Conference noted::sf

956.0. "Alan Dean Foster: CYBER Way" by SUBWAY::MAXSON (Repeal Gravity) Sat Feb 16 1991 19:40

    "CYBER Way" - Alan Dean Foster, ACE, ISBN 0-441-13245-6, $4.50
    		(C) May, 1990
    
    Vernon Moody is a backcountry-bred cop serving on Tampa Homicide,
    and is assigned to investigate the mysterious murder of a millionnaire
    art collector and his maid. What makes this murder interesting is
    that both were killed by lightning, and of his art collection, nothing
    was stolen, but one piece, a Navaho Sandpainting, was deliberately
    destroyed. In this high-tech world of the indeterminate future, the
    Navahos have replaced the Japanese as economic giants, and Vernon
    must go to the desert-Mecca of the Rez (reservation), learn the history
    of Navaho religeous "medicine" paintings, and find the murderer.
    Strange, but it seems there's a computer virus woven into the
    sandpainting, and the murderer may not be human...
    
    -----
    Opinion: ADFoster has always been an excellent story-teller, and his
    skill at weaving a plot and developing characters has not failed him.
    On the other hand, Foster has always seemed overly "commercial" in some
    sense - his stories read like screenplays (often, they ARE
    screenplays), and any underlying message seems less than profound.
    In CYBER Way, the story seems like a thin cloak disguising a rather
    long, but interesting, lecture on the legends of the Navaho/Hopi
    people. The reader cannot avoid the distinct feeling that he has
    accidentally strayed into an Anthropology classroom at University of
    New Mexico. My own guess is that Foster has been doing some independent
    study of his own lately and just wanted to share all of this neat
    stuff; but since he only writes SF stories, this was the only mechanism
    at his disposal to present his essay. Asimov does this more gracefully
    by simply writing non-fiction. Still, there's enough here to make an
    entertaining read - but it's deliberately educational, a la Clavell's
    Shogun, Michener's Space, and other similar travelogues. Definitely
    PBS material. I'll give it a generous five, since the mythology is
    intriguing.

    Another ADF book:  Glory Lane
    
    First off I should establish that I like ADF.  
    
    I won't write as formal review as .0 but I have to say that the plot is
    good.  The story takes a little bit of time to get going but when it
    takes off, as do the characters :-), things really fly.  The
    observations throughout the book are a riot.  The story does have that
    element of tying some science in with the fiction which I do like.
    
    I'm not into ratings but I will say that it was a page turner.
    
    Joe

Glory Lane....

I enjoyed this book. In some respects it what a little whimsical, but still
enjoyable..

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I particuly liked the part when the alien explained that the Aliens scientists
had discovered that fat and grease was good for you....

As a person who frequently battles with his weight, I can go with this one!