1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Un-discovered Gem...?, May 5, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: The Ophiuchi Hotline (Paperback)
Response to book in a moment, but I need to vent for a second. : )
First off, I think John Varley is quite under-apprecieated as an author. I think his Gaean Trilogy is one of the best saga's ever written. (but hey, I LOVED farmer's riverworld series as well) -- maybe I just have an affinity for detailed fiction.
Reguardless, I was on my Gaean trilogy rebound when I picked up Ophiuchi Hotline. I needed some sort of quick pick me up, and boy was this it! The story is classic Varley style; heavy on genetic fancy. We delve into a futuristic solar system where humans have been forced off of earth by obscure jovians and a laser beam of mysterious extra-solar origin carrying an encrypted data-stream is pointed in the general direction of us, offering volumes of biological and technological marvels. Such a windfall of technology brings humans to a level that allows for: sex-change on demand, clones with copied minds, black hole power and plants that grow meat, etc. Then a twist; a garbeled message comes down the hotline, something that seems like a bill of service, and an un-intelligible threat.
It's page length is suprising, as I got much more story out of it then many books five times Ophiuchi Hotline's length..
In short, this is a wonderful story that I think anyone who injoys S/F would love...
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