A tale of myths and uneasy dreams, set in the heart of Borneo. Add a rare beyond-hallucinogenic drug once used by a lost race remembered as "the dream wanderers" and ----- 160 pages.
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Uncharacteristically rambling, confused stab at the heart-of- darkness theme, from the acclaimed author of Life During Wartime (1987) and several story collections. British expatriate Barnett befriends a young American wastrel, MacKinnon, who disappears into the interior of Borneo and later is reported to be experimenting with dangerous native psychoactive drugs. The Dutch doctor, old Tenzer, sends a request for Barnett's help. When Barnett arrives on the scene after an eerie, portentous journey, both Tenzer and the waidan, the ghost of a female shaman apparently murdered by MacKinnon, urge Barnett to take MacKinnon's drug, enter the spirit world, and kill MacKinnon to halt his awesome and still-growing power. No real harm will be done, the waidan assures Barnett, since the drug confers spirit immortality. Barnett takes the drug and emerges not in the spirit world but into another reality containing, for some reason, a huge crashed alien spaceship and an incomprehensible alien city, both long abandoned. Barnett eventually kills MacKinnon, only to learn that he's been double-crossed by both Tenzer and the waidan. What with all the tedious, meandering philosophical padding: a confusing and uneasy hybrid of fantasy and sf, with the ideas not even half-thought-out. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Barnett, a dealer in jewels, sits down at a table in his store in Banjormasim, Borneo, and invites the reader to hear a first-person adventure set in his country's mysterious interior. An untrustworthy white man named Mackinnon comes across a witch doctor's drug that gives access to a parallel world--at the cost of native lives. One of the victims is a local witch whose spirit moves to the other world and sets in motion the events that will restore a balance. Its echoes of Conrad notwithstanding, Shepard's ( Green Eyes ) story resembles more than anything else the recitation of a dream in which logic is completely discarded and the motivation of the characters remains undeveloped. Atmospheric in setting, intriguing in its premise and somewhat suspenseful, Shepard's tale falls off at the end and fails its characters, none of whom--not even those who die--change or grow during the course of the story.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Seller: Vashon Island Books, Vashon, WA, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good+. Akib, Jamel [illustrator] (illustrator). First Edition. Light wear to corners. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book. Seller Inventory # 0724218
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Fantastic Literature Limited, Rayleigh, ESSEX, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: fine trade paperback. 1st print. Sure of his invulnerability as an American expatriate, Curtis MacKinnon goes to Borneo to play at being disreputable. Seller Inventory # FF10.053Q
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Seller: biblioboy, North Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Near Fine. Jamel Akib (illustrator). First Edition. "A compelling story of myths and uneasy dreams in the heart of Borneo". 160 pages, illustrated. Near Fine copy in VG+ or better Dust Wrapper [lower corner creasing to the front flap, nick to the spine head rear corner bx95. Seller Inventory # 62085
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Seller: biblioboy, North Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition Thus. London: Century / A Legend Novella 1990. First Edition Thus. Trade Paperback. 0712621695. . "A compelling story of myths and uneasy dreams in the heart of Borneo". Printed wrappers, 160 pages, illustrated. Near Fine copy [minor upper corner crimping to a few pages, in fine jacket bx 406. Seller Inventory # 12223
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Seller: Krokodile Books, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Jamel Akib (illustrator). First Edition. first printing, Good copy of Lcius Shepards novel, am outrageously talented writer (Banks). Seller Inventory # 010638
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Seller: Book Haven, Wellington, WLG, New Zealand
Condition: Good. 160 pages. Seller Inventory # 1150922
Quantity: 1 available