Oscar and Lucinda
By: Peter Carey

Vintage International, 1988. 433 pages with glossary.

Mmmm, nice. This is told almost like it could be truth, and it may be--at least in part. I don't know enough about the author beyond that he's good, excruciatingly good in parts, so that it almost hurts in reading about
the simple, subtle love story between the two title characters. Basically, it's the story of a frumpy, scrawny English minister and an independent, bold little Australian woman who owns her own glassworks. They both also have a penchant for gambling, and this is HIGHLY important to
everything in the book. And then they fall in love and can scarce admit it to each other. It's beautiful and sad and chockfull of lovely historical tidbits about Australia.

My score: 9.
Reviewed by: Becky

Endgame
By: Terrance Dicks

BBC Novel, 243 pages,

The 8th Doctor is caught in a Cold War spy game with unknown entities called The Players stirring up some fun. (The Players feature in other stories as well.) To add to the story, the Dr. has amnesia, but he has no wish to rectify the situation.

What do I think? Excellent. Terrence Dicks, always a good Dr. Who writer, stays true to the characters while weaving a strong and enjoyable plot.

It Rates a: #9

Reviewed By: Melinda

Neverwhere
By: Neil Gaimon

Avon Fiction novel, 370 pages

A small little novel based on his own BBC show, Neil Gaiman managed to craft one of the most ingenious fantasy novels in quite some time back around 1997. The novel, 'Neverwhere'is highly original and yet gives a bow to old fantasy masters such as Roger Zelazny, author of 'The Lord of Light.'
The novel begins outside a village pub in Scotland, introducing the reader to the ordinary and mild-mannered young Richard Mayhew who is getting ready for a move to London. There is nothing impressive about this man; he's attractive enough but plain and naive and just a darn nice guy. Time passes, and we again see him, now in the city of London. We view his new life, so different from his old; his new girlfriend Jessica, a prim and classy Londoner; his friends, all cubicled workers a la Dilbert. It's an 180 degree turn from his old home.
One evening, as our hero Richard Mayhew is walking to a restaurant with his girlfriend, he passes an injured young girl on the street. Jessica pays the girl no mind, indeed seems not to see her; but the girl landed right in front of them virtually out of nowhere. Richard takes her back to his apartment to clean her up. And his life is never the same.
In saving her, he is thrust into the world of those who have fallen between the cracks, those forgotten who live above and below London. They have their own rules, their own codes of conduct, and their own fears. They can talk to rats and pigeons, and they seem outside of time. This is London's Neverwhere, a place no one knows exists. Once there, one never returns. Richard is told a few travel back and forth between London Above and London Below, but those few are virtually ignored in the world of the sun and smog. They are the vagrants, the drunks, the homeless, the musician on the street with his fiddle trying to earn some extra money for a pasty. Richard Mayhew becomes implicated in the affairs of the girl whom he has saved, the girl named Door. He is also lost in her world; no one in his own time and place remembers his face, his name, his outright existence. Yet, through his adventures and relationships with the other characters, he comes to love London Below, fearful and dangerous as it can be. He comes to know himself as well, which is--on an intimate level--the main point of the story. The villains are especially priceless, especially Mssrs. Croupe and Vandemar. The best character though, is the Marquis de Carabas.
On the whole, I would give Neil Gaiman's first published novel a #9 out of 10. But, truth to tell, I AM biased.

Reviewed by: Becky

American Gods
By: Neil Gaiman

Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins, 2001, 465 pages

This one was harder to slog through than Neverwhere. I admit it; it didn't begin as I expected, and I was almost disappointed, but I trust the man, what can I say? He hasn't let me down yet when I've read him. But I can't recommend this book in good conscience, so I won't score it. I'll merely give perceptions or thoughts on it. The reservations I have due to a large amount of language, mostly the 'f' word. And three unnecessary sex scenes that actually occur for a purpose. One shows the need of a goddess to be worshiped in a godless land. One shows the need for comfort--and effectively seals the fate of a hapless Arab salesman while showing the desperation of an ifrit. The last is sympathy and affection and comfort. But all are far too graphic.

It is not simply about America. Without a doubt, our history has shaped our attitudes and our spiritualism, and 'American Gods' tackles this. Neil tells a complete story, interweaving subplots as usual until they actually BECOME the plot inextricably. If you don't know why something is, then you're missing a piece of his puzzle nine times out of ten. And this is quite the puzzle.
It begins with Shadow Moon. His mother worked in American embassies around the world before she died when he was 16. He is quiet, reserved, and his name fits him perfectly. He has no clue who his father is, and I won't tell. He adores his wife and is about ready to get out of prison to see her when he receives word she's dead. HOW she died is rather grim, but I won't tell that either. He is released early from prison and winds up working for a man named Wednesday.
With Wednesday calling the shots, Shadow travels literally all over America, from California to Boston to Florida; but the story OCCURS mostly in the Midwest. The story IS America.

On his journeys, he encounters ancient gods that were brought from their own lands to America, ancient mythological figures from a leprechaun who steals from his own stash and drinks whiskey to Johnny Appleseed who is rather bitter still about the whole Paul Bunyan affair. Shadow becomes embroiled in a murder investigation and is visited by his own dead wife who is literally a walking corpse. He meets Kali, Ishtar, Loki, and a nameless god everyone always forgets. He also meets our modern gods in the flesh. The future that is quickly becoming the technological past. And the ancient and the new are at war with one another. Only Wednesday really knows what's going on, and he tells you very early in the story, if you pick up on it.

