The Golden Globe

Eight Worlds #2

by John Varley

This is an engrossing novel by one of the genre's most accomplished storytellers. —Publishers WeeklyAll the universe is a stage...and Sparky Valentine is its itinerant thespian. He brings Shakespeare—a version of it anyway—to the outer reaches of Earth's solar system. Sparky can transform himself from young to old, fat to thin, even male to female, by altering magnetic implants beneath his skin. Indispensible hardware for a career actor—and an interstellar con man wanted for murder...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Novels, Fantasy

522 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Full name: John Herbert Varley.

John Varley was born in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University.

He has written several novels and numerous short stories.He has received both the Hugo and Nebula awards.

Reviews

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

A former child television star Kenneth , the rich and famous," Sparky" Valentine in the 23rd century is now an itinerant actor, excuse me thespian scratching out a living beyond the orbit of distant Pluto, ( on a floating, ugly city, an eyesore ) in the future a planet again, worse yet he's a runaway from the law using numerous aliases to stay that way, poor but free not a big fan of incarceration, what the felony was, is never stated . Let's face it his wretch of a touring troupe, of which Valentine was a member...never any good financially speaking or artistically, shaky at best but the audience were grateful for any entertainment in their hell holes... Sparky isn't the star either, the versatile actor has done many parts, men's and women's, with modern medicine not difficult, the stage has changed too, anything shocking goes and does...Invaders have taken our Earth and the native population those that survived , fled to the moon, "Luna", Mercury, Venus, Mars and their various satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus , Neptune, many remote asteroids, space stations and yes Pluto and her heinous moon Charon (inhabited by a ruthless, merciless, savage mafia, the toughest in the Solar System) hence Eight Worlds. Earthlings have made a remarkable recovery though, billions are alive now, since death has been postponed, hundreds of years...that is a problem where to put all these fertile humans...Sparky if I may call him that, best friend is Toby his loyal dog, an excellent performer too, he earns his keep, acting, doing back flips and able to count money at least to five coins. Even after being a fugitive for seventy-one years since the age of 29; yes he is now a spry 100....middle aged by the era's standards. Nevertheless Sparky has an imaginary buddy the good Elwood, who resembles a well- known Hollywood actor from the past , only he sees...call him his conscience not insane . Some unpleasant heated discussions occur when Elwood tells Sparky of his wrongs, he knows, but the former star of the long - running "Sparky and his Gang," has committed many violations , still he likes to eat, mostly petty crimes, cons, stealing here and there if you're kind say misdemeanors, usually from those who can afford it, a new Robin Hood Mr. Valentine believes he has become, forever an actor...On the cold, bleak, strange world of Pluto the artist, is a master of Punch and Judy shows in emergencies, the lack dough , which are sadly very frequent , goes too far ... crosses the line, taking a priceless Japanese artifact of old Earth from a wealthy however foolish woman. She hires or her family does the barbaric Charonese mafia ( no offense if you are Charonese), to settle the score, find him, kill him but not before a very slow torture lasting many months, they enjoy the work and always get their man, ( Isambard Comfort, a misnomer, the heartless, cruel, relentless, immortal pursuer, is still a Sparky fan) like the Mounties...the lady ironically doesn't care about the artifact...At last the fleeing Sparky gets the role of a lifetime, King Lear, in a prestigious theater on the Golden Globe, that is Luna...he will risk everything to play... If you think the weirder the better, this novel is for you, fans of the bizarro universe will be pleased...

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This SF is well-nigh unclassifiable. For glorious reasons.

I mean, sure, you could call it a Heinleinesque romance in the vein of Double Star, or call it a thespian-ish thriller revolving an immensely popular child star turned murderer who has been on the run for 70 years, or you could call it the One Last Great Shakespearian tragedy.

I mean, damn, I'm caught thinking that this is as glorious as (and is) a great mashup of Alfred Bester's best book, The Demolished Man, and The Stainless Steel Rat, full of on-the-run acting, con-jobs, a little madness, and a LOT of Lear. :) And let's not forget to send Valentine across the full Solar System as we do it. :)

This book might rank up there with one of the best SF ever written. It breaks all molds and does its own glorious thing, never apologizing, never doing the expected thing. Flashbacks? Sure! Tons. Flashforwards? Fourth-wall breaking? Third-person, First-person, Second-Person? Yep. :) And you know what? It all works. :)

It has PERSONALITY. :)

Varley is one of the greats, indeed. Now, why the hell is this book relatively unknown? Sheesh. It's a travesty!!!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

SHAKESPEARE! IN! SPAAAACE!

