Sargent, Pamela

Women of Wonder, the Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s

Average customer rating:

old fashioned and great
Excellent collection

Women of Wonder, the Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s
Pamela Sargent
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s
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ASIN: 0156000318

Book Description

Based on one of the most popular SF anthologies of all time, which dispelled the notion that women don’t write “real” science fiction, this volume features stories by twenty-one seminal SF writers. Included are works by Leigh Brackett, C. L. Moore, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Judith Merril. Introduction and Bibliography by the Editor.

Customer Reviews:

old fashioned and great.......2004-11-04

I have the old books, from waaay back in the late seventies when "women of wonder" came out followed by "more women of wonder"
They are incredibly insightful as not all the world has moved at the same step regarding equality. And anyway... they make a very good read!
I can hardly wait to get my hands on the next volume... from the 70's to the 90's
(while in there I might as well get the old one, my copies are yellowed and getting brittle)

Excellent collection.......2000-05-16

This first of two books in the series about women writing science fiction both satisfies your curiousity and entertains while urging you to get the second book. There are so many things that haven't changed and yet, the stories can at times seem dated. We should be grateful, this means that some progress has been achieved.

Average customer rating:

fantastic science fiction

Farseed (Seed Trilogy)
Pamela Sargent
Manufacturer: Tor Teen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Earthseed (Seed Trilogy)
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ASIN: 0765314274
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

Centuries ago, the people of Earth sent Ship into space. Deep within its core, it carried the seed of humankind. More than twenty years have passed since Ship left its children, the seed of humanity, on an uninhabited, earthlike planeta planet they named Home. Zoheret and her companions have started settlements and had children of their own. But, as on board Ship, there was conflict, and soon after their arrival, Zoherets old nemesis, Ho, left the original settlement to establish his own settlement far away. When Hos daughter, sixteen-year-old Nuy, spies three strangers headed toward their village, the hostility between the two groups of old shipmates begins anew and threatens to engulf the children of both settlements. Can the divided settlers face the challenges of adapting to their new environment in spite of their conflicts? And if they do, will they lose their humanity in the process?

Customer Reviews:

fantastic science fiction .......2007-03-11

Ship was created to find worlds that could contain human life and seed these orbs with humans. One of the first worlds to fulfill the requirement is Home where Ship deposited colonists. The colonists make up two groups. One segment led by Ho settles in the warm south while the rest headed by Zoheret moved into the coastal north. The people of the south lost much of their technology and devolved into a more\primitive lifestyle, while the Northerners built domes and relied on the technology brought from earth.

Ho's teenage daughter Nuy sees three strangers approach from the north. She brings them to their village, but Ho assumes they bring death so he kills them and exiles his offspring. A year passes with the second generation Northerners wanting to know what happened to their compatriots. At a town hall meeting Leila a second generation person wants to send a second expedition to the South and she is supported by the settlement so they go south to find out the truth. When they camp for the night, Ho sends his forces to attack them killing two of the campers. Leila insists on continuing and soon meets Nuy, who wants to save both groups from her out of control parent.

Two groups, one primitive and one advanced, battle for control with some in power (on both sides) preferring the status quo. It takes the female adventurers from both sides to demand change and go against the status quo established by the original landing party. Pamela Sargent has written a fantastic science fiction novel that shows how humans adapt to new environs. FARSEED is enjoyable and exciting as readers will care what happens to the colonists especially the heroic offspring.

Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s

Average customer rating:

#2 is great!

Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s
Pamela Sargent
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156000334

Amazon.com

In an exciting collection, Pamela Sargent presents some of the most vibrant women science fiction writers. From Angela Carter to Connie Willis, <B>Women of Wonder</B> diplays a dazzling array of stories that reflect the variety of different literary paths women have taken in writing science fiction and the wealth of imaginary worlds they've created.

Book Description

A companion volume to The Classic Years showcasing recent science fiction by women. Here are Octavia E. Butler, Pat Cadigan, Angela Carter, Nancy Kress, and Connie Willis, among others. Introduction and Bibliography by the Editor.

Customer Reviews:

#2 is great!.......2000-05-16

The second collection of women's science fiction gives us insight into what has and hasn't changed. Here are some talents the common science fiction fan has heard along with a couple I didn't recongnize. What I found most interesting is that women still tend to focus on women as the main characters even after the reported "equality of the sexes". Reflection of innate views or sign of some progress left to make?

Nebula Awards 30:: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year

Average customer rating:

The best sci-fi of 1994 - but was 1994 such a good year?
Good, but I prefer the 2 yrs best.
Good, but mildly disappointing.
Good, but mildly disappointing.
A perfect score is too low!

