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Bantam, Jul 2001, 13.95, 275 pp.
ISBN: 0553379313
X-Corp, makers of graphic interactive 3-D “dreams”, controls the New England Town. Slocum was a rising yuppie who lost interest in his work, which led to an estrangement with his wife and an inability to see his daughter. He moved onto his broken down sloop with his only companions being the Smuggler's Bible and a cat.
The harbormaster orders Slocum to leave his current mooring because Coggerhill Wharf is THE LAST HARBOR in the area where a big ship can dock. Slocum refuses because he does not believe a big ship will arrive after fifteen plus years without any docking nor can he leave anyway until the Mechanic fixes his sloop.
To his amazement, the big ship arrives along with rumors that the Syndicate is its owner. Invited to enter the big ship, Slocum meets Melisande. Soon he believes that she is his last harbor to enable him to regain his real dreams, but first he must learn what holds her prisoner on the big ship.
THE LAST HARBOR is the typical George Foy grim and dark look at a 1984-esque future that leaves little hope for an independent person to even survive let alone thrive. The grayness of what is to come is slowly simmered through Slocum and his interactions or lack of with other people. At the same time that readers begin to understand the scope of Slocum's feelings and the environment he resides in, the audience will ask where is the action as the plot slowly evolves. If grit, grime, and gray are what a reader wants in a science fiction tale, then they should stop THE LAST HARBOR.
Harriet Klausner
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Plot
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Romance
Yes
Spying & Investigations
Yes
What is main char. doing?
- unraveling a conspiracy
Repressive society story
Yes
Repressive because:
- controls your mind
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
Setting
Earth setting:
- medium future 22-24th century
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue?
- significantly more descript than dialog
