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Note that ratings of excerpted reviews are not the original reviewers’ ratings, but rather this editor’s estimates of their ratings based on a careful reading of the entirety of the reviews. All excerpts are protected by orignal copyright notices (see Copyright page).
DNEPROV, Anatoly (1919-1975) Ukrainian author, whose science fiction stories appeared in the U.S. from 1961-1970. Acclaimed short fiction: The Maxwell Equations (1963), The World In Which I Disappeared (1968), and When Questions Are Asked (1970).
DOLINSKY, Mike (1923-1984) US author and screenwriter, whose sole SF novel is Mind One (1972). Dolinsky’s film credits (as by Meyer Dolinsky) include scripts for Hawaii Five-O (1968), The Invaders (1967), Star Trek (1966), The Outer Limits (1963), Men Into Space (1959), World of Giants (1959), and Science Fiction Theatre (1955). Alternate names used: Meyer Dolinsky.
Novels
Mind One (1972) *** A new drug designed to control schizophrenia turns out to dramatically enhance telepathic ability but at the cost of exposing with absolute candor the thoughts of those who take it. Particularly effective is the depiction of the shame of a priest whose moral doubt is unavoidably revealed to his mind-reading colleagues. While the novel’s sexual frankness borders, at times, on the pornographic, the social extrapolation is both startling and original.
DOMATILLA, John (-) US (?) author, whose sole SF novel is The Last Crime (1980).
Novels
Last Crime, The (1980) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE.
DONALDSON, Stephen (1947-) US author and anthologist, whose roughly twenty SF and fantasy novels include the seven-volume Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (1977-2004) series, The Mirror of Her Dreams (1986), and The Gap series (1990-1996). Donaldson has also written four mystery novels, the “Man Who . . .” series as by Reed Stephens, whose main protagonist is an alcoholic private investigator. Pseudonyms: Reed Stephens.
Novels
Lord Foul’s Bane (1977) A man recovering from leprosy is hit by a car and awakens in a fantasy world where he becomes a pivotal figure in a struggle between Lord Foul the Despiser and the Lords of the Land. The first book of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.
· “A daydream of Byronic suffering and self-importance . . . energetic, crude, lurid . . . totally devoid of economics and work . . . stone dead” (Joanna Russ, F&SF, February 1979). *
· Winner of the 1977 British Fantasy Society award for best novel.
· Finalist for the 1978 World Fantasy award for best novel.
Mirror of Her Dreams, The (1986) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION.
Real Story: The Gap into Conflist, The (1990) č See complete GUIDE.
Runes of the Earth, The (2004) Linden Avery and Roger Covenant return to “The Land,” only to discover that the ancient lore of “Earthpower” has been all but forgotten in the aftermath of a mysterious blight. The seventh book in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.
· Finalist for the 2005 World Fantasy award for best novel.
DONLEAVY, J. P. (1926-) Working name of US author JAMES PATRICK DONLEAVY, whose book, The Ginger Man (1955), was selected by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
Novels
Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule (1964) A collection of stories and sketches, including A Dish of Desire (1959), Meet My Maker (1960), and The Romantic Life of Alphonse A (1963).
· “Wild, funny, sad, effective and individual . . . he does so much more with [the language than] Burroughs and Heinlein . . . a book that should be read” (Ron Goulart, F&SF, January 1965). ***
· “Swift, imaginative, beautiful and funny . . . Donleavy at his best” (New Yorker, book jacket).
DONNELLY, Ignatius L. (1831-1901) US lawyer, author, populist, and former lieutenant governor of Minnesota, whose books include Caesar’s Column (1890) and Atlantis: The Antediluvian World (1882), the latter a nonfiction treatise elucidating the author’s theories about a legendary island near the Pillars of Hercules. Pseudonyms: Edmund Boisgilbert.
Novels
Caesar’s Column (1890-as by Edmund Boisgilbert) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE.
DORMAN, Sonya (1924-2005) Working name of US author and poet SONYA DORMAN HESS, whose sole SF novel is Planet Patrol (1978).
Stories
Go, Go, Go, Said the Bird (1967) **1/2 A woman struggles to survive in the brutal aftermath of nuclear war. Brief, but well written. (Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison)
· “Gutsy” (Judith Merril, F&SF, December 1967). ***
When I Saw Miss Dow (1966) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION.
DORSEY, Candas Jane (1952-) Canadian author, poet, anthologist, critic, journalist, and social worker, whose books include Hardwired Angel (1985-with Nora Abercrombie) and A Paradigm of Earth (2001).
Novels and Collections
Black Wine (1997) A fantasy about a young girl purchased to serve as slave-concubine to the prince of the “Dark Isles.”
· Winner of the 1997 James Tiptree, Jr. award.
Machine Sex and Other Stories (1988) č See complete GUIDE.
DOUGLAS, Carole Nelson (1944-) US writer, whose science fiction and fantasy books include The Sword and Circlet series (1982-1989), Counterprobe (1988), Crystal Days (1990), and Dancing With Werewolves (2007). Douglas has also penned several popular mystery series.
Novels
Probe (1985) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE.
DOWNER, Ann (1960-) US author and poet, whose fantasy novels include The Spellkey Trilogy (1987-1993), Hatching Magic (2004), and The Dragon of Never-Was (2006).
Novels
Spellkey Trilogy, The (1987-1993; rev 1995) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION.
DOWNING, Paula E. (1951-) Pseudonym of US author, attorney, and municipal judge PAULA ELAIN DOWNING KING, whose SF novels include Mad Roy’s Light (1990-as by Paula King), Rinn’s Star (1990), and Flare Star (1992). Pseudonyms: Paula King.
