Inside Job

Connie Willis is the master of the science fiction novella, from seminal efforts such as "Blued Moon," "Fire Watch," "The Last of the Winnebagos," and beyond. "Inside Job" takes its place on that permanent shelf, a tale of spiritualists, séances, skeptics, and a love that just might be able to rise about it all.

In Willis's charming tale of the paranormal, Rob, a professional skeptic, and Kildy, his too-good-to-be-true ex-actress sidekick, try to debunk a psychic channeler, who just might be hosting the spirit of legendary skeptic H.L. Mencken. Willis fans will find the funny, snappy narrative familiar, from the "how can you not know I'm in love with you" relationship to the quick-witted social commentary. Apt quotations from Mencken or Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's play inspired by the Scopes trial, which Mencken reported, head each chapter. While not as tightly woven as one of Willis's typical short stories nor as layered as her novels (Passage, etc.), this novella is still highly enjoyable, somewhat educational and will leave readers happy at the end.
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Professional debunker Rob, proprietor of the Jaundiced Eye magazine, considers himself incredibly lucky to have Kildy as his sole employee. Smart, dedicated, gorgeous, and, thanks to her last movie before she hung up on Hollywood, rich, she's a pleasure to oblige when she says Rob has to witness this channeler Ariaura's act--on her, not the Eye's, nickel--despite channelers being so last year. It's quite a show, all right, for in the midst of Ariaura's particular ancient wise guy's basso spiel, a gravelly baritone interrupts (both voices emanate from the channeler's female mouth) to berate the audience as "yaps" and the act as "claptrap." Why is Ariaura undermining herself? Or is she? After all, she angrily accuses Rob and Kildy of scheming to destroy her. Could the baritone belong to a genuine channeled spirit? Willis, one of sf's most spirited writers, rounds on the New Age; pays tribute to a great, skeptical journalist; and affectionately parodies pulp fiction at its best (Fredric Brown, that would be) in this irresistible entertainment. Ray Olson
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