Reviews

Blue Champagne by John Varley

stephenmeansme's review

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4.0

Not only is the subject matter generally less squicky than "The Persistence of Vision" (except for the first story, sigh), but the stories are generally better (in my opinion). Varley isn't afraid to "go there" on speculation about the future of sex and relationships, and produces some interesting and (IMO) reasonably sophisticated ideas from that. Although I would be very interested to read perspectives on his stories from people who actually are queer, disabled, or what have you.

anamaria427's review

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adventurous informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Me lo pasé muy bien. Es muy amplio en los temas que abarca. Invita a leer más de ciencia ficción.

scifimagpie's review against another edition

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5.0

Absolutely remarkable collection. Very beautiful, thoughtful, and wonderfully experimental with gender. Superb writing of lady characters, too, especially for the era. Extremely memorable - but I need to read it again. It's been a few years, alas.

lamusadelils's review against another edition

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4.0

Tiene un par de años que no leía a Varley. Me hacía falta.

wealhtheow's review

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4.0

Set in the same universe as The Ophiuchi Hotline, this is a truly stunning collection of short stories. Every single one of these is excellent, and they range in tone from humorous to chilling. Some, like "Blue Champagne," are about humans relating to each other. Others, like "Options" (possibly my favorite) concern gender and (again) how humans relate to each other. And still others, particularly "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged)" and "Press Enter" draw you in and then shiv you in the belly. READ IT.
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