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Seven Worlds #1
Seven Worlds
The Space Corps -- the arm of the Space Exploratory Forces sent in to establish better communications with aliens on world after world -- was an elite corps of tough, courageous men and women. And Morgan Farraday was the bravest and most clever of them all.
But even Morgan would be hard-pressed to survive the challenges and perils of the seven planets that awaited her. Worlds where scaly swamp beings demanded a kind of contact that was too close for any human's comfort...where a civilization of nocturnal creatures was only too ready to drain humans of all they had to offer...or where missions from rival human empires would use any tool at their command -- even interstellar war -- to claim control of the most valued substance in the universe!
But even Morgan would be hard-pressed to survive the challenges and perils of the seven planets that awaited her. Worlds where scaly swamp beings demanded a kind of contact that was too close for any human's comfort...where a civilization of nocturnal creatures was only too ready to drain humans of all they had to offer...or where missions from rival human empires would use any tool at their command -- even interstellar war -- to claim control of the most valued substance in the universe!
- GenresScience Fiction
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
19 people want to read
About the author
Mary Caraker
15 books2 followersBorn in 1929, Mary Jane Lumijarvi is the granddaughter of Finnish immigrants who
settled near Astoria, Oregon. She grew up in a rural Finnish-American community,
and attended Willamette University, the University of Oregon, and San Francisco
State University. She holds a BA and an MA degree in English Literature.
Mary was married in 1957 to Edward Emmett Caraker, and was widowed in
1989. She has taught in secondary schools, and now works as a freelance writer.
She is most often anthologized as a science fiction writer. She lives in California.
settled near Astoria, Oregon. She grew up in a rural Finnish-American community,
and attended Willamette University, the University of Oregon, and San Francisco
State University. She holds a BA and an MA degree in English Literature.
Mary was married in 1957 to Edward Emmett Caraker, and was widowed in
1989. She has taught in secondary schools, and now works as a freelance writer.
She is most often anthologized as a science fiction writer. She lives in California.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 30, 2015
Somewhere around the second chapter I realized that this book is really aimed at women. It has a very definitely female perspective. Maybe a woman would like it more than I did. Not because the main character is a woman. There are lots of books that are clearly aimed at a male audience where the main character is female. Just the way the story is presented.
The premise was unusual, and thus interesting and promising: A woman gets a job as a teacher for Earth's inter-stellar service. She is sent to various planets to provide education to the natives in a Peace Corps sort of way, or to teach the children of military personnel or colonists. Not surprisingly, the author is an English teacher.
The book is structured around seven planets that she visits -- hence the title -- with one chapter for each planet. Apparently the first two chapters were originally printed as stand-alone short stories. Chapters 3 and 4 are also mostly stand-alone stories, then chapters 5 to 7 are more closely tied together. All of this is held together with a loose premise of some bureaucrat reviewing her career before giving her a new assignment.
Side note: In my humble opinion, that mortar about reviewing her career was just lame. I've seen this done in many books as a way to tie together stories that otherwise have little to connect them except one common character. It almost always seemed strained to me, as it usually adds nothing to the story, it's just obviously a lame device to tie together unconnected stories. But minor point.
Sadly, the author apparently ran out of ideas for the inter-stellar teacher premise pretty quickly. In only three of the seven chapters is the fact that she is a teacher important to the story. The first two chapters are really about her experiences teaching aliens. Chapters 3 and 4 are about her getting caught up in interstellar politics and intrigue, with a relatively brief bit in chapter 4 about her using her position as a teacher to secretly introduce lessons about freedom to the children of a tyrannical society. Chapters 5 to 7 are about her romance and marriage, and the trials imposed by rugged colonial life on strange planets on her marriage and child-rearing.
In my opinion, the second chapter was the highlight of the book: The heroine is assigned to teach English literature to a race of aliens who are fascinated by Earth's epic poetry, like Homer and Beowulf, and want a teacher to tell them all about it. As the story unfolds she gradually figures out WHY they are so interested in this literature, and it's a nice little mystery with a decidedly creepy conclusion.
Chapter 4 is pretty good: She is assigned to a planet that is renowned as a paradise and a glorious tourist destination, but not long after she arrives she learns there is a dark underside.
The rest of the book was relatively dull in my opinion, hence my middling rating. The heroine is well-drawn, and exploring her character is what keeps the book alive. But the other characters are mostly pretty flat. Especially her husband, who fills the last three chapters of the book, but is a thin stereotype. Not to give too much of a spoiler to the last three chapters, but the plot is basically: he's strong and responsible but becomes overprotective, she struggles with whether to appreciate that he works so hard to protect her or resent that he is stifling her, things come to a head and there is a crucial moment when she realizes that he too has fears and insecurities and if only she could reach out to him ...
