Doorways in the Sand

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and original romp
Review: _Doorways in the Sand_ has been a favorite Zelazny novel of mine since I read it in the Analog serialization in 1976. On recent rereading, it was pretty much as good as I remembered. Fred Cassidy is a permanent student, partly because he likes learning, partly because he continues to draw from his rich Uncle's trust fund as long as he is in college. Meantime various advisors scheme to get him to graduate, while Fred, an acrophiliac, climbs all over the roofs of the college town. But all of a sudden he has a lot more to worry about. Various beings seem convinced he knows the whereabouts of the alien "starstone", a cultural artifact given to Earth in exchange for the British Crown Jewels and the Mona Lisa, and the maintenance of which in good condition is essential to Earth's nascent status in Galactic civilization. These folks memorably include some alien cops who like to dress up as marsupials. There follows a lot of action, all well done if sometimes a bit implausible, and a decent resolution involving a not absurd view of our place in the universe, etc. etc. It's not a great novel, but it's great fun.