters are too extraordinary: the world's richest man, the world's most beautiful actress, the world's best mathematician and a circus performer who also happens to be the leading expert on elephants.The concept of time travel is not fully worked out: the paradoxes are left unexplored, the mechanism is left unexplained, and the chunk of earth sent time-traveling changes size with each occurrence.The plot has some pleasant twists but also a fair amount of gaping holes (which I won't describe -- those who have already read it will know what they are).

In short, I enjoyed the journey but there were a few too many places along the trail where the reader's attention is drawn away from the story being told.Because this is John Varley, I expected a bit more.

Not great, but entertaining
"Mammoth" reminded me a little too much of "Timeline" and "Jurassic Park" in places, but it was an enjoyable read nevertheless: perfect for a rainy day!

nothing deep, but it is a fun quick read
Mammoth by John Varley tells the story of a multibillionaire who has interesting hobbies. One day he decides he would like to bring mammoths back into the world. Teams are sent to the Arctic to find mammoth carcasses frozen into the ice, with the idea of recovering good enough genetic material that a mammoth or mammoth/elephant hybrid embryo can be implanted into an elephant womb and be brought to term. But one of the teams finds a mammoth frozen with two humans - and one of the humans is wearing a wrist watch and they have a briefcase...the billionaire will have his hobby and then some...while I normally do not enjoy time travel books very much, this one was actually a lot of fun!!

Besides the rich man, the book also centers around a veteranarian/elephant trainer, a mathmatician who tries to figure out the time travel machine, and a cute baby mammoth named Fuzzy (whose story arc pulls the whole novel together).

Nothing particularly deep, but I thought it was a quick and fun read. And as I read it, I kept thinking about what a cool movie it would be.

Pulled Together Very Well
I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I've been a Varley fan since the 80's and only have felt that Golden Globe didn't deliver.This was a very satisfying novel.I especially liked the way things evolved toward the ending and was pleasantly surprised how the last 20-30 pages became real "what happens next" page turners.Please don't read any summaries of the story, just start on page one and read it through to the end without any book critic's review spoiling the story-line for you.

Mammoth
Not really adult science fiction...Story line was good when the author stuck to it...too many lenghty pages on side issues to the characters...would have been better as a short story... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

Too much...
Too much sex, too long, too boring, and waaaaaaay too disjointed.At least twice as long as it should be, but he still doesn't manage to bring the characters to life.

Totally pointless, painful to read.

Great Book
I have to say I've been a Varley fan since the the early 80's and this has to be his best stories ever. Everything in this book simply works for me.
the idea of mankind being booted from our homeland, barely surviving on the colonized worlds and of course on Luna.
Varley seems to have a great ability write female characters like no other male author can. We follow the main character through his/her sex change and he never skips a singe heart beat. the idea of how we evolved as a race it so well done.
Hats off to you Mr. Varley. We await your future works.

Only Deserves Five Stars
About halfway through Steel Beach, I thought I had discovered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.The story was wildly inventive in a Douglas Adams sort of way; almost every page had some wonderfully crazy idea I'd never dreamed of.The action was non-stop, the world (well, the Moon) was varied and colorful, the characters engaging.Above all, it was a blast to read.I'd have given it six stars if I could.

By the end of the book, my enthusiasm had waned a bit.I won't go into plot specifics, since they have been summarized admirably in other reviews.Suffice it to say that the pace slows down in the second half, as the main character becomes more withdrawn and introspective.It fits the story line, and it does give the book greater psychological depth, but it tones down the fun factor, as well.

The result is a book that is still memorable and a delight to read.I'll just save the imaginary sixth star for another day.

Slow start, but incredible story with fantastic writing
This is one of my favorite SF books. The story starts slow; you don't really know where it is going, what his point is, or really what the plot is about at all. That is a flaw for many authors, but Varley can get away with it simply because he has legions of dedicated fans who know that the true story will come to light. Hopefully, those who are new to Varley will be enraptured with his incredible prose and keep reading even though they don't understand where the story is going from early on.

Once the story does get going, holy cow! Varley explores some amazingly insightful angles about the human condition and a potential future regarding human - AI interaction.

Not only that, but once again he makes me laugh time and again. Really comprehending this book requires an above average IQ. If you like hard SF, then I strongly recommend it.

My first and last Varley book!
There are very few books I have not or in the case could not finish reading.Obviously Varley appeals to some but I am not one of them.If you are looking for a fast paced Sci-fi adventure this is not the book for you.If you are interested in one man's distorted sexual view of everyday life in the future you might find this entertaining. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

For time travel freaks
If you like movies that involve time travel (and who doesn't?) this is the book for you. I like to look for flaws in most time travel books/movies. There are usually many. Varley has written an engaging science fiction book that seems to be written with consideration taken for the critical eye of people like me. Layered over a plot that has you at the edge of your seat, Varley addresses technical aspects and consequences of time travel. I remember the old Chiffon Margarine TV commercial from the 70's... "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature." Well, Varley teaches us a lesson similar to that in this book. It's not nice to fool Father Time.

