The Mutant Season

In this, the first of a four volume series, we are introduced to an offshoot of the human race who are called the Mutants. Ostensibly hidden from the rest of humanity for centuries, the race of golden-eyed espers has finally chosen to reveal themselves. The story picks up several decades later, after the initial years of unrest and persecution have subsided somewhat; and while legal protections exist, prejudice against the mutants is still very strong in a populace that both envies and fears them. Against this backdrop Haber tells the story of one very active mutant family, the Rytons, and one "normal", Andie Greenberg, chief assistant to the only mutant Senator.If you can swallow the outlandish premise (for which Silverberg must accept responsibility) Haber has written a fairly entertaining novel. The basic technique is a long series of short scenes from each of several subplots, some of which converge, and others of which will presumably be picked up later in the series, but which together paint a fairly credible portrait of life in a world with Mutants. The real strength of this book is the characterizations, which reflect a familiar variety of reactions to racial prejudice, but also show that life is pretty much the same even with telepathic or telekinetic powers. Young Michael Ryton struggles against his domineering father's conservative insularism, while his "null" sister Melanie feels ignored and uncared-for, and their cousin Skerry isunattached, uncontrollable, and undependable. Andie Greenberg is the only normal who is followed closely, but in the end she proves to be the real hero, providing the key to defusing the crisis that evolves when the mutant Senator pushes for sweeping changes in mutant's rights.While the round robin plot structure keeps the reader interested, there are spots where the plot advances very slowly. There are engaging characters of both sexes, but so much of the focus is on young people that boyfriends and girlfriends and sexual encounters and adolescent angst seem to fill most of the book. As a result, some adult readers might find this material difficult to relate to, while the fairly explicit sexuality makes it inappropriate for young readers. Young women interested in sci-fi fantasy should find this book especially appealing; the rest of us can hope that the next book in the series will be a little more grown up.

The first of a promised four-book series, The Mutant Season is a recognizably traditional sf novel complete with heros, villains, civilizations to save and its own measure of triumphs and tragedies. It narrates the long-established theme of a point just past the introduction of mutant telepaths into the near future of earth as we know it. By the time of this first novel, mutants have transcended early persecution in the 1990s and come out guardedly to battle for acceptance and perhaps integration. The plot of the first novel depends on two alternate models of humanity's future as a mutant/non-mutant cooperation. Since the story is told mostly from the Mutant society's point of view, both models are theirs, although one is clearly unacceptable to non-mutants. Major players are both mutant and non-mutant. Andie is non-mutant assistant to the first mutant senator, Ms. Jacobsen. She and Senator Jacobsen are both striving to bring about peaceful integration of mutants into the dominant culture and this is the model of coexistence that is privileged in the novel, but is briefly subverted by the predictable mutant-supremacy group, some of whom also have hopes of creating a strain of super-mutants. Andie believes in and wants to assist the birth of cooperation model, so, when Senator Jacobsen is killed, she agrees to work with Jacobsen's mutant successor, Senator Jeffers, who becomes her lover. Yet she is able to transcend this seduction and unmask his unacceptable plans when necessary. Another mutant/non-mutant pair are lovers - Kelly, a talented non-mutant and Michael, scion of an important mutant family, are doomed to separation by social forces that will not countenance such a union. Michael is forced into a marriage with another mutant which he tries to appreciate but the novel leaves Kelly escaping into a military career as a pilot, and very much dissatisfied with the situation. Michael's sister and cousin present alternatives to his fate. While he allows himself to be incorporated into the mutant group's plans for the future, his multi-talented cousin, who has already left out of disgust, makes it clear that he scorns their plans. Michael's sister, although mutant in appearance, (they have gold eyes), is unable to use any psionic powers and escapes, through disguise, into the straight world. It is with this uneasy vacuum of futures that novel one ends. However, to reassure the reader that more threads will be tied together, a few pages of the next novel are included. The characters and plot of this novel are engaging, but the reader should be ready for and interested in the long haul which will take her/him through all four books.Jan Bogstad, Reviewer