It's hard to tell how good this book actually was, because it was the perfect book for ME (as Mikah told me several years ago -- see, I do get around to recs!). Minus one star for too much weird middle bit, and for not foreshadowing the conclusion quite enough, but a good space romp and overall so much fun. I mean, as far as I'm concerned you can't beat the opening line "'I once played Romeo and Juliet as a one-man show.'"

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-¿Podría Billy Wilder haber escrito este libro?.-

Género. Ciencia-Ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. Sparky Valentine es un actor con unos implantes muy particulares que le ayudan en su profesión pero que actúa lejos de los grandes lugares y, por el contrario, representa obras en lugares apartados del espacio. Y es que Sparky tiene un pasado del que prefiere estar bien alejado, pero un importante proyecto sobre una de las grandes obras de Shakespeare, el autor favorito de nuestro protagonista, le tentará a correr riesgos.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 en 2008. Media de los 8 libros leídos del autor : 7/10

Un "9" (La Hechicera) un "8" (Perdido en el banco de memoria) y tres "7" (El globo de oro, En el salón de los reyes marcianos y Playa de acero) como destacable por mi parte. El resto, a pesar de la fama de algunos, olvidables.

En esta novela un actor "shakesperiano" itinerante con implantes magnéticos va haciendo representaciones por los mundos y vamos viendo su historia oculta. Contado con flashbacks, humor, con ironía...y con algunas páginas más de las debidas.

Ya digo que prefiero otras obras suyas, pero estas aventuras no están mal.

[prcardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storyline: 1/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing Style: 4/5
World: 4/5

I came to this wanting to dislike it. I found myself here because I tend to finish series that I start, and I had already read the first two. I hadn't particularly liked them, but I could give some grudging respect to numbers one and two. That's more than I can say of Varley's Gaea Trilogy, which I count as the worst science fiction trilogy I've ever read. And it is not just that I had low expectations; I actively dislike Varley as an author. There's plenty of science fiction authors whose embrace of the genre seems to be due to its sexual, speculative possibilities. Whether it be Robert Silverberg toying with how time travel can permit one to fornicate with his ancestors, David Gerrold exploring the multiverse's possibilities for radical self-lust, or Larry Niven/Fritz Leiber's/[choose from about a 100 other science fiction authors] titillation at the idea of cross-species sex (and for brevity's sake, let's just leave Heinlein's later works alone), I'm always a little weirded out sharing these (typically older) men's techno-fantasies. The Golden Globe didn't start off quite as vulgarly as did Steel Beach, but Varley's still playing with the potentials of rapid sex changes and exhibitionism. So, Varley gave me just what I was really looking for: another reason to dislike him. So as I settled in to compile a list of what other offenses I could catalog, I found myself in an odd position. I was intrigued.

Initially, this intrigue was inexplicable. Varley's "stage" is actually a stage; he's following the life of an actor - a Shakespearean actor in our future. I'm ignorant of stagecraft and oblivious to the merits of Shakespeare, so this shouldn't have tempted me. Further, there was no plot. Not just at the 20-page mark or the 50-page mark or the 100- or 200- or 300- page mark - there just wasn't an obstacle or goal for the reader to overcome along with the main character. I should have been celebrating Varley's demise, his failure to write a variety of characters to appeal to a myriad of interests; I should have been happily recording errors for my harsh review, listing the missed opportunities that would have allowed him to turn to some recognizable goal. But... I confess, I found I was enjoying the story. That offensive character; well he is rogue, but his disdain for civilization has a lot of commentary on our own. That backdrop of the thespian life: Varley made it bitter, depressing, artful, conceited, tawdry, and glorious throughout the tale. It was a drama. The characters were on a life-path of their own choosing with all of its humiliations and triumphs. That lack of a plot? Varley fills it with backstory, a backstory that seems to overshadow the main story until you realize that the interconnection between the present and the past is the story. It really was a drama - a drama at multiple levels. There are different ways to enjoy a novel, and what I least expected from Varley was to be impressed. But there I was, 517 pages later, impressed.

