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\def\name{Michael D. Mendyke}
\def\address{3 Ames St.\\Cambridge, MA 02139}
\def\security{389-76-0451}
\def\title{Book Reports}
\def\lastname{Mendyke}
\def\keyword{Reports}

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\maketitle

I decided to review {\em Growlers} by Larry England first because it
stuck in my mind most after reading it. This story does follow the
classic model, although the hero does not succeed in his ambition. 

The main character is Yip Yap, a soldier, second in command in a recon
squad moving through enemy territory. 

At first glance this seems to be a very standard story. In contention
is victory, with the hero on one side and the Slime on the other. But
more important really is the very set of values important to Yip Yap.
At first he is your standard young fighter, ready to obey the
slightest command of his CO. All he is interested in is staying alive,
killing Slime, and getting better at killing Slime.

But as the days wear on, it becomes clear to Yip Yap that his side is
not winning at all, and as his friends die on either side, he realizes
that the Slimes are not the enemy, but HQ itself. HQ does not know
what is going on like Yip Yap and the other Growlers, HQ does not even
realize that the Slime are going to win, ultimately. 

So in a sense the hero ``loses'' in terms of his initial contention to
win the war, but the loss is vindicated by his comrades dying and by
the knowledge that his side is destined to lose. 

There is a sense of resignation at the end of the story; Yip Yap
continues to follow orders and kill Slime. Whether or not he dies is
unimportant. What is important is his realization of the futility of
the war. 

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{\em The Mirror,} by Nancy Farmer, took some time to sort out. I
finally decided that the main character is not Sally, but Dr.~Posen.
This story does follow the classic model, but again, the hero fails,
the failure justified. 

In contention is Posen's desire to discover a cure for the mysterious
sleeping sickness. This is quickly modified to a desire to cure Sally
and a desire for Sally. 

There are several antagonists. Interestingly, none of them are
striving for the same goal as Dr.~Posen. Gladys is happy that medical
science is advancing with the discovery of a cure, but is jealous of
Posen's love for Sally. Also working against the cure is the fact that
most victims who have been cured in the past by Dr.~Posen's method
have undergone a relapse, or even died.  Sally too is an antagonist,
for Posen is forced not to tell her what she has gone through these
last fifty years. Also, she knows of his love for her, and uses that
to her own advantage.

In the end, Posen does fail, for Sally never does fall in love with
him and she falls back to sleep, destined to die in a few months. It
is unclear if Posen will continue his research, But he has learned
that Sally wasn't for him. 

It is interesting that the beginning of the story, where Dr.~Posen is
introduced, happens after the scene at Sally's party, and the end of
the story is followed by the conclusion of the party scene. These
sections of background are intended to give insight into the character
of Sally and to vindicate the outcome of the story. 

\newpage

{\em Old Times There,} by Dennis E. Minor, is interesting to me because
its hero is not a human being, but an intelligent robot named
Flathead. 

Flathead has been built along with other robots to harvest crystals
from a lake on Earth, crystals with special Artificial Intelligence
applications. Clyde, the original owner of the lake, is removed by
the Palindrome Overseers who had taken control of Earth, and the
robots are forced to work harder than ever to collect these unusual
crystals for their newfound controllers.

In contention is the future way of life for the robots, and in a
way, the future of the Earth. It is clear that the robots are tired
of collecting crystals for anybody, much less alien invaders. So we
see an example of how Flathead and his buddy Dipstick handle
Palindrome visitors. It is implied that this sort of confrontation has
happened before, but this one between the Earth robots and Gogamagog
is of special significance: in Frenchtown, the robots are ready to
turn on a new robot, one which we can deduce will shape the future
destiny of the robots and the Earth. 

The victory is vindicated by the inherent lack of intelligence of
Gogamagog; the Earth robots are destined to win. So Flathead's victory
over Gogamagog frees Frenchtown to complete its new robot, and we are
left with the vindicating remark by Flathead, ``I think everything's
going to be all right.''

The laid back attitude of the robots at a confrontation which could
easily result in their destruction, and the use of palindromes for the
names of the invaders tell me that the author is having fun with his
writing and does not take himself too seriously.

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