Yet more Tepper.

Somewhat under a week ago, I ordered The Fresco (Gollancz S.F.) from the library. Was quite impressed when I went in to pay off fines to discover it had arrived already. I like Tepper, I’ve mentioned that once or twice before, but even I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Spoilers below, though not drastically so.

For once the relationship with the aliens seemed less than one sided, the female lead character, though abused and put upon was also resourceful and not bitter – she worked through some of her issues throughout and came to some interesting conclusions. The standard themes of environmental awareness and need for population control didn’t seem nearly as worn as usual, and I found the whole book a more pleasant read than I have several others recently. Highly recommended.