Not Free SF Reader
A book that has two viewpoings, the future, and the past. People from
the future have need for more people, so they look to the past, in
accident situations etc.

Some present day investigators get involved when the future types make an error, and have to come back to fix it.

Great Time Travel Tale
I don't know why I was suprised to see this book on the shelves.A lot of great books are banged out into horrid movies, so it never occured to me to take a look at the source material for the lousy film of the same name.The characters in this story are so real that they suck you in with their narratives, making it impossible to put the book down, because you have to find out what happens.Louise and Bill make yet another time travel story sing with the kinds of details about their situations that take this from just one more story to place of its own.This is a great tale of what it takes to survive the end of mankind.

Millenium by John Varley
One of the few science fiction novels about time travel that doesn't make my head hurt when I think about it afterward.Great characters, great plot, and one of the best exemplars of the "if this goes on" sf subgenre.And a kinda sorta happy ending, which still surprises me every time I read it.

Varley is also the author of what I think is one of the best sf short stories ever, "In the Hall of the Martian Kings," collected in The Persistance of Vision.

FYI on Original Short Story "Air Raid"
FYI, for those trying to locate the short story "Air Raid" which Varley's novel and the movie were expanded upon and based on was written under the name Herb Boehm and originally was published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Spring 1977.It came in 2nd place in both the 1977 Nebula and 1978 Hugo awards for best short story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Not Free SF Reader
There are only 9 stories here, but most of some length, novelettes and novellas, including the best story here, the last, and the 'title track'.

A very high quality collection, and all science fiction.

Persistence of Vision : The Phantom of Kansas - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : Air Raid - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : Retrograde Summer - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : The Black Hole Passes - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : In the Hall of the Martian Kings - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : In the Bowl - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : Gotta Sing Gotta Dance - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : Overdrawn at the Memory Bank - John Varley
Persistence of Vision : The Persistence of Vision - John Varley


Recording robbed revenant revenge Rat.

4 out of 5


Plane crash Time Snatch paraleprosy repopulation.

4 out of 5


Clone twin meeting.

3 out of 5


Message filtering separation singularity
shakeup.

4 out of 5


Local accomodations mostly plastic.

4 out of 5


Venusian outfitting issues.

3.5 out of 5


Music lovers planted.

3 out of 5


A man's virtual vacation is extended rather too long.

3.5 out of 5


Communication fuller but lots weirder with fewer senses.

4.5 out of 5




4.5 out of 5

Where should I start...
Powerful. Enjoyable. Thoughtful. Fascinating. Funny. Gifted.First-Rate. Original.
Nine stories that show us the future of man, with his flaws, his merits and his outward spread from Earth.John Varley thinks big also.In many of his stories it is pointed out that mankind was kicked off of the planet Earth by...somebody.
See, that is the best part.Many of the stories happen in a setting in which much of the background is unknown to us or just hinted at.But the heart of the stories are always people, their emotions and needs.Some sex too.
Many of the short stories were later used to create some very interesting movies.

Make sure you read the very last story!
Have you ever, sometime in your life, by any chance, heard of the multi-multi-multi-million copy bestselling author Tom Clancy? Well, when HE wants to be entertained by thoughtful, visionary, intelligent works of fiction -- which generally feature significantly fewer gratuitous explosions than his own work -- then he turns to one of his personal favorite authors, John Varley. "Persistence of Vision," in my humble opinion, is probably Varley's most accessible, yet amazing book.

The stories all feature characters in a remote future, in which everything about the human body, and everything about human society, is completely mutable and within the ability of individuals to choose for themselves. John Varley writes about sympathetic human beings, dealing with what seem to them to be fairly run-of-the-mill problems. To you or me, however, everything about the lives of these characters is simply awe-inspiring... Here you will meet lonely spacemen dwelling at the outer reaches of the solar system; sociological musings on the long-lost institution of the "nuclear family," by future, human inhabitants of Mercury; conversations between an explorer/composer and his alien symbiote, amongst the rings of Saturn; and much, much more. The last tale in the volume, the one the book is named after, is particularly memorable. It features a man who becomes part of a colony of deaf-mute-blind people, who have developed a highly spiritual means of communicating. That story is the most profound one in this collection, but they are all stirring. I highly recommend reading "The Persistence of Vision." Two thumbs up.