Nebula Awards 30:: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year

Manufacturer: Harcourt
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Binding: Hardcover

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Nebula Awards 28: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year (Nebula Awards Showcase)

ASIN: 0151001138

Book Description

Excellent in all departments (Kirkus Reviews), Nebula Awards 30 continues a tradition of excellence by offering, alongside works by the winners in all Nebula categories, a generous selection of fiction, poetry, and essays not found in any other best-of-the-year anthologies.

Customer Reviews:

The best sci-fi of 1994 - but was 1994 such a good year?.......2000-07-11

Obviously enough, there is just no possibility that in a single year there will be enough groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy written to fill a book the size of Nebula Awards 30. In fact, some of the pieces in this collection are downright tepid (at least in my opinion, but yours may differ). Included within are:

Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick: an alien archeologist gets seven glimpses into the nature of mankind (now extinct), on a progressively more radioactive Earth. May drag around the edges. 4 stars.

Inspiration by Ben Bova: a visitor from the future attempts to give young Einstein the impetus to voice his beliefs on physics (and thus, oddly enough, save the future Earth from being a radioactive dump) by giving him a copy of Well's The Time Machine. Not quite interesting. 3 stars.

Virtual Love by Maureen F. McHugh: two online virtuosos, off-line nobodies, are mesmerized by each other's mastery with false visages. Nice imagery. 4 stars.

None So Blind by Joe Halderman: "Why aren't blind people geniuses?" A child genius falls in love with a blind musician and creates a greater intelligence. 3 stars.

Fortyday by Damon Knight: in an alternate Roman Empire humans grow biologically older until they are forty, and then age in reverse. 4 stars.

In Memoriam: Robert Bloch by Frank M. Robinson: an overview of Robert Bloch's life (Bloch died in 1994).

The Martian Child by David Gerrold: Not quite science fiction. A sci-fi writer father suspects that his adopted child is a Martian. Very endearing. 4 stars.

Rhysling Award Winners - poetry by W. Gregory Stweart and Robert Frazier, Jeff Vandermeer, and Bruce Boston: since I never enjoyed Science fiction poetry, I will not evaluate this part.

Understanding Enthropy by Barry N. Malzberg: It doesn't have a plot. 2 stars.

I Know What You're Thinking by Kate Wilhelm: A telepathic Woman can't blot out the chatter in her mind and starts taking pictures of contemplating criminals as a hobby. It drags. 3 stars.

A defense of Social Contracts by Martha Soukup: In a society where strife is minimized by one's marital permit - monogamous, polygamous, or free not to marry, a woman seeks to illegally bind a "nonmonogamous" man to herself with false marital documents. This is the ultimate in writing about sex with absolutely no emotion whatsoever. 3 stars.

From a Park Bench to the Great Beyond: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of 1994 by Kathi Maio: an overview of exactly what the title says. Non-fiction.

The Matter of Segri by Ursula LeGuin: Yet another story in the Ekumen series - a planet, where men are basically breeder drones and women are the only part of the organized society per se, is slowly nudged towards the "standards". Lots and lots of the f-word. Come on, she could have used a synomim! 4 stars.

An Excerpt from Moving Mars by Gregory Benford: since this is only an excerpt, I cannot grade it.

Good, but I prefer the 2 yrs best........1998-08-24

If you like essays, deeply personal works, & poetry this is what you should stick with. Otherwise the 2 yrs best are better. "The Martian Child" was a great story that didn't really need to be science fiction & I honestly don't think it was, it wasn't fantasy either. Basically it's about the science fiction community & becoming a father. In some respects I think the SFFWA chose stories that are perhaps more interesting to sf authors then readers. Many of these stories are basically about the authors themselves or the sf community at large. Consequently ,I think, some of these stories were almost too personal & "inside" for average readers. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" was a good Stapledonian story, "Defense of the Social Contracts" was a genuine sociocultural speculation, & I liked Bova's. There were other good ones too & I liked seeing the Rhysling winners. The essays were also intriguing & provocative. It was actually a great anthology, but I think I'll keep up with the year's best more faithfully then the Nebula anthologies.

Good, but mildly disappointing........1998-08-22

Don't misunderstand this is a good collection. Some of these stories were a little too personal, but they were good. My problem's that the 2 years best anthologies A. Choose stories that cover the same ground (sometimes the exact stories that get Nebula nominations) & ,in some instances, cover it better & B. Cover more ground & have a better variety. Neither of the year's best have poetry so it does have that advantage. The essays are also an advantage, except I think Dozois does a good job in his summation. The essays do show a variety of opinions though. I didn't like griffith's because she seemed to say lesbian sf is the best sf about women. I think there are many great women sf authors who don't write lesbian or even feminist stories. The winners are ,of course among the best, but the McHugh, Bova, & the Wilhelm I also enjoyed. I've noticed that Wilhelm is somewhat unusual in science fiction in that I think her work deal with the concerns of middle aged women to a large extent. I liked her story even though I'm a 21 yr. old man, but it'd probably make more sense to the group I mentioned. I think Haldeman's won the hugo. In shot stick with the 2 yr's best unless you want essays or poetry.

