Novels of Marti Steussy Re: SFBC 1989 (second quarter)
Peter D. Tillman
jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
>
> DREAMS OF DAWN by Marti Steussy
>
> Missed this.
This was her second novel. I have it down as an "A" book in the booklog,
but whatever notes I took are on paper, 500+ miles away. [googles]
Umm. Here's Ansible 89 : "Ian Sorensen is unmistakably Tuckerized in
Dreams of Dawn by Marti Steussy ..."
Ah, here we go -- talking lobsters!
http://www.plaidworks.com/chuqui/downloads/OtherRealms/24-08.txt
[scroll down]
"On the planet Karg, the human colony had been permitted to remain by
the crustacean-like native sentients, against the recommendation of
Circle Dawn, a multi-species, socio-ecological investigative team. Now,
however, the Kargans have appealed for help...
This is pretty much your standard issue Del Rey novel, a reasonably
well crafted, carefully middle-of-the-road adventure tale with minimal
literary or thematic ambitions." I recall DAWN as considerably better
than this, but read on...
Her better book is her first, FORESTS OF THE NIGHT (87), a strong
first-contact novel which I liked a lot (booklog says A+, but I was an
easier grader then). Ah, here's a bit of a review:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345338154/
"In "Forest of the Night", we meet Hashti and a crew of loggers who are
trying to establish a base on a distant planet. Unfortunately, their
operation seems to be threatened by the native feathered tigers(!). As
Hashti tries to do her job caring for the crew's horses..." [Aha, so
this is the same Steussy who teaches dressage, per Google] "...Hashti
eventually forms a close relationship with Khan, one of the tigers, and
several of his comrades, and together they learn a great deal about each
other's cultures.]
Alright, I can see that this reviewer is, umm, new at the craft, but it
is a good book. I will put it on the reread list, and note it should
appeal to the horsy, talking-cat set.
According to ISFDB, that's it, though she's apparently written a couple
more nonfiction books:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-aut
hor=Steussy/
Aha, here's a home page:
http://www.cts.edu/FacHomePages/steussy/steussy.htm
"Marti J. Steussy, MacAllister-Petticrew Professor of Biblical
Interpretation, is an ordained minister of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). Her book publications include David: Biblical
Portraits of Power (1999) and Gardens in Babylon: Narrative and Faith in
the Greek Legends of Daniel (1993), as well as two science fiction
novels..."
There's a nice sample of her writing here:
http://www.cts.edu/FacHomePages/Encounter/521MSteussy.PDF
-- which turns into a rather thick essay. Sample:
[on why SF readers aren't often religious]
"These are my people. I hurt for their alienation. I harbor a special
anger against mainline clergy, for we know, but have not proclaimed,
that you don't have to believe in miraculous births or dictatorial
morality to sense God's involvement with the universe. We know that
honest questions belong to the tradition as surely as the Lord's Prayer
does. Yet the public definition of Christianity still equates doubt
with blasphemy..."
OK, it's actually kind of touching. Plus she's pretty cute. Anyway, I'd
never have guessed that Steussy was a Reverend -- her novels aren't at
all preachy. And it's amazing how much (trivial) info one can turn up
online with a trivial amount of effort.
Cheers -- Pete Tillman
Book Reviews: http://www.silcom.com/~manatee/reviewer.html#tillman
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/cm/member-reviews/-/A3GHSD9VY8XS4Q/
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/iplus/nonfiction/index.htm#reviews
http://www.sfsite.com/revwho.htm