RED LIGHTNING progress report

Both Rick and I have finished the book. Rick finished two weeks early - a new personal record for him. This is good, since we carved two weeks off of the schedule for Denton's book. The Denton book reads like a text book and will force anyone's reading speed to a near standstill while the reader's mind tries to assimilate the information on a topic far removed from most people's normal thoughts. RED LIGHTNING is typical of the new Varley. He is currently writing easilly acessable novels that feel like short stories. By this I mean that, like a short story, his newer novels pull you in quickly, and are based on just a few simple ideas. While I enjoy this type of a story, I keep hoping Varley will one day cut loose all the stops and deliver another groundbreaking story, like The Persistence or Vision or better yet, a complex novel like STEEL BEACH.

(Deus Vult)