I thought that part of the story was good in that it was honest and realistic. I mean, the husband was neither the screaming overbearing tyrant you see in so many "movies for women", nor was he some impossibly perfect romantic fantasy. He was a man trying to live up to his responsibilities as a husband with good points and bad points on both his side and hers.
But where the story fell down for me was that we never really learn much about the man. It's like he has nothing to do in life except be this somewhat-overprotective husband. He seems to exist only so that she can re-act to his performance as a husband. There is little hint that he has any sort of job or goals or interests other than alternately pleasing and annoying his wife. And about the only thing every discussed about their relationship is his protectiveness. They never argue about money or in-laws or how to raise the children, they never have romantic times together or discuss goals together or ... or much of anything.
The premise was unusual, and thus interesting and promising: A woman gets a job as a teacher for Earth's inter-stellar service. She is sent to various planets to provide education to the natives in a Peace Corps sort of way, or to teach the children of military personnel or colonists. Not surprisingly, the author is an English teacher.
The book is structured around seven planets that she visits -- hence the title -- with one chapter for each planet. Apparently the first two chapters were originally printed as stand-alone short stories. Chapters 3 and 4 are also mostly stand-alone stories, then chapters 5 to 7 are more closely tied together. All of this is held together with a loose premise of some bureaucrat reviewing her career before giving her a new assignment.
Side note: In my humble opinion, that mortar about reviewing her career was just lame. I've seen this done in many books as a way to tie together stories that otherwise have little to connect them except one common character. It almost always seemed strained to me, as it usually adds nothing to the story, it's just obviously a lame device to tie together unconnected stories. But minor point.
Sadly, the author apparently ran out of ideas for the inter-stellar teacher premise pretty quickly. In only three of the seven chapters is the fact that she is a teacher important to the story. The first two chapters are really about her experiences teaching aliens. Chapters 3 and 4 are about her getting caught up in interstellar politics and intrigue, with a relatively brief bit in chapter 4 about her using her position as a teacher to secretly introduce lessons about freedom to the children of a tyrannical society. Chapters 5 to 7 are about her romance and marriage, and the trials imposed by rugged colonial life on strange planets on her marriage and child-rearing.
In my opinion, the second chapter was the highlight of the book: The heroine is assigned to teach English literature to a race of aliens who are fascinated by Earth's epic poetry, like Homer and Beowulf, and want a teacher to tell them all about it. As the story unfolds she gradually figures out WHY they are so interested in this literature, and it's a nice little mystery with a decidedly creepy conclusion.
Chapter 4 is pretty good: She is assigned to a planet that is renowned as a paradise and a glorious tourist destination, but not long after she arrives she learns there is a dark underside.
The rest of the book was relatively dull in my opinion, hence my middling rating. The heroine is well-drawn, and exploring her character is what keeps the book alive. But the other characters are mostly pretty flat. Especially her husband, who fills the last three chapters of the book, but is a thin stereotype. Not to give too much of a spoiler to the last three chapters, but the plot is basically: he's strong and responsible but becomes overprotective, she struggles with whether to appreciate that he works so hard to protect her or resent that he is stifling her, things come to a head and there is a crucial moment when she realizes that he too has fears and insecurities and if only she could reach out to him ...
I thought that part of the story was good in that it was honest and realistic. I mean, the husband was neither the screaming overbearing tyrant you see in so many "movies for women", nor was he some impossibly perfect romantic fantasy. He was a man trying to live up to his responsibilities as a husband with good points and bad points on both his side and hers.
But where the story fell down for me was that we never really learn much about the man. It's like he has nothing to do in life except be this somewhat-overprotective husband. He seems to exist only so that she can re-act to his performance as a husband. There is little hint that he has any sort of job or goals or interests other than alternately pleasing and annoying his wife. And about the only thing every discussed about their relationship is his protectiveness. They never argue about money or in-laws or how to raise the children, they never have romantic times together or discuss goals together or ... or much of anything.
August 19, 2014
Though couched as a novel, really more like a sequence of connected short stories. Following the career of a teacher who seeks her work out among far flung colonies and alien planets, each chapter features a new world, with distinct cultures and pitfalls.
A quick but interesting read, with a tidy ending.
A quick but interesting read, with a tidy ending.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews