| Article: 4675
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.books,alt.books.reviews
From: ecl@mtgpfs1.mt.att.com (Evelyn C Leeper)
Subject: THE BREATH OF SUSPENSION by Alexander Jablokov
Sender: mcb@postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch)
Organization: The Internet
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 1994 06:07:56 GMT
THE BREATH OF SUSPENSION by Alexander Jablokov
Arkham House, ISBN 0-87054-167-6, 1994, 318pp, US$20.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1994 Evelyn C. Leeper
Major publishers, I am told, don't like to bring out single-author
collections. They don't sell well enough in most cases to satisfy
whatever profitability formula the publishers use. What single-author
collections one does see from major publishers are usually from only the
biggest authors--multi-Hugo- and Nebula-winners who have the clout (and
draw) to convince the publishers that an occasional collection is part
of the package if they want the novels as well.
All this is by way of explanation as to why science fiction fans
should be thankful that there exist smaller publishers such as Mark
Zeising, NESFA Press, and Arkham House who bring out single-author
collections which may not be wildly successful, but serve to make
available the otherwise unavailable short fiction of noted authors.
Zeising has produced a Pat Cadigan collection, NESFA has done Cordwainer
Smith, and Arkham House has done Nancy Kress's second collection.
(Kress's first, TRINITY AND OTHER STORIES, was from Bluejay Books, a
smaller publisher who, alas, went under--perhaps validating the major
publishers' concerns.)
And now Arkham House has come out with THE BREATH OF SUSPENSION, a
collection of ten stories by Alexander Jablokov. All the stories have
previously appeared in ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, but if
anyone without their own collection of magazines has ever tried to find
a six-year-old issue of a science fiction magazine they will understand
why I describe such stories as unavailable.
The jacket blurb makes comparisons between Jablokov's work and the
stories of the "Golden Age," but this is deceptive. Some of the
concepts may have also been used in the Golden Age, but the execution is
far distant from the straightforward Campbellian prose that the term
"Golden Age" evokes for me. Jablokov is far more of a stylist, a far
more sophisticated author in some sense, than those earlier writers
were. (Many of those earlier writers are still writing now, and they
are also often more sophisticated than they were then.)
"The Breath of Suspension," for example, is somewhat reminiscent of
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, but told in a non-linear fashion requiring
more attention from the reader. Several other stories also jump around
in time. "Many Mansions" has parallels to Poul Anderson's "Time Patrol"
series, but also deals with the marketing of religion. "The Ring of
Memory" is almost a cross between a "Time Patrol" story and a "Twilight
Zone" episode, with the scope of the former and the personal touch of
the latter. "A Deeper Sea," with its intelligent cetaceans, was
probably expanded into Jablokov's novel of the same name, but stands
perfectly well on its own here, and again has the non-linear narrative
that Jablokov seems to like.
Some stories, of course, flow from start to finish in the normal
chain of events. "Deathbinder" is a horror story of the sort that the
"Twilight Zone" might have done, but not quite in this way. "Above
Ancient Seas" is about colonizing other worlds and seems to draw from
Ray Bradbury's "Mars" stories. "Living Will" deals in part with the
question of computer storage of personalities; "The Death Artist" is
about memory and memories. "At the Cross-Time Jaunters' Ball" is a
parallel worlds story; "Beneath the Shadow of Her Smile" is definitely
alternate history, but the alternate history aspect is secondary to
Jablokov's examination of war and what drives us to it.
Arkham House, like many other small-press publishers, takes pride
in the book as object as well as a conveyer of text. So the collection
is illustrated by J. K. Potter, who uses a photo-montage technique to
achieve striking, and often disturbing, effects. And the books feels
like something physically well-made. (I admit this may be even more
subjective than my opinions of the stories.)
Do I recommend this book? I tend to shy away from recommending
hardcover books, since rare is the science fiction reader who isn't
working with a budget. But most libraries won't get this (mine will,
because apparently the acquisitions person loves science fiction--she
also buys Zeising books), and the chance of it being reprinted in
paperback are slim indeed. If you've liked Jablokov's novels (CARVE THE
SKY, A DEEPER SEA, and NIMBUS) and haven't had a chance to read these
stories before, or want to read them again (the stories bear reading
more than once, one measure of quality writing), then this book is worth
the price.
(If your bookstore doesn't carry this and can't order it, you can
order it directly from Arkham House Publishers, P. O. Box 546, Sauk City
WI 53583.)
%A Jablokov, Alexander
%B The Breath of Suspension
%I Arkham House
%C Sauk City WI
%D July 25, 1994
%G ISBN 0-87054-167-6
%P 318pp
%O hardcover, US$20.95
--
Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | Evelyn.Leeper@att.com
"Am I politically correct today? Do I do crystals and New Age?
Obviously, women's music's for me--Edith Piaf, Bessie Smith, and Patti Page."
--Lynn Lavner
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