The Golden Globe puts a little more effort into the sequel format than did the Steel Beach, but still, Varley didn't do a good job making this a series. The connections between this and the last were never surprising, didn't lead up to much, and generally were a wasted opportunity. That said, you could probably read this as a stand-alone just fine. There are a couple of overlapping characters, locations, and events, but it is not necessary to be able to identify them to appreciate the Golden Globe. Also worthy of note: this won the Prometheus Award, the award for libertarian science fiction. I found that I was equally horrified and attracted to the libertarian social/political/economic commentary scattered throughout - the same reaction I have to libertarianism as a serious political philosophy. Finally, the ending was disappointing because it wasn't imbued with the same craftiness as the rest of the tale had been. In fact, it opened up the tale to what I think was an unintended direction and questions, and I would have liked it better had Varley taken us there purposefully.

[Nicholas Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Golden Globe is thus far my favorite Varley. I haven't read the Titan series yet because I'm an ASS but I don't see how it could beat Globe for a place in my heart.

The main character is deeply conflicted, original, and interesting. As Varley often does, he jumps through chronology. We spend portions of the book in the present (er, future?) and in the past (er, still future?) of the protagonist. What I found most surprising was that I was as invested in both settings. When I read a book that does this I typically find myself hurrying through one portion to get to the next. 'Okay, Okay, he got beat as a kid - get to the mafia chasing him NOW.' With Golden Globe I was just as eager to read every aspect of the protagonists life. I can only assume that this is because both times have conflict - I mean GOOD conflict. Characters who we are curious about in the present we see detailed in the past and vice-versa. We see where some of those bizarre parts of the past ended up in the present and I found myself eagerly reading to find out as much as I could about everyone.

Okay, that aside, the world is great. This is the same world as in Steel Beach and from what I know (could be wrong) all, or most of his books. And by world I mean Universe. Point is, it is as good as it ever was. I actually read this BEFORE Steel Beach which I think is the precursor, or maybe not, but Steel Beach goes much more in-depth into the political and economical situation these characters live in. That being said, Golden Globe still does a phenomenal job of tuning the reader in to where they are and what is going on.

Lastly, the Shakespearean nature of the main character in a sci-fi setting was just too cool for me to pass up.

This is probably up there in my favorite books.

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Golden Globe is an Eight Worlds novel -- mostly closely related in setting and world to Steel Beach, which was one of my favorite science fiction novels to come out of the 1990s.

Will you smell a whiff of Double Star as you read it? My goodness, yes, you will. On the other hand, Double Star, by Robert A. Heinlein was one of his best, so there's no shame in that.

But Varley does give things in his novel a uniquely Varleyish twist. The characters are entertaining, and the worldbuildling as lavish as only Varley can. (Don't believe me? Read the Gaea Triolgy. Great Stuff!)

This novel is also where Varley lets his starstruck side out to play more than usual, but hey, after Demon, what can one expect.

The plotting does wander a bit, but even if the story isn't quite as tight as it could be, it's still extremely entertaining and keeps you turning the pages. I highly recommend it whether you're a fan of stage, theater, science fiction, Shakespeare or all four.

[Elizabeth Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost (almost!) liked this one more than Steel Beach. It was close. It's all about a wandering vagabond of an actor and his dog, about a thousand years in the future. He's got to get from Pluto to the Moon before they cast the part of King Lear, and he's having a tough time of it, what with running out of money and being pursued by a psychopathic assassin. The usual...

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent yarn. Glad I read it. Really enjoyed the theatre references.

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite science fiction book by my favourite science fiction author. Set in the same universe as Steel Beach (a modified version of Varley’s “Eight Worlds” universe), The Golden Globe features one of the most memorable narrators in science fiction: Kenneth “Sparky” Valentine, a washed-up child television star who now wanders the Solar System as an itinerant thespian, not to mention conman, thief and general miscreant. Sparky’s wisecracking narratorial voice is easily the most amusing and readable of any I’ve ever come across. He regularly goes off on tangents and anecdotes, often in the employ of worldbuilding, which never fail to entertain and fit in seamlessly with the narrative; something that was often beyond Steel Beach’s Hildy Johnson.

