Mainline

Rating:
Summary: Alienation and recovery in MAINLINE - & roleplaying games.
Review:

The premise of MAINLINE came to me in a dream in 1986: a woman who moved between timelines by choosing the alternate version of "now" that she wished to inhabit. This implied a couple of things to me: for one, that means that she could easily avoid the consequences of her choices. If she didn't like a circumstance she had gotten herself into, she could simply *leave*, and be somewhen else. This, in consequence, suggested to me a terrible alienation: how can you feel part of something, when you have no real ties or connections to it? Thus MAINLINE has a theme of alienation and recovery from same. Its gritty "Blade-runner" like environment owes much to the vision of science fiction writers who have gone before me; Robert Silverberg, Walter Jon Williams, and Jack Vance have been particular inspirations. The detailed setting, cultures and customs come from "The Sa'adani Empire", a science fiction roleplaying game and campaign setting of my own devising (I am a published game designer and have written for Star Wars(tm) roleplaying game (WestEnd Games) and Dungeons & Dragons (TSR), among others).

If you would like to discuss my book with me, I welcome email contact.

regards,
-Deborah Christian

Rating:
Summary: excellent, worth reading
Review: A good science fiction one that develops its characters and plot quickly and constantly. It reminded me of a dark french farce where one characters action leads to a complex interplay of all the characters yet no one knows everything. A good realistic ending since it's not all happy. I recommend it and will look for other material past and forthcoming by Deborah Christian

Rating:
Summary: Excellent but where is the sequel?
Review: Bought this book back in 1998 but it go misplaced in my "stash" of books I have kept since starting to read science fiction and fantasy back in 1959. Deborah Christian not only has produced an epic style novel but her characterizations and plotline are very well done. This reads like something from the "Masters" rather than a first time novel. It kept me awake nights trying to finish and kept my interest level high from beginning to end. Her alternate world line idea is as good as most I have read over the years and her addition of Vash (good guy undercover mutant cop) to go along with Reva (main character top line assassin with a heart) adds possibilities to the story.

What I want to know is -- "Where in the heck is the sequel". This book is just to darn good to be a standalone. Does anyone know if she is writing a sequel or not? The way this cliffhanger ends it is certainly open to even a trilogy or more.

My thanks to Deborah Christian for a truly great read and my heartfelt hope goes out to her for more of the same.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent but where is the sequel?
Review: Bought this book back in 1998 but it go misplaced in my "stash" of books I have kept since starting to read science fiction and fantasy back in 1959. Deborah Christian not only has produced an epic style novel but her characterizations and plotline are very well done. This reads like something from the "Masters" rather than a first time novel. It kept me awake nights trying to finish and kept my interest level high from beginning to end. Her alternate world line idea is as good as most I have read over the years and her addition of Vash (good guy undercover mutant cop) to go along with Reva (main character top line assassin with a heart) adds possibilities to the story.

What I want to know is -- "Where in the heck is the sequel". This book is just to darn good to be a standalone. Does anyone know if she is writing a sequel or not? The way this cliffhanger ends it is certainly open to even a trilogy or more.

My thanks to Deborah Christian for a truly great read and my heartfelt hope goes out to her for more of the same.

Rating:
Summary: New Star in the Making
Review: Deborah Christian's debut novel heralds a new star to the field of Science Fiction and Fantasy. With her complex characters and believable plot, she is a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

I look forward to her next effort.

Rating:
Summary: New Star in the Making
Review: Deborah Christian's debut novel heralds a new star to the field of Science Fiction and Fantasy. With her complex characters and believable plot, she is a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

I look forward to her next effort.

Rating:
Summary: Mainline by Deborah Christian - a very pleasant surprise.
Review: Ever buy a paperback at a grocery store or drug store on the way to the beach? It is not intended for good reading - it is meant to fall asleep to. That was how I found this title by Deborah Christian. Yet this book by Deborah Christian, in a futuristic, time line crossing, science fiction setting with a good balance of supernatural, sensuality and suspense, grabbed me and made me want more. It is rare science fiction that attracts me. Christian's writing here does just that.

Rating:
Summary: New email contact for author
Review: I can now be reached by email at [e-mail]. This address will stay the same regardless what ISP I'm at - I apologize to fans whose mail has bounced back from an invalid address in the past.

Rating:
Summary: Derivative and boring
Review: I havent read anything as bad as this in a while. Although lots of things happen, the storyline twists around unbelievable character decisions and melodrama while at the same time lacking pace or suspense. A good editor would have been hard pressed to salvage anything from this mess but it was obvious that editing extended only to a cursory spell check. As far as atmosphere is concerned, political details are reasonably well worked out but the technology is a mish mash of terms derived from far superior novels - the equivalent of name dropping with little explanation, coherence or an idea of what consequences such phrases like genetic engineering, nanotechnology, psi ability, cyberspace really have. A major talent would have been hard pressed to intertwine, write well and thoroughly about any two of these things and sadly Ms Christian has not the ability. And the writing - Ms Christian's prose and imagery is clunky, cliched and boring making it even more difficult to engage or care about any of the two dimensional characters that populate this makeshift universe. Dont bother. Pick up Snowcrash and see what real writing is about.

Rating:
Summary: Looooooved it!
Review: I love a book with a strong female heroine, especially with a bit of a dark side. We find that in Reva...assassin who has a heart.

This novel is full of action and adventure. It's a great read that keeps you on the edge of your seat.