Voices of Heaven

 

By Frederik Pohl

Barry di Hoa was doing pretty good, considering. Because he had been locked up when he was younger due to his mental illness. He describes it thus: "I had a 'psychosis' that closely resembled 'schizophrenia' of the type once called 'manic-depressive.'" He goes on to add that it, "came from my genetic heritage; my mother and my father just happened to carry some very rare recessive genes." Fortunately there was treatment that enabled Barry to live a normal life, with his symptoms under control. Unfortunately, it required injections several times a year, injections that he would have to have all his life. 

Barry lived on the moon and worked with antimatter fuel pods. Antimatter is very dangerous stuff but Barry was good at his job. And it paid very well. He had a girl friend that he loved and who loved him. The girl friend, Alma, used to belong to a religious cult, the Penitential Church of the Millenium, aka Millenarists. Which was basically a death cult that believed merely being alive was a sin, as was having children. And the best thing to do was kill yourself. However,  Alma tried hanging herself but only nearly died. That brush with death gave her a new outlook and she left the cult. 

So what does this have to do with the story? Quite a lot. Because a ship from a colony plant, Pava, had arrived on the moon and Barry was in charge of loading their large order of antimatter fuel pods on their vessel, the Corsair. The captain of the vessel, Garold and his close friend, Reverend Tuckman, were both Millenarists. And many of the colonists back on Pava are also Millenarists. They had legitimate reasons for their large order of fuel pods, though, so Barry thought nothing more about it.

Back to Alma, who had an ex-boyfriend, Rannulf. Who no longer wanted to be her ex. Surprisingly, Rannulf declared that he would be joining Garold on board the Corsair, to become a colonist on Pava. Before he left, though, he wanted to talk to Barry privately. Barry agreed to meet with Rannulf and as a result he was drugged and stashed in one of the freezer capsules by Rannulf used for space travelers because of the immense amount of time required for long trips, in this case, twenty five years from the moon to Pava. 

So Barry wakes up on Pava, and even if he did travel back to the moon, it would  be fifty years since he was kidnapped.  Alma would be fifty years older and Barry would still be a young man, thanks to the freezer capsules.

Life on Pava is harsh and the colony is struggling. Mostly because the planet is tectonically very active. They had recently experienced a serious earthquake that had destroyed a dam they were using for hydroelectric power. Although Barry is regretting his lost life on the moon with Alma, he gets to work, doing his part to help the colony survive. But he knows his medical issue will soon become a problem and that the colony doesn't have the medical experts or equipment to make the medications he needs in order to stay sane. The best the local doctor (who is actually a dentist) can do is give him medicines to combat depression and to calm him down when he is manic. Which sort of works, until Barry starts abusing the anti-depression medication to boost his spirits. And then the colony experiences another major earthquake and everybody is miserable. Except the native peoples, large caterpillar-like creatures, who had been quite helpful to the colony people, providing much needed labor. But they have all disappeared, for reasons unknown, and their contributions to the humans' survival is sorely missed. 

Finally Barry figures out something that was quite obvious from the beginning of the story, namely, Garold's real intentions with all those fuel pods of antimatter. Garold is going to do what so many religious fanatics love to do: kill nonbelievers.

My main problem with this book was the interrogation technique of telling the story. Person or persons unknown are questioning Barry and he is trying to explain his actions. I found that style of telling the story boring. So boring. The reader doesn't find out until quite far in the story who is doing the questioning. We also don't find out why until near the end. 

Like so many novels these days, the book was too long. Editors don't like edit any more, I guess. I don't think this story needed over 300 pages in order to be told. 

Another thing I didn't care for was the characters. Most of the characters are annoying at best, even Barry with his pathetic obtuseness. The most interesting characters were the natives but they don't get a lot of attention from the author. I guess they are only there to draw a contrast between the shitty humans and the virtuous caterpillar people. 

Finally, the title, Voices of Heaven. I never figured out if that referred to the caterpillar people or the religious fanaticism that seems to have overtaken the humans of this imaginary future. 

Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.

Final Diagnosis

 

By James White

Hewlitt was born on the planet Etla of human parents. But two odd things happened to him when he was a youngster. First, he climbed up a very tall tree and dined on very poisonous fruit of that tree and then fell to what should have been his death. But he survived virtually unharmed, neither by the fall nor by the poisonous fruit he ate. Secondly, he (and his pet cat) survived a vehicle crash that killed both his parents and should have killed Hewlitt and his cat. They survived unharmed. 

As Hewlitt grew up, his health was quite good. Except when it wasn't. The strangest, most unlikely things were apt to result in his near death. The medical folks could not understand what his problem was. Which is how he ended up at Sector General, the multi-species, deep-space, hospital. 

