Conference noted::sf

    She's written one recently (past 3 years) called (I think) After
    Long Silence.  It's about a world with crystal mountains, and the
    people who make a living singing at them so that caravans can pass
    between them.
    
    A very good book.  I'd talk some more, but it's beginning to get
    a little fuzzy...
    
    Of course, I could have the author wrong and be really odd today...
    
    Merryl
    

    I personally loved the Land of the True Game, with the various
    characters taking the part of "Gamesmen", ie King, Dragon, Elator,
    Basilisk, etc.
    
    It was a light read, but fun.
    
    Revenents was not set in the same world, and I did not care for
    it.
    
    
    				=ELB=
    

    I read some of her books several years back.  These were also set
    in the Land of the True Game.  They were (I think):
    
    Kings Pawn Four
    Necromancer Nine
    Wizard's Eleven
    
    I may have the titles wrong, as I had borrowed them and so they're
    not in my current collection.  I thought they were pretty good,
    although there are many books out there that are a better read.
    
    I also read Revenants, and thought it stunk (stank?) (well, it was
    pretty bad) ...
    
    ... Bob
    

    Re: .1 & .3
    
    Books are often published under a different title in the UK than
    used for the US.
    
    'After the Long Silence' is published as the 'Enigma Score', and the
    books mentioned in .3 were published in one volume - 'The True Game'
    in the UK.                                                          
    
    
  

    I've recently read, and can recommend, another Tepper book:
    
    	"Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse."
    
    I gather that it is the third of the "Marianne" books, the two previous
    titles being:
    
    	"Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore"
    and
    	"Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods."
    
    I would love to find these two titles, since I very much enjoyed
    "Mouse."  It centers on a magical boardgame.  The game pieces include
    items such as malachite mice, emerald emus, amethyst apes, and gnesis
    gnus.  The board, which is figured at the front of the book, includes
    squares with such names as:
    
    	Buttercup, birth to eight years
    	G'Nop
    	Frab Junction
    	Cattermune's Pique
    	Mother's Smithy
    	Seldom Siding
    	Gerald
    	Cattermune's House
    	George
    	Moebius Siding
    	Dinosaur Zoo
    	Cattermune's Worm Pits
    	Illusion Fields, ten thousand years
    	Forever
    
    Starting the game is a lot easier than stopping.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    
       Sherri S. Tepper is one of my favorite recent discoveries.
    I have read everything that I can get by her, including all
    3 of the Marianne books ... I got them at a paperback bookstore
    at the mall.  I liked her book _The Gate to Women's Country_ best, but 
    _Grass_ (her latest?) is also very good!
    
    Enjoy
    
    jc
                                   

First a request to the moderator to rename the topic to 

		Sheri S. Tepper 

to correct the spelling of her name. 


As for me, she is one of two authors from whom I'll buy anything and 
have yet to be disappointed. (the other is CJ Cherryh)

Her two most recent books, "Gate to women's country" and "Grass" have 
been exceptional. 

GTWC explores masculine/feminine traits in a polarised post-holocaust 
society. While the plot is a cracker, the characterisations are 
wonderful and make the book.

Grass is even better. Each of the major characters is distinct and
believable, even when they hold views that Sheri probably holds
distasteful. But while the relationships among the characters evolve
and are explored through the book, the plot and action is the best
I've read in ages. Sheri mixes horror with her sci-fi in this book
very convincingly. About half-way through, the level of intensity is
at a level that many authors find in their last chapter and continues
to deepen through to the end. I compare it to Ravel's Bolero where the
steady crescendo doesn't let up. I was gasping for air by the last few
chapters. Yes, I liked it :^) 

Cheers,
George

    
    	I have read 3 of her books:

    		Grass
    		After Long Silence
    		The Awakeners

    	I have enjoyed all 3 but I never really start to enjoy them until I
    am about half way through the book. They don't just grab me in the
    beginnings like some other authors. I would certainly recommend the
    above and I think my favorite is After Long Silence.

    					Jim

'After long silence', it's time to reopen this note. :^)

Tepper has brought out two new books this past year: 'Raising the 
Stones' and 'Beauty'.

'Raising the Stones' is set on a world where there are 'gods'. The 
novel addresses themes of freewill versus predestination; what makes a 
deity a deity; sexism; legends; and also has an interesting plot. The 
skeleton of the plot is that one of the dozen farming collectives on a 
rural planet has rediscovered a 'god' that can influence their 
behavior, yet allows for much freewill. Their productivity improves, 
there is less bickering, the collective becomes much more harmonious. 
But is this 'good'? 

I found this to be a bit slow for the first half, but it picked up in 
the second half. I found myself putting down the book a number of 
times in the first half to think through the themes presented- the 
plot was not in the foreground as much in the beginning. Part of this 
is that she creates a few new religions, worlds, races and cultures 
which takes some exposition.

