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Summary: A must read for Xenophiles
Review: It's rare now to find an author who so readily provides something new in the way of aliens. Czerneda's web-shifters are a pleasure to follow, with their own (well thought out) morals and rules that take their species needs into account without automatically turning them in bad guys. Human alien interaction is an exciting gray area rather than the black and white of so many today. The subject is handled with pinache, and her writing is a delight to read.
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Summary: A great new writer -- eagerly awaiting more by her!
Review: JEC is a great new writer. I picked her up because of her nomination for the John W. Campbell Award, and she certainly deserves to win. This is REAL science fiction, the kind Campbell himself would have been proud to publish. We won't know till next month whether she wins the award, but I hope she does!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing
Review: Julie Czerneda's first two books are both excellent. A fresh universe with interesting characters.Keep an eye on her.
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Summary: A most intriguing point of view
Review: Something new,already! You see, the shape-shifters reputation, according to science fiction writers,was very low. At best, they were considered shifty, unreliable partners. Only Robert Sheckley in his story Keep Your Shape gave them glory,along whit Robert Silverberg in his Majipoor Chronicles. But only Julie Czerneda dared write a novel from their point of view and still be convincing! The plot is intriguing,and the writing is first class. I loved it!
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Summary: Esen let me join your web!
Review: Summary: Esen is the youngest in a group of six web beings. These web beings can transform into any life form they come in contact with. Ersh is the leader of the web. Esen gets into trouble on he first mission to study and find out all she can about an alien culture. The purpose of Ersh's web is to save as web memory everything there is to know about every alien culture so that it can be saved even if the species disappears. The Web beings are very long lived. Ersh is tens of thousands of years old. Esen on the other hand is only a mere 500 years old. Comments: This was a fun science fiction romp. The main plot device was that there was an alien species that could shape change into any form of life it came in contact with. These Web beings were very long lived. It was well written and worth reading. Esen is a very likable character. This is basically just an entertaining story. There are no hidden messages of preaching of any kind.
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Summary: A surprising and intriquing hero(ine), likewise the tale!
Review: The other reviews of "Beholder's Eye" give a good description of the plot, so I would like to focus on the nature and development of the main characters, Esen-alit-Quar and her recent friend Paul-human, both of whom I found most compelling. Czerneda has brought forth an entirely new (to me) being within the universe. In trying to understand the nature of that being I felt that the story started out a bit slow, but as my comprehension grew I became quite rapt and regretted that it was not longer. Most exciting was the "personal" growth of Esen as her responsibility extended to the point at which she alone could meet and, hopefully, quell the ultimate threat to her kind. She takes numerous alien forms along her path, each one remarkably well portrayed and fleshed out. Her reluctant relationship with Paul Ragem inspires her to see and comprehend herself in a deeper and more compasionate way, and to learn to rely on her own personal understanding of her place in the scheme of things. All in all, this excellent book was very thought provoking, compelling to the end, and it certainly whetted my appetite for more!
Rating:
Summary: A surprising and intriquing hero(ine), likewise the tale!
Review: The other reviews of "Beholder's Eye" give a good description of the plot, so I would like to focus on the nature and development of the main characters, Esen-alit-Quar and her recent friend Paul-human, both of whom I found most compelling. Czerneda has brought forth an entirely new (to me) being within the universe. In trying to understand the nature of that being I felt that the story started out a bit slow, but as my comprehension grew I became quite rapt and regretted that it was not longer. Most exciting was the "personal" growth of Esen as her responsibility extended to the point at which she alone could meet and, hopefully, quell the ultimate threat to her kind. She takes numerous alien forms along her path, each one remarkably well portrayed and fleshed out. Her reluctant relationship with Paul Ragem inspires her to see and comprehend herself in a deeper and more compasionate way, and to learn to rely on her own personal understanding of her place in the scheme of things. All in all, this excellent book was very thought provoking, compelling to the end, and it certainly whetted my appetite for more!
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Summary: This book is a gem.
Review: The writing is compelling and the story absorbing, enlightening and entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Put Me Through Too Many Changes
Review: This book had likeable characters and a good writing style, but the plot was too strung out for my tastes. It was almost written like a serialization, where you go from place to place to place but there is no building momentum to a crescendo. I did feel it was consistent in the science and the characterizations were in-depth and believable, but it could have been shorter and more economical in the story-telling and it would have been more powerful.
Rating:
Summary: Put Me Through Too Many Changes
Review: This book had likeable characters and a good writing style, but the plot was too strung out for my tastes. It was almost written like a serialization, where you go from place to place to place but there is no building momentum to a crescendo. I did feel it was consistent in the science and the characterizations were in-depth and believable, but it could have been shorter and more economical in the story-telling and it would have been more powerful.
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