Angel Station [Mass Market Paperback]

Walter Jon Williams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ubu has four arms, a fantastically faithful memory and is 13 years old. His 11-year-old "sister" Maria is more conventionally constructed, yet so psychic she considers herself a witch. (Both mature with the artificial aid of "mones" to the time of their late teens.) Their "father," Pasco, a small-time trader with an ancient spaceship, originally assembled them from spare genetic material and personality programs, but he commits suicide while in the throes of a depression, leaving his children to fend for themselves. Ubu compounds their problems by making an unwise business move, putting them deeply in debt--in danger of losing the ship and facing a life of virtual indenture. An attempt to capitalize on Maria's psychic abilities in a casino ends in disaster, leading to their arrest, escape and lives pursued on the edge of the law. Williams ( Hardwired ) colorfully evokes the life of the trader families and their honkytonk space stations. With its emphasis on youth, beauty, sex and mischief, the novel also conjures a contemporary mood agreeably distinct from its futuristic setting.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (May 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812557875
• ISBN-13: 978-0812557879
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Maria/Ubu, February 17, 2001

By 

Thomas E. Burke - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angel Station (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a great book...one of my favorite sci-fi books of alltime.

First of all, the whole idea of being able to capture and use the power of a singularity on board a ship to travel the stars is fascinating and powerfully described.

The two main occupants of the ship "Runaway" use their own unique powers, Ubu's perfect memory and and his sister Beautiful Maria's ability to shepherd electron flow, to control their ship and navigate the deep. But they have a problem...Ubu and Beautiful Maria are broke and desperate and need to do something soon. Out of such desperation comes risky ideas, conflict, money, screw-ups, drugs, sex, the law, aliens, hope, betrayal, power,and resolution.

This is a great ride, where eveytime you think it's going to turn out, it doesn't, or it does in an unexpected way. Walter Jon Williams has put together a great story that will keep you guessing. Try it out...it's just as good as "Hardwired" and "Voice of the Whirlwind".

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hero's name a play on french theatre character "Ubu Roi", August 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Angel Station (Mass Market Paperback)

Walter Jon Williams shares William Gibson's gift for creating a believable future--of hustlers, bankers, and whores--who are immediately recognizeable. The technology may change; but human nature will not (at least not within Williams' timescale). Again, Walter Jon Williams has an ear for realistic dialogue which the has been science fiction authors who split their time writing Star Trek episodes could learn much from.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angel Station (Mass Market Paperback)

A psychic girl and her cyborg brother must fend for themselves and the man/father who created them dies at his own hand.

Being kids, they try some ill-advised schemes to make money and
survive, and end up on the run, in a situation that is not at all
suited to children.