While Steel Beach focused on Luna, Sparky’s story takes him from the ramshackle boondock orbitals beyond Pluto, across the system to Luna; a Grand Tour of Varley’s world, and one with a much tighter plot than the loose, rambling story of Steel Beach. Sparky is bound for Luna to play his dream role of King Lear in an upcoming stage production; in pursuit is a near unkillable member of the Charonese Mafia, pursuing him for one of his many crimes. This is nothing new for Sparky, who has spent his adult life on the run for a much more serious crime – which the blurb gives away, so don’t read it.

Like Steel Beach, The Golden Globe retains a certain cartoony, satirical aspect reminiscent of Terry Pratchett; it feels somehow less mature and serious than other science fiction novels, or indeed than Varley’s early novels. It is, however, much more readable, and I feel that this tone is a deliberate result of the specific zeitgeist of the Eight Worlds: namely, they don’t have one. Their culture is entirely derived from Earth, and they are overcome with obsession about the vibrant history of the world they lost: an artificial ocean on Pluto that recreates famous historical scenes from the Pacific, movie studios on Luna modelled after the famous studios of Hollywood’s golden era, Shakespearian productions, fashions and styles taken from centuries past… while the Invaders are barely referenced in these two books, it’s clear that humanity is still mourning for Earth, and that sooner or later a second confrontation will occur.

I dearly hope this happens in Irontown Blues, the as yet unwritten book which Varley has said will feature a police detective and round out the “Metals Trilogy.” This is the book I long for more than any other. Until then, however, The Golden Globe is the most enjoyable and readable science fiction romp I’ve ever read, and Sparky Valentine one of the greatest characters.

[Jeraviz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Me da pena pero no he conectado con la historia de John Varley en ningún momento. Me ha ocurrido lo mismo que con Playa de acero. Buen marco, buen planteamiento pero el 70% son divagaciones que no tienen nada que ver con la historia principal. He leído en algún sitio que John Varley es un gran escritor con un mal editor y suscribo totalmente esa afirmación.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Varley's very best, and the most honoring of Heinlein. Makes me want to go re-read Steel Beach, set in the Eight Worlds universe, but mostly excited for the imminent release of the 3rd book in set in this universe, Irontown Blues. Steel, Gold, Iron . . . perhaps they should be called his Metals collection? Anyway, fun from start to finish, and if you've enjoyed Varley before, this one is a must-read.

[Jon]

I must confess, I very nearly gave up on this book about fifty pages in. The "hero", Kenneth Valentine, is an egotistical stage actor and con artist, and his exploits are not nearly so entertaining as, say, Slippery Jim DiGriz's. However, I pressed on, and finished the story. On the whole, it was reasonably entertaining.
The tale ranges, astrographically, from a space station called Brementon, near Pluto, to a settlement on Luna. Valentine runs afoul of the Charonese Mafia in the outer planets, and spends most of the novel on the run, trying to get to Luna to play the role of his life, King Lear. We learn that he was a child star on Luna, with a successful show called Sparky and His Gang, that made him a fortune at a very early age. However, after the death of his father, a brutal and abusive man, he fled the inner system and has been scamming and acting (not a lot of difference between the two) his way around the solar system ever since.
The thing that keeps this story entertaining is Varley's talent for describing the various societies and technological wonders that have come into being since Man was wiped out on Earth by the alien Invaders, who have settled on Jupiter. There's also a ton of scathing commentary about the nature of the entertainment business and the backstabbing players in that game, which most likely relate to the world as we know it now.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful book, sort of "near-future" sci-fi... a relatable future 200 years from now.
It was really a family story, from the view of the child-star who tried to flee that world. Literally.
Maybe should be 4-stars, but I feel I've been throwing them about too liberally.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this story that mixed Shakespearean references with some great sci-fi in the Eight Worlds universe of Varley. The irreverent protagonist was fun to follow, and the plot was relatively tight and well-built. I liked it better than The Ophiuchi Hotline because it was funnier and willing to take risks. I need to read the last book in this series since it features the same protagonist as this one!

[Punk · Rating 3 out of 5]

SF. Sparky Valentine, child star turned con artist/actor, is on the run from the Charonese mob. Can he make it to Luna in time to play Lear? Though that's only nominally the plot. Mostly this book doesn't have one. It reads like a mix of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, The Garbage Pail Kids, and Shakespeare. And it does several things that I normally won't tolerate.

It breaks the fourth wall, repeatedly; Sparky not only talks to the reader, he addresses the typesetter, requesting that they stop putting the flashbacks in italics. The extended flashbacks, of which there are many, are in third person, even though all but the news articles are narrated by Sparky, who is in first person for the rest of the book.

And, yet, those things are all done well, especially the flashbacks. I found myself liking this book despite its slow start and flimsy plot. It's all about the writing and the narrator, and I enjoyed both of them.

Things Varley does well: humor, descriptions of environments, technology, neighborhoods, all the details of space travel and living and working in space, the narrator's conversational, flippant tone.

Things Varley handwaves obnoxiously: culture, everyone speaks English because it just happened to work out that way after the "Invasion"; race, at this point no one's all black or all white -- apparently those are our only options?; sexuality and gender, Sparky, born male, has been modified so that he can change his outward gender at will. He makes a point of saying it's rare to be 100% heterosexual, yet all sexual encounters described or even hinted at are male/female. The one male/male encounter is during a production of Romeo and Juliet, with Sparky as Juliet. He and Romeo are supposed to have sex on stage, but his male partner, being 100% straight, can't get it up, even with Sparky physically female at the time. This would have been an excellent opportunity to examine the relationship between gender, sexuality, and the mind, but Varley totally passes it up. It's disappointing.

The ending comes with a one and a half twist, one which you might see coming, and half of one that sounds like something from the last five minutes of a Law and Order rerun. By that time I kind of didn't care what was going on anymore because it was already clear this isn't the kind of book that gives a concrete resolution.

Warnings for child abuse, grisly fight scenes, and animal harm.

Three stars. It took a while to get going, but I grew to like Sparky, or at least to be entertained by him. I'll be reading more by Varley. He gives good space.

[Pat Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of an itinerant actor stumping from village to town, dreaming of his own theatre in the big city translates well to space travel when John Varley writes it. His brilliant poly-named polymorphic main character is sometimes star and sometimes hobo, sometimes leading man (or leading lady) but more often bit player or street performer.

"Sparky," "Dodger," and formally, "K.C.Valentine," is how this fellow refers to himself in his reminiscences. Because the tale is told almost entirely in first person, we must learn from those around him that he doesn't share his real name—or face—with anyone except his two constant sidekicks, Toby and Elwood.

Since Toby is a dog, and Elwood stays out of sight of everyone except Valentine, they aren't giving away his secrets.

So Valentine stays one step ahead of whatever bête noire chases him, equally ready to ride the twenty-second century equivalent of the rails as to travel in splendor on a luxury cruise line. He must adapt, chameleon-like, to each new community's standards, and be adroit with a bribe as he moves from world to world, for:

...the more bureaucrats there are, the more laws are needed to keep them fed.

By contrast, when he sleeps we hear from the troubled soul of this mountebank. We learn of his courage in the face of an abusive father and troubled childhood. And we begin to see why Valentine is determined to "play Lear," to build a grand Shakespearean theater in the asteroid belt.

...we didn’t have to play Shakespeare in free fall, as we’d done at Boondocks and several previous engagements. Friends, Romans, countrymen, throw me a tie-down! Talk about your theater in the round.

This novel has a daunting physical and emotional scope, yet even so, the story does not feel heavy-handed. Valentine copes with the great talent and low support life has given him, and with the assistance of Toby and Elwood, stays as close to sane, free, and happy as most men come. The tale ranges from high drama to low humor*; it was never more clear that Shakespeare was right:

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts... —As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

* An example:

Toby is quite the ladies’ man. I’d seen him, with more optimism than common sense, mooning over a Great Dane bitch he’d need a stepladder just to sniff. Sure, you can write that off to high hopes. But the amazing thing was, the bitch was looking really interested.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of The Golden Globe, our narrator, Kenneth Valentine, aka Sparky, aka various aliases, is in a production of Romeo and Juliet somewhere out past Pluto. He's playing Mercutio; the actress playing Juliet is indisposed. He convinces the director to let him play Juliet and Mercutio for this performance, which works out nicely: when a private detective appears between scenes, looking for Kenneth Valentine, Sparky's in costume as Juliet, and the detective doesn't think for a second that the apparently female person he's talking to might in fact be the person he's looking for. So Sparky leaves as soon as he can, making his way to Pluto, where he undertakes various legal and illegal activities (he's a con-man, as well as being an actor) to make some money, until he hears that a very famous director is coming out of retirement to direct a production of King Lear. This director is a friend of his, and she promises him the starring role, but the production is on the moon—Earth's moon, I mean—and he's not sure he can get there in time. And oh, also, it becomes apparent that the private detective isn't the only person looking for him.

