Customer Reviews

Wizard

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In a way, this is John Varley's "Lawrence of Arabia:" After her great success at the end of "Titan," Cirocco Jones is now something more than human, a hero on Earth and the "wizard" of Gaea. Of course, this isn't a fairy tale, and living up to all that an insane alien "goddess" has put on her shoulders is too much for anyone, even a hero.

And that's the set-up for "Wizard," the second of three books in the Gaia Trilogy. Whereas the first story was an exploration adventure in the "Rendezvous with Rama" mold, and the third story ("Demon") invites comparisons to the "Star Wars" movies, "Wizard" is an odd little story that mixes a classic fantasy quest to redeem a fallen hero with science fiction action that is inspired (both by the author and the characters involved) by World War II movies.

Along the way, Varley flexes his imaginative skills again, outdoing the weird alien creations of "Titan" with even more genetically engineered wonders and monstrosities, many of which stick in the imagination long after the book has been put down: I can never think of a buzz bomb in the same way again, nor a blimp, an angel or centaur.

There will be some who find this book, like the others in this series, a bit too racy for them: One of Cirocco's chores is to be part of the breeding cycle for one of the alien species, although not in the way one might expect. It's a great character bit, an interesting bit of xenobiology and a good plot engine. It's also blantant sexuality, so this book isn't for those who are uncomfortable with such stuff.

For the rest of us, though, "Wizard" is an amazing book, chronicling the rise of a fallen hero through an amazing alien landscape that's easily one of the most interesting settings speculative fiction has ever produced.

A must-read for adult (or adult-minded) science fiction and fantasy fans.

I hate trilogies. I really do. Most of the time, the author barely writes anything interesting in the first book, let alone those that follow.

Having said that, let me tell you that John Varley has written one of the great SF stories of the last twenty-five years. "Titan" (with its companion volumes, "Wizard" and "Demon") tells the story of Cirocco Jones and the crew of the NASA spacecraft DSV Ringmaster as they meet, are changed by and ultimately must fight Gaea, the living planet. The characters are vivid and well-drawn; Varley has justifiably drawn praise for his strong, realistic female characters.

Like Jack Chalker did in "Well of Souls", Varley gives us a powerful story of humanity lost and regained in the face of epic struggles. His reach sometimes exceeds his grasp -- especially in "Demon" -- but I recommend this trilogy wholeheartedly.

I'd give it 4.5 stars if I was able.

Whereas Titan was a very good explore the big space object novel as good as or better than Ringworld or Rendezvous with Rama, Wizard improves with some new characters and fleshes out Cirroco and Gaby from Titan.

Gaea, the living entity/world has now established an embassy on Earth and allows immigration/visitors a few generations after Titan. Supplicants in need of something from Gaea such as a disease cured are allowed to come to Gaea and she amuses herself by making them perform "heroic" feats to get the boon they wish.

We are introduced to two characters from Earth, a youngish girl from a space colony of lesbians suffering from a type of epilipsy, and a fellow with what seems to be multiple personality disorder. After reaching Gaea they join up with Cirroco and Gaby and the story really takes off.

All of the sense of wonder of exploration from Titan is still evidenced here, and is even more imaginative. However the characters struggling with their issues as well as the environment is what drives the story and makes you care what happens. Cirroco has become a functional alchoholic, Gaby remains the most normal but bears the scars of loving Cirroco.

Visiting the regional brains of Gaea allows the two visitors from Earth to develop their character while showing us more of the wonders of Gaea. Eventually we learn the visit is to sound out the possibility of a rebellion and the dramatic tension heightens.

Though the book provides full closure to the story, there is a definite hook to Demon which will make you want to move right on.

This is a fast-paced, fun read that is more than worth your while. I cannot believe I have waited this long to experience this bravura performance.

We were introduced to the alien Gaea in Titan, when our characters came to investigate. Now we get to explore it in a great-circle journey around the rim, visiting almost every region.
John Varley has created an intriguing, unique landscape in this installment of his trilogy. Not only is Gaea a world and a god, but she is also a political being with a sharp eye towards the future. It is only in Demon that we see how shrewd she really is, but for now she presents herself as the benign but not really caring omnipotent who grants cures to people with interesting diseases. The catch is that applicants have to perform an heroic deed first.
We get some fascination candidates; an Earth man and a Witch from an orbiting colony. These two meet our heroes from Titan, and all set out along the river looking for adventure. Our old friends Cirrocco and Gaby who were the first humans to encounter Gaea have an ulterior motive for this little venture though, one that could change Gaea forever.
All the characters here are so well written they become like old friends in a very short time. There are also moments of humor in here that made me giggle uncontrollably, endearing these people to me even more.
Titanides are the most original, interesting and wonderful creatures ever conceived in fiction of any genre, from their instictive ablilty to understand and make music of any kind in existence to the myriad ways and means of conception. They are the most talked-about species in the book, but there are tons of other strange things to see and/or run away from. Blimps, Subs, buzzbombs, angels, sandworms and even King Kong! Readers of scifi will see Varley paying tribute to many other scifi greats along the journey.
So here in Wizard, our little troupe sets off down the river, that flows around the world, that is Gaea, who is not sane. Anything can happen in a place like that, but to find out why, you have to READ IT!