Undergoing extensive medical tests and interviews, Hewlitt's condition was shown to be extremely serious when a routine blood draw put him into cardiac arrest. After nearly killing their new patient, the staff becomes much more careful in their treatment of him. 

The ward Hewlitt was in contained other patients, none of whom were human. One of the worse cases was Morredeth who was severely injured in an accident. Although Morredeth survived the accident, they were disabled in a way that incurable. But when Hewlitt touched them, by accident, Morredeth experienced complete healing, in condition as good as before their injury. At first, the medical experts had no explanation for this occurrence. Until they found out that Hewlitt had touched Morredeth.

Eventually the medical team decided that whatever made Hewlitt different had its origins in his childhood on Etla. And so they loaded him up and set off for Etla. When they got there, it was clear they were on the right track. Because Hewlitt's pet cat from his childhood was still alive and still healthy, even though it was about thirty years old. 

Not a lot happens in this novel. Yes, there is Hewlitt's two childhood accidents. But beyond that we don't get much about his life as an adult, other than the fact that he is impotent and very lonely and has weird health crises. Yes, he nearly dies in the hospital, but the doctors save him. And then there is the healing of Morredeth. But other than that, it's mostly just a lot of talk, talk, talk. Talk with various nonhumans but also with various medical persons who are mostly humans. It was a bit boring. 

Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.

Friday's Child

 

By Georgette Heyer

A Regency Romance

Young Lord Sheringham just popped in to see Isabella Milborne. They had been neighbors since they were kids and so Sherry, as he is called by his friends, thought he could just barge in. What he didn't know was that Isabella had come home from her London season because she had taken ill. Not a serious illness, but to been seen with measles spots on her perfect face was not acceptable. So off to the country home for the current reigning maiden of the London social scene until she was back to her usual gorgeous self. For Isabella was all the rage and all the young bucks were besotted with her, including her old childhood friend, Lord Sheringham. 

But Isabella was not having it. She spurned his offer of marriage, saying she was quite sure he was not truly in love with her. And that she didn't care for his bachelor lifestyle of sports, gambling, boozing and loose women. At which point Sherry admitted that he has gotten himself into a bit of debt and needed to get married in order to gain full access to his inheritance. Which is held in a trust until he is twenty five (he's only twenty four) or until he is married. 

Sherry headed home only to quarrel with his mother and his uncle, declaring that he is going back to London and he will marry the first woman he sees. Fortunately, the first woman he sees is an old friend he comes across on the roadside not too far from his country home. Hero Wantage and Sherry are old friends, Hero, who is seven years younger than Sherry, used to tag along after him when they were kids. Sherry stops to talk to Hero and it turns out she is running away from home. Hero is an orphan and has lived with her Aunt Jane most of her young life. The aunt has decided it is time for Hero to make her way in the world and has arranged for her to start work as a governess. But Hero would rather not be a governess or marry the curate. 

When Sherry explains that Isabella turned him down and about his quarrel with his family and his threat to marry the first woman he sees, Hero laughingly points out that she is the first woman! At first, Sherry rejects that idea but quickly changes his mind. Off to London they go, to obtain a special license and get married as soon as possible, quite clueless of the pitfalls in their path to a happy marriage.

Sherry treats Hero like a pal, not like his wife. Hero is not used to London society and Sherry, pursuing his own interests, is not providing the guidance she needs and she tumbles into one scrape after the other, much to Sherry's annoyance. In fact, he becomes so annoyed that he decides to send back to the country, to live with his mother. At which point, Hero runs away again as Sherry's mother did not approve of their runaway marriage and despises Hero.  

This was a good story. Probably more enjoyable for those who not as familiar with Heyer's Regency novels as I am. For me, the characters and the plot were nearly identical to characters in some of the other stories. Nothing that happens in the story is at all surprising, all of it quite familiar. The ending is fun, with all the young people ending up at the same place at the same time, along with the old lady's dog, a chunky pug.  

Here is a review by Lauren Ann Nattress of Austenprose.

Pilgrimage

 

By Zenna Henderson

The "People" came to Earth as refugees, fleeing the death of their own planet. Completely human in appearance, but not like humans in that they possess amazing innate powers, able to read minds, control the weather with a thought, alter environments with a gesture, yet despite their great power, are a very humble folk, seeking only to survive in a strange and not very welcoming world. 

Human woman Lea is on a bus ride to nowhere. Down to her last few dollars, she has decided to end her life. Getting off at the last stop, a small southwestern town, she finds a bridge and is preparing to jump when she is stopped by a kind stranger, Karen. Who calmly points out what Lea can't see in the gathering darkness is that the bridge isn't very high and that the river beneath is completely dry. At most, she will just break her legs if she jumps. 

