Who Goes Here

Let us face it. _Who Goes Here?_ (1977) is not really Bob Shaw at his _very_ best. It is not as good as _The Two-Timers_ (1968), _Shadow of Heaven_ (1969), _One Million Tomorrows_ (1970), _Other Days, Other Eyes_ (1972), _Orbitsville_ (1975), or _The Ragged Astronauts_ (1986). But it is a passable pastiche with a high entertainment quotient, something in the vein of Shaw's "The Weapons of Isher II" (_Amazing_, 1971). Sometimes stories written just for fun are worth a look. While the title is similar to John W. Campbell's aliens-among-us classic suspenser "Who Goes There?" ( as by Don A. Stuart, _Astounding_, 1938), Shaw's novel really has little to do with that original tale. It resembles more a host of French Foreign Legion adventures. The hero, Warren Peace, wants to forget. The Space Legion, happy to oblige, totally wipes out his memory. In return, Our Hero has enlisted in the Legion, though he has no memory of doing so: "For a moment, I thought I had done something really stupid" (3). What follows is a host of military misadventures in which Warren, because of his amnesia, manages to endanger his fellow soldiers more than he rescues them.

Unlike the previous reviewer I think the humour works though the jokes don't. Unfortunately in the sequel Shaw keeps the jokes and loses the humour. It's a total turkey don't bother with it. I think this is a great book though and routinely recommend it.

I'll begin by stating that I think Bob Shaw to be one of the greatest SF writers ever (bar none). Bearing my bias in mind 'Who Goes Here' is a clever, easy to read and well plotted novel. I reluctantly admit it to be slightly less enjoyable than some of the author's other works because often the book's humour doesn't quite work. Still, you wouldn't go wrong to pick this up provided you appreciate intelligent writing, original ideas and minimal cliches.