Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell

Rating:
Summary: Fun, fast paced tale of mystery, modern fantasy & sci-fi.
Review: An interesting mix of plot lines and solid writing keeps this tale moving along at a brisk pace. The characters are interesting, but the book as a whole is not as challenging as the authors Nebula winning novel "The Falling Woman," or the multiple award winning novella "Bones."

Overall, a very solid and satisfying story, but with a few quibbles. Why do authors' feel the need to include "Ockham's Razor" and "Schroedinger's Cat" as principles that need inclusion and explanation? Along with "Gordian Knot" and "Damocles Sword" these must be the most overused clichés of science fiction and I am very tired of reading them. And what ever compelled the author to name so many characters after herself? It might seem humorous to some, but it really spoiled the rhythm of the story for me.

Still, I do recommend giving this book a good reading, to expand your thinking a bit while getting a good dose of entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful fun
Review: I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I picked up this book, but it's just made it onto my list of favorites. Lighthearted and fun, reality-twisting and metafiction at its best, I recommend this book to anyone who doesn't take life all that seriously--or is at least willing to take everything in the universe equally seriously, as the pataphysicists Murphy invented suggest.

Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: Like all of the novels by Pat Murphy/Max Merriwell/Mary Maxwell, this is a fun book that takes you to odd places inhabited by even odder people. It's a lot of fun, has some interesting insight into how people invent their own lives, and says a few things about Quantum Physics as well. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: Like all of the novels by Pat Murphy/Max Merriwell/Mary Maxwell, this is a fun book that takes you to odd places inhabited by even odder people. It's a lot of fun, has some interesting insight into how people invent their own lives, and says a few things about Quantum Physics as well. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Light-hearted metafictional fun and romance
Review: Pat Murphy concludes her light-hearted metafictional trilogy with _Adventures and Time and Space with Max Merriwell_. Max Merriwell is an SF writer who also writes fantasy as Mary Maxwell, and hard-boiled mysteries as Weldon Merrimax. Murphy's previous two novels were _Wild Angels_, ostensibly by Max Merriwell writing as "Mary Maxwell", and _There and Back Again by Max Merriwell_, a retelling of _The Hobbit_ as SF.

The previous books were quite light in tone, and this new book is also fairly frothy, and it's also quite fun. The main character is Susan Galina, a recently divorced librarian from San Francisco, who has won a free cruise to London. She has invited her friend Pat Murphy, a graduate student in Physics, who doesn't seem to resemble the author externally -- at any rate, I don't think the real Pat Murphy has spiked blue hair. Also on the cruise is Max Merriwell, who has agreed to give a writers' workshop in exchange for his ticket. The other main character is the ship's security director, Tom Clayton, with whom Pat immediately tries to set Susan up, abetted by Tom's friend Ian, a computer expert who handles the ship's new electronic ticketing system among other things.

The ship is to pass through the Bermuda Triangle on its way across the ocean. This is the trigger for a series of mysterious events -- the appearance of both of Max's pseudonyms as real, drinks-buying (and inventing) people; the appearance of characters from _Wild Angel_, including more versions of Pat Murphy; an apparent murder; and a crisis involving radical physics concepts as explained by the character Pat Murphy, such as the affect of consciousness on quantum states, and different possible interpretations of uncertainty and the Many Worlds theory.

Alongside this metafictional skullduggery there is the not very suspenseful but nicely portrayed developing romance between Tom and Susan, and the simple story of the cruise across the Atlantic, with pleasant landscapes described in Bermuda and the Azores. There are also interludes discussing the physics (in the Pat Murphy persona) and writing (as Max Merriwell describes the process). All is brought to a satisfying, if slightly convenient, conclusion. An enjoyable read, nothing Earth-shaking, but quite fun.

Rating:
Summary: Light-hearted metafictional fun and romance
Review: Pat Murphy concludes her light-hearted metafictional trilogy with _Adventures and Time and Space with Max Merriwell_. Max Merriwell is an SF writer who also writes fantasy as Mary Maxwell, and hard-boiled mysteries as Weldon Merrimax. Murphy's previous two novels were _Wild Angels_, ostensibly by Max Merriwell writing as "Mary Maxwell", and _There and Back Again by Max Merriwell_, a retelling of _The Hobbit_ as SF.

