Sagittarius Whorl by Julian May (Rampart Worlds #3)

Originally published 2001; this edition 2001

Publisher: Voyager

MA15+

(V, S, L, D, N)

Strong violence {MA15+}

Sexual references {M}

Coarse language {M}

Drug use {PG; alcohol, caffeine and medical only}

Nudity {G}

Representations

Gender:

The same first-person narrator again, so once again Bechdel fail. Seemed like fewer women as characters this time, the ones who were present were mostly less impressive. Also annoying gender stereotyping about, e.g., women and shopping.

Sex:

Another trip through hetero-land, where women have a sixth sense about what each other's been up to with men, and sex is conveyed with innuendo but not depicted on-screen. The protagonist is very concerned with his manhood.

Race & Ethnicity:

The characters of colour from the previous volumes have been almost entirely removed from the story now. There is a black woman in law enforcement who has a bit part at the end, described as 'Amazonian'; pretty sure she is the only black women in the entire series.

Disability, Physical Diversity and Health:

One character is physically transformed during the novel and repelled by the effect. Others find it sexy. Illness is used as a weapon, and one character largely does not participate in the novel due to undergoing rejuvenation. 'Crazy' and similar are used as strongly pejorative terms.

Awards

None of note.

I ordered this book online after finishing the previous two in the series, since there was a lot promised on the first page of the first book which had not yet transpired, the second ended on a blatant cliffhanger, and I had been enjoying the series so far for a bit of undemanding space adventure. After finishing, the more I thought about it the more disappointed I was.

The actual climax of the story comes about two thirds of the way through, after which the story keeps promising tension but doesn't deliver - no challenges last longer than it takes to describe them, and most are speculated rather than eventuating. One villain ends up suffering a karmic death via Chekhov's wolverine, which was annoying.

The books kept promising an upcoming large conflict and social upheaval, which ultimately was relegated to the epilogue. The cast got less ensemble throughout the series, to the extent that by this book only one of them appeared, and then mainly to excuse emself from having any role. The hero is less and less challenged by anything as the story goes on, for no good reason, and most of the rest of the cast is relegated to engaging in idiot plot so he can do things they were in a position to and promised to do books ago.

It's a shame this book was so disappointing because it definitely did not have to be. At least the xenophilia of some of the women in the story was fun.