A Hunger in the Soul

This is probably Resnick's best novel. (Yes, better than Kirinyaga.) It's certainly his most political. It's a devastating anti-colonial (and anti-neo-colonial) critique, hidden in a damned good sci-fi adventure novel--and with the political points revealed, not through exposition, but through the words and actions of the characters. Even better, Resnick is a very good writer technically, and he creates believable characters. Resnick is best known for his schlock space-opera novels (Santiago, Santiago revisited, Santiago yet again, Santiago one more time, Santiago otra vez, Santiago ad nauseam), and I picked this book up expecting an evening of mindless entertainment. Instead, I got an evening of thought-provocation. It's one of the best sci-fi novels I've read in years, and I read approximately 100 sci-fi novels per year.

Journalist-adventurer Robert Markham is out to locate the vanished medical legend, Michael Drake. Markham recruits a medically retired desk-bound explorer-guide to lead him. Meanwhile the fabled Drake has secreted himself away among the natives on a world called Bushveld. This lush & verdant planet is renown for its isolation, its People, the varied & tribal Orange-Eyes & its huge creatures perfect for trophy hunting. This started out wry & dry & ended up a bit drab. Some truly interesting premises & awesome descriptions of a whole 'nother world! Worth the read. END

Remember hearing about how Stanley found Livingstone? Remember the 1939 Spencer Tracy movie glorifying this "great" human effort? Well, hold onto your hats, folks! Here's the REAL story of how Stanley found Livingstone dressed in science fictional clothes. Stanley was not the great man popular sentiment and Hollywood has led us to believe he was. Hugo and Nebula award-winner Mike Resnick tells us the real story in a genre where the unusual, the cruel, and the vicious aren't subject to the political correctness so rampant in today's world. I recommend this book to any lover of science fiction AND truth.