Basically, the premise is sad and grim. We have forgotten our past and are so into the now that we leave what is NOW behind in order to create bigger, better, faster, more, as Four None Blondes said. There is so much to this one, that I really could never tell you in one small review. But he didn't let me down this time either, did Neil. In the end, he leaves you without destination but with a certain amount of hope.

Here's a hint if you DO read this. The buffalo-headed man--he's the land. And the land doesn't hold gods very well.

Reviewed by: Becky

Stranger in a Strange Land
By: Robert Heinlein

Ace Books, 438 pages

Truly a sci-fi classic. Like 'Dune' is, but perhaps better known. This book is about a human male born on Mars. He is a bastard child, son of the captain of a human expedition to Mars and the woman who created the Lyle Drive to power the ship. Everyone on the expedition dies, leaving the lad to the care of the Martians, who raise him as their own--for their own purposes, if they should have need of him.

Years later, another crew is sent to explore Mars, to set up a colony. And they find the young man and bring him to Earth. His name is Valentine Michael Smith. He is the consummate innocent. He doesn't know the difference between man and woman, but he can comprehend the mind of a blade of grass. He is mystic and stoic and kind, untainted by mankind. And he is held prisoner by the world government.

Until he is rescued by Jill Boardman, a nurse in the hospital where he is being treated. At the persistence of her boyfriend, journalist Ben Caxton, she takes him to Jubal Harshaw in PA. This man is a bit of a rich hermit, a doctor and lawyer and writer. And, pure genius. He becomes a father figure of Mike and secures the young man the fortune to which he is entitled because of politics and parentage. He teaches Mike, along with Jill and his three lovely secretaries, the ways of the world. And then one day, Mike and Jill leave the safety of Jubal's nest and discover the world. And Mike groks mankind one day and learns to laugh. He groks and cherishes and can become one because he understands and empathises with mankind. He has taken it unto himself. From there, he begins to change the world, becoming a messianic figure of sorts, though without a religion. He uses his Martian training to reach out to people, to make mankind grok one another and to symbolise their brotherhood in water-sharing.

Beautiful. All that goes on here, politics, religion, psychology, the foolishness of mankind, the need for unity--none of it can be adequately described in a short review. Just read the book. It'll make you think about everything a little differently, even if you don't agree with it. It will make you want to find retorts to Jubal's response to religion and his view of society. Insightful, intelligent, maybe sacrilegious to some, but deserving of its status. I applaud Mr Heinlein for one of the most intelligent and quotable books I've read since the last Neil book.

My score: 9.5.
Reviewed by: Becky

The Serpent's Shadow
By: Mercedes Lackey

DAW books, Lots of pages.

You, as a reader, may already know me as one of the movie writers (one who occasionally puts in an article on say, proper movie etiquette). I have read many good books, but dont generally feel the need to write a review on said good book sharing it with others. Most likely, if you see my name as writer here it will be for one of those rare books, one of those perfect books, one of those that is so perfect that even describing it stretches ones abilities.

The Serpent's Shadow, by Mercedes Lackey is one of those illustrious books. Lackey has a great track record with me. Everything I have ever read by her would rate up in the nines and tens on the scale set up by Something Groovy's editor.

If you haven't experienced her Valdemar series you need too.

As I was saying before I got sidetracked, The Serpent's Shadow is brand new, with a 2001 publishing date by DAW books. It is about a half-Indian (as in from India not native American) half-British woman living in the early 1900s. She was raised in India, as a doctor by her father. She was also raised into a heritage of magic by her mother. After her mother and fathers mysterious deaths, she flees to Britain in terror for her life. Half-trained at best in magic, she applies her knowledge of medicine to make a living and finally achieves the seldom-- for a woman at the time--the right to practice medicine. Something, however, follows her from India, something evil. The only real question left to the reader is if Maya, her magic, her strange assortment of friends (7 animals left to her by her mother), and her human friends can stop the grip of the Serpent from crushing it all. This book follows the laws and realm of magic as seen in Lackeys earlier book, The Fire Rose, another EXCELLENT book.

It is a MUST read if you enjoy magic. This one also incorporates a taste of India and the Oriental culture, giving it the unique and perfect blend.

I have to give this a 10, since there IS no higher rating.
Reviewed by: Jess.

The Last Temptation
By Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Michael Zulli

Dark Horse Comics, Collected graphic novel volume, 2000


The conception of this comic is a highly intriguing thing. Neil Gaiman was called in to help none other than Mr Alice Cooper with a concept album ('Lost in America'), and he ended up coming up with a graphic novel (or just call it a comic book) plot line as well.

The story starts normally enough with a young boy and his friends. Stephen is an average kid, a mite the coward of his group of friends.

After school one day, the boys go down a deserted alley at the behest of a sign. Normally, the alley is completely empty; somehow, a show is in town and an old building down the alley in which to hold their performances.

It is Stephen who takes the offer of the Showman, a tall, gaunt, slightly disturbing--yet oddly attractive--chap in ratty clothes who looks an awful lot like...Alice Cooper. Once he enters the show, however, Stephen realizes that nothing is, as the cliche goes, as it seems. Some of the players are zombies and the ticket girl really doesn't exist. In short, it's a freak show, a horror sideshow literally after the boy's soul.

That's the first installment. In the subsequent chapters, Stephen revolts against the Showman and tries to figure out a way to save his own soul. The magic here is old and evil and a recurring visitor to Stephen's small town. Even in the end, there is really no way to defeat it.

This is by far Neil's most simplistic plot, though it is still highly enjoyable. It's a bit like a fairy tale that's taken a tumble with rock and roll. Michael Zulli provides his typically gothically lovely and gaunt illustrations, perfectly offsetting Neil's tale. Over all, it's dark and delightful and a thoroughly good read.

My score: 8
Reviewed by: Becky