Plot Synopsis Rant: Varley's WIZARD

I managed to post a plot synopsis of John Varley's Gaea novel WIZARD on the Varley Vade mecum site.

Now the disclaimer:
I find that discussions of books often deteriorate into recapitulations of the plot. the phrase, "What's it about?" is too often used in the place of thoughtful commentary of what makes the book under consideration good or bad. It is my mission in life to force people to examine their feelings and discover what qualities they like in a book; only then can their opinion be useful in determining if I too will like the book, because I know what I like and can compare with the experiences of others.
A book is more than a plot outline, as validated by the plot synopses I have posted on John Varley's work. They are not a substitute for reading them yourself. Cliff's Notes be damned. These story summaries are intended to prod the memory to recall the nuances of the story, the style and names of forgotten characters that may evoke whole sets of thoughts you may have thought long forgotten until they resurface upon re-familiarization with a story through reading the plot. I have also found them useful in locating details not found in my notes, because memory is organized in categories that have no logical similarity. For instance my memory of the color of Titanide's hooves is filed under the Golden Gate Bridge since it was in that scene that Chris observed a ruby hoofed Titanide being chased by fifty humans in San Francisco near the bridge.
I encourage those whose reading of the novel WIZARD may have not been recent to skim through the synopsis and see what memories spring to mind. And refrain from limiting your assessment of a book merely to "What happens." Broaden your horizons and ask, "Which character did you like best?" or "Were there any descriptions that put pictures in your head?" Then you can compare pictures and send the discussion into new territory. Who knows, you may discover why you like the book for the first time.

=Doug Eigsti= May 21, 2005