Neanderthal Planet (©1969)

Comprised of four short stories: Neanderthal Planet, Danger: Religion!, Intangibles Inc., and Since the Assassination. The stories themselves are pretty cool, starting with the title story. There are some fun moments with alternate realities, and the last story Since the Assassination had a cool premise involving time, and the differences between our internal circadian rhythms and what happens when exposed to different environments such as the moon.

I’m not usually a big fan of short story collections, but when I started the book I didn’t know it was an anthology. Hey, I’m one of those people who often reads stuff without digging too deeply into the dust jacket. Makes it a fun voyage of discovery.

Mister Aldiss is a solid writer, and I enjoyed the stories for what they were.

Reviewed March 8, 2006

Helliconia Summer (©1983)

I read Helliconia Spring back in 1996, and it was a wonderful story, but it was slow moving, and dare I say almost boring. It took me four years to get around to reading the next volume in the trilogy.

First off let me tell you that this is a rich and engrossing book. Mr. Aldiss really does manage to create a vivid and real world. But like the previous one, it too suffers from a lack of plot action, and at times the book was a labour of love to get through.

The idea of a world of extreme seasons is well developed, and the relationship between the humans and the phagors is strangely symbiotic. The book builds its personal and political storylines to a rather anticlimactic climax. I mean no disrespect, but it sort of ends the way Monty Python's Holy Grail does.

Reviewed December 6, 2000

Helliconia Winter (©1985)

I wasn't going to wait another four years between volumes. So I read this one right after finishing Helliconia Summer.

With the onset of winter once again the plague known as the Fat Death ravages the population. Those who survive find themselves changed physically and are better suited to the winter environment. The Phagors once again rise to prominence, while humanity tries to hang on to what is has.

Like the previous books the story is vivid, and the characters well fleshed out - and like the other books this is a slow read. The spacestation above Helliconia that provided interesting segues in the other books is merely an annoyance this time. The author goes off on a Gaia quest. We get a lot of scenes from earth, and a lot of collective consciousness crap. I felt like I was caught in an introductory psych class - Carl Jung would have loved this stuff. For me it was annoying to the point of distraction. I almost gave up an otherwise engaging tale.

Don't get me wrong the whole Helliconia series is strangely appealing. It is a wonderful world, and the stories are gripping in their own plodding way. The final book has a great core story, and for that alone it is worth reading.

December 21, 2000