An enjoying evening while expanding your mind
Short stories are many, yet few good inbetween.This is by far the best out of one person put all in one book I have ever read in all my years of run on sentences of my own, not his.The depth and sincerity of the heroes/heroines brings it all home.You're there, the only place Varley wants you to be.I would rate this his best, but I am also biased.I love ALL his work.I recommend them all aslo.

mind-expanding fiction!
I'm so glad that I happened upon this book.Not only are the stories fascinating and interesting throughout, but they also have such an awesome vision of life and of people-- and although most of the stories take placein the future, the vision really is timeless.Varley understands so manythings that just aren't understood, he thinks about things that just aren'tthought about, and writes so well that it all (his thoughts) seems sonormal (and it is)... this book is definitely mind-expanding. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Debuting in 1974, John Varley became the decade's freshest, most exciting, and most important new science fiction author. He dominated the Seventies with numerous stories and two novels, set mostly in his Eight Worlds future history. By 1984 he had won three Hugo Awards and two Nebula Awards. Yet his output dwindled through the 1980s, and in the 1990s he released only two novels, Steel Beach and The Golden Globe, a pair of Eight Worlds books that received tepid responses.

Fans who feared Varley was devolving into another Robert A. Heinlein imitator may have mixed reactions to Red Thunder, Varley's first novel of the new millennium. Part of SF's turn-of-the-century trend of "Mars novels," but not part of Varley's Eight Worlds series, Red Thunder reads a lot like a Heinlein juvenile novel, if Heinlein were alive and writing juveniles in 2003. Varley's paying tribute to the Master's juveniles, especially Rocket Ship Galileo and Red Planet (and also, more subtly, to the ending of Alfred Bester's novel The Stars My Destination). Though Varley is working with decades-old tropes and is not in his full wildly-imaginative 1970s mode, Red Thunder is an enjoyable SF novel that should win back many disgruntled fans and gain him a new generation of admirers. --Cynthia WardBook Description
Seven suburban misfits are constructing a spaceship out of old tanker cars. The plan is to beat the Chinese to Mars--in under four days at three million miles an hour. It would be history in the making if it didn't sound so insane. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

Free SF Reader
All you need to build your own hyperspace ship are a couple of keen to
be educated boys living near a space site in Florida, a hard-nosed sexy
girlfriend, a damaged ultra-genius cajun, and an alcoholic
ex-astronaut. That, and not having to spend too much time helping out
at a decaying old motel, and having a few large pieces of abandoned
railway metal nearby.

As good as his 70s stuff
No one was a bigger fan of Varley's early stuff than me.I remember reading part one of "Titan" I'd accidentally found in the S.F. mag "Analog" in 1981 and desperately looking for the other parts of the serialization before finding out -- joy! -- that it was a full-length book and that Analog had actually taken out some of the best parts, if you know what I mean.I loved Wizard so much I actually wrote Mr. Varley thanking him for the book back in 1982.

But then Varley began doing two things in the 80s that caused my enthusiasm to dwindle almost down to the Planck size.The first was his almost hysterical anti-clercism, particularly in Demon.I really found it pointless, degrading and annoying.The second was a consistent characterization of humans as animalistic, puny and dumb, engaging in only futile, meaningless, meretricious tasks.The Ophiuchi Hotline and the Eight Worlds short stories typified that writing.His anti-humanism and nihilism got so bad I actually referred to him in a review as "science fiction's Peter Singer."

But in the 90s Varley began bouncing back.Even though Steel Beach was an Eight Worlds book, it jettisoned a lot of the nihilism (replacing it, I suppose, with an over-generous amount of existentialism, but at least that's a step in the right direction) and introducing Heinlein leitmotifs.Steel Beach turned out to be an excellent book even though it suffers from the "...and then THIS happened..." syndrome instead of a traditional plot.

Now I finally got a chance to read "Red Thunder" and I loved it.The magic of discovery is front and center, there's a lot of humor, lots of homage to Heinlein (e.g., "Jubal" is the name of one of the main characters) and a great, great story all around.Oh yeah, it's five stars time again!

A Sci-Fi Joy Ride
"Delightful" is not a word I often use, especially to describe sci-fi novels.But "Red Thunder" is a simply delightful read, a fun, fast-paced joy ride of a story.Don't get me wrong, I love high-tech violence and bleak, dystopian futures as much as the next guy, but it's nice to know science fiction can still bring a smile as well.

Which is not to say that "Red Thunder" is total fluff.It tells the story of four Florida teenagers who strike up an unlikely friendship with a disgraced astronaut and his semi-autistic genius brother.The group hatches a scheme to use one of the brother's inventions to build a home-made spaceship, and sets about trying to beat the Chinese to Mars.

If that sounds a bit unlikely, well, sure, it is.Varley puts a lot of effort into making the ship and its propulsion system sound plausible, and he succeeds well enough.The idea of four teenagers becoming a crack team of spacecraft engineers is more of a stretch.But so what?It's fun!You want to see these kids go to Mars, so when the ship develops miraculously fast, you cheer rather than question.Are they going to succeed?Of course.The end is no more in doubt than in a Disney movie.But you still want to go along for the ride.

This is my first encounter with John Varley, and the man is clearly a gifted storyteller.The story fairly bubbles as it moves along.The tone is light, and the characters likable.From what other reviewers have said, Varley has lost a step.If so, I am eager to read his earlier work.