Wizard is the second and best book in the Gaea trilogy, one of the best trilogies ever. It brings back most of the characters from the first book, shakes them up quite a bit, and adds some new ones. Cirocco Jones, the heroine of "Titan" and now officially known as the Wizard, is back - but she's a fairly hopeless drunk. Gaby, very much in love with Cirocco, has a hard time doing Gaea's errands without the magic powers granted to Cirocco, while taking care of Cirocco. Then there are the new characters - Chris, who loses his mind on a regular basis and has zero self-esteem; and Robin, a witch with an extreme condition resembling epilepsy and a major attitude problem. Together, they set out on a journey to visit all of Gaea's "regional brains", the demi-gods who live under Gaea's skin and control the lands surrounding them. From the moment they set out, they are threatened by evil humans and malevolent aliens, including the sinister buzzbombs. Buzzbombs, which are intelligent jet fighters complete with symbiotic heatseeking missiles, are my favourite aliens ever. ""Wizard" is full of wonderful symbolism, imagery borrowed from classic films, and Varley's fantastic imagination. It also features some fairly graphic interspecies sex, and a little extreme violence, so it's not for everyone - Star Trek this is not. But it's a wonderful mix of social exploration, ethics, some of the most imaginative landscapes in the genre, and action that begs for James Cameron to film it.

John Varley is a masterful storyteller. I first encountered his work when perusing some ancient issues of Isaac Asimov's SF Magazine, in the form of the chilling short story "Press Enter." Wizard is a fantastic sequel to "Titan" - it's a page turner. Varley developed the characters from "Titan" between novels - he managed to keep them human and interesting, rather than falling into the trap of allowing them to become two-dimensional and boring because of the power they wield on Gaea, a moon of Saturn which has its own sentient consciousness. The new characters are interesting, and Varley avoids the predictable potential pairings, instead choosing to create a human-alien relationship and create a plot thread which (hopefully) will be resolved in the last novel of the trilogy. I must get my hands on a copy of "Demon" to see how Gaea and her agent, Cirocco Jones, deal with the unexpected betrayal that occurs in the last part of "Wizard."

The Gaean trilogy is one of the classics of space operatic adventure. Wizard tries to be more than that. It tries to be a novel of difficult moral questions, of individuals who are at odds with the standards of their society, of individuals that must make decisions that affect everyone in their society for better or for worse. It doesn't do a very good job of that, though. It is a wonderful space opera, but weak as a psychological novel.

Varley isn't afraid to sketch complex characters. Every one of the main characters of Wizard is to some extent or another mad. Since the events of Titan, Cirocco Jones has cracked under the weight of serving as Gaea's Wizard and become a depressive alcoholic. Gaby's century of unrequited love for Cirocco has filled her with bitter resignation. And over the course of the novel, Gaea herself no longer looks like the mostly benign, albeit callous deity she was in Titan, but instead is revealed as contemptous of mortal life and absolutely nuts. Of the new protagonists, Chris suffers from bouts of possession by other personalities, while Robin has a genetic epilepsy that has led her to cut herself off from the rest of her culture, a space colony of lesbian witches.

But having assembled this motley crew, Varley just writes an imaginitive, but fairly typical, adventure fantasy that revolves around the protagonists repeatedly being almost killed by alien monsters. Their respective psychoses manifest themselves when dramatically convenient and may as well be absent the rest of the time. Most of the inter-character development comes through the characters either jumping in bed with each other or talking about how they would want to jump in bed with each other if only it weren't such a bad idea. Doing these characters proper justice requires more subtlety than Wizard offers.

Wizard is good space fantasy adventure, but nothing more.

Wizard is easily as good as its prequel, Titan; the two are among the best books I have ever read. The fall into alcoholism (and subsequent recovery from it) by the main character, one of my personal role models, is touching. The story is compelling, offering both emotion and action. It is a must-read for all lovers of great writing, whether they are sci-fi fans or not.

For those of you who liked Titan, Wizard will not disappoint. But for those of you who thought some of Varley's editorializing in Titan was annoying, you will also encounter more of it in Wizard. While Titan tells us that humanity is vicious and animalistic, and abortion is a sensible option for any career-minded woman, Wizard lets us now that smart people are atheists and all the males of any species want to do is rape the females. That said, it's still a great book. Varley introduces a number of new characters, particularly Chris, Valiha, and Robin, who invigorate Gaia's landscape.

This and the other two books in the trilogy are my very favorite books "period". I've read all three at least 10 times and never tire of them. These books are Varley's masterpieces without a doubt.

I see other reviewers complain that the writing itself is not that great. As a published author of supernatural horror, sci-fi, Lovecraftian horror (and humor-horror), I'm simply amazed at Varley's talent as demonstrated in these books; he's an excellent writer. If I could write a trilogy like this or even a single novel that's close to being this good, I'd feel I'd accomplished something very, very special, a legacy. As it is, I'm downright envious of Varley for having written these books. I like some of his other work, especially his early tales, but I have trouble relating to his work after this trilogy. It's my intuitive feeling that he put so much love into these books that they are just too good to follow-up with anything as good or better, at least in this genre. His later books are too intensely sci-fi and therefore not as wildly creative, imaginative or endearing as this trilogy.

There's no point in providing a synopsis here as other reviewers have already done so, thus my focus is on the wonderful characters (I feel like I know them personally), the vivid imagination of the author, the scientific accuracy and speculation and, above all, the fantastic storyline.

These books are a mix of heavy-duty sci-fi, unbelievably innovative imagination, inventive and original fantasy, excitement, heartfelt philosophy that isn't overdone, and an outrageously hilarious sense of humor (especially in the third book -- picture a "goddess" in the form of a 30 foot Marilyn Monroe in a fight to the death with a King Kong look-alike!).

I can't recommend these books enough! I love 'em and cannot believe they have not received the acclaim these definitely deserve! They are treasures!