Sarah Zettel's first novel (Reclamation) showed her to be an up-and-coming author with promise. She delivers on that promise with Fool's War, a book that is never what it seems. The main character--Dobbs--is a modern Fool, someone who serves as both entertainer and psychoanalyst for the ships that ply the stars. When the ship on which Dobbs is serving accidentally delivers a rogue artificial intelligence to an unsuspecting planet, a secret that has held the galaxy together will threaten to tear it apart. This is a grand, fast-moving story with delightful characters and insightful social commentary. And darn fun to read.
From Publishers Weekly
In "alien contact" science fiction, the aliens come from far off, light-years away. But what if the aliens were closer to home? What if the next great life-form with which we must contend isn't from the stars but from our hard drives? In Zettel's second novel (after Reclamation), Katmer Al Shei, owner and engineer of the starship Pasadena, and her crew become pawns in an elaborate scheme to bring human beings and artificially intelligent life-forms into deadly conflict. But the real protagonist ends up being Evelyn Dobbs, the ship's Fool, who, hired to amuse the crew for its long voyage, finds herself trying to contain the threat of war. The influence of Asimov's robot stories and C.J. Cherryh's elaborate, sophisticated spaceship adventures are both evident here. But while Zettel's skills as a teacher of technical writing are very handy when it comes to computer terminology, her human characters are less well developed. Still, Zettel's story has a lively pace and gains more than enough momentum to keep readers from noticing the time. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Back Cover
For 500 years we have carried our ancient hatreds and millennia-old wars into interstellar space. With them have gone the seeds of new self-aware lifeforms mutating from artificial intelligences, technoviruses, and info-flow. Beings with no bodies and no limits, evolving to leap from cyberspace to outer space. Beings born to be our rivals...
Katmer Al Shei, owner of the starship Pasadena, does not know she is carrying a live entity in her ship's computer systems. Or that the electronic network her family helped weave holds a new race fighting for survival. Or that her ship's professional Fool is trying to avert a battle that could destroy entire worlds. And when Al Shei learns the truth, all she'll really know is that it's time to take sides...
Fool's War ANNOTATION
Four centuries after humanity has colonized the galaxy, information freight companies are used as an alternative to electronic communication. On one of her frequent trips into deep space, Katmer Al-Shei, owner of one of the smaller information companies, is accused of smuggling artificial intelligence. When Al-Shei tries to clear her name, she uncovers conspiracy after conspiracy, all set against the backdrop of a looming war. Original.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Four centuries after humanity has colonized the galaxy, information freight companies are used as an alternative to electronic communication. On one of her frequent trips into deep space, Katmer Al-Shei, owner of one of the smaller information companies, is accused of smuggling artificial intelligence. When Al-Shei tries to clear her name, she uncovers conspiracy after conspiracy, all set against the backdrop of a looming war.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In "alien contact" science fiction, the aliens come from far off, light-years away. But what if the aliens were closer to home? What if the next great life-form with which we must contend isn't from the stars but from our hard drives? In Zettel's second novel (after Reclamation), Katmer Al Shei, owner and engineer of the starship Pasadena, and her crew become pawns in an elaborate scheme to bring human beings and artificially intelligent life-forms into deadly conflict. But the real protagonist ends up being Evelyn Dobbs, the ship's Fool, who, hired to amuse the crew for its long voyage, finds herself trying to contain the threat of war. The influence of Asimov's robot stories and C.J. Cherryh's elaborate, sophisticated spaceship adventures are both evident here. But while Zettel's skills as a teacher of technical writing are very handy when it comes to computer terminology, her human characters are less well developed. Still, Zettel's story has a lively pace and gains more than enough momentum to keep readers from noticing the time. (Apr.)
VOYA - Vicky Burkholder
Wars of prejudice and power have been fought for centuries, and this book takes these wars beyond the stars and into the future. While the descriptions rely heavily on mid-Eastern content, the unfamiliar terms and language are adequately explained, so the reader is never lost. Katmer Al Shei, part owner of the starship Pasadena, unknowingly carries a live artificial intelligence (AI) to the Farther Kingdom, where it becomes sentient and almost destroys the world before it is brought under control. In its fight for survival, the AI becomes the focus of a fight between humans and AIs. AI have lived among humans for over two hundred years, masquerading in human bodies that were generated for them. AIs belong to the guild of Fools, a group trained as part court jester and part serious psychologist to keep up the morale of the ship's crew. Now, a faction of Fools has split off from the guild and wants to be free to live in their own environment, threatening to destroy humanity to get their way. It is up to Al Shei and her team, especially her Fool, to stop the rougue AIs and gain cooperation between human and AI. This is a good, hard-core science fiction novel. Zettle is an author to watch, and she shows much promise in this, her second novel. Fool's War would be a good addition to any collection with a science fiction clientele. VOYA Codes: 4Q 2P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).
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