Good, but mildly disappointing........1998-08-22

A perfect score is too low!.......1997-02-10

How can anyone rate a book that is made up of the very best of the best in speculative fiction? A perfect score is too low. The Nebula Awards represent the highest accolade in science fiction, and the 30th Anniversary issue represents perhaps the finest collection to date. From the engaging work of David Gerrold in "The Martian Child," to the tightly worded and frighteningly real "None So Blind", this book shines with pure genius. I've waited a decade for a collection of fiction this original... and here it is

Average customer rating:

Splendid Feminist Dystopia From Sargent
One of the best reads of my life!
Refreshing and Satisfying
Intelligent, Imaginative, Beautifully Wrought--And OOP
A moving story at a fromtier of the war of the sexes.

Shore of Women,the
Pamela Sargent
Manufacturer: Spectra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553268546
Release Date: 1987-09-01

Book Description

Women rule the world in this suspenseful love story set in a postnuclear future. Having expelled men from their vast walled cities to a lower-class wilderness, the women in this futuristic universe dictate policy and chart the future through control of scientific and technological advances. Among their laws are the rules for reproductive engagement, an act now viewed as a means of procreation rather than an act of love. In this rigidly defined environment, a chance meeting between a woman exiled from the female world and a wilderness man triggers a series of feelings, actions, and events that ultimately threaten the fabric of the women's constricted society. Trying to evade the ever-threatening female forces and the savage wilderness men, the two lovers struggle to find a safe haven and reconcile the teachings of their upbringings with their newly awakened feelings.

Customer Reviews:

Splendid Feminist Dystopia From Sargent.......2006-04-28

"The Shore of Women" is a richly textured work of feminist science fiction by Pamela Sargent which deserves long overdue recognition as a classic, highly literate example of the genre. It compares favorably to the classical dystopian novel "A Canticle for Leibowitz", as yet another mesmerizing tale set long after a nuclear holocaust. In Sargent's richly imagined future, men are leading primitive lives as hunters and gathers, while women reside in a technically advanced culture comprised of cities equipped with forcefields, death rays and aircraft. Sargent has melded the epic journey with romance, crafting a most unusual futuristic romance novel devoted to her main protagonists, Arvil - whose notions of what it means to be human is radically altered when he meets and falls in love with - Birana, who has been cast out of one of the cities of women. I truly treasure the author's compelling exploration of their relationship from strangers to devout lovers ever respectful of the other's desires and needs. Sargent's compelling work of fiction may be familiar to those familiar with Ursula Le Guin's beguiling exploration of gender in her Hainish series of novels and short stories, but much to her credit, Sargent has created her own fascinating futuristic world to explore the natures of love and of relationships between man and woman. I am delighted that this book is finally back in print courtesy of BenBella Books; this edition includes an excellent foreword by science fiction writer Catherine Asaro.

One of the best reads of my life!.......2003-06-27

This book was wonderful in the way that even years after I finished it, it still makes me think and question the ways of mankind.

Well Done!

Refreshing and Satisfying.......2002-12-16

Pamela Sargent is a prolific writer who unfortunately does not have a vocal support group. Her novels and novellas are not of the type "This is Cronon from the planet Abuzz, stop your atomic testing of be destroyed" They are instead, intelligen far-reaching reveries on the future. In several of her stories she has extrapolated a Mulism planet but this book goes beyond that to a time we can barely fathom.

What happens when a woman in a strictly segregated society commits the ultimate sin - falling in love with a man? The descriptions of the two varying societies and their need for each other is told with a sense of disquiet. And when the lovers finally "find each other" the language approaches a confession. This is a book that can be read again and again on several levels.

Intelligent, Imaginative, Beautifully Wrought--And OOP.......2002-07-29

Pamela Sargent's The Shore of Women works out in persuasively anthropological detail--almost Geertzian "thick description," if you will--a post-apocalyptic world in which women rule with space-age technologies from walled citadels, exiling male children into literal stone age societies of isolated bands clad in animal skins, where lives are nasty, brutish, and short. The violence of Sargent's largely paleolithic male society is mitigated only by its loving devotion to "The Goddess" and her cult, visits to the shrines in which prayer and worshipful communion with the deity transpires, and the occasional "callings" to the enclaves--simultaneously the preeminent male rite of passage and the sole (blind and thoroughly mediated) interaction with the ruling society that enables both worlds to procreate and persist. Within city walls, the master society is strictly bifurcated into elite and masses, in which the custodians of established order replace themselves, presiding over the bought indifference of commoners.

