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Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley (Collector's Edition) check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk and www.varley.net
Nonetheless, it's a good story and it was his first novel. Science has changed remarkably since 1977 when the author was only 30 and almost a novice stage by many standards. Maybe there's a devilish and devious plot here, for in releasing his work to the public again to new and fresh young audiences, the publisher is anticipating multiple catches. Readers of Varley will know that he created his own universe in the Eight Worlds (or realms) of the Solar system where humans of the future exist and in enjoying this first novel you'll likely wish to read the other novels and stories which employ the same background.
In this future, the Earth has been ethnically cleansed by mysterious invaders
who seem to prefer dolphins and whales to us (I wonder why?), leaving the remnants
to survive in places like Saturn's rings, Neptune and other bodies. I'm left a
bit puzzled. Why would all powerful aliens allow us to survive to be troublesome
at some time in the future? Complete extermination would have been the logical
choice. The environments of the eight worlds do not appear to be overly
hospitable to humans - downright impossible for any type of survival, I'd say.
However, humans are resourceful and they can get used to anything, especially
when helped by another lot of mysterious aliens from a star in Ophiuchus which
send a data stream full of handy survival tips for living in extreme environments.
This is the Ophiuchi Hotline! It isn't initially clear what remote aliens would know about human genetics and why they would wish to help. The answer comes later when they require a form of payment, adding yet again to the maxim that there is no such thing as a free lunch, especially when aliens are providing. Why the invaders don't simply block the data stream, an obvious ploy, isn't expounded on and the logistics of sending the stream over light years of space remain unexplained but in much of this novel, even genetically altered humans are small creatures in comparison to the big picture outside. There are more things in heaven
and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. It's difficult
to identify with characters in this novel. While they are of human extraction,
they're not controlled to the same extent as we are by the functioning of our
brains, bowels, bladder, lungs, heart and liver. Essentially, they are immortal.
This weird stuff can't be categorised as cyber-punk. It isn't hard science either.
It's...John Varley. Truth to say, he has a style of his very own, a style which
has developed in maturity over the last thirty years. Mature this style may be, but sometimes when reading his work you begin to wonder if Varley is trying to take the piss (especially to naïve sheltered people like myself). The plot behind 'The Ophiuchi Hotline' involves a female called Lilo, in as much as anyone can be male or female within the eight worlds, who has been illegally tampering with genes and sentenced to death. Her saviour, Boss Tweed, a single-minded
man intent on getting rid of the invaders who uses people as expendable tools
in the furtherance of his quest, has just the job in mind for her. She becomes
a weapon against the invaders but, realising she is a being used, as any woman
worth her salt would do, she tries to get out of the relationship. Some
of the antics seem quite silly and the potential to shock the reader is diminished
especially after we learn that 99.9% of Earth's population has been destroyed.
What follows from this event is like the tail of the tadpole. Nonetheless,
the cat and mouse action between principal characters continues throughout the
book. The cloning business that takes place is based on wrong science. Folly suggests
that the process produces identical humans - the nature/nurture argument still
has some plenty of mileage yet. However, years ago it was excusable to look at
a batch of seemingly identical frogs and extrapolate to include humans. The
fate that eventually claims the characters and their worlds is revealed in the
last few chapters. The action appears too condensed, making me wonder if publishing
constraints were operating at the time of this first novel. Making
a movie of 'The Ophiuchi Hotline' and other works of the Eight Worlds would have
been clumsy thirty years ago but today the possibilities are endless. I think
that's what is required here. The material isn't dated and a movie employing the
latest computerised effects would lift it out to a new dimension. Producers out
there, take note! Rod MacDonald
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OTHER REVIEWS - September 2004
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I'm
not totally sure but I get the impression that in writing 'The Ophiuchi Hotline'
some thirty years ago, John Varley made it up as he went along. Starting with
a few basic ideas, he seems to drop things into the story at various points and
complex cause and event scenarios are absent. It's fundamentally a linear plot.
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