The Golden Globe

John Varley

K.C. "Sparky" Valentine is an actor on the run. He is a thesbian who plays everything from street sleight of hand to Shakespeare. When times are really tough, he is not above the occasional con job as well.

One of the best directors in the system is putting on a production of King Lear. This director is an old friend of his from younger days, so he sends a message from Pluto offering to be Lear. He is accepted, as long as he can back to Luna on time.

Thus Sparky starts his tumultuos trip back home, to Luna. To increase his problems, there is a Charonese Mafia agent chasing him for a scam he has just pulled. Charonese always get the object of their pursuit. As he travels home, his past unfolds in his memories for us.

I had heard good things about John Varley and had high expectations for this novel. Perhaps I expected too much. It rambled and dragged quite a bit. Over half way through the novel I was still trying to figure out the point of any of the story. (I had not read the publisher's jacket, so missed a telling point not revealed until close to the end of the book. I'm glad I didn't know before hand.) The writing was good enough to make me want to keep reading. Despite being overall disappointed, I still wanted to know what was going on with Sparky.

Notice: Suggestive dialogue or situations

Steel Beach by John Varley