Customer Reviews

Star-anchored, star-angered (Doubleday science fiction)

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Coyote Jones, secret agent for the Tri-Galactic intelligence service, had a strange handicap. In a universe where every normal being is telepathic, he suffered from almost total mind-deafness. He can project, but he can't receive. When the social system of the planet Freeway began to reel under the force of an alleged female Messiah, Coyote's handicap made him the perfect choice for the assignment: FIND, is she a fake or isn't she?

If Drussa Silver is projecting telepathic illusions instead of performing miracles, Coyote would be immune to them. Since using religion to defraud is a criminal act, he could then bring her back to Mars-Central for trial. If she's the real thing however, the situation would be utterly different...

The story, on its face, is fair SF entertainment. It's an interstellar spy story, with hidden agendas, double crosses, mysterious prophets, and political intrigue. Fine stuff, and wholly forgettable.

The assassinated prophet naturally brings Christian tradition to mind, with the odd twist that the prophet stopped her self-appointed guard from saving her. The prophet took active part in her own demise. According to some of the Gnostic gospels - the ones not included in the New Testament - Judas was acting under Christ's direct orders in turning him over to the Romans, creating a much closer analogy than might have been intended. That dramatic quirk still isn't enough to pull this story above the ordinary.

-- wiredweird