Profiles of Recent Books
from reviews in Locus Magazine

Full Tide of Night, J. R. Dunn (Avon Eos 0-380-97434-7, $14.00, 312pp, hc, August 1998, cover by Liz Kenyon) Survivors of an alien invasion on Earth have fled to the planet Midgard, under the leadership of founding mother Julia Amalfi. Now Amalfi faces rebellion when a new spaceship is detected coming from Earth. Does it bring the alien threat, and if so can Amalfi quell the rebellion in time? Dunn is primarily interested in the revolution, in military history and tactics, summarizes Gary K. Wolfe in his review in the July 1998 Locus. ''By the time the spacecraft from Earth lands and the visitors step out, the novel is essentially already over, the elegiac epic of the Lady Amalfi nearly at an end. But Amalfi is by a considerable measure Dunn's most complex and appealing protagonist to date, and she carries this thoughtful historical parable in unexpected directions, and rewards us in unexpected ways.'' Locus reviewer Preston Grassmann also notes that the novel's payoff is not a simple alien confrontation, ''causing some of the suspense to be diffused by the end of the novel. But the rich dialogue and incisive moral questioning make Full Tide of Night a worthwhile reading experience.'' (Wed 22 Jul 98)

Six Moon Dance, Sheri S. Tepper (Avon Eos 0-380-97479-7, $23.00, 454pp, hc, August 1998, cover by J. K. Potter) A colony on the planet Newholme, struck by a plague that left its gender balance askew, now has a society in which gender roles are reversed in dramatic ways: men are viewed as 'the weaker sex', while women are regarded as more capable than men, capable of reasoned, compassionate management. The story follows a young boy, Mouche, as he enters training to become a male consort. Meanwhile increasing seismic disturbances are linked to the planet's native race, Timmies, and their ritual dances celebrating the alignment of the planet's six moons. Tepper's gender satire is anything but subtle, according to Gary K. Wolfe in the July Locus Magazine, but the novel survives its weaknesses: ''Six Moon Dance is the unmistakable work of one of SF's most distinctive voices. I don't think it represents a major intellectual advance for Tepper, but its vivid setting and imaginative complexity continue to reveal the unique fecundity of invention that have become this author's most delightful trademark. Faren Miller, in the June Locus, is also delighted ''...as the various plot strands finally come together. And it's here Tepper unleashes her most outrageous series of surprises -- from sexual sociology to planetary metaphysics, and more! All of which leads to a delightrul finale, at once witty, moving, and exactly right. (Wed 22 Jul 98)

Previous Profiles:
8 July 1998:

Kim Stanley Robinson's Antarctica

Robert Charles Wilson's Darwinia

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois

Thomas M. Disch's The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of

21 May 1998:

Jack McDevitt's Moonfall

Patricia Anthony's Flanders

Lois McMaster Bujold's Komarr

Paul J. McAuley's Child of the River

Year's Best SF 3, edited by David G. Hartwell

Nebula Awards 32, edited by Jack Dann