Sargent is a beautifully expressive writer who works out the logic of her story to persuasive conclusions and, along the way, has smart, thoroughly rendered observations to make on societies of women and of men, the humanistic origins of religion, small group interactions under duress, the transformation of nomadic bands into sedentary cultures, the possible retreat of civilization from its points of greatest advancement, a variety of contemporary feminist political ideas, and more. At times, The Shore of Women brought to mind a host of antecedents, including A Canticle for Leibowitz, Lord of the Flies, The Golden Bough, Greek and Roman mythology, captivity stories from 17th and 18th century prisoners of American woodland Indians, the writings of Margaret Meade and other classic anthropologists, and other possible references, but without seeming directly dependent on any. Its principal characters, the inquisitive newly "called" man Arvil and the cast-out woman Birana, are beautifully developed and pass through punctuated sequences of change and unfolding awareness. A third point of view is provided by Laissa, who as the daughter of one of the "Mothers of the City" progresses on her own surprising journey of discovery...

A moving story at a fromtier of the war of the sexes........2002-07-24

An excellent story of a gender divided society. Women live in a techical society in advance of our own but where technology is frozen as are other social elements of the society. Men live as hunter-gatherers or herders who are held in line by a religion of "The Goddess". The chief rite is orgasmic. In numerous shrines to one or another aspect of the goddess men are lead to manufactured wet dreams. Women live in domed cities without an obvious mechanism for growing food. The novel makes heterosexuality ( and thus homsexuality) more of a social construction and less of a instinct than I believe it to be.
All the characters are sympathetically but sharply dilineated. The one fault is that the love scenes are all hetersexual despite the fact that both sexes are stated to be largely homosexual in behavior. The economic basis of the women's world is not imagined as in the lack of any clearly imagined agriculture Similarly the practical basis of the men's religion The shrines to the Goddess are built and maintained by measures not presented .
One excuse for the shortage of imagined facts about the social and economic basis of the women's society is the women characters are mostly young members of the ruling class.

Average customer rating:

Interesting Story and Engaging
A Pretty Good Read!
A really, really good book.
The BEST Sci-Fi Book EVER WRITTEN
Earthseed Review

Earthseed (Seed Trilogy)
Pamela Sargent
Manufacturer: Tor Teen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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300

ASIN: 0765352877
Release Date: 2007-01-02

Book Description

Ship hurtles through space. Deep within its core, it carries the seed of humankind. Launched by the people of a dying Earth over a century ago, its mission is to find a habitable world for the children—fifteen-year-old Zoheret and her shipmates—whom it has created from its genetic banks.

To Zoheret and her shipmates, Ship has been mother, father, and loving teacher, preparing them for their biggest challenge: to survive on their own, on an uninhabited planet, without Ship’s protection. Now that day is almost upon them...but are they ready to leave Ship? Ship devises a test. And suddenly, instincts that have been latent for over a hundred years take over. Zoheret watches as friends become strangers—and enemies. Can Zoheret and her companions overcome the biggest obstacle to the survival of the human race—themselves?

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Story and Engaging .......2006-12-20

I am so EXCITED that this book is in print again! As a middle school English teacher in 2000, I decided to share Earthseed with my students. Unfortunately the book was out of print at the time, and I was forced to read it to my students with a few copies I was able to salvage from second-hand merchants. My students loved it. My small rag-tag group of copies disappeared... they were taken by "sneaky-eyed" students who were proud non-readers to this point, but who were enchanted by the tale ;) I love the fact that this book engages kids and encourages even non-readers to read. This book was a launching point for many of my students who fell in love with other books, because they discovered this tale. I would strongly recommend this book to any parent, teacher, or librarian who wants to encourage kids to read. If you know a kid who liked: Ender's Game, Feed, The Giver, House of the Scorpion, The Last Book in the Universe, or City of Ember, I can almost guarantee that they will love this story too.

A Pretty Good Read!.......2003-05-06

First of all, I am NOT a young adult - as this book is obviously written for. But, as a die-hard Pamela Sargent fan - I had to read "Earthseed". Although the story is more-or-less simplistic - it's still a rather good read - and I would suggest it to anyone (young or old) who enjoys reading Pamela Sargent. Ms. Sargent has a unique and wonderful writting style - and I would advice anyone to read her novels.

A really, really good book........1999-03-16

I really enjoyed this book. It was just perfect for young adults. It wasn't at all dull, like most sci-fi books for this age group. There was even a little romance, which is very rare.

The BEST Sci-Fi Book EVER WRITTEN.......1999-02-05

When I read this book, I knew this was THE book. It touched me, but not really. In accordance, I would reccommend this book to everyone, not just people who like Sci-Fi.