'Beauty' also addresses religion, but is one of the quickest and 
engrossing reads I've had all year. It is a retelling of the 'Sleeping 
Beauty' myth, but from her point of view. Which, since it isn't her 
who gets her finger pricked and falls asleep, but her half-sister 
Beloved, is not just 100 years of dreaming. :^) Tepper compares 
and contrasts a Christian viewpoint with Faery; ecology versus 
technology (there is a fair bit of timetravel in it, which I don't
remember from the Disney movie :^)); and the concept of 'Beauty'
through a woman's ages and the world's ages. The protagonist is far,
far more than just a pretty face! 

This was not quite as thought-provoking as the first novel, but is a 
fun read. The plot zooms along in this one.

NB- it may not be filed under SF in your local bookstore- I found it
under the 'normal' Fiction section in the store where I purchased it. 

Cheers,
George

Article: 530
From: [email protected] (Humphrey Aaron V)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: Prograde Reviews--Sheri S. Tepper:Beauty
Date: 18 Mar 94 02:22:05 GMT
 
Sheri S. Tepper:Beauty    [some spoilers]
 
I've been a big fan of Sheri S. Tepper's work ever since the True Game
trilogies.  With her last few novels, she's stepped directly into the
upper echelons of SF--and she deserves it, for the likes of The Gates
To Women's Country and Raising The Stones.  Beauty is the closest
thing she's written to fantasy since making the move to SF. 
 
It's not entirely untouched by SF, either, but most of the underlying
logic of the book rests on fantasy.  It starts out simply enough with
something we can tend to recognize as Sleeping Beauty, as the notebook
of Beauty herself as she nears her 16th birthday and the curse that
was due to descend. She manages to escape the curse herself, but only
to get snapped up a crew of 21st-century documentarists who don't want
to risk a paradox.  The 21st-century, in this book, is a hive far, far
worse than Asimov's Caves of Steel, where all food production has been
taken over by "Fidipur", so that everyone gets the same amount of
food.  (In theory, at least.) 
 
Beauty manages to escape from there to the 20th century, and from
there she hops around in time and space, along Earth's time track, to
the imaginary world of Chinanga, and to the world of Faery.  She is
raped, and has a daughter. She is reunited with her own mother, a
Queen of Faery.  But this is oversimplifying the in-depth examination
Tepper puts into the nature of motherhood, daughterhood, and the Faery. 
 
She returns periodically to her own century(the 14th and early 15th),
and sees several generations of her progeny, who seem destined to
carry out others of our traditional fairy tales besides Sleeping
Beauty.  (Beauty, who's watched Disney in the 20th, picks up on this
right away.)  Beauty also finds herself getting older, much of her
time stolen as she spends it in Faery and other worlds.  She returns
to the 20th Century and heads a major environmental organization for a
while before realizing the futility of her fight, as "Fidipur" is
foreordained.  (Tepper is taking the view that the timestream is
unchangeable in this book, obviously.) She spends some time in Hell,
and galvanizes the forces of Faery into a last hopeless fight against
Evil.  And then she returns once more to her home to re-enact one of
mankind's oldest myths.  (Which one?  That would be telling.  I've
already told you enough.) 
 
There are definite opinions on the current state of mankind and the
Earth which I am not sure whether they originate with Beauty or with
Tepper herself. (For instance, Beauty roundly condemns writers of
horror fiction, while Tepper has written a few books in that genre
herself.)  There's also the strong environmentalist undercurrent, as
well as advocating population control(including a pro-choice stance on
abortion)and the like.  Again, whether this is merely Beauty's
view(having seen both the 14th Century, around the time of the Black
Death, and the overstuffed 21st, where mankind eventually dies under
its own weight)or whether it is Tepper's, is not clear. 
 
In any case, the book's main theme is obviously the loss of beauty--in
the span of life on the Earth, in Faery, in Beauty herself as she
ages, in her progeny as her genes for beauty are mixed with dross. 
But Beauty herself carries within her the soul of Beauty, and refuses
to let it be lost. 
 
A very powerful book, although at times a bit preachy.  I wouldn't say
it was Tepper's best, but it is still extremely strong. 
 
%A Tepper, Sheri S.
%T Beauty
%I Doubleday Foundation
%C New York
%D August 1991
%G ISBN 0-385-41940-6
%P 412 pp.
%O Trade paperback, US $12, Can $15
 
--
--Alfvaen(Editor of Communique)
Current Album--Yello:One Second
Current Read--Charles de Lint:Spiritwalk
"curious george swung down the gorge/the ants took him apart"  --billbill

Article: 620
From: [email protected] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: Prograde Reviews--Sheri S. Tepper:Sideshow
Date: 11 Jun 1994 19:14:33 GMT
Organization: The Anna Amabiaca Fan Club
Sender: [email protected] (Michael C. Berch)
 
Sheri S. Tepper: Sideshow
 
A Prograde Review by Aaron V. Humphrey
 
In _Raising The Stones_, Sheri S. Tepper introduced the Hobbs Land Gods. 
Gods made real and concrete, and answering the needs of their worshipers
(and vice-versa).
 
