Uncharted Territory

May 30, 1994
Willis's short novel could hardly be more different from her last, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Doomsday Book , which dealt with a time-travelling jaunt from the 21st-century back to Europe during the days of the Black Plague. On a rather nondescript alien planet, two hardy planetary surveyors (Findriddy and Carson), a visiting ``socioexozoologist'' (Evelyn Parker) and their alien guide (Bult) embark on a mapping expedition. To avoid any appearance of imperialistic insensitivity, the government has imposed strict rules on the surveyors and allows indigenous guides to fine them. Willis plays it mainly as a farce: Bult takes full advantage of the situation, coming up with creative fines and spending the proceeds on umbrellas, shower curtains, slot machines and the like. Parker prattles on about the bizarre mating habits of various species, while Fin and Carson bicker like an old married couple. It's all fairan old married couple. It's all fairly amusing, though by the end the story hasn't really gone anywhere--Willis ties up the loose ends and returns to the beginning with Fin and Carson resuming the spat over a lost pair of binoculars which they were having on page one. A pleasant diversion, but there's little for the reader to take away when she's done.

March 1, 2020

In this short 1994 novella by SF master Willis (The Doomsday Book), planetary surveyors Fin and Carson chafe under the yoke of the exploration company they nickname Big Brother. They navigate dangerous terrain and carnivorous alien animals while dealing with their adversarial native guide Bult, who abuses the company's anticolonial regulations to impose constant fines to support his own shopping habit. It's light, clever fare, and narrator Chelsea Stephens keeps the reading lively and engaging. VERDICT Readers may find this title reminiscent of Heinlein's early adventure novels, or Elizabeth Bear's Karen Memory for its "SF western" feel.--Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib, Atlanta

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