Friday, September 19, 2008

Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

Walter Tevis's 1980 novel Mockingbird is a quiet, meditative piece; less of a story, really, than a portrait... In this future, machines run everything, and humans keep themselves to themselves - literally, because privacy and individuality laws demand it; and they spend much of their time in a drugged stupor anyway. Those who've had enough can always immolate themselves...

The full review is available online at The Zone.

Further links:
Walter Tevis
Gollancz

The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson

Every major city has its own Zodiac troop, a dozen people with extraordinary powers of strength, healing, and more besides; they are the Light, whose mission is to maintain peace and battle their Shadow counterparts. Joanna Archer learns that she is the First Sign of the Las Vegas Zodiac troop, and may be destined to lead them in the ultimate battle against the Shadows. There's one thing, though: the Tulpa, the supernatural entity who leads Vegas's Shadow troop, is Joanna's real father...

The full review is available online at SF Site.

Further links:
Vicki Pettersson
HarperVoyager