Tag: Timothy Zahn

Dark Thoughts at Noon

Dark Thoughts at Noon

by Timothy Zahn (Analog, December 1982)

Magazine cover: Analog, December 1982; review of: “Dark Thoughts at Noon” by Timothy Zahn

A diverting enough novelette, more workmanlike than mesmerising. Zahn has a knack for layering a speculative development onto regular society and then postulating pitfalls and repercussions. In this instance, though, the telepathic protagonist has little say in the outcome of his misadventure.

Triplet

Triplet

by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 1987)

Book cover: “Triplet” by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 1987)

Zahn finds a fresh way to mix fantasy and SF but becomes too caught up in worldbuilding and posing scenario-specific problems for his characters to solve. The actual story is little more than advanced role-playing, the high-stakes threat just another intellectual exercise.

Protocol

Protocol

by Timothy Zahn (Analog, September 2002) [Novelette]

Zahn_Protocol

A seemingly effortless piece of SF world-building. Colonists cut off on a frontier settlement must comport themselves by unfathomable alien rules… at pain of death. But what happens if the rituals stop working? Unsatisfyingly, the story poses but doesn’t answer this question.

 

 

Deadman Switch

Deadman Switch

by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 1988)

Zahn_Deadman Switch

Zahn melds SF concept (navigation requires a recently deceased pilot; spaceships carry two death-row felons) to moral quandary (one ‘zombie’ pilot has been wrongly convicted). The novel goes through several phase shifts exploring the wider value of maintaining a small human focus.

 

 

Cobra Traitor

Cobra Traitor (Cobra Rebellion, Book 3)

by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 2018)

Zahn_Cobra Traitor

Zahn brings another Cobra trilogy to an end, various storylines dovetailing into a slow-dawning frown of ‘So what?’. Characters and scenarios that are made to feel compelling in the moment prove upon reflection to be the effervescent froth of a fizzy drink.

 

 

Pawn

Pawn

by Timothy Zahn (Tor, 2017)

Zahn_Pawn

Timothy Zahn has taken an intriguing single-novel idea — several factions of aliens trying to wrest control of a spaceship from each other — turned it into a series and done his utmost not to include any of it in the first book. Clickbait.

 

 

Star Wars: Thrawn

Star Wars: Thrawn

by Timothy Zahn (Century, 2017)

Zahn_Star Wars Thrawn

Grand Admiral Thrawn must rank as one of the all-time favourite Star Wars characters (including those from the films). Redacted by Disney to accommodate Episode VII, the Chiss strategist has been reinstated in this much-welcomed origin story charting his rise to prominence.

 

 

Cloak

Cloak

by Timothy Zahn (Silence in the Library, 2014)

Zahn_Cloak

Cloak features prototype invisibility cloaks, but is primarily a foray into the intrigue/thriller genre as SF doyen Zahn envisages how these might be used to steal and deploy a nuclear weapon. Ultimately the intricacies prove more interesting to Zahn than his readers.

 

Cobra Outlaw

Cobra Outlaw (Cobra Rebellion, Book 2)

by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 2015)

Zahn_Cobra Outlaw

Zahn’s mix of military action and political intrigue remains engaging, but his latest Cobra trilogy would (back in the day) have been one long book; the wait between instalments makes for a certain disorientation, especially given the multiple plotlines running in parallel.

 

Derelict Space Sheep