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Mammoth expectations
Aug. 21st, 2005 05:00 pmFrom time to time I get this question "who is your favourite author?". It usually comes from some well meaning person who is not an SF fan - somebody who may have heard of Isaac Asimov if they have heard of any genre writer at all. Sometimes I tell them the truth - I do not have a single favourite, it depends on context, mood etc. On other occasions I also tell them a truth - John Varley.
Varley really blew my mind when I first encountered his work in the early 80s. He somehow managed to capture the off the wall spirit of the new wave writer in a clear simple style from the old school. And then he injected something distinctly his own. A way of representing the impact of social and technological change on the shape of society that I had never seen before. That extra was just the result of a wonderful vision. After an initial burst of activity, his production dropped down to a tiny trickle of novels with gaps of years between each. So a new Varley novel is a big deal when it comes along. Mammoth arrived on Friday and immediately rose to the top of my reading list.
Mammoth has not had good reviews and now that I have read it, I can see why. It isn't a bad book by any means. It is a well told time travel tale but it isn't a "Varley novel". It is way too ordinary. Now Varley's last novel was a Heinlein pastiche and could therefore also be considered not a "Varley novel". But it was a very good Heinlein pastiche and a lot of fun even if it wasn't what I really wanted.
I repeat - Mammoth isn't a bad book, in fact it is pretty good. But under the weight of expectation, it fails to deliver. I feel rather flat.
Varley really blew my mind when I first encountered his work in the early 80s. He somehow managed to capture the off the wall spirit of the new wave writer in a clear simple style from the old school. And then he injected something distinctly his own. A way of representing the impact of social and technological change on the shape of society that I had never seen before. That extra was just the result of a wonderful vision. After an initial burst of activity, his production dropped down to a tiny trickle of novels with gaps of years between each. So a new Varley novel is a big deal when it comes along. Mammoth arrived on Friday and immediately rose to the top of my reading list.
Mammoth has not had good reviews and now that I have read it, I can see why. It isn't a bad book by any means. It is a well told time travel tale but it isn't a "Varley novel". It is way too ordinary. Now Varley's last novel was a Heinlein pastiche and could therefore also be considered not a "Varley novel". But it was a very good Heinlein pastiche and a lot of fun even if it wasn't what I really wanted.
I repeat - Mammoth isn't a bad book, in fact it is pretty good. But under the weight of expectation, it fails to deliver. I feel rather flat.