So the book ends up being the tale of Sparky's trek across the solar system, accompanied by his genetically-modified Bichon Frise, Toby, interspersed with flashbacks/dreams in which we get the story of Sparky's childhood, interspersed with other things, like reviews of the long-running hit television show that's the whole reason Kenneth is also called Sparky, and bits of gossip columns about the moon's version of Hollywood, and so on. We hear about Sparky's difficult/abusive father, and how he ended up on television to begin with, and, eventually, why he left the moon and made his way elsewhere. Though the cover of the book proclaims that this is "A Science Fiction Novel," it's not super-heavy on space-invaders or artificial intelligence or the logistics of space travel or how human civilization looks on various planets, though it does have bits of all those things. I liked the balance of theatre jokes and other jokes and action and world-building in this book, and I especially liked Toby (I am perhaps biased, having had a Bichon companion of my own). But, I mean, how could I not be amused by this?

You don't know what terror is until you've heard a Bichon growling. After you've heard it, you still don't have a clue. Back in the park, I'm sure all the squirrels in earshot were helpless with laughter. (41)

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not really a fan of books or media about actors that are super into being an actor. Being obsessed with Shakespeare is a particularly annoying flavor of affectation that I want to steer quite clear of, but it also seems to get a disproportionate amount of air time in various forms of media; possibly because artistic and literary types are more likely to be afflicted by it, or possibly because it's so easy to caricature.

That said, after the first hundred or so pages, Varley dials back the "I.. am an ACTOR!" routine in favor of a bit of a crime-and-chase narrative, interspersed with flashbacks about how Sparky became Sparky, and the book becomes much more interesting.

At the end of the day, the novel is well-structured, but for the most part, I am disappointed by the fact that Varley barely takes advantage of the setting. I really like the Eight World books because of the world-building, it's somewhere between cyberpunk (e.g. Neuromancer) and post-cyberpunk (e.g. the Culture novels), and in the earlier novels serves as an excellent milieu in which to explore the relationship between humans and technology. Unfortunately, this story more or less could take place anywhere, almost all the science fiction elements are superfluous. The major element that makes this setting required is the twist at the end, where Kenneth is revealed to be John Valentine's clone, though obviously that seems to retroactively change the nature of the entire book.

2.5 of 5 stars

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one started out well enough and I thought it was really going somewhere. It had some interesting ideas, both plot wise and Science Fictiony ideas.

Ken Valentine, a.k.a. Sparky is an actor--- or he is a con man-- or he is a murderer--- Well, apparently all of them at one time or another. As a kid, he played Sparky on a top rated T.V. show, but now travels the theatrical circuit either hamming or scamming (my line, pretty original, eh?)

He's got mafia hitmen after him. He's got money problems. He's got mental problems. His best buddy, a Jimmy Stewart modeled imaginary friend named Elwood, advises or commisserates with him.

About halfway through the book we finally get the background through some dreamlike sequences, telling about his abusive childhood, his rise to fame-- and how he taught a certain producer never to speak ill of his father. For an 8-10 year old, he had some really clever scam ideas-- that he attributes to his father.

But the book doesn't go anywhere. Oh, there's a chase scene with a hitman-- but the author seems intent on explaining things like the Science of certain locations at times when I wanted the story to move on. The section of published reviews re: the Kid's programming competition was cleverly but overly done.

I rarely give up on something after 200 pages, but I did with this one, though it had some intriguing stuff... it just kept bogging down in stuff that wasn't nearly as intriguing.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so this book is about a hundred-year-old actor who's on the run from the law, and who travels illegally from planet to planet, taking whatever acting work he can find, occasionally changing sex when there's a part he just CAN'T pass up, gender be damned.