"We were the first!"
Think, as the characters themselves say, "The Little Rascals Go to Mars," and you'll be close to the flavor of this engaging book. There's also a fair amount of Heinlein juvenile (especially _Rocket Ship Galileo_), which is understandable since Varley is a deep fan of Heinlein. The setting is Daytona, Florida, where Manny Garcia, twenty-year-old heir to a crumbling motel, and his best friend, Dak, and his girl, Kelly, and Dak's girl, Alicia, nearly run over a drunken ex-astronaut on the beach one night. (Lots of Heinleinian names, there, too.) The astronaut is Travis Broussard, one of a large clan of Cajuns from the Florida panhandle, and cousin of Jubal, a mildly autistic Einstein-class genius, who has invented (he's not quite sure how) a "squeezer" -- a device whose nature is never really explained, but which is the potential source of nearly unlimited energy. But Manny and Dak are both space nuts and to them and the girls, the Squeezer means a way of getting to Mars, where American and Chinese spaceships are now headed. With the power source taken care of it, would it really be possible to build -- in the course of one summer and with a budget of only one million dollars -- a privately-owned vehicle capable of getting them to the Red Planet and back? Varley shows you how it might, maybe, possibly, be done. With NASA having done most of the research and testing over the years, and with computers so small and cheap, and with many of the necessary parts (like a food freezer from Sears) purchased off-the-shelf, and with vital specialized hardware like space suits available for a little dickering from Russia, and with Travis's extensive experience as a space pilot, . . . well, why not? I'm sure there are plenty of implausibilities, but who cares? It's all great fun, in any case.

A Great Book for Young...
Anyone who liked the film "The Explorers" (River Phoenix/Ethan Hawk) will enjoy this book about two young men who run into (quite literally) a Bruce Willisesque former astronaut and his idiot-savant brother who build the impossible; a faster-than-light spaceship that can rescue a team of astronauts stranded in the space between Earth and Mars.

It is a very fast read, you'll have a hard time putting it down. Though slightly implausible, the character development is rich, the action is fairly constant, the humor is dry and well placed, and the storyline ("youth coming of age" meets "story of redemption") is strong. ... Read more

Book Description
The son of one of the first men to fly to Mars and back, Ray Garcia- Strickland, is now a disgruntled Martian, tired of the Red Planet's overdevelopment and the gravity dependent tourist Earthies. But that doesn't stop him from fearing the worst when Earth is struck by an unknown object, causing a massive tsunami. Living high on his father's glory was okay, but now Ray must literally come down to Earth-and solve one of its greatest mysteries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Red Flag for Red Lightning
This is John Varley's latest novel and a sequel to "Blue Thunder."It is unfortunately not up to Varley's usually high mind blowing standard.It is not necessary to read "Blue Thunder" to enjoy this work.It is a satisfying story narrated by the son of the narrator of the earlier work.As I read it (I won't deny it's very interesting) I kept wanting something exciting to happen.Travis and Jubal Broussard are back with Jubal's interdimensional squeezed bubbles and a new Jubal creation he dubs "Stoppers" that bring time to a halt much like Larry Niven's "Stasis box."The excitement doesn't happen until the end, but it's a let-down.Varley used to write mind blowing science fiction in a literary package.Now we still have the package but the mind blowing parts are gone.I hope this is not a permanent trend and we can expect Varley's future work to deliver the science fiction wonders we've grown to expect from this first rate author.

An Average Space Opera
This is my first book by John Varley and I was not impressed. In this book an unidentified object crashes into Earth causing a devastating tsunami. The main character is a seventeen-year-old Mars resident named Ray Garcia-Strickland surveys the damage, unaware the disaster may have been caused by his uncle's dangerous time-altering invention. A couple of things of note, this book is part of a sequel, it contains some descriptions of sex and has some strong language.

Not as good as Red Thunder
I looked forward to reading the new book, but I have to admit I liked the first one better...John Varley definitely has the early Heinlein-ian touch though.

About as good as funky morning breath
The book starts out promising, with a vivid description of life on mars.However, given the fact that you're stuck in the perspective on just one person for the longest time (it's not really 'narration'), it gets boring very fast.And if your looking for a book to give to kids or teens... I would advise against giving this one.While the language and subjects start clean, within a few chapters, the f-bomb is dropped several times, and suggestive topics come up (such as talk of viewing people naked and how it turns some people on).

This is a complete waste of paper and a good story line.It distracts from the overall theme, in my opinion.Quite frankly, I didn't finish the first 6 chapters, and I have no desire to start reading it again.

Depressingly Heinlein
Varley's sequel to "Red Thunder" -- which was a fun adventure story in the mold of Robert Heinlein's series for young readers -- is a continuation of the story but told in a more adult manner.Like Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" or the Methuselah series, "Red Lightning" depicts a series of disasters and militant takeovers which, while well-written and probably more accurate to human nature, nevertheless exhibit some of the nastier sides of humanity.As such, I found this book somewhat tough slogging, in exactly the same way that Heinlein's pessimism is eventually too depressing to enjoy.

