Conference noted::sf

1281.0. "Card's Lovelock trilogy" by RAGS::GINGRAS () Mon Jul 24 1995 17:24

   Lovelock   by Orson Scott Card and Kathyrn H. Kidd
   paperback  $5.99   ISBN: 0-812-51805-5   A TOR book
   My rating:  5 out of 10

   How can this book be described?  It's definitely science fiction, but
   has all the markings of a daytime soap opera or made-for-tv movie.  
   The story concerns the daily lives of a family that has signed on 
   to journey to a distant star system.  The inside of the ark reminds 
   me of RAMA, the monolithic space vehicle from the books by AC Clarke. 
   This ark; however, has a series of communities designed to be as 
   Earthlike as possible.

   Without giving away names or plot, I'll describe some of the
   characters in this book:

     One manipulative, self-important woman whose primary goal in life is
     to not do anything which is below her station.

     The woman's husband who has spent his life in an unloving 
     relationship and is nothing more than window dressing for his wife.

     One Successful woman scientist whose work has turned her into an
     automaton and who has difficulty relating to her family.

     One Mama's boy adult - walking timebomb for extra-marital relationship
     and who often sides with his mother over his wife.

     One Sarcastic, gossipy public servant who, despite her catty sarcasm,
     works to help new members of the community fit in.

     One ugly, resentful woman who divorced and took her children on the
     ark merely to spite her husband who remained on Earth.

     Two whiny, over-indulged young children of the woman scientist who 
     have been raised by the mama's boy and his mother, and who seem to 
     have picked up the worst of their disgusting habits.

   There are others, but these stand out in my mind. As I was reading
   this story, I kept wondering why Card and Kidd chose to write a 
   book about such dysfunctional misfits.  Are they saying that 
   finding volunteers is so difficult that the ark's creators didn't 
   bother to screen them for major neurotic tendencies?  This appears 
   to be the case.  These personality flaws dominate all the scenes that
   have humans in them, so Card & Kidd really end up with some very
   shallow people.  None of the people seemed real to me, more like comic
   book characters.

   Characters aside, at times I did enjoy the story anyway, even 
   though I didn't feel any empathy for or identity anyone.
   So that means there are also some good points about the book.  One 
   of those things is Lovelock himself, a capuchin monkey who has 
   been enhanced to the point of being more intelligent than most of 
   the humans.  He is the 'person' telling this story.  With Lovelock 
   as the narrator, the themes can be presented by an 'outside' 
   witness.  First, this book is about hypocrisy.  This is apparent 
   because practically everybody seems to be in some kind of constant 
   stuggle to be the biggest hypocrite.  The second theme is that 
   everyone is a slave to something or someone else.  Lovelock
   was bred to be a slave, but in many cases, the humans made personal 
   choices to be that way.  

   A third theme might be that nobody can really get outside themselves
   to understand another person.  Many of the conversations and
   arguments revolve around people having their own point-of-view and
   no one being able to see somebody elses'.  Of course, this could be
   a result of the shallow personalities because 'understanding' doesn't
   seem to be a part of anyone's makeup.

   The book's style is easy and flowing.  It can be consumed in a few 
   evenings.  After reading the two Babylon 5 novels, its was pleasant
   to read something cleanly written that didn't aggravate me with trite 
   dialogue, plot and narrative.

   All-in-all, I think Lovelock can hang by itself, but I believe its 
   a little weak to represent the first leg of a trilogy.  I would slam 
   the door in the faces of most of these people, and I have no idea 
   how someone could build a three-book series around them.

   _Marty

    See also Topic 1231.

    Whoops.  That review was a while back.  Lovelock is fairly new
    to the paperback world and I didn't have any recollection that
    it was mentioned here before.
    
    Anyway, I disagree with much of that review.  I think the premise
    that people behave differently when they're thrown into a new
    environment is true.  The odd thing about this book is, I don't
    believe the people are acting any differently than they did back
    on Earth.  Mamie was an interfering, pompous hypocrite before 
    coming to the Ark, and she remained so while on board the Ark.
    
    The thing I found really tiresome was that every scene was filled
    with the characters being at their worst.  Didn't Mamie ever have
    a conversation in which she didn't take the opportunity to make
    herself look good or her daughter-in-law look bad?  Everybody utters
    'fighting words' in almost every sentence, and yet no brawls break
    out.  I can imagine how long my family would last if we constantly
    took potshots at each all day long every day.
    
    Sorry to start a new topic.  I'll check more closely for previous
    reviews before I enter one.
    _Marty