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The Neutronium Alchemist, Part 2: Conflict
Spirits from the beyond use ghostly powers and hi-tech weaponry to wage war against humanity
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The Neutronium Alchemist, Part 2: Conflict
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By Peter F. Hamilton
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Aspect
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$6.50/$8.50 Canada
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Paperback, May 1998
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ISBN 0-446-60546-8
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Review by Susan Dunman
 iving a normal life in the far future becomes increasingly difficult as spirits from the dead compete for control of those still living in The Neutronium Alchemist, Part 2: Conflict. In this, the fourth book in Peter F. Hamilton's The Reality Dysfunction series, the possessed match wits with the living in a galaxy-sized chess game whose outcome will determine humanity's destiny. Joshua Calvert, ace starship captain and adventurer, finds himself pursuing one of the queens on the chessboard as he races against time and the possessed to locate a doomsday device called the Alchemist.
While Joshua's busy with the biggest bomb in the universe, Quinn Dexter--the very personification of evil--methodically makes his way toward Earth to "convert" its inhabitants to his Light Bringer sect. Dexter uses fear, cruelty and hatred to enhance his power and extract obedience from his small band of possessed followers. Unlike Dexter's disciples, however, most of the possessed are intent on capturing highly populated planets and then moving them to a different dimension, where there is no conventional time or space.
When an ominous red cloud accompanying the possessed begins to swirl in the atmosphere of Ombey, the military there plots the invaders' destruction with an arsenal of biotechnology constructs. Meanwhile, the Edenists--whose culture is based on so-called "bitek," as well as group consensus and the amalgamation of individuals' memories into a corporate identity--seek answers from the Kiint, an alien race claiming to have succeeded in its own confrontation with death. Even the placid, near-perfect habitat of Tranquillity becomes one of the biggest pieces in an incredibly complex puzzle demanding to be solved.
Hold on to your Tyrathca...
Without missing a beat from his last volume, Hamilton continues his grand adventure in equally grand style. As usual, his tendency to fast-forward readers into the plot can put a real strain on memory cells. And the action can be so intense and constant that it's possible to become physically tired after a couple hundred pages of reading. Thankfully, there's also familiar territory to re-visit, but new readers are advised to start with the first novel in this series (The Reality Dysfunction Part 1: Emergence). There is simply too much going on to successfully jump into the middle of this saga and make sense of what's happening.
For those readers who are up-to-date on the series, Hamilton proves adept at introducing enough new elements to keep things interesting. The hi-tech gadgetry alone should be enough to satisfy most space opera aficionados, but the possessed and aliens put even more intrigue into unfolding events. Particularly memorable are the Kiint, an extremely advanced alien race whose main interest seems to be gathering information. It's obvious they know much more than they're telling, but it's hard not to like an alien with a tractamorphic body, mental telepathy and grandfatherly-type wisdom. There's also the Tyrathca, unattractive aliens with personalities like sacks of oats, but whose mysterious Sleeping God may help solve the crisis between the living and the dead.
Of course, it's the possessed who provide the most intrigue in this novel, especially those whose behavior is influenced by personal motivations left over from previous lives. As increasing numbers of possessed return from the beyond, the desperate dream to set the universe back in order becomes more and more elusive.
This is great escapist reading, and if you've already finished the first three books, there's no reason to stop now.
-- Susan
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Ports of Call
Join pilgrims, magicians, savants and beauties aboard the tramp
space freighter Glissa
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Ports of Call
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By Jack Vance
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Tor Books
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$24.95/$34.95 Canada
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Hardcover, April 1998
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ISBN 0-312-85801-9
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Review by Brooks Peck
 et in Jack Vance's ultra-distant future universe called the Gaean Reach, Ports of Call is for the most part the story of young Myron Tany. A recent graduate of the Institute with a rather useless degree in "Economic Fluxions," Myron is taken under the wing of his eccentric and extravagant aunt, Dame Hester. Hester recently won a space yacht in a lawsuit, although she only agrees to take it out when she learns of a possible rejuvenation clinic on a far world. She hires a crew, installs Myron as captain (space yachts are quite easy to operate) and they take to the stars.
Soon, though, Myron's good fortune is overturned. His sensibly prudent ideas of how a space yacht should be run conflict with his aunt's jet-setter lifestyle, and he finds himself put ashore on the planet Taubry with just enough cash for a ticket back home.
But he doesn't go home. Instead he joins the freighter ship Glissa as supercargo. Glissa is a dynamic vessel whose crew includes a dandy, a philosopher and a captain haunted by an unknown quest. She has no assigned route and simply follows the whims of local commerce. She also carries passengers, including a band of pilgrims and a down-on-its-luck carnival troupe. Obviously these are good ingredients for a light-hearted space adventure that spans numerous planets, cultures and taverns.
The right ingredients, but...
Sadly, what Ports of Call lacks is a central plot to carry it from port to exotic port, adventure to adventure. Myron and company encounter intrigues, they gamble, explore, fall in love, perform, fight, escape and sample innumerable ales. But each event is isolated, unconnected. It's all great stuff, but the only point of doing it is to do it. In the hands of many, this catalog of events would be dreck, but Vance is so talented, so good, that, even plotless, he's a great read. Ports of Call is a tour de force of his fervid and boundless imagination.
What makes the book frustrating, though, are the feints at a greater plot that are never carried through. In addition to the regular small escapades, Myron and the crew sometimes brush up against more meaty conflicts. Some of the carnival troupe, for example, are being held in illegal indentured servitude, and the Glissa's captain vows that decisive action will be taken. None is. Dire warnings are given to another crewman to the effect that terrible evil will befall him if he collects a full set of primitive talismans. He does; nothing happens. It's these forgotten threads that might shake readers' confidence in Vance, one of science fiction's grand masters. After 50 prolific years of writing, is he finally losing focus? Is he slipping?
Long-time Vance fans will still find plenty of enjoyment in Ports of Call. Newcomers might be better advised to try some of his previous and most outstanding works, such as the Planet of Adventure series or The Eyes of the Overworld.
Despite its multitude of cultures, every planet in the Gaean Reach has an inn with clean beds, hot food and good beer. This novel is a similarly comfortable haven in the science fiction world.
-- Brooks
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