DEATHKILLER

Rating:
Summary: Does absolute power *have* to corrupt absolutely?
Review:

What would you do if you had absolute power? If you couldwalk invisibly in a crowd, knowing that no one would seeor remember you? What if you could take any action you desired, knowing that there was no penalty, no judgement, no repercussion?

What if you found out someone else already had that power?

When I saw a copy of Spider Robinson's "Deathkiller" on the store shelves, my first thought was that somehow the author and the publisher had slipped one over on me; a new tale of telepathy and humanity had bypassed hardcover publication and gone directly to mass-market release. When I turned the book over and read that this was a single-volume re-release of his earlier works "Mindkiller" and "Time Pressure" I very nearly set it right back down.

The only thing that saved me (and you, if you haven't read it yet for the very same reason) is my longtime habit of reading the Author's Notes even before purchasing a new book. In his Notes, Robinson talks a little about his reasons for this re-issue, and about some of the changes made in this edition.

Yep, that's right. Changes. Nothing of major plot-changing importance, but little things that you would never have seen had the author not pointed them out in his Notes. Robinson wants the story to get into your head, to make you believe, and by changing some minor background elements and advancing the calendar a few years he subtly transforms the world of "Deathkiller" into a familiar place you can easily live in.

If you are a Spider Robinson fan, this is a necessary addition to your collection. Even if you already own a copy of "Mindkiller" and "Time Pressure", this revised edition still reads like vintage Robinson; and it makes a terrific way to introduce a friend to a world which (the author hopes) is very like our own.

Rating:
Summary: Something Faintly Odorous This Way Comes..
Review: I have to admit, with a slightly preposterous name like "Deathkiller," the only thing that got me to pick this book up off the shelf was the author's astounding pen name. Although, from quickly perusing it, I ended up buying it and eventually reading it. I constantly look for other sf authors who include the type of philosophy as Heinlein, along with amusing wit. I have to say that Spider lives up to both of these, and even including a more realistic and human feel. I may not even agree with some of his views on life, but there's not too many sf writers out there who can keep a book enthralling, even when nothing important is going on. I was disappointed whenever I had to put the book down. In fact, this is one of the only books I have read that the so-called "slow parts" were actually more interesting than the rest it.

Spider blends the two story lines together right before your eyes with utter genius on Mindkiller. The mystery builds, an! d I was actually surprised when the plot was finally revealed!

However fantastic Mindkiller was, keep in mind that Time Pressure has some major drawbacks. For one, throughout the first two-thirds of the book, there is absolutely NOTHING relavent to the Mindkiller, besides where it takes place. It is interesting, but I almost put the book down, and shouted "Where the hell is this book going!?" If Spider wasn't such a damn good writer, I would have thrown the book out the window at times, with the homosexual undertones, and so forth. Yet finally, unexpectedly, the connection is revealed, and I was put at ease, and could enjoy the book more.

Although Time Pressure was far less than I expected from a sequel to Mindkiller (or for any book), I have to admit that Spider is an amazingly good writer, has fascinating philosophical ideas, and includes witty and humerous situations that creates a book seperate from most of the sci fi out there. Even if you think "D! eathkiller" is the gayest name you've ever heard in yo! ur life, block it out and read this book (I mean seriously, this guy had the balls to make "Spider Robinson" his pen name!).

Rating:
Summary: Two of Spider's best
Review: If you're interested in reading some Spider Robinson and looking for somewhere to start, start here. This combo volume includes what I think are two of his best: _Mindkiller_ and _Time Pressure_.

In general I highly recommend Robinson's work, both his own and his collaborations with his wife Jeanne (_Stardance_, _Starseed_, and _Starmind_ -- the first two of which are now collected in the single volume _The Star Dancers_). Among other things, he's got excellent musical taste and I happen to share some of his SF-hippie sensibilities. But mainly, even when I disagree with him, I think he does a nice job of treating important themes.

