Mammoth
It’s a shame that John Varley’s MAMMOTH is classified as “science fiction,” because that means very few will read it. If it were shelved among all the thrillers where it deserves to be, it could be a mid-sized hit.
As it opens, a billionaire’s quest to find a frozen mammoth pays off in spades, but a man wearing a wristwatch is discovered sharing the block of ice with the prehistoric creature. Thus begins a fast-paced time-travel mystery/adventure that has several mind-warping, clever twists and touches (not the least of which is beginning the book at Chapter 5).
If it sounds like a setup worthy of Michael Crichton, you’re not at all far off, with the science as important to the plot as the suspense. The romance angle between a scientist hired by the billionaire to build a time machine and an elephant expert isn’t completely successful, but it’s secondary to the real action at hand, which includes a tribe of mammoths running amok down the streets of Los Angeles. And that’s not even the climax! Thoroughly (and surprisingly) enjoyable.
[...] As much as I loved John Varley’s new novel MAMMOTH (see our review here), I cannot look to THE JOHN VARLEY READER with even half as much enthusiasm. [...]
[...] • RED LIGHTING is John Varley’s sequel to 2004’s RED THUNDER, itself a Heinlein-esque juvenile sci-fi adventure. For more older-skewing Varley, even non-SF fans should appreciate last year’s MAMMOTH. [...]
[...] MAMMOTH by John Varley – An intact wooly mammoth is discovered frozen in Canada. Huddled next to the huge creature is the mummified body of a Stone Age man around 12,000 years old. And he is wearing a wristwatch. (Now in paperback; read BOOKGASM’s original review here.) [...]
[...] Time travel novels are tricky to pull off because most current ones come off as little more than gimmicks. There are exceptions: John Varley’s MAMMOTH, the Arthur C. Clarke/Stephen Baxter collaboration TIME’S EYE, and now THE PLOT TO SAVE SOCRATES. In it, author Paul Levinson wonders what would happen if the famed Greek philosopher was saved from his fatal hemlock cocktail by a female graduate student from 2042. She becomes involved with the whole shebang when a friend shows her a transcribed conversation suggesting as much, conveniently leading her to a time machine so she can do just that. I’m shortcutting things, but it doesn’t read so far-fetched as Levinson tells it. In fact, his speculative account has the added benefit of sounding plausible, if only because he eschews the usual flashy trappings in favor of a serious, smart plot. For a journey through time that’ll make you think as it thrills. It’s so accessible, even those generally put off by sci-fi should enjoy the trip. [...]