Written as it was between two real disasters -- 9/11 and the Indonesian tsunami -- perhaps Varley's mind was too occupied by disasters to be light, optimistic and cheery.

I thought the first few chapters were marvelous writing, and the quality of the writing didn't really dip as the story went on.Just the subject matter got sad, then barbaric, then inhuman, and finally appalling.That's something I associate more with Heinlein than Varley. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Sparky Valentine is a former child star turned down-on-his-luck thespian who's just reached the grand old age of 100.Not that you could tell by looking at the old ham, who for some reason never seems to age--or stay out of trouble.Sparky's in the midst of a whirlwind theatrical tour designed to bring a bit of culture to the frozen desolation of the outer solar system when bad luck strikes in the form of a gumshoe hot on his tail.Sparky decides to skip the outer burgs for the more hospitable environs of Pluto, but things only get worse when he runs afoul of the notoriously unforgiving Charonese Mafia.As he's making his getaway, he learns something astonishing.The famous director Kaspara Polichinelli of Luna is planning a performance of King Lear, and he's short a lead to take on the title role.Sparky wires Polichinelli that he's interested, and Polichinelli tells him the part is his.Now all Sparky has to do is find a way to scrape together enough cash to get to Luna before the play starts while avoiding a seemingly unstoppable (and unkillable) Charonese hitman. --Craig E. EnglerBook Description
Sparky Valentine makes his way from planet to planet as part of a motley theater troupe--the perfect guise for an interstellar con man wanted for murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

Shakespeare in the orbit of Pluto
John Varley is a master. If you were to have a Rarebit Dream, a hallucination beyond the looking glass or be caught in a pseudo low blood sugar rapture you would not approach his fantastic metamorphing of the Bard.
His prose style is nearly as unique as Jack Vance, his characters transform themselves wonderfully, his stage is future nearly as crazy as our own dreams. I've given this toShakespeareansand they've loved it. It's not Nivenesque science tale, it's truly unique. Please enjoy.

A fantastic writing style
I am a big fan of John Varley and I loved this book. The reason it gets four stars is because the story is a little weak. He doesn't explore any great dilemmas of the human condition, and the plot is mediocre.

However, the writing is fantastic. Varley clearly puts a lot of effort into every sentence to make it as entertaining as possible. In short, he makes me laugh.

This is one of the few books I have read more than once simply because he style of writing appeals to me so much.

Shakepeare in Space!
In the future of Varley's book, almost everyone remembers Sparky
Valentine. Even if they aren't old enough to remember the glory years of the kid's show, "Sparky and His Gang" they remember their parents talking about it or watching old recordings. Many also remember something about allegations of a terrible crime, and may assume that Sparky is deceased, since they haven't heard anything about him in years.
But wait, here we have Sparky's autobiography, his epic story beginning
with his roots in a fifth generation theatrical family, his rise to riches, his fall from grace, and on and on through his long years of seedy outer-planet theatres, Punch & Judy shows and scams; hunger, keeping one step ahead of various planetary jurisdictions, then eventually running afoul of a dreaded crime syndicate.

This is rich, wonderful novel blends Shakespeare and Howdy Doody,
Jimmy Stewart and Errol Flynn; a heady mix of popular culture and future
history. The solar system is recovering from a mysterious invasion which
destroyed all human life on earth, but allowed off world colonies to survive.

Long time science fiction readers will appreciate the way Varley's story
incorporates one of the field's most influential and well-remembered icons.

Re-Readable fun
I have found only 2 books that I could read time and time again. This book is a wonderful story. Not my normal fare, but a surprise. When I first picked this book up I had no idea what I was in for. It picks you up and will not put you down. About once every two years I find myself re-reading this book, and each time I enjoy it so.

If you are going on vacation and would like a good time, this book is a wonderful investment of your time and money.

Not Varley's Best
The narrative is presented in a present day/flashback/present day/flashback alternating sequence, and my main problem with it is that I found all the flashbacks to be really boring, but all the present day stuff to be pretty good

Even in the good stuff, there were frequently bits that felt forced or sections where I felt Varley was just putting in someting to satisfy fans and not because it was interesting or advanced the story at all

A minor complaint would be that even though its set far in the future, any time the hero wants to make a comparison between some weird thing he encounters and something that a person might be more familiar with, he compares it to a situation or place in the 20th century, which I thought was pretty silly

If you just want something to read and then forget, you could do alot worse than this, but if you want really good sci fi get some of Varley's earlier stuff or something by a different author ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Super Reader
Varley admits in his introduction that is is not really very familiar with this sort of thing, and it would appear to show in the result. The story average is 3.28.

So, a lot of average/ordinary, and a small number that flat out really don't belong.

