We have a diverse group of works, this month. An SF juvenile novel, a techie Space Opera, and a Science Fiction novel about language. This last is a novel by Scott Westerfeld, who acknowledges a debt to Samuel L. Delaney's Babel 17, a book I much enjoyed many years ago. I am also personally reminded of Lloyd Biggle Jr.'s books about culture and language, particularly Watchers of the Dark, whose resolution also turned on a peculiarity of language. There's a lot to enjoy in these selections this month. Enjoy!

The Billion Dollar Boy by Charles Sheffield Copyright 1997 Original PB Edition: 7/98 TOR Science Fiction

The billion dollar boy of the title is Shelby Crawford Jerome Prescott Cheever V, and a more spoiled, bored, and obnoxious little snot you could hardly imagine. He's overweight and under-disciplined. Above all, Shelby has never ever had to do anything for himself. From the time he wakes up until the time he goes to bed, Shelby is pampered by an overabundance of servants. Needless to say, the servants don't like him very much, and two of them conspire to get Shelby to take a trip to space. For however long he's gone they'll be free of his irritating personality. Shelby falls for their trick and browbeats his mother into letting him book a trip to the asteroid belt. When Shelby embarks on his trip, he soon becomes just as bored as he was back home. He tends to think of the crew as his personal servants, and is petulant whenever they aren't properly servile. Their arrival at the asteroid mines is just the icing on the cake. Its boring, too. Not only that, but his plans for a trip out to the Kuiper Belt using the node has to be delayed because one of the "servants" is ill! So Shelby gets drunk and heads out on his own. He winds up in the Messina Dust Cloud twenty seven light years from home - with no servants, and little chance of getting back any time soon. Worse yet, no one believes he is rich and no one will wait on him. He even has to prepare his own food! Worst of all, they put him to work. With this book, Mr. Sheffield has done something I would have considered impossible. He has written a book which is comparable to the Heinlein juveniles of the '50s. Even if you are a slightly long-in-the-tooth juvenile (like me), you should enjoy this book. The adventure is genuinely exciting, the technology is authentic, and it restores that sense of wonder I had when I first started reading for fun! Enjoy!

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The Reality Dysfunction Part 1: Emergence by Peter F. Hamilton Copyright 1996 Original PB Edition: July 1998 Warner Aspect

This book starts off like a techie Space Opera, then it really takes off. It contains a large cast of characters, which (at first) don't seem to be related. About midway through this volume, it all starts to fall into place (trust me). Mr. Hamilton has indeed painted on a large canvas. Apparently, he has the talent to make it work. (Can't wait for the second half!) Joshua Calvert is a poor boy making good. The only thing his old drunk daddy left him was a broken starship. Syrinx and Oenone are a bonded pair - a captain and her biologically-based starship. They hail from that part of humanity which has embraced nanotechnology and biological engineering, the Edenists. There's also the heir to a small but wealthy empire lurking around in this plot. To make matters entirely murky, there's an ominous warning from an extinct alien civilization. Of course, these are only the broad outlines - half the plot takes place largely outside the realm of any of these three. Here's a brief synopsis of the sub-plot: On a small frontier outpost, many factions struggle to guide the fledgling society. The Confederation Navy, the Kulu Kingdom, the Edenists, and even the Catholic Church all vie for the loyalty of the colonists. It is here, of course, that an ancient evil is afoot! What is so remarkable about this book is that Mr. Hamilton makes all these diverse characters and ideas work together as if they just happened that way! If Part 2 is as good as this, then this work is destined to be a classic, and he need never worry about holding down a "day job!" This is one of those books which can truly make a writer's reputation.

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Fine Prey by Scott Westerfeld Copyright 1998 Original PB Edition: 8/98 ROC (Penguin Putnam)

Spider is a very serious language student who likes to blow off steam every summer participating in the Fine Hunt. She controls bio-engineered beasts in a ritualized hunt which includes some elements of modern equestrianism. While Spider is not considered well-off, most of the crowd which patronizes the Fine Hunt is. This summer, she's going to go break out of her asceticism, use drugs, acquire a lesbian lover, and become a "rider" in that lower-class entertainment know as Claw Hunting. In the process, she's going to invent a new style of language to communicate with the alien masters of Earth. This is the first book I've read by Mr. Westerfeld, but probably not the last. The aliens are eerie, the characters are quirky, and the plot is twisty. While the ending follows directly from the narrative, its not at all intuitive. This book is full of those things which make characters memorable. The childhood memories, shared secrets, and memorable moments Spider remembers make for an extremely sympathetic, well-rounded character. Some of her friends who would be no more than cardboard figures in another tale, take on a life of their own by sharing in Spider's enthusiasm for the hunt. Because they are friends of this already-complex character we know well, they are accepted here without thinking. Mr. Westerfeld has created something quite different here. If you like something a bit out of the ordinary, I recommend it. There's nothing at all ordinary about this book.

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Text Copyright © 1998 Paul Roberts

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(Space Reader Illustration © 1998 Joe Singleton)