LemmiSchmoeker reviewed The Prisoner of Zhamanak by Lyon Sprague de Camp (Krishna, #5)
Really quite a fun read, but many issues make it hard to like the book
3 stars
Though Lyon Sprague de Camp was clearly fascinated by the diversity of peoples around the world, he was certainly not a racist. His vocabulary was not modern, and might sometimes appear offensive to today's tastes, but he always had an affection for all his characters that makes it easy (or at least possible) to forgive any inappropriate word choices.
However, the same is unfortunately not true concerning his view of women. While he tries to treat the female main character fairly, he has undeniable problems with the idea of "modern" women. Alicia Dyckman has zero regard for other people's lives (especially if they are alien) and demands somebody be killed more than once. She is a detached scientist without any sexual drive (but really just hasn't met the right man yet) and with a confused concept of men who should sometimes be more masculine and sometimes less. Of course, this …
Though Lyon Sprague de Camp was clearly fascinated by the diversity of peoples around the world, he was certainly not a racist. His vocabulary was not modern, and might sometimes appear offensive to today's tastes, but he always had an affection for all his characters that makes it easy (or at least possible) to forgive any inappropriate word choices.
However, the same is unfortunately not true concerning his view of women. While he tries to treat the female main character fairly, he has undeniable problems with the idea of "modern" women. Alicia Dyckman has zero regard for other people's lives (especially if they are alien) and demands somebody be killed more than once. She is a detached scientist without any sexual drive (but really just hasn't met the right man yet) and with a confused concept of men who should sometimes be more masculine and sometimes less. Of course, this is how de Camp sees feminists, because what else could go on in their pretty little heads.
His male main character, Percy Mjipa, must therefore be a hero in every regard, be it as a fighter, a diplomat or a philosopher, and strong in his sexual identity. While I seem to remember that de Camp had previously displayed a largely approving stance towards homosexuality, this time he has Mjipa say about it: "the idea revolts me".
The story itself is rather typical fare: a journey with lots of detours and interruptions. It's really quite a fun read, but depending on your personal views, the mentioned issues could be a smaller or a larger obstacle, all the way up to making it hard to like the book at all.