Still, it is buy no means bad, and some good stories, just average taken as a whole, and without the shouldn't have been there stuff, would have gotten a 3.5.


Superheroes : 01 A Clean Sweep - Laurell K. Hamilton
Superheroes : 02 Time for a Hero - Brian M. Thomsen
Superheroes : 03 Peer Review - Michael A. Stackpole
Superheroes : 04 Shadow Storm - Mickey Zucker Reichert
Superheroes : 05 Empowered - Alan Dean Foster
Superheroes : 06 Handling On the Goggles - B. W. Clough
Superheroes : 07 She Who Might Be Obayed - Roland J. Green and Frieda A. Murray
Superheroes : 08 And the Sea Shall Cast Him Out - William Marden
Superheroes : 09 The Defender of Central Park - Josepha Sherman
Superheroes : 10 Reflected Glory - Paul Kupperberg
Superheroes : 11 Super Acorns - Mike Resnick and Lawrence Schimel

Superheroes : 12 Vets - Richard Lee Byers
Superheroes : 13 Four Tales of Many Names - Gerald Hausman
Superheroes : 14 The Long Crawl of Hugh Glass - Roger Zelazny
Superheroes : 15 God Save the King - P. J. Beese and Todd Cameron Hamilton
Superheroes : 16 Contract Hit - Richard A. Knaak
Superheroes : 17 Origin Story - Dwight R. Decker
Superheroes : 18 Tu Quoque - John DeChancie
Superheroes : 19 Theme Music Man - Jody Lynn Nye
Superheroes : 20 Bicycle Superhero - Dennis O'Neil
Superheroes : 21 Captain Asimov - Steve Antczak
Superheroes : 22 Press Conference - Brad Linaweaver
Superheroes : 23 Basic Training - Jerry Bingham
Superheroes : 24 One of the Boys - Lawrence Watt-Evans
Superheroes : 25 Truth Justice and the Politically Correct Socialist Path - John Varley


Captain Housework is out of dirty villains, and left with dirty dishes and floors.

3 out of 5


Psychologically invented hero for dirty bomb job.

4 out of 5


An outlaw hero is called to account for his actions while removing a boy from a compound at the request of his father and the boy himself, to enable the boy to give a life-giving biological donation to his dying sister.

4.5 out of 5


A girl forced to live with her mother and her bastard new abusive man discovers the real father she actually likes is a superhero.

3.5 out of 5


A new hero decides he'd rather avoid lawyers, insurance and the media by relocation.

3 out of 5


A granddaughter cleaning up and going to throw out some old books is reprimanded by her grandfather, the owner.

He explains why via his teleportation ring.

3.5 out of 5


A woman has the Voice and tries to help other females.

3 out of 5


A torrid affair between a Sun hero and a Sea villain at the Extraodinary Talents Haven island.

3.5 out of 5


Russian forest spirit not too impressed with city recreation area, but thinks crimefighting violence should be loads of fun.

3 out of 5


Superman vigilante saves a publicist who then works for him, and his take no prisoners style rubs off when he decides he has had enough killing and wants to hang up the costume.

4 out of 5


Doctor for superkids tells his mum it is boring.

2.5 out of 5


Don't cheat on your stressed out overworked superhero husband unless cremation is your preferred form of funeral.

3.5 out of 5


Native American hero fables.

3 out of 5


Man mauled by bear shows extraordinary endurance.

3 out of 5


Arthur would now rather work at tax office than put up with Merlin's stuff, suggests finding a new bloke.

3.5 out of 5


City mayors treat superheroes and villains like baseball players it seems, complete with sidekicks to be named later.

4 out of 5


The opportunity to be Captain Swastika is not very appealing, despite the powers.

3.5 out of 5


Defeated alien race have infiltrators on earth with a breeding program involving humans to try and eventually recapture their home galaxy. However, their enemies have found them.

3.5 out of 5


Petty superpower occasionally useful, even in a dangerous situation like a bank robbery.

3 out of 5


Car chase and other heroic acts are all in his mind.

2.5 out of 5


A robot gets heroic, even in costume, briefly.

3 out of 5


The conflict between two superhumans has destroyed a city, leaving the President powerless to do anything, and then more of them turn up.

4 out of 5


Once in a decade harsh, pointless test.

2.5 out of 5


A woman on the trail of a secret identity finds out that an alien hero keeps to himself for very good reasons.

3.5 out of 5


Alien boy lands in the Soviet Union, becomes a good, but really dumb dob in anyone type communist. Basically ends up in prison a lot.

