These have the potential to do to the planet and their civilization what science fiction stories do for Earth: introduce radical change. This is a fantasy story, but because of the level of development at which the author’s world resides there are opportunities for technological discovery and innovation. With form and sparseness Shaw again draws more with less. Differences from our own world, both small and large, are introduced early on, fostering an awareness of possibility. The story occurs on a different planet, perhaps even within a different universe. These small accentuations suggested a fullness to the characters that other books fail to achieve with more words and effort. The characters were drawn well enough to serve their roles in the tale, but then each was given a single, or perhaps a few, moments in which to vividly bring out their inner selves. Rarely embellished, mostly utilitarian, it also seldom provided anything unnecessarily, focusing rather on the basics: relating the emotion, encountering the unknown, instilling the excitement. There was something sparsely effective about the writing. “Clean” as in free from extraneous matter. Shaw’s tactic was to promise very little and overdeliver. The distance between one’s ambitions and one’s actual achievements with the story can very easily turn into a measure of success, so there is risk in aiming too high. Not every story needs grand ambitions in order to be enjoyable.
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