Book Review: The Void Captain's Tale

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Void Captain's Tale     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Norman Spinrad
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction
Tor, Sep 2001, $12.95, 222 pp.

Dragon Zephyr Void Captain Genro Kane Gupta delivers goods and passengers to Estrella Bonita. During a stop Genro meets beautiful Dominique Alia Wu. The woman is a shocker because she is a jump pilot. Everyone knows that jump pilots are physically wasted, as they are the keys to interstellar jumps that each time kills them a little more. This makes Dominique an enigma.

Dominique asks Genro to jump blind. His failing to set the proper navigational mix will free her so that she lands in eternal ecstasy inside the Void. Fascinated by her, he leans towards neglecting his duty to his crew, passengers and himself because no one knows what will happen if a ship jumps blind.

Though at times the use of "modern vernacular" slows down the story line because the reader needs time to interpret, THE VOID CAPTAIN’S TALE remains a strong science fiction novel. The theme compares sexual prowess with power and the hold that sexual needs have on humans (Freud must have been a passenger on the Dragon Zephyr). The tale is different, but works on several levels because readers can feel the magnetic tension between the Void Captain and the Void Pilot. First released in the 1980s Norman Spinrad’s novel still spins quite a tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner