The chief challenge is writing a review of LEAR'S DAUGHTERS
is in deciding if it's a great book, or merely a really good
book. It's definitely worth reading - one of the best
science fiction books I've read in a while - I'm just
wavering on the great bit.
In favor of LEAR'S DAUGHTERS being great are a number of
factors. From the starting premise of a survey team
exploring an alien world, the plot develops into a complex
story of mystery, intrigue and discovery. At the core of
the story is the world of Fiix and near-human inhabitants,
the Sawls. The planet and the Sawls are vividly realized,
and much of the joy of the book is in learning about the
Sawls and their strange society. The characters, both human
and Sawl, are also detailed and believable, providing an
emotional layer to the book that draws in the reader. The
writing itself is also a cut above the norm for science
fiction, and makes the book a reading pleasure. It is the
rare author that can discuss weather patterns at length and
remain entertaining.
On the other hand, there are some points against the book
being truly great. The first is a villain that evidently
came from the Snidely Whiplash School for Villains...or
perhaps Dr. Evil's. For a book with an environmentalist
strain, I suppose having the corporate industrialist be the
bad guy is a reasonable thing...but when he goes around
murdering the natives, torturing people and randomly setting
off nuclear bombs, it gets a bit silly. A little mustache
twirling and tying up damsels on the railroad tracks is
about all he has left to do. The book is a little bit hard
to get into as well, and it's about a hundred pages before
you get a real sense of the setting. And while the drawings
and reports scattered throughout the book are a fantastic
aid, a comprehensible map would have been appreciated.
I'm not sure if it's great, but LEAR'S DAUGHTERS is most
definitely very good. I can, have and will highly recommend
it. If you want to find yourself lost on another world for
a few days, there are few more enjoyable ways to do so.
Set in the future on a distant world, Lear’s
Daughters tackles the issues of global warming,
pollution, exploitation of resources, and disastrous climate
change. Long out of print, it has been completely rewritten
by the authors to reflect the cutting-edge knowledge and
research on environmentalism of the twenty-first century.
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