Earthseed Review.......1998-04-16

I'm a 12 year old Sci-Fi reader, and my friend recommended this book to me, so I read it and loved it! The plot is so Captitizing, and when you think it needs a better ending, you think back over everything you've read, and say "It's good enough."

Average customer rating:

Watchstar (Watchstar Trilogy)
Pamela Sargent
Manufacturer: eReads.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 075921512X

Nebula Awards 31: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year (Nebula Awards Showcase)

Average customer rating:

Worth it for "Think Like a Dinosaur" alone

Nebula Awards 31: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year (Nebula Awards Showcase)

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ProductGroup: Book
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Nebula Awards 32: SFWA's Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year

ASIN: 0156001144

Book Description

The prestigious Nebula Awards are the Oscars of science fiction and fantasy, the only SF awards bestowed annually by the writers' own demanding peers, the Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Just as the Nebula Awards honor only the finest science ficiton and fantasy, the Nebula Awards series showcases only the best of the ballot, offering as well fiction and nonfiction not collected elsewhere and a dazzling selection of essays written expressley for each volume. No other best-of-year anthology represents the achievement of the Nebula Awards so well. Nebula Awards 31 is, as Publishers Weekly said of a previous volume, "essential reading for anyone who enjoys science fiction."

Customer Reviews:

Worth it for "Think Like a Dinosaur" alone.......2003-02-18

This is the last volume of Pamela Sargent's stint as the Nebula anthology editor, which is unfortunate because she excels at editing these types of varied story collections (such as her Women of Wonder series). There's more work involved in editing a volume like this than you might think--given a limited amount of space, trying to cover an award that is for novels as well as short stories, one must carefully pick and choose. It will be interesting to see who SFWA finds to replace her.

Now as for the material itself:

"Solitude," Ursula K. Le Guin -- I am not a big Le Guin fan-in fact, you could say that I dislike most of her work excluding the Earthsea books. So, when I say that I enjoyed a Le Guin story then it must be special indeed. "Solitude" is a story of culture, one alien to our own. Le Guin posits a world in which past overpopulation has led present society to become the ultimate introverts. Not only do the women live apart from the men (as seen in many feminist SF stories in the past), but they live apart from each other. But it is the method of the story, putting a young child in the place of the observer, in which Le Guin achieves something new here.

"Death and the Librarian," Esther Friesner -- Except for the early part, in which the chameleon-like nature of Death is revealed, this story plods along. When it comes down to the talking heads at the end, I was ready to toss it across the room. Sure, Friesner can write welt enough, but this doesn't have anything Nebula-worthy to it. A disappointment.

"Alien Jane," Kelley Eskridge -- A nice SF tale, taken from the pages of Oliver Sacks, or at least, that is the way it reads to me. Well done, with a satisfying ending.

"Think Like A Dinosaur," James Patrick Kelly -- I haven't road a story this good in a long time! This is the kind of tale that can only be done in SF. Basically a study of what "true" matter transportation would be like, including what the hard choices would be. The result is the best short story I have read in two years.

"The Lincoln Train," Maureen F. McHugh -- An alternate history story with its jumping off point being the survival of Lincoln, except as a handicapped president. The concept is interesting, and the story has a nice moral center, but there was nothing that truly thrilled me here.

"The Resurrection Man's Legacy," Dale Bailey -- A baseball SF tale, reminiscent of Bradbury in its nostalgia and feeling. I was never a Bradbury fan, especially of his warmed over reminisce s of the 5O's, plus I dislike the reverence people give to sport (as opposed to games), so this one really didn't stand much of a chance with me.

"You See But You Do Not Observe," Robert J. Sawyer -- Physics and Sherlock Holmes? Okay, so it was a cute idea, but this is a best of the year. I trust that Sawyer's novel, which did win the Nebula, was much better.

"Enchanted Village," A.E. Van Vogt -- A story from the Grand Master, possibly a little long for the result, but at least it is a result worth reading for. A spaceship crashes on Mars, leaving one lone survivor, who finds a deserted Martian village. The Village may be able to provide for him, but only if he can somehow teach it his needs. Good ending.

"Old Legends," Gregory Benford -- A memoir and essay about SF's role in society, especially American government policy, this was entertaining and enlightening. Benford's goal in this essay is to justify the long held claim by SF fans that stories lead to science just as much as science leads to stories. While I have my doubts about SF's influence today (especially in these times of endless Star Trek novels), Benford shows that it was a very powerful force in the not-so-distant past.

"The Narcissus Plague," Lisa Goldstein -- Cute idea--what if there was a virus that, when you caught it, all you could do was talk about yourself? I liked the conceit, and the story showed promise, but the ending was disappointing.