Karen persuades Lea to come home with her which Lea agrees to do. She welcomed and treated like a member of the family. As she stays with Karen's family and comes to know the locals, Lea is exposed to things that she tries to dismiss as hallucinations or delusions. But the small miracles she witnesses are just the beginning of the lessons the People will teach her, giving Lea a new reason to keep on living.

The story of Lea is just the wrapper to tie together the short stories contained in this collection. But it works really well, and brings it all to a hopeful and inspiring conclusion. The stories are about people with strange powers trying to find others of their own kind, of trying to understand what they are supposed to be doing with their amazing abilities and of coming together with others to find refuge from a hostile world. 

It's a fun read and often quite touching. 

The Fallen Man

 

By Tony Hillerman

Shiprock is located in San Juan County, New Mexico. It is, according to Wikipedia, the "erosional remnant of the throat of a volcano."

Shiprock is sacred to the Navajo people and climbing it is dangerous and forbidden. Still people seek to climb it as it is deemed a difficult and challenging climb. In The Fallen Man, a couple of climbers discover the bones of person high up on a ledge, with the remains of climbing equipment scattered around the bones remains.

Retired Navajo policeman Joe Leaphorn remembers the case of man who went missing several years before, Harold Breedlove. Harold was known to be a climber and his car was found abandoned in the area. He had just celebrated his thirtieth birthday and had told his wife that he was going to a meeting and that he would be back shortly. But he vanished.

Now Breedlove's father had set up a strange will that kept Hal from inheriting the family ranch until he reached his thirtieth birthday. So Hal had just come into his inheritance when he went missing. He was declared dead years later and his wife inherited the property.  So when the bones found on Shiprock turn out to be those of the missing Hal, questions arise. Was he killed for his inheritance? Was it an accident? Was he climbing Shiprock alone? Which would be extremely stupid and foolhardy thing to do. Or was someone with him? Did they cause his death? If they didn't, why didn't they report the accident? Clearly, a closer look is required, which suits Leaphorn just fine, as he doesn't like unsolved mysteries even though he no longer officially works for the police department. 

The timing is the key to solving the death of Hal Breedlove. And frankly, I was completely lost when it came to understanding the problem with Hal's death and the date of his inheritance. I also did not approve of Officer Chee's and Leaphorn's solution to Hal's death, taking justice into their own hands, in a way.

Also there is a subplot where Office Chee and new character Office Bernie Manuelito are trying to track down a cattle thief. They finally figure out how it is being done and the person doing it. But instead of including the scene where the two cops confront the bad guy, which I was really looking forward to reading about, instead all we get is, "Officer Manuelito arrested [bad guy] today. He was loading Maryboy heifers into his [transport]." Hillerman missed an opportunity there for some reason. I always wonder if authors sometimes get bored with their story and just wrap thing up rather abruptly because they are tired of it. 

Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.

Equal Rites

 

By Terry Pratchett

A Discworld fantasy.

Wizards know when their time is coming. Traditionally, they bequeath their powers via their magical staffs to the eighth son of an eighth son. Which is probably what the wizard Drum Billet intended to do. So he left Ankh-Morpork and traveled to the village of Bad Ass and passed his staff on to the eighth child of an eighth child, Gordo Smith. However, Gordo's eighth child is not his son, it is his newborn daughter, Eskarina. Once given to the child, the staff refuses to be separated from her, no matter what the parents and local witch and midwife, Granny Weatherwax try. They only succeed in hurting themselves in the attempts. So the baby is allowed to keep her magical wizard staff.

As Esk grows, she begins to experience the powers that belong to wizards. One of her early efforts results in turning her annoying brother into a pig. At which point Granny Weatherwas realizes Esk needs more guidance than Granny can give her and she takes Esk on a trip to Ankh-Morpork.  While on the trip, Esk wanders off and joins a group traveling there also. Granny and Esk eventually get back together but when Esk tries to gain entrance to the Unseen University, she is sent packing, because females can't be wizards. However, Granny points out that the University has plenty of women in it, working there as servants. And so, with all the training that Granny has given Esk, she soon finds herself working there as a maid. And in the process picking up the scraps of knowledge that will help her understand what a female wizard is capable of achieving. 

Esk learning her powers and learning about the world outside of Bad Ass made for a fun and interesting tale. Granny Weatherwax makes her first appearance in the series and comes off as more human in this version as she sets up shop in Ankh-Morpork, selling potions and telling fortunes and actually acquiring some newer clothing instead of her usual raggedy outfit. Things I don't think Pratchett's later versions of her would approve of. Granny Weatherwax becomes an important recurring character in the Discworld series. Oddly, Esk, the female wizard, doesn't reappear in the novels until many years later. Instead Pratchett returns over and over to Rincewind, the inept wizard-wannabe who stars in the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic.