Sheri Tepper is one of the greatest writers of SF and fantasy in the world One of the few authors to feature in both the Fantasy and the Science Fiction Masterworks List; BEAUTY was voted best Fantasy Novel of the Year by readers of LOCUS magazine. 'Sheri Tepper is a master at creating offbeat worlds and characters you never forget' Chris Wooding, author of THE WEAVERS OF SARAMYR 'Sheri Tepper takes the mental risks that are the lifeblood of science fiction and all imaginative fiction' Ursula Le Guin 'All Tepper's books are thought-provoking and unputdownable' SFX 'Her character, human and ali
Sheri S. Tepper is the author of several resoundingly acclaimed novels, including the Arthur C. Clarke nominated Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Six Moon Dance, The Family Tree, A Plague of Angels, Sideshow, Beauty (voted Best Fantasy Novel of the Year by readers of Locus, now a Fantasy Masterwork) and Grass, a Science Fiction Masterwork.
Fans will hail Hugo nominee Tepper's latest (after 2002's The Visitor), with its compelling story of an ordinary woman flung into extraordinary circumstances, but interesting ideas left undeveloped, awkward transitions from first to third person and unfair withholding of information may annoy others. Earth, incredibly overcrowded, has passed a new law prohibiting nonhuman life on the planet. Jewel Delis, dog keeper and member of an underground animal-rights group, wrangles her way to the planet Moss with several dogs, ostensibly to help her unpleasant half brother Paul, a linguist, figure out the peculiar language of the planet's varied inhabitants. Jewel finds Moss every bit as odd as advertised, with strange and dangerous plants, fantastic dances performed by creatures that may or may not be intelligent, and a group of humans descended from the crew of a spaceship that crash-landed years earlier. But figuring out how the Mossen communicate is only the beginning, as Jewel and her dogs get sucked into a portal, where Moss, Mars, the dogs, a missing alien race and Jewel's ex-husband collide. As usual in this author's novels, overt themes of ecology and feminism combine with thrilling mystery, and just as typically, a deus ex machina-here aliens stepping in to save the day-makes for a less than emotionally satisfying ending. Still, Tepper talks about important issues, besides excelling at world-building and at creating strong and independent characters. (Sept. 2) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
The planet Moss holds many mysteries for the two human groups sent to survey the planet and assess its potential for human colonization and profit. Accompanying her linguist brother, Paul, Jewel Delis has her own agenda for exploring Moss. As a member of the "arkist" movement, she seeks hospitable planets to provide homes for Earth's animal population, now threatened with extinction as the planet's government seeks to make room for the growing human population. As Jewel and her specially bred companion dogs explore the planet's surface, they uncover the world's true indigenous population, as well as a hidden group of humans descended from colonists stranded there generations ago. Each group holds secrets that, when put together, reveal an immediate threat from a long-forgotten race of technologically advanced predators. Tepper (The Visitor) once again confronts timely issues-in this case, the potential conflict between animal rights and human survival-with sensitivity and imagination. Her characters, whether human, animal, or alien, resonate with realism, while her imagined worlds come to vivid life as more than simply background. Highly recommended. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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