BOOK REVIEW: The Song of the Swan

by James MacLaren

The Song of the Swan

Arthur D’Alembert, 1998, Universal Publishers</b>

Good old fashioned science fiction, thirties style, done with a millennium

slant. Now who could find fault with that?

Not me.

Ain’t gonna tell ya much about what happens other than to say it’s an old kinda

tale, where a dire threat from off planet nearly has its way, but gets derailed

at the last minute by intrepid people and some good luck.

Stuff like this has been done before, but it seems like it got outlawed or

something somewhere around the fifties for reasons that still elude me.

I’m one of them goofs that actually LIKES math and science and by golly, at

least as far as I can tell, the shit’s still called SCIENCE fiction. Ok? If not,

fuck you.

More than its fair share of typos. Occasional cardboard cutout characterizations

and clunky dialog. But who cares? It’s WHAT’S GOING ON that counts. The

characters are a mere vehicle to carry the techno-plot forward and I really

don’t give a rat’s ass about their psychological development, their angst, or

any of the rest of that shit. Just say your lines and get out of the way so the

plot can continue unfolding.

A neato throwaway tale that you can gobble down in one sitting.

We likeum.