Chains of the Sea

by Gordon Eklund, Gardner Dozois, George Alec Effinger

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000DCNMSW
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Dell
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

3 tales of traumatic changes for the world

This 3-novella anthology was first published in 1973. Effinger, George Alec: "And Us, Too, I Guess", while written for this anthology, also appears in Effinger's collection IRRATIONAL NUMBERS. The viewpoint alternates between the 1st person narrative of Dr. Davis, a scientist, and the 3rd person narrative of Paul Moran, a factory worker. Davis seeks to rebuild his career yet again after the latest of a series of catastrophes. In his own mind, at least, he's not responsible for any of the troubles that have befallen him - and in his secret heart, he admits that he enjoys disaster, if he can sit back and watch. Moran, on the other hand, would claim only one disaster - his unhappy marriage - but might be honest enough to admit his own contribution to the problem. They seem to be a study in contrasts, save for the two points they have in common: dissatisfaction with their lots in life, and a passion for raising mollies (a breed of tropical fish). On the morning the story opens, both Davis and Moran find that all their pets have died in the night, with no visible cause of death. Upon seeking replacements, the hobbyists learn gradually that *all* mollies everywhere appear to have died that same night. Then a few days later, another species - an obscure fungus - is found extinct, and an ominous pattern of tragedy begins to unfold. Dozois, Gardner R.: "Chains of the Sea", which also appears in Dozois' collection THE VISIBLE MAN, is an SF story of the day aliens "invaded" Earth, and the story of a kid who retains the ability to see "the Other People" long after his friends have forgotten them. (They share the Earth, but in ways that most humans can't perceive, and that even the AIs who *really* run human civilization aren't really aware of - at first.) The story alternates between 3rd-person views of the aliens' arrival, and of Tommy's problems. The alien landings thread is mostly to do with the AIs' handling of the issue. They've never bothered to inform their "owners" that they communicate almost instantaneously when they wish, with no regard to their "owners'" political disagreements. Tommy's thread ties up with this because the Other People, like the AIs and human governments, are preoccupied with the aliens' arrival. The title is a metaphor from a story-within-the-story, made up by Tommy during his after-school games. Tommy himself is caught between his abusive father, the uncaring school system, and the mysterious activities of the Other People. "He knew now why Steve had said the dragon couldn't get away. It lived in the sea, so it couldn't get away by going up onto the land - that was impossible. It had to stay in the sea, it was restricted by that, it was chained by the sea..." Alone of the trio, "Chains of the Sea" suffers from sub par copyediting, in the form of occasional spelling mistakes, and botched grammar during a flashback. Otherwise, it's an excellent story, my favourite of the three. For instance, the media near one of the landi