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An enjoyable, romantic space opera with an engaging non-human hero that behaves much like a teenage girl.
Reviewed by David on November 26, 1998
Genre: Science Fiction (Space Opera)
Synopsis: Esen-alit-Quar (Esen to her friends) is a member of a very small race. A family of long-lived shape-shifters, they hide within the interstellar civilization, observing and memorizing different species. The youngest, Esen, has just started her observation on the xenophobic planet of Kraos when her compassion overwhelms the ingrained secrecy of the race and she exposes her abilities to save Paul, a young human contact specialist.
Pursued by the curious Paul, and the paranoid captain of the mission, Esen is plunged into a deadly conflict: an ancient enemy has come to this area of space, bent on killing Esen's family, at the same time that her impetuosity has focused unwelcome attention on the secretive shape-shifters.
In the end, it is Esen's untried courage and her perilous but vital affection for Paul which stands between the civilization and the deadly threat—the threat that is as close to Esen as her family's shared memory.
This novel is entertaining without breaking new ground. It is better than Czerneda's first novel, A Thousand Words for Stranger, mostly because the adolescent female hero in Beholder's Eye is much less passive, and has an engaging and self-deprecating sense of humor.
There are a couple of flaws. The heroine behaves exactly like a 18-year-old girl; she is plucky, romantic and courageous. She is also 500 years old. A pet peeve: authors, don't invent ancient or powerful characters only to have them behave like teenagers.
The very last scene is also unnecessarily and implausibly melodramatic. The two protagonists develop a warm and close friendship, only to end on a secretive, anthropomorphic note. The apparent age of various shapes was also rather inconsistent.
In its entirety, the novel is a pleasant, at times delightful read. It is not remarkable in any single aspect, but a better than average space opera, with a strong romantic motif without excess sentimentality.
Overall: 6; Plot: 6; Characters: 6.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5.5; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1998, Donald A. Wollheim (DAW), October 1998, Mass market paperback, 413 pages
ISBN: 0-88677-818-2 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com