In _Sideshow_, Tepper turns to those who fled rather than face the
"tyranny" of the Gods.  They founded a planet called Elsewhere, and divided
it up amongst the various refugee religious groups, assuring each of them
mutual tolerance and noninterference, mandated by law.
 
Meanwhile, back in the late twentieth century are born a pair of Siamese
twins, joined in such a way as to be inseparable.  They eventually get
transported to Elsewhere (after centuries in stasis).
 
The book takes a while to get moving, as it has to introduce the various
characters--Fringe Owldark, Danivon Luze, Zasper Ertigon, and a few enigmas
standing on the sidelines...  But then they get called together to
investigate reports of dragons in a mysterious province never explored... 
The suspicion is that these are the horrible Hobbs Land Gods, come at last.
 
However, lurking under Tolerance, Elsewhere's capital, spirits preserved in
computer for centuries are getting restless, and decide _they_ want to be
gods...
 
This book, like _Raising The Stones_, examines the question of what it
means to be a god.  It also questions whether we have the right or
obligation to interfere if we find another's customs immoral.  And a lot of
other pointed questions.  Although it is dangerous to expect the book to
espouse the author's opinions, it may be safe to make a guess at a few of
Tepper's from this book.
 
_Sideshow_ is just as good as any of the books Tepper has been turning out
in the years since _The Gate To Women's Country_.  Highly recommended.
 
%A Tepper, Sheri S.
%T Sideshow
%I Bantam Spectra
%C New York
%D May 1992
%G ISBN 0-553-56098-0
%P 482 pp
%O Paperback, USD5.99, CAD6.99
 
-- 
--Alfvaen (Editor of Communique)
Current Album--Kitchens of Distinction:Strange Free World
Current Book--Michelle Sagara:Lady of Mercy

"It's a one-time thing.  It just happens a lot."  --Suzanne Vega
 

Article: 626
From: [email protected] (David Wong Shee)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: Review of SIDESHOW by Sheri S. Tepper
Date: 20 Jun 1994 19:48:09 GMT
Organization: The Internet
Sender: [email protected] (Michael C. Berch)
 
SYNOPSIS: In a future it is believed that the answer to the Great 
Question i.e. "What is the Destiny of Man?"< will arise from the human 
diversity.  Unfortunately the mysterious Hobbs Land gods have wiped out 
diversity among humanity throughout the rest of the galaxy.  In a last 
desperate attempt to answer the Great Question the last remnants of 
humanity uncontaminated by these Gods have been transported to the 
planet Elsewhere.  They represent humanity's last hope of answering the 
Great Question.  While awaiting the advent of the answer members of the 
Great Question Committee, consisting of the most eminent academics of 
mankind, are disembodied and their identities mapped into an 
indestructible computer Core on Elsewhere.
 
A party consisting of: Fringe Owldark, Danivon Luze, Curvis (Enforcers 
pledged to the preservation of diversity); Bertran and Nela Zy-Czorsky 
(a pair of non-identical siamese twins); Jory (Prophetess emeritus) and 
Asner (Myth-eater); travel to the province of Panubi to investigate the 
possible arrival of the Hobbs Land gods on Elsewhere. 
 
COMMENTS: Sideshow extends the exploration of themes touched on in her
1989 novel Grass.  Questions pursued include:  
 
*    What is the potential role of religion in human affairs as a      
     vehicle for evil?  
 
*    Are there ethical principles which transcend cultural differences?  
     Under what circumstances (if any) is it legitimate to intervene in  
     another society?  Are there such things as "universal human rights" 
     and "crimes against humanity"?
 
*    What is the nature of free will and choice for individuals born     
     into societies with long traditions of inequality and oppression?
 
*    Is it the fate of humanity to constantly repeat the atrocities of   
     the past with successively greater technological amplification?  To 
     create Gods which then turn and threaten to destroy us?
 
The book successfully combines satire, horror and irony while neither 
succumbing to excessive cynicism, nor, in the end, despairing of the 
possibility that humanity can redeem itself from the sins of the past.
 
"To all those who ride the great dragon Wonder" Tepper.
 
%A   Tepper, Sheri S.
%T   Sideshow
%I   Bantam Spectra Books
%C   New York
%D   May 1992 
%G   ISBN 0-553-56098-0 
%O   Paperback, US$21.50
 

I just finished reading "A Plague of Angels". 
(I'll do a review if requested)
Sherri Tepper just keeps getting better & better.


Chele

    I hereby request a review.
    
    Earl Wajenberg