Mazeway

by Jack Williamson

From the depths of space the Seeker had come, to make the Solar system her nest. The invader was defeated, but not before Earth was ravatged, its technology destroyed and its inhabitants reduced to barbarism. Mankind's only chance for salvation lay with the alien Eldren -- but the Eldren considered humanity primitive and savage, and so they witheld their help.

Youn Benn Dain hoped to prove humanity's worth on Mazeway, a planetary doubles whose twin worlds, Blade and Stone, were a testing ground for Eldren young. For Roxane Kwan and Diego BOlivar, Mazeway was a path to control of the dying Earth, and Dain's quest was not part of their plans.

But the Game of Blade and Stone was not designed for humans, and to survive, they would have to work together to fathom the depths of alien minds and the subtle traps of the Eldren way...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

Hardcover

Published November 13, 1991

About the author

John Stewart Williamson who wrote as Jack Williamson (and occasionally under the pseudonym Will Stewart) was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction".

Reviews

[Michelle F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the writing in this to be superb and engaging, but the story itself to be disappointing.

It's a fun premise: Earth develops a “web” city high up in the atmosphere and begins small forays into space. Sometime later (like, many years) a strange unknown and violent family of space creatures tear down the web and throw the earth into a state of dystopia.

There is a long-standing collective of different alien species who call themselves the Eldren. It is a community of highly evolved beings who can space travel easily and are peaceful and only lightly governed.

The humans who escaped the Earth want very much to gain membership into the Eldren to help ensure humanity's survival. And the still warring humans who remain on Earth want to strengthen their hold on their own planet, rebuild and be independent. To do so, they first need the help of the Eldren. So, in the body of our story, we have two differing representations and overall wants for humanity.

Now comes the flimsy part: this “highly evolved” collective allows for membership to be won by competition. In theory, by running a series of A to B races on twin planets, working in constantly shifting teams, the Eldren can apparently measure worthiness using a number of factors. The Challenges, though, are all quite similar, and boring. The criteria the Eldren are using don't seem to have much weight or chance to be proven, so little aside from hardiness is tested.

Ultimately all the flimsy justifications make this feel like a juvenile story, but it shouldn't. The world building is great, and there was so much potential in the set up.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 2 out of 5]

reviews.metaphorosis.com

2 stars

After Earth's skyweb is destroyed by a violent alien, three humans try to prove their species worthy of membership in the galactic eldren community - Benn, raised among the eldren; Roxane, claimed sole survivor of the vastly wealthy Kwan family; and Diego, a determined and unscrupulous speculator. While strange silence afflicts the eldren, Benn must contend with a trio of mysterious aliens aligned with Roxane and Diego, as they all try to complete the Game of Blade and Stone.

I came to Jack Williamson late, as a name I'd heard for years, but somehow never read. I think the first book of his I read was Demon Moon, which I found underwhelming. The Early Williamson and The Undersea Trilogy (with Frederik Pohl) were somewhat better.

I picked Mazeway off my shelf the other day, looking for a soothing, decent quality re-read. I didn't remember it as being great, but I didn't really remember much, and the premise (alien puzzle competition!) looked fun.

Sadly, Mazeway isn't even as good as I remembered. In fact, it's a pretty weak book. It's highly reminiscent of Piers Anthony's puzzle stories (think Thousandstar), but the fact is that Anthony, for all his flaws, does this a lot better. From the start, the Game simply doesn't make any sense as a test for eldren eligibility. Williamson tries to correct for this at the very end, but it's too little, too late. Some other aspects of the story defy logic in irritating ways as well, and there are occasional inconsistencies.

The story, while first published in 1990, is also dated by Williamson's old school view of sex. Benn, all-around sensitive, non-macho, nice guy, just can't control his lust when he has a glass or two of wine. Roxane, while in no way shy, is constantly threatening to knife men who look at her funny - because most of them do.

Most important, though, the story simply isn't very interesting. All the parts are here, but Williamson doesn't show much care in putting them together. The premise is weak, the plot doesn't quite make sense, and the characters are distant and uninteresting. The book is certainly readable, but in the end, you just don't care very much about it.

I learned just now that this is a somewhat-sequel to Lifeburst, but it functions well enough as a stand-alone novel. 

All in all, if it's aliens and puzzles you want, almost any Piers Anthony book will be more logical and engaging than this one (if probably just as sexist).

[Ken Bickley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sort of sequel to "Lifeburst" which I read awhile back. (Gotta read these when you can find 'em.) I had forgotten too much about the characters and situations, but it's still an excellent old-school science-fiction novel. Earthmen cannot be accepted to the Eldrenway unless they can win the game of Blade and Stone, you see, and they are terribly handicapped in even trying it. Nevertheless, Benn Dain must give it a shot. He's hampered by any number of unfortunate obstacles before he can even begin to compete. Can he overcome? Will the Eldrenway be defeated itself? Ah, you have to read it yourself; I'll never tell.

[Shawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda classic, traditional style of Jack Williamson, the creator of the Humanoids and many other SF tropes. This one is a bit tedious with the format of “Steps (of Fire, Ice, and so forth)” but the pace was enough to keep me reading on. The idea is okay, basically a test to prove whether or not humans (called planetics) are capable of enlightened living. I couldn’t bear the slightly racial undertones: bad black Bolivar, bad black Nexus, bad black oily alien, bad black blackness. But I got this from his other books as well so it’s not surprise and I know not to read too deeply into his writing.

The aliens were too human inside. This is usually a problem in SF: anthropomorphism. Williamson goes through all the words to describe their physiognomy but gives them all human drives & desires & caprices. Not imaginative enough for me, but light enough to have fun with.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read by one of the long-time greats of SF, Jack Williamson (1908-2006). This one is from 1990 and is about young Benn who accepts the challenge of a Game to prove humanity's worth to "the Eldren." In the future, an alien attack on Earth is defeated, but not before it devastates the planet and brings down civilization. A small colony of humans is saved by a confederation of benevolent aliens called the Eldren. They exist in a region of space called the halo and they save humanity as they want to help it evolve.In the meantime,they are unable to accept humans as equal citizens in their halo. Benn wants to change that.
I enjoyed it because I like a good story featuring aliens and there are some interesting aliens in this one!

[Erik Fullerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little read full of imagination and wonder. The world envisioned by Williamson stuck in my twelve year-old mind and has never left. Sadly, it's out of print, but one day I'll pick up a used version and reread it...then you can borrow it.

[FinnAgain · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was quite easily the worst book I've ever read, and I've read a LOT of books. That star is for the aliens and the aliens alone, because I will say, Mr. Williamson can make up some interesting nonhumans- but the aliens don't redeem the fact that the whole book felt overwritten and was honestly exhausting to read. The entire first half is almost entirely world building and exposition, with so little space for character work that when the characters finally show development in the second half, it feels sudden rather than natural or even justified. The plot is thin and disjointed at best and plain stupid at worst and doesn't even start until a hundred pages in, and by that time I was already so bored that I wasn't excited anymore. Even then, it's repetitive, with Benn asking himself the same questions over and over but not actually coming up with any answers. Actually, Benn- who I think is supposed to be the hero- is useless and annoying; the only time he ever does anything productive, it's an accident manufactured by someone else. Our main female character- my one exception to "I hate everyone here"- is constantly getting creeped on by the two men and loses her agency VERY early on.

I wish that the ending were good at least, but my hopes were FAR too high. The payoff for the actual events of the book is nonexistent and the last chapter in particular is just incomprehensible nonsense that did nothing but frustrate me. At the time of writing this review, I have read the last three chapters thrice, and I still don't understand what happens, not even well enough to complain about it in any more depth.

All in all, I was severely disappointed by this book, especially because I'm such a fan of other science fiction works published by other authors around the same time. This has unfortunately turned me off of Jack Williamson's works for the foreseeable future. One star, and hopefully I never have to think about this book again.

[Steve Scanlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earth's cities were suspended in orbit in what was known as the Skyweb. When a gigantic alien creature tore it down, humankind was left in a desolate state fighting to survive on the planet's surface. Roxanne is a young girl living in the wilds of Africa, who shares her father's dream of one day restoring the Skyweb.

Benn Dain is one of a small number of humans who live in the halo, a number of space habitats/worlds occupied by the Eldren. The Eldren are a collection of advanced alien races that live in peace without the need for violence. Benn wants to have humankind accepted into this community and to do so he must play the game of Blade and Stone.

Roxanne and Benn find themselves in the game along with a variety of aliens - friendly and malevolent. As the game proceeds, Benn finds himself working 'with' each of the other contestants trying to complete the tasks set for them. At the same time, Benn is aware of an unknown threat to the Eldren that seems to stem from some of his fellow contestants.

While I can't find much to criticise, I also can't find much to praise. The encounters in the game were not exciting enough to keep me enthused for long periods. The game tasks all involved finding your way from point A to point B. This was a story that had me thinking about my next book far too many times.

2.5 stars

[Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ironic name. The book is the most linear story possible. The plot device of the mazeway serves no function and actually impedes the story. The characters are shallow and change personalities for no reason. The scale of the galactic setting is not understood by the author. Fancy/ extravagant names for things are needlessly tossed around, eg game of blade and stone existed only to sounds cool. If you read it, once you get to the start of the game skip to chapter 40 and it's a better book.

[Clayton Yuen · Rating 1 out of 5]

No thanks! Couldn't even keep me awake .......