Timothy Zahn's "Triplet"
Jan. 16th, 2005 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowI'll admit that I haven't read a lot of Zahn's work. I have three of his novels in my library: Triplet, Warhorse, and Deadman's Switch. (I think Warhorse is the best of these, but I won't be reviewing it here, since it's been a while since I read it.) I also have several collections of short stories, and I think he's actually better in that format. (His "The Final Report of the Lifeline Project" impresses me a good deal, for the evenhandedness and honesty with which it approaches an ultrasensitive subject.) His novels - at least, those that I've read - tend to be puzzle stories, not strong on characterization and not much more than adequate in plotting, but they're good stories overall.
The puzzle in Triplet involves the planet Threshold, which is unremarkable except for the Tunnel - an artifact of the "Builders", leading to another planet, which may not be in this universe. The only things which can pass through the Tunnel are human beings. (That means no artifacts either, e.g. clothing; you have to be naked to get through. Actually, no mention is made of whether other living things can pass; there is evidence in the book that some living things cannot, which raises interesting questions about human microflora.) This is frustrating, since the planet Shamsheer is one of incredibly advanced technology overlaid on an ignorant populace. (Apparently building and repair is in the hands of robots, or something resembling them. The repair sites are essentially inaccessible, and neither the artifacts nor plans can be brought back through the Tunnel. Nor would the natives, in their ignorance, be of any use.) From Shamsheer another Tunnel leads to yet another planet: Karyx, where magic is possible, mediated by a variety of spirits which can be conjured and controlled. (Zahn's treatment of the magic is rationalistic; magic is not a science a la Randall Garrett, but it is comprehensible.)
The principal characters are: Danae mal ce Taeger, a student from a wealthy background who is trying to break free from her father's influence and sees the Triplet worlds as a means to that end; Ravagin, a professional Courier - i.e., a chaperone for tourists and scholars who wish to visit Shamsheer or Karyx; and Hart, a bodyguard employed by Danae's father. The three of them discover something rotten in the state of Triplet; their struggle to identify the problem, to survive doing so, and to deal with it make up the story. They are moderately well constructed; there's not a great deal of nuance to them, nor are the ways in which they develop (and they do develop, to some extent) surprising, but they're good enough to carry the weight of the puzzle-story. It's not great SF, but it's a decent way to while away a few hours.
The puzzle in Triplet involves the planet Threshold, which is unremarkable except for the Tunnel - an artifact of the "Builders", leading to another planet, which may not be in this universe. The only things which can pass through the Tunnel are human beings. (That means no artifacts either, e.g. clothing; you have to be naked to get through. Actually, no mention is made of whether other living things can pass; there is evidence in the book that some living things cannot, which raises interesting questions about human microflora.) This is frustrating, since the planet Shamsheer is one of incredibly advanced technology overlaid on an ignorant populace. (Apparently building and repair is in the hands of robots, or something resembling them. The repair sites are essentially inaccessible, and neither the artifacts nor plans can be brought back through the Tunnel. Nor would the natives, in their ignorance, be of any use.) From Shamsheer another Tunnel leads to yet another planet: Karyx, where magic is possible, mediated by a variety of spirits which can be conjured and controlled. (Zahn's treatment of the magic is rationalistic; magic is not a science a la Randall Garrett, but it is comprehensible.)
The principal characters are: Danae mal ce Taeger, a student from a wealthy background who is trying to break free from her father's influence and sees the Triplet worlds as a means to that end; Ravagin, a professional Courier - i.e., a chaperone for tourists and scholars who wish to visit Shamsheer or Karyx; and Hart, a bodyguard employed by Danae's father. The three of them discover something rotten in the state of Triplet; their struggle to identify the problem, to survive doing so, and to deal with it make up the story. They are moderately well constructed; there's not a great deal of nuance to them, nor are the ways in which they develop (and they do develop, to some extent) surprising, but they're good enough to carry the weight of the puzzle-story. It's not great SF, but it's a decent way to while away a few hours.
