The Caterpillar's Question [Hardcover]

Piers Anthony (Author), Philip Jose Farmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992

En route to a special clinic across the country, mute and physically handicapped Tappy Concord persuades her driver, struggling art student Jack, to take a detour to a world tyrannized by an all-powerful galactic empire.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A tiresome performance by two genre talents who surely can do better, this is the old space opera story whereby a brave individual from earth manages to outwit an entire race of superior beings, get the girl and save the galaxy. Jack is an impecunious artist who takes the job of driving 13-year-old Tappuah ("Tappy") Concord, maimed in a childhood accident, to a distant clinic. During the journey, Tappy discovers her destiny as the host of the Imago, an entity that spreads general goodness to any sentient being. The Imago has picked a human host because humans are from a backwater world, unimportant in the general political scheme of the galaxy. Meanwhile, the Gaol, a stereotypical bad-guy race who use humans as slaves, want to crush the Imago because compassion and emotion are anathema to them. With the help of an android and a Gaol who has come under the Imago's influence, Jack manages to keep Tappy from being imprisoned by the Gaol (pronounced in the British fashion, "jail"--subtlety is not the novel's strong suit), and helps the Imago spread happiness throughout the galaxy. Every plot angle is utterly predictable, including Jack's angst over his growing love for adolescent Tappy.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A young art student and a mute, accident-scarred girl become trapped in a frightening otherworld where an alien civilization seeks their extermination. This collaborative effort by two prolific authors of sf and fantasy, while stylishly written, falls short of either author's independent efforts. Weak characters and a plot that strains credulity make this novel a marginal purchase.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; 1st edition (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441094880
• ISBN-13: 978-0441094882
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,566,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Ride for the Imagination, June 14, 2004

By 

"sweetrose02" (Albany, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Caterpillar's Question (Hardcover)

As an adolescent I got this book from the library many times. I loved it! And now as a teacher I seek to have this book in my classroom. The imagery in the story is fantastic. The narration is extremely descriptive; you get the feeling you're there with them. While reading this book, one of my favorite elements was the relationship that develops between Tappy and Jack. I think that the problem that the reviewers had with this book is that they are not reading it through the eyes of the audience for which it is intended. I did, and loved it. I loved it enough to read it four or five times while in middle school.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yuck., August 19, 2003

By 

M. S. Holmes (VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Caterpillar's Question (Paperback)

I am not a prude, but I don't go for grown men sleeping with thirteen year old girls and rationalizing it to themselves. Between this book and Muse of Art I've developed a distaste for Anthony and his growing taste for stories about sex between prepubscent nymphos and adult men.

The story itself was not very exciting. It has twists and turns, but it all falls rather flat. It wanders around, and creates a story without any grip or drive.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A modest entertainment for a very narrow audience, January 11, 2001

By 

Dave Deubler (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Caterpillar's Question (Paperback)

In this inter-dimensional fantasy, Jack, a college-age art student, falls in love with, and eventually has relations with, the thirteen-year-old physically challenged girl he was supposed to deliver to a medical clinic. If that simple fact doesn't send you off book-burning right from the start, then you might find some small entertainment value in this mildly interesting story. People and things are rarely what they seem in this convoluted, but still easy to follow book, starting with the girl, Tappy. Blind,(although doctors say there's nothing wrong with her eyes), and mute, (although she talks in her sleep), and all the while wearing a leg brace, Tappy eventually takes Jack on a hike up a mountain side, walks right into a large rock, and leads him through it into another world. There they encounter a race of primitives (who nonetheless have some useful technologies), as well as some helpful androids, who explain that Tappy is actually the human host for the Imago, a sentient being that promotes empathy for all life. This makes her supremely dangerous to the Gaol, a race of brutal conquerors who rule the galaxy, and who intend to continue ruling it by imprisoning Tappy. Although there are some slow spots in the first half of the book, there are also lots of twists and surprises; but as is often the case with fantasies, the successive shocks become less and less impressive as you go along. Anthony has a good eye for description, and Farmer's sections are quickly discernable by their more scientific rationalizations, so that as a whole the book reads pretty well. Perhaps instead of asking "Who are you?" the Caterpillar should be asking "Who is your target audience?" The sexual content guarantees that this book can't be recommended to young readers, despite the fact that the authors try to assuge Jack's guilt by showing his remorse, Tappy's need, and the effect of the Imago living inside of her. On the other hand, there's little in the way of truly deep philosophical thought or sophisticated scientific speculation to lure the more experienced adult readers. So while this is not in all ways a bad book, the number of people who will really just love it is probably very small.