A review by wilt
Titan by John Varley

3.75

compared to the eight worlds books, this one shows its age a bit more, starting strong with at least 3 different unfortunate, ignorant racial remarks within the first 10 pages. there also isn't as much play with sex and gender. the centaurs are there, and i love them, but their presence is relatively brief. i did really like the queer relationship between cirocco and gaby though. you can't ignore it, it has an interesting build-up, it doesn't feel randomly tacked on, and it's definitely not shallow. and i like how john varley writes women. he has a way with it that i find compelling, compassionate, and complex, especially for its time. here is an adventure novel with a flawed character at its heart experiencing a deeply strange world with another woman who would follow her anywhere, through peril and hardship and life-threatening danger, because she loves her, without asking anything in return except for cirocco to not force herself to return her feelings. and what an adventure it was. the sheer scale of gaea is very effectively presented. it boggles the mind at every step and of course i really enjoyed the fantasy flavoring of centaurs and angels within this complex space construct. 

curious to read on and see what else is in store.