On the far-off planet of Tashista, a serial killer is at work, preying on residents of an underprivileged district in the rigidly class-structured city of Soshambe. When the killer (who is known as Scarab) murders the son of a city official who was apparently slumming in the seedy neighborhood, investigators call in Sandor Dyle, an off-world amateur sleuth known for his ability to solve crimes by analyzing the patterns of their perpetrators. There are many excellent things about this novel. The author has created a highly detailed, internally consistent world. (And he's done it while mostly avoiding the clumsy techno-jargon that mars so much contemporary sf.) He has also pulled off an entertaining take on a traditional mystery format (Dyle, who makes seemingly inexplicable deductions based on minimal evidence, is similar to another famous detective, one created by a writer name Doyle). But there are problems, too, the main one being that, early on in the novel, D'Ammassa virtually hands us the name of the killer on a silver platter. Readers who like their mysteries to be mysterious will be hugely disappointed. On the other hand, those who focus on the sf/fantasy elements--a world, its people, its society and technology--will be amply rewarded. David Pitt
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Review
"From a darkly humorous tale of the power of words (Death and the Librarian) to a never-before-published response to events of September 11 (Ilion), Friesner's 12 stories illustrate the author's acutely sensitive vision of wonder in the everyday world... Known primarily for his 'Star Wars' novels... Zahn's short stories also deliver strong plots and memorable characters... Zebrowski's many novels (e.g. Macrolife) mark him as a visionary as well as a master of hard sf. The ten short stories collected in In the Distance provide a benchmark of his creativity... the author expands his concept of the human condition to embrace the stars. Part of Five Star's continuing commitment to showcasing the short fiction of the genre's most prominent author's, these three volumes belong in most libraries where short sf is popular."
-- Library Journal (December 2002) (Library Journal 20020615)
"...Part of Five Star's continuing commitment to showcasing the short fiction of the genre's most prominent authors, these three volumes (Death and the Librarian and Other Stories/ Star Song and Other Stories/ In the Distance, and Ahead in Time) belong in most libraries where short sf is popular."
-- Library Journal (December 2002) (Library Journal )
"Four more titles in Five Star's new series (God Is an Iron and Other Stories/ Generation Gap and Other Stories/ The Lady Vanishes and Other Oddities of Nature/ Suppose They Gave a Peace and Other Stories) of short fiction by noteworthy sf authors offer a variety of tales that illustrate the depth and staying power of the genre...Most of the stories in these volumes have only appeared in periodicals. Libraries wishing to augment their sf or short fiction collections should consider any of them."
-- Library Journal (June 2002) (Library Journal )
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