Of Three Minds

Rating:
Summary: fantastic paranormal serial killer tale
Review: Fiftyish Canadian Russell Walker writes "The Fifth Horseman" opinion column twice a week for the Globe and Mail national newspaper, but recently has found no joy in his work or his personal life, which he admits has been very good. As Russell hides inside his remote home on Heron Island near Vancouver, he is depressed and thinking about committing suicide as he has ever since his beloved wife and companion for over three decades Susan recently died.

Russell's college acquaintance Zandor "Smelly" Zudenigo arrives needing help. In 1967, Russell met Smelly, an Einstein clone, who could read minds. Zandor needs Russell, the only mind that the genius can tolerate for more than a nanosecond as reading minds devastates the gifted; this skill turned him into a hermit. A low flying plane over his deserted island enabled Zudie to read the brain of a serial killer planning his next murder. He needs Russell to serve as his intermediary with the cops. Russell is blown away by the police categorizing him as a nut; only police officer Hilda Mandic helps, but though they close in on the killer, he is ready to become their predator.

This fantastic paranormal serial killer tale contains four key characters, who seem genuine whether they are depressed, can read and influence minds, have doubts but take a chance, or just sadistically brutal. Russell tells the tale so the audience gains greater insight into him than the others as he somewhat filters how the remaining trio appears. Joyfully, Spider Robinson not so subtly hints this team will return.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and Powerful
Review: Russell Walker wants to be left alone to die--or commit suicide. But when his college roommate (Zandor, 'Smelly,' Zudenigo) from more than thirty years earlier appears on his doorstep with word that Zandor is a telepath and has accidentally learned of a horrible crime--planned by a man who thinks of himself of the artist of pain and torture, Russell knows he has to do something. His hippie/do-good past means that he can't walk away. The only problem is, they don't know the killer's last name, don't know who he intends to kill, and have no way to let the police know anything without exposing Zandor's secret. And Zandor knows that if the RCMP, CIA, FBI, NSA, or any other three letter organization ever learns of his existence, they'll kill him with their presence. Because even being near others is an assault on Zandor's telepathic senses.

All of which means it's up to Russell--the world's most unlikely hero, doper, 1960s pacifist, and occasional newspaper opinion writer to track down and somehow stop a serial killer so dangerous he makes Bundy and the Boston Strangler look like kindergarters. What Russell does is somehow rope in Vancouver's most unlikely cop--a butch woman who can't get ahead partly because she's straight--and set off tracking down the few clues Zandor was able to gleen from the killer's mind before he flew out of range.

Author Spider Robinson is a long-time SF favorite and his strong writing makes VERY BAD DEATHS a compelling read. Russell is occasionally annoying as he vacilates between smug and uncertain, but he's still sympathetic. Being the only guy on campus who could put up with rooming with 'Smelly' turns out to be a pretty good indicator both of his good-natured soul and of his inability to face up to challenges. When the tables get turned, Zandor, Russell, and Nika the cop are all forced to look deep into themselves, their beliefs, and ultimately betray much of what they thought they stood for.

VERY BAD DEATHS is a thoughtful and powerful story.

Rating:
Summary: Set's your spidey sense tingling.
Review: Spider Robinson's iconoclasic view of North America from his chosen retreat in rural Canada always provides a useful distance to view the oddities of the modern world. This was clear in LifeHouse, and in his other recent non-Callihan's books.

This extends the trend once again pitting a Spider-like hero against forces beyond his ability to understand much less conquer.

It's a gripping tale, held me tight, and I read it in one setting. I only wish that the antagonist now did not live in the back of my head. I've avoided reading Hannible Lecter, or the tales of Ted Bundy, but now, Spiders take on evil is going to have residence in my head for quite a while.

It was worth it. Five starts with an asterisk. Don't leave this one lying down where your precosious ten year old will come acrossed it late at night.



Rating:
Summary: Quirky entertainment
Review: Very Bad Deaths is quirky and entertaining. We meet some very unusual people in this adventure.

It all starts when an old college roommate knocks on Russell Walker's door in the middle of the night. Poor Russell is a recent widower and columnist for a Toronto newspaper and not feeling too good about the world at the moment. This knock on the door in the middle of the night and the request for help by his old college roommate, Zandor Zudenigo, aka Smelly, jumpstarts Russell, reluctantly, back to action. Now Zandor is a very, very strange character and happens to know that a man named Allen plans to kidnap and kill an innocent family in a very painful and horrible manner. Allen is the worst kind of sadist imaginable and Russell feels he has no choice to help stop this monster. The problem is - Zandor can't go to the police himself, for reasons you'll find in the book. So Russell must do it for him. Fortuitously and by happenstance Russell runs into Constable Nika Mandic (both literally and figuratively), a Vancouver cop whose career is stalled. I don't want to give away too much of the plot - but Russell has a lot of work to do to convince Nika that his request is legitimate and he's not some nut, another fun part of the story. But eventually the chase is on as this odd troika sets off to find Allen and put an end to his heinous plans.

This is a very quirky and entertaining novel and is as much about the characters and their personal plights as it is an adventure story. It's a real page turner from beginning to end and is hard to put down. Definitely a thumbs up.