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Bibblings
Lodon-Kamaria, a planet in a perpetual state of war. No one in the Federation of United worlds knew what the Lodonites and Kamarians were fighting about, nor, in the normal course of events, would anyone have cared. But this was a world rich in alphidium, the most precious substance in the galaxy - and so, Lodon-Kamaria would have to become a member of the Federation. And it was up to the Diplomatic Corps team, nicknamed the Anglo-Saxo Invaders, to do the recruiting.
It should have been an easy assignment: Either make peace between the Lodonites and the Kamarians, or figure out which side would be easier to deal with and see that it won the war. That would have been the reasonable, rational approach. But on a world where everyone is insane, reason just doesn't apply...!
It should have been an easy assignment: Either make peace between the Lodonites and the Kamarians, or figure out which side would be easier to deal with and see that it won the war. That would have been the reasonable, rational approach. But on a world where everyone is insane, reason just doesn't apply...!
- GenresScience Fiction
170 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 1979
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About the author
Barbara Paul
100 books19 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Barbara Paul is an American writer of detective stories and science fiction. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1931 and was educated, inter alia, at Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7.
Barbara Paul is an American writer of detective stories and science fiction. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1931 and was educated, inter alia, at Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 6, 2018
Fun sci-fi mystery fusion.
May 5, 2013
I found this title in a used book store for cheap. I picked it up for the art, which is classic 70s, and for the title, which was so ridiculous that I had to find out what it was all about. The bibblings turn out to be a central plot element and so half of the book is spent in dialogue around the subject and I quickly became sick of the word.
Bibblings is your typical 70s pulp sf novella. Minimal character development, minimal plot layout. The author introduces some interesting ideas along the way, but they are only presented as a vehicle for plot development, nothing more. E.g. the aliens of the story are a three-gendered race (m/f/neuter) in which the neuter members are clearly on the society's bottom rung. One of the human male crewmembers is mistaken for a neuter because . This crewmember is a stereotypically masculine male soldier-type, and the book fails to explore the implications of the threat to his sexuality or conception of self by being identified as not male and, to boot, as an inferior sex. Instead, Paul takes the Star Trek:TOS route in that the humans of this universe are so advanced that they could not possibly be insulted or challenged by an alien culture's differences. The differences are noted, discussed, and then we are moving along. Having read more nuanced explorations of the conception of gender and sexuality in sf, most notably in The Left Hand of Darkness, it was fairly disappointing to see such a rich moment in the story glazed over.
Though the book had some promising moments, it really failed to deliver in any meaningful way.
Bibblings is your typical 70s pulp sf novella. Minimal character development, minimal plot layout. The author introduces some interesting ideas along the way, but they are only presented as a vehicle for plot development, nothing more. E.g. the aliens of the story are a three-gendered race (m/f/neuter) in which the neuter members are clearly on the society's bottom rung. One of the human male crewmembers is mistaken for a neuter because . This crewmember is a stereotypically masculine male soldier-type, and the book fails to explore the implications of the threat to his sexuality or conception of self by being identified as not male and, to boot, as an inferior sex. Instead, Paul takes the Star Trek:TOS route in that the humans of this universe are so advanced that they could not possibly be insulted or challenged by an alien culture's differences. The differences are noted, discussed, and then we are moving along. Having read more nuanced explorations of the conception of gender and sexuality in sf, most notably in The Left Hand of Darkness, it was fairly disappointing to see such a rich moment in the story glazed over.
Though the book had some promising moments, it really failed to deliver in any meaningful way.
October 5, 2015
Speculative scenario sci-fi. Emissaries land on a planet and contact both societies on a world where a flock of birds that migrate from one side to the other once a year either cause stability and warfare (when they're there) or stupefied entropy and chaos (when they're not). Bizarre and unbelievable premise, but a good fast-paced action filled book, easy to read, entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews