Books

_Shift_, Chris Dolley

Some time ago I said nice things about Dolley's first novel, _Resonance_. I suspect that _Shift_ is a rejiggered trunk novel, because it doesn't really feel like it was written by the same author at all. More than anything else, _Shift_ reminds me of a Campbell-era Astounding serial. It's all about the wonderful things psionics can do, enabling FTL astral travel, telepathy, mind control, and probably the end of tooth decay and the common cold. Oh, and the plot is from Colin Wilson.

Mnyeh. More of the quality of _Resonance_ instead, please.

Books

_Shift_, Chris Dolley

Some time ago I said nice things about Dolley's first novel, _Resonance_. I suspect that _Shift_ is a rejiggered trunk novel, because it doesn't really feel like it was written by the same author at all. More than anything else, _Shift_ reminds me of a Campbell-era Astounding serial. It's all about the wonderful things psionics can do, enabling FTL astral travel, telepathy, mind control, and probably the end of tooth decay and the common cold. Oh, and the plot is from Colin Wilson.

Mnyeh. More of the quality of _Resonance_ instead, please.

Books

_Sky Horizon_, David Brin

It's a novella published in hardcover by Subterranean Press. They're very nice people, and they have excellent taste in books and materials, but this is not my price range at all.
This outing from Brin takes themes from a half-dozen juveniles and classic short stories to tell a tale about First Contact. The twists are interesting but not novel, several times taking the form of leading the reader to a familiar plot and then stopping it abruptly. I found that aggravating.

Finally, just as we get into the premise for the novels and anthologies to follow, it all stops again. Yes, this is a teaser for a (presumably) shared-world series designed to appeal to the YA market. Well, at least it's competent.

Books

_Sky Horizon_, David Brin

It's a novella published in hardcover by Subterranean Press. They're very nice people, and they have excellent taste in books and materials, but this is not my price range at all.
This outing from Brin takes themes from a half-dozen juveniles and classic short stories to tell a tale about First Contact. The twists are interesting but not novel, several times taking the form of leading the reader to a familiar plot and then stopping it abruptly. I found that aggravating.

Finally, just as we get into the premise for the novels and anthologies to follow, it all stops again. Yes, this is a teaser for a (presumably) shared-world series designed to appeal to the YA market. Well, at least it's competent.