"Last Summer at Mars Hill," Elizabeth Hand -- A nicely told tale of death and unknown beings. Its power comes not from the fantasy element, but from the portrayal of the characters, each well-drawn and believable. The writing and characterization was so well done that I really wanted to like this story more, but it lacked that sense of the fantastic that I expect from a fantasy story. Great mainstream work, I just want more in my fantasies.

Book Description

GARTH OF IZAR: The legend of Captain Garth, the hero of Axanar, has spread throughout the Federation. His exploits are required reading at Starfleet Academy -- where he became a hero of a future legend, James T. Kirk...

GARTH OF IZAR: Brutal injuries sustained on Antos IV forced the native Antosians to heal him by means of giving him their natural shape-changing abilities. But the cure proved worse than the disease, as Garth was driven insane...

GARTH OF IZAR: His madness apparently cured at the rehab colony on Elba II, Captain Garth has returned to service to mediate a crisis on Antos IV, with the aid of Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise™. But has Garth truly put his insanity behind him, or will he renew his plans for conquest -- starting with the Antosians?

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating concept, mediocre execution........2004-02-04

We start with a fascinating question: In the original series episode, "Whom Gods Destroy", the villain of the piece was "Garth of Izar", a former starship captain then an inmate in a mental institution for the criminally insane. By the end of the episode, Kirk and the Enterprise have successfully delivered a new drug that is supposed to cure his insanity, and it shows every sign of working. SO....if he's been cured, and is no longer dangerous or insane, what do you do with him? Surely, the Federation and Starfleet have sufficiently progressive ideals that they would not continue to penalize a man for what he did while clinically insane after he's been cured, don't they? Not to mention, they wouldn't deprive themselves of the services of one of their best captains when it was no longer neccessary to do so, would they? So if the cure worked, and Garth was reinstated at full rank, how come we've never heard of him again?

This book does an excellent job of answering those very good questions. And other than the fact that for the first ten pages, they can't seem to make up their minds whether his most famous exploits were at the expense of the Klingons or the Romulans (a mistake that probably comes from having two authors working together, but which it is unforgivable that no one, authors or editors, caught before going to print) the book is reasonably if not spectacularly well-written.

Not a great Star Trek book, but a good one; an excellent idea, tolerably well-handled.

Dull And A Bit Confusing!.......2003-05-01

The beginning of this novel consists of a disjointed dream by James Kirk in which the villan switches between Romulans and Klingons in midstream, although I have to say in defense of the writers than dreams often do not make much sense, so this can be explanined in that way. This novel is based on a character in the earlier original series, the authors state that this character rivals Khan in interest; I like at least one previous reviewer disagree. Overall, my impression of this novel was one of slight boredom as I read it, it just did'nt have that spark that the top Star Trek novels have, this is just pulp science fiction, average and run-of-the-mill. Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski are veteran Star Trek writers, and perhaps when two talented writers work together it kind of muddies the waters, with the result being a work that seems to be a result of tedious labor and not much inspiration. My favorite Star Trek novel is SPOCK'S WORLD, this novel is not nearly as good. However, if you are like me and partial to the original series it is nevertheless well worth reading.

Dull And A Bit Confusing!.......2003-05-01

The beginning of this novel consists of a disjointed dream by James Kirk in which the villan switches between Romulans and Klingons in midstream, although I have to say in defense of the writers that dreams often do not make much sense, so this can be explained in that way. This novel is based on a character in the earlier original series, the authors state that this character rivals Khan in interest; I like at least one previous reviewer disagree. Overall, my impression of this novel was one of slight boredom as I read it, it just did'nt have that spark that the top Star Trek novels have, this is just pulp science fiction, average and run-of-the-mill. Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski are veteran Star Trek writers, and perhaps when two talented writers work together it kind of muddies the waters, with the result being a work that seems to be a result of tedious labor and not much inspiration. My favorite Star Trek novel is SPOCK'S WORLD, this novel is not nearly as good. However, if you are like me and partial to the original series it is nevertheless well worth reading.

ST-TOS: Garth of Izar.......2003-04-30

Star Trek-The Original Series: Garth of Izar written by Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski is a novel that continues the television episode "Whom Gods Destroy."

The legend of Captain Garth is known Federation-wide and his exploites are taught at Starfleet Academy and read by Captain James T. Kirk. Garth sustained some rather extensive injuries while on Antos IV. Antos IV is a planet of shape-shifters and after Garth sustained his injuries the tried to bring Garth back to his former health, but now he has shape-shifting abilites and the cure has proved to be worse than his injuries driving Garth to insanity.

Captain Garth is sent to Elba II due to the madness that the Antosians inadvertinatly passed to Garth while being treated. Now, Captain Garth has been "returned" to service after being treated for mental illness... and Garth has returned to mediate a crisis on Antos IV as Captain James T. Kirk and the Enterprise crew come to Garth's aid.

