Inconvenience Store
BOOK REVIEW: The Song of the Swan
The Song of the Swan
Arthur D'Alembert, 1998, Universal Publishers
Good old fashioned science fiction, thirties style, done with a millennium slant. Now who could find fault with that?
Not me.
Ain't gonna tell ya much about what happens other than to say it's an old kinda tale, where a dire threat from off planet nearly has its way, but gets derailed at the last minute by intrepid people and some good luck.
Stuff like this has been done before, but it seems like it got outlawed or something somewhere around the fifties for reasons that still elude me.
I'm one of them goofs that actually LIKES math and science and by golly, at least as far as I can tell, the shit's still called SCIENCE fiction. Ok? If not, fuck you.
More than its fair share of typos. Occasional cardboard cutout characterizations and clunky dialog. But who cares? It's WHAT'S GOING ON that counts. The characters are a mere vehicle to carry the techno-plot forward and I really don't give a rat's ass about their psychological development, their angst, or any of the rest of that shit. Just say your lines and get out of the way so the plot can continue unfolding.
A neato throwaway tale that you can gobble down in one sitting.
We likeum.
A lifetime resident (despite having travelled all over the damn place at one time or another) of Central Florida, James MacLaren took a four-year degree in death thrills riding giant waves on the North Shore back in the 70's. Wound up in the inconvenience store following a lay off from the Cape, where he was involved with the construction of the Space Shuttle launch pads, among other things. Father of best son in the world.
