Sideshow

I can recommend anything Tepper has written in sci-fi. This book and Grass are gems of the genre.

I read this after reading Grass, and was pleased to note a couple of familiar names and faces. Personally, this is one of my favorite of Ms. Tepper's works, and the commentary on religion and tolerance amidst various barbaric practices in this book make it a worthwhile read.

Trust me this is Tepper's funniest book. Loved aunt Sizzy, Celery, and his exposition to the "twins" was fantastically funny, and it sure would be great to have the "sentient fungus" rooting around in our world. You don't need to have read the other books in which Tepper has the "Arbi", or the wonderful "sentient fungus" as characters to enjoy this story. Celery dangles the "great concession" like a carrot to the "twins", who inadvertantly become involved in saving the world. Tepper does sermonize, as usual, in her latter stories, but her humanity is big enough to poke fun at lots of outmoded and wrong thinking conventions, and manages to be a scream.

I do not often write reviews here but this time I simply had to share. I had never heard of Sheri S. Tepper before reading this book so I started reading it without any pre-conceived notions of what to expect but already from the first page I was convinced that it was a great book - and all the rest of the book, every page of it, was just as good as the first one!The book has just the right mix of mystery, a good action-laden plot and loads of interesting philosophical questsions all mixed together into a convincing and enjoyable package. The plot of the book has already been described by others on this page. I'll just say that I think that the Great Question (what is the ultimate destiny of man?) is something that we DO need to answer.

I enjoy science fiction, especially science fiction by women. Sheri Tepper is one of the best sci-fi writers in the world and this is her best book. She creates great stories that also have relevance for life on earth today. Don't miss this one.

I loved this book because of its intricate detail and the way it deals with the problems of humanity. I absolutely could not put it down. I want to run to the library now and check out everything written by her.