Eros at Zenith

Tales of the Velvet Comet #2

by Mike Resnick

Book by Resnick, Mike

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

255 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Ian Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Eros at Zenith” by Mike Resnick (1984)

Overall Rating 3/10 – Seriously Lacking

Plot
Our protagonist, Detective Crane, is sent to the “Velvet Comet”, a space station that is a luxury brothel, to find a murderer. As his investigation deepens, so does the extent of the crime … can he succeed?

Writing Style
Simple prose. Easy sentences, good descriptions and not excessive. Some repetition which is mildly irritating but passable. Relax and watch the movie play out in your mind as you read.

Point of View/Voice
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)

Critique
Unfortunately, this was nowhere as good as the first in the series. We were not given the benefit of properly experiencing the “Velvet Comet” and I was so looking forward to it. Certainly, the author dips our toes but, sadly, nothing more. A bit like watching Coronation Street without any furniture in the rooms. Add to that, there was absolutely no depth to the two main characters assisting him. In fact, most of the time, they were just “there”. So much more was made of these aspects in the predecessor novel. I guess lastly, we are introduced to a talking ship’s computer. This didn’t work. At the outset the author tried to keep everything “logical” but this disintegrated into a computer with thoughts and issues like, perhaps, “Orac” from Blake’s Seven. The book was published in the same year as the first and it was perhaps rushed.

The whole storyline was a single event without any bells or whistles. The characters went around in circle after circle until the novel finally finished (and in a most unsatisfactory manner).

Sorry Mr Resnick, it just wasn’t good enough.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Velvet Comet series is set on a brothel in space, but the emphasis on mystery and adventure and intrigue and such is much more like the Babylon-5 television series than anything else that comes to mind. There's no real serious sexual content, at least nothing remotely explicit by current standards. They're fun books and quick reads, though I didn't find them as deep as most of his other work, and I doubt that they've aged as well. The four novels are set many years apart from one another, as illustrated by the titles. The fourth one, Eros at Nadir, is especially interesting as it is the story of a researching author, an archetype that Resnick has used many times. Good for light, fast entertaining reading.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A murder mystery that I enjoyed only because it was set aboard the familiar Velvet Comet. Not a horrid story, but not one I would want to read again. Quite disappointing compared with Eros Ascending.

Nice little quick read for fans of the series, but not enough sci-fi, action or suspense for me. Could have done with a little more character interaction, too.

:(

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really care for the first Velvet Comet novel, so I can't say why I read this one. The plot is fine, but the characters are unappealing and uninteresting. I will not return to the Velvet Comet again.