Novels
Whisper of Time, A (1994) Planetary archeologists discover an alien child in the Mayan-like ruins of an ancient star-faring race and, years later, try to persuade her to travel back with them to the same site.
· “Comes close to achieving some of the same impact that Andre Norton’s juveniles had when they were new, before the horde of Norton imitators . . . [but has some] flaws” (Tom Easton, Analog, Mid-December 1994). **1/2
DOYLE, [Sir] Arthur Conan (1859-1930) UK poet, ship’s doctor, and famed author of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, whose books of speculative interest include The Mystery of Cloomber (1889), The Lost World (1912), and The Maracot Deep (1927). Toward the end of his life, Doyle became increasingly interested in spiritualism and psychic phenomena, to the point of involving himself in the controversy surrounding the Cottingley Fairies photographs. Acclaimed short fiction: The Los Amigos Fiasco (1892) and The Terror of Blue John Gap (1910).
Quotes
On choosing a potential mate: “My instincts are all against a woman being too frank and at her ease with me. It is no compliment to a man. The bent head, the averted eye, the faltering voice . . . these . . . are the true signals of passion” (The Lost World).
On life’s aftermath: č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE.
On death in the midst of war: “When you are making history, the life of a man is too small a thing to worry over” (The Poison Belt).
Novels
Land of Mist (1926) č See complete GUIDE.
Lost World, The (1912) *** Four adventurers set off for the remote Amazon rainforest in order to verify an eccentric professor’s claim of the existence of an isolated plateau populated by prehistoric monsters. A century-old tale which is nearly as suspenseful and readable now as when it first appeared.
· “One of the s-f classics of all time . . . oddly undated . . . a good yarn all the way through” (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, November 1960). ***1/2
· “Unhesitatingly recommend . . . outstanding candidates for anyone's All-Time-Best list . . . first and best of the Professor Challenger stories” (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, June 1954). ***1/2
· “Wonderful . . . enormously effective” (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, July 1954). ***
Poison Belt, The (1913) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION.
When the World Screamed (1928) ** Professor Challenger proposes making contact with a sentient being inhabiting the Earth’s interior, then sets about drilling a 14,000 foot shaft to prove his point. Though scientifically out-of-date, the tale offers an amusing glimpse of the state of geophysical knowledge and drilling technology at the beginning of the 20th century. (THE POISON BELT)
Stories
Beetle-Hunter, The (1908) č See complete GUIDE.
Disintegration Machine, The (1929) č See complete GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION.
Horror of the Heights, The (1913) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE.
Terror of Blue John Gap, The (1910) *** A country doctor traces the cause of recent depredations of the local sheep population to an old Roman mine. Superior adventure writing. (TALES OF TERROR AND MYSTERY)
DOZOIS, Gardner (1947-) US science fiction author, editor, and anthologist, whose books include Nightmare Blue (1975-with George Alec Effinger), Morning Child and Other Stories (2004), and Hunter’s Run (2008-with George R. R. Martin and Daniel Abraham). Acclaimed Anthologies: Aliens! (1980), Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year (1981), Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction (1994), Modern Classics of Science Fiction (1992), and The Year’s Best Science Fiction series (1984-2007). Acclaimed short fiction: Chains of the Sea (1973-finalist for the 1973 Nebula and 1974 Hugo awards for best novella), Disciples (1981-finalist for the 1981 Nebula award for best short story), A Dream at Noonday (1970-finalist for the 1970 Nebula award for best short story), The Gods of Mars (1985-with Jack Dann and Michael Swanwick-finalist for the 1985 Nebula award for best short story), Horse of Air (1971-finalist for the 1971 Nebula award for best short story), A Kingdom By the Sea (1972-finalist for the 1972 Nebula and 1973 Hugo awards for best novelette), A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows (1999-finalist for the 2000 Nebula award for best novelette), Morning Child (1984-winner of the 1984 Nebula award for best short story), The Peacemaker (1983-winner of the 1983 Nebula award for best short story, finalist for the 1984 Hugo award for best short story), A Special Kind of Morning (1971-finalist for the 1972 Hugo award for best novella), and Strangers (1974-finalist for the 1975 Hugo award for best novella).
Strangers (1978) The story of a tragic love affair between an Earthman and an alien woman.
· “[Not] a world-beater, [but] better-than-average . . . handled a lot better in background, character, and detail . . . a little light on plotting, though . . . still, the level of writing is so high it has to be considered a successful book” (Charles N. Brown, Asimov’s, March 1978 – August 1979). **1/2
· “The best thing Dozois has done . . . too much show-and-tell . . . starkness would have improved this novel” (Anthony R. Lewis, Analog, October 1979). **1/2
· “Dense, detailed” (John Clute, F&SF, January 1979). **1/2
· “The book has problems . . . so damned tragic . . . good writing about pain . . . for a time when you don’t mind being depressed . . . characters so achingly almost human as to break your heart” (Spider Robinson, Analog, June 1978). **1/2
· Finalist for the 1974 Nebula award for best novel.
· Finalist for the 1975 Hugo award for best novella.
Visible Man, The (1977) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION.
Stories
Gods of Mars, The (1985-with Jack Dann and Michael Swanwick) *** A rigorously-constructed planetary romance about the first manned mission to Mars. The characters, technical details, and prose are uniformly excellent. (OMNI, 1985)
Anthologies
Year’s Best Science Fiction, The: First Annual Collection (1984) č See complete GUIDE.
Year’s Best Science Fiction, The: Second Annual Collection (1985) č See the complete MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE.
Content
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