There's also a lot of flashbacks to his life as a child-star (and this is in a civilization where career of a child star can last, oh, at least fifty years), a race across the solar system to get the lead role in "King Lear", and a red-haired psychotic assassin who's after the main character for reasons that aren't fully explained until the end of the book.

I also consider this to be Varley's last GOOD book, before he decided to go with the whole Junior Heinlein style, and yes I AM going to complain about that every chance I get.

[Alex Sarll]

I think this is the only book I've ever owned with both a mail order coupon and an address for the publisher's website in the back; a perfect encapsulation of the odd position a slice of SF from 1998 holds, neither quite classic nor modern in its style and its projections. But you shouldn't trust that statement too far, and the same goes for narrator Sparky Valentine. He's dangerously silver-tongued, and that's about the only statement you can reliably apply to him, since this actor/crook can change his body and even gender near-instantly with a little attention to certain handy implants. The cross solar-system adventure romp is good, the world-building is excellent, and the angle on acting is even better - but the garrulous narratorial voice is best of all.

[Frank Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe its taken me so long to get to this. Varley's 8 Worlds is one of the great sci-fi series and this was published in 1998! This was a boy's coming of age (at 30 odd), mixed in with Shakespeare, funny dog stories, and a chase across the Solar System. Varley has a way of integrating his setting into the arc of the protagonist's life in a way that seems obvious but is definitely a fun house mirror way of looking at the current world. He is still, maybe, too rooted in Americana which seems a little obvious to my European eye (for example, why would a post-scarcity society still run on money) but this is a minor nitpick. Cannot recommend highly enough.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first Varley book. He seemed like a good writer who needed a stronger editor. The pretentious acting talk made me groan, the plot went completely MIA for most of the book only to return near the end but it wasn't satisfying.

I liked a lot of the descriptions and will likely check out some other Varley eventually but I'll be reading the reviews closely.

[William N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hundred years

Followed this guy for a hundred years. Still don't like him. Not even a little. Others I like even less. But, it was an intreqing story. Riviting in many places. Glad I read it.

[Alaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun ride with John Varley. These books are always more entertaining than I expect, and well written to boot. Very enjoyable series.

[James F · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting look at how technology may change, but human nature stays the same

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from November 14, 1998

[Christopher Sutch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varley only got better with age. Although this novel isn't _quite_ as good as its predecessor _Steel Beach_, it is definitely one of his best long-form works. Varley deals with many of the same topics he dealt with in that earlier work (mental illness, AI, the tension between freedom and authoritarianism) but adds _a lot_ of thinking about drama, Shakespeare (life and works), the theater and its relationship to films and the cinema more widely, and petty and organized crime. The novel also includes one of the better canine characters I've come across in literature.

However...this isn't perfect. For much of the novel I was considering giving it a 5-star rating because 9/10 of the novel is excellent. However, the ending pages mar and overshadow some of the greatness that precedes them.

First, Varley (who is channeling Heinlein again) can't resist giving a LARGE slab of exposition that (unfortunately) defuses the climax of the novel and prolongs its resolution intolerably. While some of this exposition is entertaining, it is also clearly detrimental to the flow of the work itself.

Second (and in some ways more damning) is the endorsement of genocide as an acceptable action that the main character chooses to entertain. While this choice makes _some_ sense given the nature of the conflict the character has faced throughout the entire book (and he admits to having some qualms about the ultimate implications genocide would have), both the character and Varley himself seem, oddly, incapable of understanding the deeper implications of what such action would ultimately translate into: an endorsement of the very authoritarianism the main character has been working his way laboriously (hampered as he is by his libertarian outlook) working to free himself from; and ultimately a descent into base anarchy, also working against the author's and character's grudging admission that some governmental controls are necessary in order to maintain a standard of living and a civilization that will benefit most of its citizens.

Of course, ultimately, the genocide _might_ be read as an only a threat: protagonist Kenneth Valentine finally determines to abandon the Solar System entirely (although, in terms of this text itself, as well as what we know of Varley's universe more broadly, this choice of actions is not a certain one). Still, the ready acceptance of a tactic used by Hitler, Stalin, the Turks etc.etc. is a disappointment for those of us who enjoy and often champion Varley's importance to science fiction and literature more generally.

Bottom line, though: read this book anyway. It's more than worth the troubling philosophical implications of its ending.