Gelatinosities. That word is just one reason why I love this book. It’s written in a lovely way, and so smoothly, I didn’t even notice until I was on page 90 that it’s written in present tense. A second reason is that although this story starts out with exactly the same premise as Wilson Tucker’s The Year of the Quiet Sun – people collected by the government and sequestered away to participate in a top secret activity – this story is so much better. Human psychics can abandon their bodies. Utopic squid-manta-ray things have their thoughts and souls floating around them like halos. They switch bodies. It’s cool.
A third reason for loving this story, is that Tiptree shows how to let emotions climb through characters so the reader can emotionally follow : “But suddenly everything is gone – he has crashed into a stasis assaulted by light, colors, sensations. Floundering, he perceives dimly that this is embodiment. His naked life has become incarnated. A sense which isn’t vision is showing him the image of a landscape in which are immense, trembling globes. Utterly bewildered, he rolls or tumbles, his mind filled with jelly life. “Margaret!” he bubbles weakly, and then sees – knows – her radiance is there, flaring among the moving gelatinosities.”
Tiptree’s technique is beautiful: a description, an emotion or reaction, a perception, a poetic summary. She does it twice here, and all through the book. It worked really well for me.
A third reason for loving this story, is that Tiptree shows how to let emotions climb through characters so the reader can emotionally follow : “But suddenly everything is gone – he has crashed into a stasis assaulted by light, colors, sensations. Floundering, he perceives dimly that this is embodiment. His naked life has become incarnated. A sense which isn’t vision is showing him the image of a landscape in which are immense, trembling globes. Utterly bewildered, he rolls or tumbles, his mind filled with jelly life. “Margaret!” he bubbles weakly, and then sees – knows – her radiance is there, flaring among the moving gelatinosities.”
Tiptree’s technique is beautiful: a description, an emotion or reaction, a perception, a poetic summary. She does it twice here, and all through the book. It worked really well for me.
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