Reviews

A problem with speculative fiction is that too often ideas trample plot, character, and the irony of situation. Watson has avoided these pitfalls, instead producing a literate, witty work that is subtle, thoughtful, and clever. A hypnotist is hired by a Russian film team to work with an actor who will star as Anton Chekhov. The aim is to imbue the spirit of Chekhov into the actor on a subconscious level, thereby enhancing the film. The idea works too well. Time and reality begin altering through the actor, who is now Chekhov past, present, and future. History and the story achieve a sort of climax at Tunguska, the Siberian site of unexplained explosions in 1890, 1908, and 2090. Highly recommended.-- Joseph Levandoski, Free Lib. of Philadelphia

In present-day Russia, a movie production team uses an experimental technique to hypnotize an actor into thinking he is Anton Chekhov. While he is in a trance, they plan to question him about Chekhov's 1890 trek into Siberia, as background for the film they are making. To everyone's astonishment, the actor, transported into Chekhov's body, relives the author's experiences relating to the possible crash of a comet in the Tunguska region in 1908, the incident somehow relocated to 1888. Meanwhile, he is also tapping into the life of Anton Astrov, captain of a future spaceship which might be responsible for the Tunguska explosion. Watson ( Alien Embassy ) continues his speculations into the nature of reality in this highly readable tale, enhanced by believable characters and authoritative plotting, and remarkable for the realistic detail he brings to each of the timelines. Originally published in the U.K. in 1983, this book's appearance in the U.S. is long overdue. (Nov.)