The book was well-written and I found it to be better than this duo of writers did on "Heart of the Son" TOS #83 and "Across the Universe" TOS #88. I found the storyline to be captivating and the reintroduction of Garth to be a strong character to balance the character of Kirk.

I enjoyed the book as it was a very quick read at 263 pages with a larger print made this book easy to read. This book is, so far, the best work by this pair of authors as found in the genre of TREK. I have always wanted to know of what became of Captain Garth from the television series and this book fills in that gap. We get a good fleshing ourt of the character of Garth.

Whom Gods Destroy ... they first make write bad sequels !!!.......2003-04-22

As with most modern Star Trek writers I always worry when they decide to write a sequel to one of the original stories. This is because they rarely capture the style or fun of the show that started the Star Trek legend. These two authors to my mind have an erratic history with Star Trek as their first novel together, "Heart of the Sun", was a boring go nowhere story with no action whereas their second, "Across the Universe", was an exciting fast paced little adventure. Unfortunately this book is an uneven mix of the two. While there is a bit of excitement in it, the plot is an absurdly constructed mess, full of situational and logical errors. The dialogue is painfully bad at times and the mistakes and disjointed nature of the dream sequence at the beginning of the novel makes you question just how closely the two authors were in contact when they wrote it. As others readers have pointed out the authors can't seem to figure out if the adversaries are Romulans or Klingons !!! Though as every real Star Trek fan knows for the timeline to be consistent (*not that modern writers seem to give a damn about that sort of thing these days !!!), it would have to be the Klingons engaged in the battle. The other big problem with this story is again the rather dubious idea that it was inspired by an original series character who was so interesting the authors felt we should hear more about him. Well I completely disagree with the statement that "Captain Garth was only rivalled by Khan Noonien Singh as Kirk's greatest adversary". In fact he was just one of a long line of interesting characters who Kirk met during his career, a number of which have featured in various other novels, and personally I don't think that Garth was anywhere near the top of the list. I suspect that these two authors sat down one day and said ... "Hmm, who can we write about to give us a link back to Star Trek that hasn't already been covered" ... and thus this novel was born. Certainly I don't believe they captured the feel of the character, or delivered a particularly credible adventure with this novel. However once again the most disturbing thing about this book, and indeed the current generation of writers, is the lack of credit they give to past writers. As with Greg Cox, who wrote the atrociously bad novels about "Khan Noonien Singh" in 2001 and 2002, these two authors are full of praise for the actor who breathed life into the central character of their novel, who they claim was their inspiration, but give absolutely no recognition what so ever to to his creator. For the record, while Steve Ihnat played the character of "Garth of Izar", it was Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl who conceived him and without them he simply wouldn't exist. This lack of respect for the original series writers is both disappointing and I suspect indicative of why so much modern Star Trek is weaker than its' predecessor. Current writers don't understand the in and outs of how the original stories were constructed and subsequently often fail to reproduce the sense of style and entertainment that they had. As for this novel it is a barely adequate excuse for yet another mediocre adventure.

A Fury Scorned (Star Trek The Next Generation, No 43)

Average customer rating:

Star Trek fans have good imaginations.......but.......
STNG #43 A Fury Scorned - Interesting but with faults!
ST-TNG: A Fury Scorned
It fit the Mold Perfectly
How did they make that wormhole again?

A Fury Scorned (Star Trek The Next Generation, No 43)
Pamela Sargent , and George Zebrowski
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0671527037

Book Description

With their sun about to go nova, the people of Epictetus III face annihilation. Although the U.S.S. Enterprise™ has come to lead the rescue operation, there is no way to evacuate a population of over twenty million, leaving Captain Picard to make an agonizing decision. Should he try to salvage the planet's children, its greatest leaders and thinkers, or its irreplaceable archeological treasures? No matter what he decides, millions must be sacrificed -- unless another solution can be found.

With time running out, Data proposes a revolutionary scientific experiment that could save all of Epictetus III, or doom both the planet and the Enterprise as well.

Download Description

With their sun about to go nova, the people of Epictetus III face utter annihilation. Although the "U.S.S. Enterprise" TM has come to lead the rescue operation, there is no way to evacuate a population of over one hundred million, leaving Captain Picard to make an agonizing decision. Should he try to salvage the planet's children, its greatest leaders and thinkers, or its irreplaceable archeological treasures? No matter what he decides, millions must be sacrificed -- unless another solution can be found. With time running out, Data proposes a revolutionary scientific experiment that could save all of Epictetus III, or doom both the planet and the "Enterprise" as well.

