This interestingly-offbeat sort-of-SF novel starts off as a late 19th century memoir, 'as written by' the protag-lady circa 1952. Rosa Coleman moves to Kansas to escape an abusive husband, then moves on to Alaska when the brute find out she's in Dodge City -- a town Haldeman picked, no doubt, with malice aforethought. The 'memoir' is well-researched and pretty good, but has no special sfnal frisson until Rosa is led on a galactic fantasy-tour by an Alien Guardian disguised as a Tlingit Raven sha This interestingly-offbeat sort-of-SF novel starts off as a late 19th century memoir, 'as written by' the protag-lady circa 1952. Rosa Coleman moves to Kansas to escape an abusive husband, then moves on to Alaska when the brute find out she's in Dodge City -- a town Haldeman picked, no doubt, with malice aforethought. The 'memoir' is well-researched and pretty good, but has no special sfnal frisson until Rosa is led on a galactic fantasy-tour by an Alien Guardian disguised as a Tlingit Raven shaman. It wouldn't be fair to reveal how Raven got involved, so let's just say that many-worlds is the law in this universe, with interesting consequences.

Haldeman's writing is as good as ever (a relief after Forever Peace), and the galactic-tourist scenes with Raven and Rosa are as thrilling and strange as the encounters with the weird continuity-guardian in The Hemingway Hoax -- high praise indeed. The spirit-guardian out-of-body trip leader was a pretty common conceit in 19th century proto-sf, and Haldeman specifically identifies a Flammarian novel as a parallel work to his. A somewhat similar book, that ordinary readers may have actually read, is Lindsay's Voyage to Arcturus.

I would have preferred more galaxy-touring and less history in Guardian, but I wasn't disappointed with the book at hand. And, at 231 pages, no great time-commitment is required. [Review written in 2003, I think. Found in the files].

Jan 23, 2009 - Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges. The Ipcress File by Len Deighton. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Unlike many news organisations, we have chosen not to put up a paywall.

GNAb I received a free electronic copy of this excellent SF novel from Netgalley, Joe Haldeman, and Open Road Integrated Media in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, for sharing your work with me. This novel originally published in 2002. Thank you, Open Road, for bringing it back around. My 40 year old daughter read it back in the day, but I managed to miss it.

It is a book I am pleased to have found, however late. Savage serial number dates. Written in the first person of Ms. Rosa Coleman who, at 90 in a world we re GNAb I received a free electronic copy of this excellent SF novel from Netgalley, Joe Haldeman, and Open Road Integrated Media in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, for sharing your work with me. This novel originally published in 2002.