From: sheol!throopw@dg-rtp.dg.com (Wayne Throop)
Subject: "A Season for Slaughter" by David Gerrold
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.misc
Organization: Advanced Human Interface Group
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 04:41:52 GMT

		A Season for Slaughter
		by David Gerrold

This has been hashed out in rec.arts.sf.written recently, so I won't go into
the traditional "who/what are the REAL Chtorrans", questions.  And since
anybody who is interested in this series is probably NOT very spoiler-
sensitive about the general context, I'll not be at all carefull of spoilers
in that regard (though there aren't really any spoilers that leap out at me
here either).  In other words, this review is oriented towards people
already familiar with the series.  On the other hand, I'll throw in some
points about the readability of the series as a whole, which may be of some
use for anybody deciding whether to bother starting on it at all.  If you
do, it's probably worth starting at the beginning.

First of all, Gerrold mentions in an afterword that "This is the longest
damned trilogy I've ever written."  And that's my dominant impression, and
this is *not* a Good Thing.  Yes, the setting provides a stage for a large
volume of material.  Yes, many epic tales will fit, and not even scratch the
surface of the stage Gerrold has set.  BUT... how many times do we have to
see McCarthy decide that he's been a total smeghead and apologize left and
right to everyone (whether or not they deserve it for the particular event
apologized for), and end the volume all cleansed by the cathartic experience
and seemingly ready for the next book with all his chakras centered, his id,
ego, and superego tuned up to a fair-thee-well, all his engrams exorsized,
and in general in a state of pseudo-new-age smugness (if you ignore the fact
that the world is still in the process of coming to an end, and nothing done
in the duration of the book has made a molecule of difference.)

I mean, OK, OK, Gerrold throws in some nice Solomon Short sayings, and he
gives neat quotations from the Red Book all ending in "this is of critical
importance and deserves further study", and introduces mhorr and mhorr of
the chtorran ecology.  I mean, he has a flair for driving home the "reality"
of the invasion, eg, by mentioning offhand that it is thought that the
Enterprise Fish have eaten the last of the whales recently...  about the
same time as one attacked and almost destroyed the Nimitz.  But really, the
"good parts" are sparse particles bouncing around in a sea of angst.
There's a good 200-page novel in there somewhere struggling to get out.

On one hand, the "good parts" (hmmmm...  perhaps we can get Goldman to do a
"good parts" version, as he's done for Morgenstern's _The_Princess_Bride_)
are really good.  All too many alien invasion yarns give all too little
thought to the subject.  The notion of an ecological invasion elaborated as
Gerrold has done is just excellent.  Morbid, depressing, disturbing, yes,
but mind-expanding and and fascinating also.  Plus, isn't that old curmugeon
Solomon Short just so cute you want to hug him and squeeze him and pet him
and pat him and call him "George"?

But on the other hand, it may be funny to hear Rimmer called a smeghead for
the 1000-th time, but hearing McCarthy whining to himself for page upon
page, dozens of times in each book... well, it gets old.  Yes, yes, we KNOW
he's a smeghead, he doesn't have to stop every page, interrupt the action,
turn to the audience and ask if he's told us what an idiot he feels he is
lately.  "Yes, McCarthy, I believe you DID tell us that story.  About as
often as a chtorran burps."

On the third hand, that's what "skipping ahead" is for.

To sum up, the book is much like others in the series: great well-elaborated
ideas, good pithy quotes, overlong repetive skippable interludes of
McCarthy's internal psychodynamics.

( Hmmmm.  I wonder when "An Aptitude for Abasement" is coming out... 
  maybe right after "An Abundance of Alliteration". )

%A   David Gerrold
%D   January 1993
%G   ISBN 0-553-28976-4
%I   Bantam
%P   562
%S   The War Against the Chtorr
%T   A Season for Slaughter
%V   Volume 4
--
Wayne Throop  ...!mcnc!dg-rtp!sheol!throopw