Customer Reviews:

Star Trek fans have good imaginations.......but..............2007-01-22

I, like other Star Trek fans, have a sound ability to suspend reality and enjoy fantasy. If the plot isn't that exciting, you can usually get into the character development. My problem with this book is that I was faced with a ridiculous plot: Enterprise creates a worm hole through syphoning off power from a soon-to-go Nova sun, to allow the nearby doomed planet, with its 20 million residents, to then move through (yes, the entire planet!) to safety several light years away and a new, more stable sun. And yes, all this is an experiment that Data pulled out of his positronic rear end. There are then 'teaser' plots that don't go anywhere: ancient civilisation that had abandoned the planet previously, despite having some clever stabilisation control in the middle of the sun; writings of the ancients (that disappointingly are never interpreted through a failure of its archeologists to locate a Rosetta Stone equivalent); dolphin-like creatures who 'might' be ancients, studied by a cult-like group dwelling under the ocean; a completely unconvincing child hostage scene that is resolved in a poorly described narrative 'blip'; and a strange reference to Federation politics overtaking the traditional 'doing the right thing'. From a character-development perspective, the only point of recall was Worf admiring the scenery of the planet - snooze. My kingdom for a Batleth swinging, Daktagh wielding warrior!

This novel really didn't gel at all with me, and truly seemed like Star Trek pulp. Would only recommend people read this, if they want to fill "Novel No# 43" to complete a gap on their bookshelf.

STNG #43 A Fury Scorned - Interesting but with faults!.......2003-12-22

"A Fury Scorned" is the first novel in the Star Trek genre by Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski. As Star Trek fiction goes, this novel is a fairly decent one and this writing team has proven that they can write some fair to midland type Star Trek novels since this novel was published.

The overall premise proves to be a fairly interesting one, where this novel falters is in the pacing and the execution of the plot setup. There were times within the story that the pacing was just too slow and the story somewhat stuttered, which detracted from the overall experience of the book.

The cover art for this novel is pretty much the same standard fare for the majority of the novels published at the time when this one was.

The premise:

Captain Picard and crew find themselves faced with Epictetus III and one of Captain Picard's toughest dilemmas' ever; the planet's star approaching nova and too few ships available to evacuate the population of over twenty million inhabitants. As has happened many times before, Data proposes a radical new scientific experiment which "may" save the entire planet and its population...

What follows from there is an interesting story but one that is ultimately non-engaging due to "quirks" within the plot setup and execution thereof and the pacing.

I would recommend this novel as it is part of the line of all Star Trek The Next Generation novels for those that wish to read all of them but to the casual fan, this may be one to pass up on for it is not a "great" example of Star Trek fiction, but it is also ultimately not the worst either. {ssintrepid}

ST-TNG: A Fury Scorned.......2003-04-03

Star Trek-The Next Generation: A Fury Scorned written by Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski is a Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise save-the-planet book.

Faced with a population of twenty million and who and what to choose to evacuate Captain Picard and crew are facing steep odds. A dying sun, soon to go nova, threatens the planet Epictetus III and all that inhabits this planet. The U.S.S. Enterprise crew must come up with a solution or all will be lost.

Running out of time, Data proposes a revolutionary solution to this ever growning concern... a wormhole. But, not just any wormhole, no sir... a wormhole big enough for a whole planet. I know it sounds quite farfetched, but this is scifi and anything is possible. But will this novel experiment work? Can the U.S.S. Enterprise be saved? Only time will tell and the answers are in the ending of this book.

For action-adventure this is a good book as the narrative flows and it makes for a rather quick read. Captain Picard's trust in Lt. Commander Data and a solution that is highly experimental and weigh in the balance. But, this book will engage the reader till the end. This is not the best written book in the TREK universe, but it sure isn't the worst either.

It fit the Mold Perfectly.......2000-04-24

This book is great for any Trek fan out there. What makes this such a great book is the fact that it places the lives of millions of people on the shoulders of one man. Just comprehending such an awesome idea is mind-boggling. It resurfaces a "worst-fear" scenario in the minds of many people, myself included. For an author to do that in a "typical" sci-fi novel is very bold. Quite a captivating read.

How did they make that wormhole again?.......2000-04-16

Ok, lets not kid ourselves. This is a good, solid Star Trek story, but it isn't brilliant, nor is it original. This book is just another Enterprise-saves-the-planet affair, only this time (wait for it...) the planet gets sent through a wormhole. That's right.

If this were possible, wouldn't it be mentioned before in Star Trek? As it is Data's 'revolutionary scientific experiment' seems a little farfetched and ridiculous. It does manage to keep your interest though, and it didn't take me too long to read. I think the best bits were the part where that piece of the planet breaks off and the actual crossing through the wormhole.

I will admit that once I managed to forget about the absurdity of the whole wormhole thing, I did enjoy this book, although I still think there are a lot of better save-a-planet books (Death of the Princes, Last Stand, Double Helix #1...)

I think people who like that kind of pioneering/scientific Star Trek book will probably go for this. I give it 'average' - three stars.

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