Mammoth

A very enjoyable novel by a top science fiction author.  My wife had just finished the book, and told me that I would find it a must-read.  Besides mammoths, it has many other prehistoric mammals, a strong paleontology plot, and very clever writing.  Recommended.

I am rather amazed that this is the first novel I have read by Varley.

One minor quibble - the word archaeologist does NOT refer to someone who studies prehistoric life, such as mammoths.  Archaeologists strictly study humans.  If you are studying mammoths (or dinosaurs, or trilobites, etc.) you are a paleontologist.  It is rather remarkable that Varley got this wrong, and even more surprising that an editor didn't catch it.

If you enjoy this one, you will definitely want to check out his short fiction.  His awards include:

"Press Enter" - Hugo and Nebula Awards

"The Pusher" - Hugo and Locus Awards

"The Persistence of Vision" - Locus Award 

Another of his great short stories is "Air Raid" - I was surprised to find that this one had not won an award.

For those who would like an exhaustive source, see "The John Varley Reader, thirty years of short fiction" (2004).  There is also a collection of his short fiction titled "The Persistence of Vision" (1978).

SF = sense of wonder

-------------------------------------------

My rating system for this website (I have done reviews for over 80 “books” (including short stories, novelettes and novellas, as well as novels).

Their system is out of 5 stars, and allows you to use half-stars, so highest rating is 5 full stars, next-highest 4 ½ stars, etc. – and lowest is ½ star.  I did NOT want to space these ratings equally, giving just as much precedence to low-quality mush as to really good works.  For that reason, I laid out my system as follows:

My rating system: I begin with one star being equivalent to a rating of “C  -”. Progressing upwards, I add ½ star for each step, up to the maximum 5 stars, which is equivalent to a rating of “A”+.  I reserve ½ star for BOMBS, there being no option of zero or negative stars. As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don’t squander half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.