Eclipses

by Cynthia Felice

An anthropologist searches the wilderness of the planet of Serensunar for traces of an expedition of explorers, who mysteriously disappeared

298 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1983

About the author

An American science fiction writer. Her first novel, Godsfire, and her first short story, "David and Lindy", were published in 1978. She and Connie Willis have co-written three novels that are often considered young adult fiction, according to Willis.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

She had some really good premises and interesting world building, but then the plot was rather disappointing. Basically the book ended up being about Beth's rather stubborn and persistent irrational personal problems, but always approached in an oblique sort of way. I couldn't believe it took her that long to get over such stupid issues, and I couldn't believe she was so irrational in the meantime, but then again I guess real people are like that sometimes- that's what makes life how it is and if we could look at things the way a reader would, maybe we'd recover from our stupidity a lot faster.

There were a lot of elements I really liked, but they weren't put together very smoothly, and there was something that made the characters and their motives hard to accept.

I almost REALLY liked it, but not quite. There was a lot of good stuff there, but... the final package was just not satisfying.

[Rogue-van (the Bookman) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to a planet where water is so precious that a Water Baron can practically run it. Earth's anthropologist Beth married the son of the Baron and led part of her life as part of the privileged few. But her heart was in the long exploratory trips that she took. Population expansion from new settlers could cause a disastrous water shortage; chaos is knocking on their door.

Beth's emotional instability is a little frustrating, making this a less than totally satisfactory read. However, I found the world and its inhabitants fascinating.

[SciFiOne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1988 grade B-