<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Reminded me of the commonwealth
Review: Does a good job of making you feel like part of an expanding galactic empire. Reminded me of Alan Dean Foster. Does a good job of describing 4 different aliens. Gets into a couple of their cultures. Describes different ways of sensing the world, and the resulting impact. We see our hero's changing personality as he comes back transformed to interact with humanity again. Thought provoking and still a fast paced read.
Rating:
Summary: Reminded me of the commonwealth
Review: Does a good job of making you feel like part of an expanding galactic empire. Reminded me of Alan Dean Foster. Does a good job of describing 4 different aliens. Gets into a couple of their cultures. Describes different ways of sensing the world, and the resulting impact. We see our hero's changing personality as he comes back transformed to interact with humanity again. Thought provoking and still a fast paced read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Imagery and Characterization.
Review: Mike is a master of Characterization and he displays this in a Miracle of Rare Design. I was fascinated with his use of taking the character through many alien forms, yet leaving his basic 'humanity' intact, although his mind perceptions did change. Leave it to Resnick to find a new form of characterization!
Rating:
Summary: Great Imagery and Characterization.
Review: Mike is a master of Characterization and he displays this in a Miracle of Rare Design. I was fascinated with his use of taking the character through many alien forms, yet leaving his basic 'humanity' intact, although his mind perceptions did change. Leave it to Resnick to find a new form of characterization!
Rating:
Summary: The Search For Self In An Alien Environment
Review: One of Mike Resnick's better paperback releases is A MIRACLE OF RARE DESIGN. The strength of Resnick's work makes that quite a compliment. Fans of Resnick's science fiction will really enjoy this book.Xavier William Lennox is a writer specializing in exposes of alien cultures. On Medina, he went too far to observe a sacred ritual and is brutally tortured to the edge of death. While recuperating, the Office of Alien Affairs tells him he has a chance to go back. They can surgically transform him into a Medinan. He goes. Now he can study Medina more closely than any culture he has seen before. Being a Medinan does not give full understanding however. Lennox leaves but is fascinated with his alien body. Now continuing to work for the Office of Alien Affairs, lennox is given new bodies. Each one has its strong and weak points. And each one takes Lennox further from his humanity. Each change is less satisfying, but returning to human would be unbearable. Lennox continues to sink lower until he finally finds a place for himself. This book is aptly subtitled A Tragedy of Trancendance. And a tragedy it is, but a fascinating tragedy. I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Search For Self In An Alien Environment
Review: One of Mike Resnick's better paperback releases is A MIRACLE OF RARE DESIGN. The strength of Resnick's work makes that quite a compliment. Fans of Resnick's science fiction will really enjoy this book. Xavier William Lennox is a writer specializing in exposes of alien cultures. On Medina, he went too far to observe a sacred ritual and is brutally tortured to the edge of death. While recuperating, the Office of Alien Affairs tells him he has a chance to go back. They can surgically transform him into a Medinan. He goes. Now he can study Medina more closely than any culture he has seen before. Being a Medinan does not give full understanding however. Lennox leaves but is fascinated with his alien body. Now continuing to work for the Office of Alien Affairs, lennox is given new bodies. Each one has its strong and weak points. And each one takes Lennox further from his humanity. Each change is less satisfying, but returning to human would be unbearable. Lennox continues to sink lower until he finally finds a place for himself. This book is aptly subtitled A Tragedy of Trancendance. And a tragedy it is, but a fascinating tragedy. I strongly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Incomplete
Review: Resnick's novel is an interesting and rare world where humans are the dominant force in the galaxy (the Republic) and are able to subjugate many of the alien creatures that abound in the many worlds Xavier is able to visit.
The book starts off with an interesting and tense visit to the Fireflies. I like how Xavier takes on their form through radical surgery and tries to infiltrate their culture. The rest of the novel highlights Xavier's continued quest to be like other aliens, becoming increasingly uninterested in ever being a human again.
What I found frustrating was how the mystery of the Fireflies was never resolved. The book description made me think that the reader is to find out the reasons behind their strange mysticla practices, and instead we are left hanging. The book shifts too quickly into a story that just doesn't fulfill my expectations. A lot more could have been done with this story.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Light Reading
Review: This is the second book of Resnick's that I have read. I was not disappointed in the least. The near complete absence of technobabel in his prose is very refreshing in what is essentially a space opera. The story was compelling especially as Lennox progressed through his incarnations. I actually caught myself making time to finish it rather than picking it up when I had a minute to read something recreational. Resnick has one of the most unique styles I have experienced in SF. MHR
<< 1 >>
| 
