Delta Pavonis

Island Worlds #4

by Eric Kotani, John Maddox Roberts

Have we got a planet for you. And don't worry: nothing native to Delta Pavonis is likely to hurt you; humans are too alien to be tasty. At least that's what they said during orientation. Dierdre Jamail isn't quite sure she believes them -- she's never believed an authority figure in her young life. That's why she's been assigned to Delta Pavonis, in fact, rather than to some more promising planet: Delta P. is the absolute least desirable exploration point in the entire galaxy. But Dierdre's always been lucky -- and she's about to make the find of the century -- and run into some serious authority figures.

Genres: Science Fiction

250 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Pseudonym for the late Yoji Kondo.

Reviews

[Grace Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such hopes for this book, and at first it seemed to deliver! I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of the book, the exploration and discovery. I felt like there was so much more to be said, to be done. And then... a time jump. Suddenly it's years later and nothing very interesting is going on. And this kept happening. I felt like I barely had a chance to get to know the characters, and so I didn't really care what happened to them.
I guess ultimately i'm just disappointed because this book had such potential and it seemed to just barely scratch the surface.

[Meadhbh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story. Sort of a coming of age for a young explorer. First a clash with authority, then a clash with her peers, a clash with nature and finally the grand reveal. The plot moved along well enough and the characters, though slightly wooden, were lovable at least. It was a bit weird reading the story of two women, written by two men though. The characters weren't stereotypical; at least not so much as to be distracting.

I read this book as a "palate cleanser" between two other more "serious" works and it worked well for that.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

reviews.metaphorosis.com

3 stars

When problem trainee Deirdre finally makes it planet-side to join the Explorer Corps, she's shunted off to a unit of mavericks and oddballs. When the group discovers some anomalies, Deirdre pushes things one step further, and finds herself at the center of a growing mystery.

Kotani and Roberts' Island Worlds series doesn't pretend to be any more than it is - straightforward light SF adventure. On that promise it delivers, though this fourth installment is beginning to show some of the seams. A fair amount of what happens is decidedly unlikely, but taken for what it is, the story is a fun, easy read. Where the authors go slightly wrong is in providing far too pat an ending to what should have been complex and interesting situation.

Some characters from previous books turn up, namely Derek Kuroda (on the fringes), and Sieglinde Kornfeld-Taggart, who once again is the lone genius above ordinary humans. This time, though, she's a lot more annoying and less fun; there are only so many times you can use the gumpy-genius-saves-all thing in one series.

As far as I know, this book was the end of the series, and that's probably a good thing. What was a nice adventure was starting to wear thin. Better to end on this slightly off note than keep playing.

If you want some easy SF adventure, I definitely recommend the series. It's quick reading and you'll enjoy it. This particular book does stand alone, but it's more rewarding as part of the chain than on its own.