His Callahan's Bar stories are not my personal favorites among his works, but they do a nice job of stating his single most important theme: shared pain is diminished, shared joy is increased. Basically, in Robinson's world (as in our own), you've got two choices: you can turn yourself into a human ingrown toenail, dying in your own emotional-spiritual toxins and poisoning everyone around you while you go -- or you can open up your window a crack and let in some light and air.

In one way or another, most of his books (from _Telempath_ onwards) explore this theme -- what would happen if we could get into each other's skulls and we didn't have to be so _alone_ all the time? And in contrast to his mentor Robert Heinlein, he doesn't treat the "group mind" as something to be avoided; in his tales, you don't lose individuality but fulfill it by becoming an integral part of an "oversoul." Optimistic without being naive about the unplumbable depths of human cruelty, his works are in large measure a study of the spirituality of conflict resuolution.

Oh, yes -- the present book. Well, _Mindkiller_ is a really cool story, bordering on cyberpunk, that treats a "future" (actually 1994 and 1999, which were "future" when he wrote it) in which junkies practice "wireheading" -- plugging themselves into sockets that directly stimulate their pleasure centers. I won't spoil the story by divulging details, but much of the plot concerns the crucially important difference between pleasure and joy and why the latter is preferable.

_Time Pressure_ is a prequel/sequel (which I didn't actually know when I originally read it in 1987, and you're not actually _supposed_ to know until well into the story, but the fact that it's in this volume sort of gives it away) in which the theme gets further developed and tied into the "group mind" stuff. Here again, I won't give away plot details. But I can tell you that Robinson draws heavily on his life in a Nova Scotia commune (for a couple years in the 1970s) and presents a marvelously warm and humane literary portrait of hippie life and ideals.

And that's about all I can tell you about the stories without ruining your pleasure in reading them for the first time. If you like them, also try _Lifehouse_, the third book in the series. Then get the _Stardance_ books, and grab _Telempath_ while it's in print again. Et cetera.

You might also want to check out his new one, _The Free Lunch_ -- but having not yet read it myself, I can't tell you anything about it.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed; Since this is really 2 books, I'll review them both.
Review: The score is only 9 because I'm writing about "Mindkiller" and "Time Pressure" together now that they have been issued together as "Deathkiller," more about that in a minute. I have a lot of books I've read twice (most of Spider's, Heinlein's, McCaffrey's, and Niven's), but few books I've read three or more times. "Mindkiller" is one of those few. I'd read "God Is An Iron" in the short story, so I was thrilled to see it expanded into the novel, and the wait was well worth it! I had not been able to find (and still can't) very much of Spider's stuff here locally. I think the new bookstores sell out too fast, and almost NO ONE ever gives up one of his books to the used bookstores. Each time I read "Mindkiller " I desperately wanted more, more, more. I think Spider's melding of the 2 different and eventually converging story lines is fantastic. His detail is excellent and his realism absolutely wonderful. This book is one I chose to read (the second time) because I KNEW it would rouse me from a deep blue funk, and I was correct. If I was grading this book separately, it would be a "10" without question, and even with "Time Pressure" getting my grading of about a 7, the weighting of "Mindkiller" makes this combined score a 9. It is not a simple averaging, by any means. This is a MUST READ. I even got my wife (not an SF fan) to read it and she is asking for more of Spider's stuff.

On to "Time Pressure." The linking between these two books is not obvious (other than the Nova Scotia setting) until about two-thirds into "Time Pressure." I guess I wanted more detail and specifics like a continuation of the story line from where it had left off. Perhaps there wasn't much more there, though. I missed Joe/Norman and Karen, I guess. "Time Pressure" has , both figuratively and literally, too much of the "Deus Ex Machina" in it to rate the same depth of appeal as "Mindkiller."

"Time Pressure" is still an easy and good read, and can be well understood even without reading "Mindkiller" first. It handles the potential paradoxes of travelling back in time very well, even to the point of needing to kill a telepath, if Rachel is one. (I wonder how much Snaker is modelled after Spider, bye the way). I wouldn't mind seeing something done about the time between these two books, something with the level of detail of Joe getting his new TV after smashing one in anger over Karen's departure.

I'll review "Lifehouse" under that title; it makes up for the weaknesses in "Time Pressure."