Timescape, 1983, $2.95, ISBN 0-671-49899-1, 250 pages, paperback

I’m not entirely sure of this 50-cent discount wonder. On the one hand, the prose proves so awkward, it is an absolute chore to read this thing. On the other hand, there are a number of good ideas contained within.

Star-faring society consists of ships that carry 10,000 travelers in suspended animation and small rich elite that stay conscious during the trip. These folks need to be entertained--hence the major domo on every ship to provide entertainment. Think of it as the Love Boat meets Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. The Captain must, repeat must, take the ravishing major domo as his lover for the good of the ship. I’m still not sure why “society” demands it so, but there’s the setup.

Into this mix comes the “pilot” of the ship-- a sort of living dilithium crystal whose life gets sapped each time the ship jumps into hyperspace. Virgin girls seem to be the only ones that could create warp speed. Once a pilot, always a pilot, and indeed they become pariahs. Occasionally, pilots die or go crazy and a ship misjumps to destruction or is stranded.

However, the good ship Dragon Zephyr has an anomaly--the only non-Virgin to pilot a ship back after the death of a pilot. And as she starts to question the entire structure of the deal, and unearth the secrets of an extinct race, so the Captain begins to question the frivolity of society… and fall in love with the pilot.

This long-winded explanation shows the depth and layers that go into the story. And this is only the top layer--much more appears within these 250 pages. However, Spinrad’s prose reads like English as a second language. Words sputter around in fits and starts, verbs tumble out of sentences in unlikely places, and entire paragraphs grate on the eyes.

The story and ideas are brilliant, and the angst of the Captain grows on you as he begins to understand the legacy of the extinct race against the backdrop of the overly rich and unfocused. If only an editor had intervened.

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