Ambassador of Progress

A blend of fantasy and science-fiction, with an emphasis on fantasy, Williams spins a story involving war, politics and ethics set against a fascinating cultural backdrop. The various societies Williams develops in the novel are fascinating -- almost characters unto themselves. I've read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi over the years, and this is easily one of my all-time favorites.

This book has been around for over twenty years. Read today, though, it remains to me what it was then, one of the half dozen greatest science fiction novels. Williams, almost alone among those who have spent their careers as science fiction authors, is able to gift his characters with familiar adult feelings, responses which have the feel of maturity, not adolescence, which is much more prevalent. His characterizations, though perhaps unique for their skill in the genre, are only half the picture though, his stories can be, as they are here, absolutely delightful, entertaining, witty without pretense or arrogance. He manages, with all this, to give a little history lesson which you must find for yourself, and challenges the reader to consider the world we have, and why it is what it is. This is this author's best work, and considering the fellow wrote Hardwired, that is the highest praise.

But that is true of nearly all of WJW's work. There is sophisticated character developement, and some interesting plot twists. This book deals with racism and segragation in a fictional society, as viewed through the eyes of an outsider. You are kept guessing through the whole book what the mysterious purpose of the outsider is, and whether the two groups of people are even truely Human. A good read.