3 out of 5

This book is SUPER, Man!
An original and entertaining take on the popular "superhero" fantasy -- and what a cast of characters! Captain Housework! And how about that pediatrician who cares for superheroes' children? And the one with the child with the abusive stepfather and a real father who's a superhero is the COOLEST beans! And I loved that Soviet "Superman" spoof -- Kyril Kentarovsky instead of Clark Kent! I laughed so hard I nearly burst a vein!
One little quibble. I wasn't so crazy about the fact that, in the aforementioned Russian Superman spoof, Kyril Kentarovsky referred to a prison rape victim as the inmates' "unwilling sweetheart." The author should have said "sex partner" or "boy-toy" instead of "sweetheart." "Sweetheart" means something, and it isn't this. The word sweetheart, to me, is associated with love, (which could be either heterosexual or same-sex),not violence or force. If someone is your "sweetheart," you don't abuse him or her.
Still in all, this book is all that and a bag of chips -- or, in reference to pop culture's #1 fantasy superhero -- this book is all that and a king-sized CLARK Bar!!!...

This Book Is Out of Print For A Reason
This anthology of superhero stories tries to explore unique variation of the superhero theme but few of the stories are remotely satisfying.The biggest problem with them is that they are often one-trick ponies that ask a single "what-if" question and then go about answering it with varying degrees of success.Also, the choice of superheroes leaves something to be desired.With Superman, Spiderman and Batman taken, the writers focus on second and third-string crime fighters that can only be used as punchlines.

The best story of the group is "Reflected Glory" about a public relations executive that helps guide the world's first superhero, Ultima, through the maze of endorsements, merchandizing contracts and image management decisions.This story is the most realistic exploration of how a superhero might be treated if he actually appeared.Although ahumorous story, the problems of spin control and public perception are treated seriously throughout.

Surprisingly, the most moving stories in the anthology are those that aren't even about superheroes.Both "The Long Crawl of Hugh Glass" and "Basic Training" are about Native Americans and the former is even a true story.

Most of the other stories simply ask a single "what-if" question and thenrun it into the ground."Peer Review" explores the ramifications of a superhero review board that examines the questionable acts of fellow superheroes.In "Empowered", a superhero is sued after preventing a robbery and decides to give up his crime fighting career entirely."Super Acorns" asks what would life be like for a doctor that had to tend to superheroes, their children and the constant injuries that accompany a life of crime fighting."Contract Hit" asks what if superheroes and villains were like sports teams that could be traded between cities."Origin Stories" explores the reactions to regular citizens offered the chance to become a superhero but they are forced to fight crime as Captain Swastika."Captain Asimov" asks what if a robot rejected Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.

"Handing On The Goggles" and "She Who Might Be Obeyed" are dated feminist stories.The latter is apparently a response to the belief that women sacrifice too much of themselves for others.The hero of the story has the power to get people to do what she wants but only when her requests are for the benefit of someone else.After teaming up with other women with the same power, she learns that her power actually works more effectively when her requests are selfish.

The others center their story around some of the most absurd superheroes imaginable."A Clean Sweep" is about Captain Housework, a down and out superhero that resorts to being and on-call maid."Defender of Central Park" involves a tree spirit from Russia and "Theme Music Man" just hangs out at crime scenes and provides the theme music for other, more respected superheroes.

These may seem like cool little stories by reading the summaries but they end up being one-joke ponies that get run into the ground after a few pages.The editor of the book wrote one of the stories and it appears that he just got his buddies together to get enough stories for an "anthology".

Great Book with some exceptional stories
When I first read this book, i had checked it out of the library. I liked it so much i decided that I had to buy it. It has some great stories. Some aren't exactly what you might expect but that makes they even better. A must read for all comic readers and sci-fi fans.

Many stories; most good
I am going to give each story in this book a simple 10 to 1 rating.Ten being a good story, one being a very bad story.A CLEAN SWEEP-8TIME FOR A HERO-10PEER REVIEW-9SHADOW STORM-8EMPOWERED-9HANDING ON THE GOGGLES-7SHEWHO MIGHT BE OBEYED-6AND THE SEA SHALL CAST HIM OUT-9 THE DEFENDER OFCENTRAL PARK-7REFLECTED GLORY-9SUPER ACORNS-10VETS-10FOUR TALES OF MANYNAMES-7THE LONG CRAWL OF HUGH GLASS-9GOD SAVE THE KING-6CONTRACTHIT-3ORIGIN STORY-8TU QUOQUE-10THEME MUSIC MAN-2BICYCLE SUPERHERO-2CAPTAINASIMOV-7PRESS CONFERENCE-3BASIC TRAINING-8ONE OF THE BOYS-8TRUTH, JUSTICEAND THE POLITICALLY CORRECT SOCIALIST PATH-9 ... Read more

Book Description
John Varley's first book-repackaged and hotter than ever.

