Guardian

From Publishers Weekly Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Haldeman (The Forever War) reworks classic SF themes in this odd and unsatisfying pastiche of travel narrative, alternate history, American Indian lore and adventure story. In 1879, Rosa Tolliver, a college-educated blueblood, marries a wealthy man who turns out to be a brute. She flees her Philadelphia mansion with her 14-year-old son, Daniel, and the two of them make their way to Dodge City, Kans. Rosa retrospectively describes the trip in incredible detail: the modes of transportation they took; the people they met; the books she read. With each carefully placed detail, Rosa weaves the tapestry of her life, and among the threads, she hints at a destiny: something extraordinary happens to her, and each book she reads, each decision she makes, in retrospect has something to do with this destiny. Her stay in Dodge City lasts only four years, and she and Daniel flee again when a Pinkerton detective tracks them down. Another well-documented trip-this time to Alaska-follows. Toward the end, an Indian shaman, Raven, shows her alien wonders and a vision of a future Earth. The minute detail and foreshadowing are wearying, and Rosa's destiny ultimately falls flat: it's a tale of courage told by a courageous but unimaginative woman. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Fleeing an abusive marriage, Rosa Coleman and her teenage son, Daniel, begin a cross-country trek in the waning years of the 19th century. Their journey leads them to Alaska, where Rosa experiences a mystical encounter with a raven that changes her life forever. The author of The Forever War delivers an elegant parable of many worlds and multiple possibilities while telling the tale of a courageous woman whose life spans most of a century and whose hopes and dreams cross the barrier between worlds. A good choice for libraries where Haldeman enjoys a following. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Haldeman's fairly standard aliens-save-humanity-by-changing-history yarn is so well done that you forgive him for riding such an old-nag concept. In it, Rosa Coleman, born to wealth before the Civil War, in due course saves humanity through the agency of her son by her second husband. The boy, Gordon Coleman, becomes the physicist who prevents the A-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two-thirds of the novel, however, is the superb historical tale--lacking any sf elements except, if you get it, a raven who croaks "No gold" instead of "Nevermore"--of Rosa's life in a time line in which Gordon was never born. That raven turns out to be the messenger of an alien who, taking the form of a Tlingit shaman, turns Rosa's life into the track that leads to the preservation of intelligent life on Earth--well, most of it, at least. Many may prefer the historical traits of the novel to its sf aspect. They also may admit that Haldeman couldn't write a bad book to win a bet. Roland Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved A compelling and economical narrative ... brilliantly controlled sense of tone. -- Locus Joe Haldeman is a Vietnam veteran whose classic novels The Forever War and Forever Peace both have the rare honor of winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He has served twice as president of the Science Fiction Writers of America and is currently an adjunct professor teaching writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Read more