The previous books were quite light in tone, and this new book is also fairly frothy, and it's also quite fun. The main character is Susan Galina, a recently divorced librarian from San Francisco, who has won a free cruise to London. She has invited her friend Pat Murphy, a graduate student in Physics, who doesn't seem to resemble the author externally -- at any rate, I don't think the real Pat Murphy has spiked blue hair. Also on the cruise is Max Merriwell, who has agreed to give a writers' workshop in exchange for his ticket. The other main character is the ship's security director, Tom Clayton, with whom Pat immediately tries to set Susan up, abetted by Tom's friend Ian, a computer expert who handles the ship's new electronic ticketing system among other things.

The ship is to pass through the Bermuda Triangle on its way across the ocean. This is the trigger for a series of mysterious events -- the appearance of both of Max's pseudonyms as real, drinks-buying (and inventing) people; the appearance of characters from _Wild Angel_, including more versions of Pat Murphy; an apparent murder; and a crisis involving radical physics concepts as explained by the character Pat Murphy, such as the affect of consciousness on quantum states, and different possible interpretations of uncertainty and the Many Worlds theory.

Alongside this metafictional skullduggery there is the not very suspenseful but nicely portrayed developing romance between Tom and Susan, and the simple story of the cruise across the Atlantic, with pleasant landscapes described in Bermuda and the Azores. There are also interludes discussing the physics (in the Pat Murphy persona) and writing (as Max Merriwell describes the process). All is brought to a satisfying, if slightly convenient, conclusion. An enjoyable read, nothing Earth-shaking, but quite fun.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: Susan Galina is having a difficult time of it as the California librarian lost her job at about the same time her divorce became final. Winning first prize in a contest keeps Susan from falling into a depression. Susan and a friend will travel on a cruise from New York to Bermuda and the Azores before debarking in England.

Also on the luxury liner is famous author Max Merriwell, who uses three different pseudonyms to write in three different genres. Susan looks forward to attending Max's lectures and hopes to meet the renowned writer. However, when the liner enters the Bermuda Triangle, a strange occurrence happens. Max's aliases come to life. One causes trouble; one befriends Susan, and one triggers the inexplicable.

When the lines of reality blur, imagination becomes focused, which is the theme of Pat Murphy's novel. It enables the reader to forget the intellect and allow the wildest thoughts to flow into a reality. ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE WITH MAX MERRIWELL needs a warning label not to venture with Max Merriwell into the Bermuda Triangle unless you want to enjoy a satirical Twilight Zone ride.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: Susan Galina is having a difficult time of it as the California librarian lost her job at about the same time her divorce became final. Winning first prize in a contest keeps Susan from falling into a depression. Susan and a friend will travel on a cruise from New York to Bermuda and the Azores before debarking in England.

Also on the luxury liner is famous author Max Merriwell, who uses three different pseudonyms to write in three different genres. Susan looks forward to attending Max's lectures and hopes to meet the renowned writer. However, when the liner enters the Bermuda Triangle, a strange occurrence happens. Max's aliases come to life. One causes trouble; one befriends Susan, and one triggers the inexplicable.

When the lines of reality blur, imagination becomes focused, which is the theme of Pat Murphy's novel. It enables the reader to forget the intellect and allow the wildest thoughts to flow into a reality. ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE WITH MAX MERRIWELL needs a warning label not to venture with Max Merriwell into the Bermuda Triangle unless you want to enjoy a satirical Twilight Zone ride.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A fun, quick read
Review: This book is perfect for sitting on the back porch on a beautiful summer Saturday afternoon. The book is delightfully light without feeing frivilous. You'll finish it with a smile on your face and the feeling of a well spent afternoon. Descriptions of the plot would give away much of the fun ...Buy a copy for yourself, and buy one for a friend. It's well worth the investment.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Fun
Review: This was a fun little jaunt, using various quantum theories to pull characters and plot twists into the story. This kept things interesting, and the mechanism worked well due to small interspersed chapters from the "Bad Grrl's Guide to Physics", which explained the concepts to those who weren't already familiar with them (which, in all fairness, most people probably were).

A few things bothered me, though. First, the re-use of names, book titles, characters and concepts was very distracting for the first half of the book. As the end drew near, these circular references actually helped the story along, but at the beginning they were simply irritating. I almost put the book down around page 100. However, I stuck to it, and am glad that I did. Overall the book is an easy read and it's worth it.

A last nit-picky criticism would be that Murphy sometimes gets lazy with descriptions, using the same words several times within a few paragraphs, and never really stretching to create any empathy through images. Still, while descriptions are weak, the characters themselves, and their actions, are realistic and colorful.

This book was just a few potentialities away from being a five-star book. It was enjoyable enough to make me grab a copy of Murphy's "There and Back Again".