In 2050, the Invaders came to Earth, destroyed every evidence of technology, then peacefully departed. Humanity struggled to survive, but help was coming-via the Ophiuchi Hotline. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Reprinted, finally
It is nice to know this book is in reprint.Having been fasinated with the idea of cloning since I was child and having been a firm believer in it since reading this book at the tender age of 16 (along with RAH's 'Friday') I am glad to know this book is available to a new generation of Science Ficion readers.Yes, he does set up the Jovians as a sort of 'god', but I believe, based on mans history, if we had the chance we would 'over run' another planet, therefore setting ourselves up as some type of 'god'

Bold explosion of ideas
The only other book I've read by Varley is the relatively recent Steel Beach, which I enjoyed quite a bit, especially the opening line, which I still remember fondly to this day (if you've read the book you'll know what I'm talking about, if not, crack the book open in a bookstore and you'll see what I mean).The blueprint for a lot of the stuff in that novel can be found here, at least when it comes to Varley's worldview and his interpretation of SF.He does a clever thing in this novel and puts forward a situation that has already happened long in the book's past, so that while it informs the character's present actions, the reader wasn't really there for it, it's part of history.Here, the premise is that humanity has been kicked off Earth by the super-powerful Invaders, who apparently get along real well with dolphins and whatever lives inside Jupiter.Humanity, with nowhere left to go, spreads throughout the solar system and tries to make do with the fact that the homeworld is off limits.Over the years they've been getting all their information from something called the Hotline, a laser beam of information from an unknown source that they can only translate partially, but what they can figure out has made life interesting for everyone.In this novel, the presentation is just as important as the plot and Varley pulls out all the stops to depict his wild future history, of a human culture adapted to the stars, where sex changes and physical changes are completely ordinary . . . for all the wacky stuff, he manages to make it feel real, not an easy thing to do.The plot has to do with a man named Tweed trying to figure out how to get rid of the Invaders . . . to that end he gathers various people who have been kicked out of society and tries to use them . . . sometimes cloning them when things go slightly awry.The issues of cloning and genetics are consistently impressive and well thought out, almost surreal in a sense, especially when it focuses on the slightly rebellious main character Lilo, who keeps getting cloned more often than she'd like.Meanwhile just to make things more complicated, the Hotline seems to have sent along a phone bill, and no one is quite sure what that's supposed to mean.This is a lot of story for such a slim book and Varley manages to pull it off with a lot of skill, although the ending is still rather abrupt and the plot seems to lose focus toward the end.It can also be said that the idea of humanity playing third fiddle to just about everyone is sort of depressing and certainly not the most uplifting concept, but hey, life is like that sometimes.Not everything comes up roses all the time.His people soldier on anyway, determined to live their lives, even if in the cosmic scheme of things it's utterly pointless.Not a crowd pleasing premise, but the images and ideas he puts forward are amazing, his future is just as fully realized and complex as the real world and you won't regret any of the time you invest in both finding this book (I think it's still out of print, but far from rare) and reading it.

A science fiction classic
John Varley for many reasons is one of the best science fiction writers of his generation and The Ophiuchi Hotline is his first major work.Unlike many writers who do setting specific books (e.g. series) Varley makes no pretense about evolving his worlds or simply writing books in worlds that are very similar to each other.This is best exemplified in the later books Steel Beach and The Golden Globe, which relate to each other closely, while The Ophiuchi Hotline shares many of the same settings and ideas.

The Ophiuchi Hotline shows off Varley's talent for writing a different kind of science fiction with a different sort of styling.If you have a used book store in your area, that is probably the best route, though this laster reprint is nice also and one edition or the the should be on your bookshelf.

Remarkable science fiction...remarkable book
The O Hotline is probably Varley's best single work.The Gaea trilogy is amazing in its own right, but it is, essentially, fantasy.The O Hotline is science fiction and it is done very very well.

Varley's most recent works (Golden Globe, Steel Beach) have been disappointments to me, particularly compared to this, the trilogy and his short fiction anathologies.I originally spent years looking for a copy of the O Hotline, finding it in a used bookstore.It captivated me.I didn't want it to end and when it did, I thought it clipped off a little too quickly.

Having said that, its easily a five star and it is the science fiction novel that all others will be judged against.Simply, is it as good as the O Hotline? If not, then it is a four star.

Science fiction's Peter Singer
There are two main ways to degrade humanity.First, you can compare humans to animals.Second, you can tear away human pretensions to the divine.Varley consistently does both throughout all his books, but never more so than here, "Demon" being the possible exception.Is the book still agood?Yeah, sure it is.Varley's imagination is fantastic, and he struts it like a peacock.But as a humanist, a REAL humanist, I find his view of humanity (as ordinary, even puny in the cosmic sense, helpless, vapid, dirty, animalistic) to be a constant depressant.

I'm not saying we should join hands and sing "Kumbaya" together; no not at all.But the idea of God or devil-like aliens kicking our [rears] for all eternity is depressing, I think you'd agree.It's ironic.Varley hates (hates!) religion, yet he sets the Jovians/dolphin hugging aliens up as gods of sorts.At least in "Demon" humans were sort of able to get a fair shot in at God.

Read William Christopher's "White Mountains" trilogy if you want some real action and real enjoyment in seeing humanity, with all its flaws, at its finest. ... Read more