The Golden Globe (1998)

I keep reading Varley because I liked his earlier work so much. This one is my least favorite thus far. I'd have liked Valentine a lot better if his tone (and penchant for quoting theater and film) weren't exactly Hildy's in Steel Beach--put a paragraph of each side by side and you probably won't be able to differentiate between them. The editing seemed poor--to make one small but important point, "prop" guns that fire would clearly have been forbidden on Luna in Steel Beach, but elicit no outcry in this volume. In some ways, the very end of the book recycles the end of Steel Beach. I assume Varley's next will be Heinleiners in Space. ( )

By sitting on the couch I think he meant to signal he was still with me in spirit, but by taking the distant ground he was letting me know that, if she gets violent again, Sparky, you're on your own. Toby was an artist, not a pugilist. If I'd wanted a bodyguard, I'd have bought a Rottweiler.

Considering how much I liked the other novels and short stories in the EightWorlds series, I was surprised to find that I wasn't enjoying the last book in the series very much. Although the story did drag a bit at times, the main reason is because I just didn't like the main characters, Sparky Valentine and (in the flashbacks) his father John B. Valentine. Ex-child star Sparky is a card-sharp, a con-man and a thief as well as a stage magician, Punch and Judy man and actor, and spends most of the story on the run, with his faithful and intelligent bichon frise Toby. ( )

This is my favourite science fiction book by my favourite science fiction author. Set in the same universe as Steel Beach (a modified version of Varley’s “Eight Worlds” universe), The Golden Globe features one of the most memorable narrators in science fiction: Kenneth “Sparky” Valentine, a washed-up child television star who now wanders the Solar System as an itinerant thespian, not to mention conman, thief and general miscreant. Sparky’s wisecracking narratorial voice is easily the most amusing and readable of any I’ve ever come across. He regularly goes off on tangents and anecdotes, often in the employ of worldbuilding, which never fail to entertain and fit in seamlessly with the narrative; something that was often beyond Steel Beach’s Hildy Johnson.

While Steel Beach focused on Luna, Sparky’s story takes him from the ramshackle boondock orbitals beyond Pluto, across the system to Luna; a Grand Tour of Varley’s world, and one with a much tighter plot than the loose, rambling story of Steel Beach. Sparky is bound for Luna to play his dream role of King Lear in an upcoming stage production; in pursuit is a near unkillable member of the Charonese Mafia, pursuing him for one of his many crimes. This is nothing new for Sparky, who has spent his adult life on the run for a much more serious crime – which the blurb gives away, so don’t read it.

Like Steel Beach, The Golden Globe retains a certain cartoony, satirical aspect reminiscent of Terry Pratchett; it feels somehow less mature and serious than other science fiction novels, or indeed than Varley’s early novels. It is, however, much more readable, and I feel that this tone is a deliberate result of the specific zeitgeist of the Eight Worlds: namely, they don’t have one. Their culture is entirely derived from Earth, and they are overcome with obsession about the vibrant history of the world they lost: an artificial ocean on Pluto that recreates famous historical scenes from the Pacific, movie studios on Luna modelled after the famous studios of Hollywood’s golden era, Shakespearian productions, fashions and styles taken from centuries past… while the Invaders are barely referenced in these two books, it’s clear that humanity is still mourning for Earth, and that sooner or later a second confrontation will occur.

I dearly hope this happens in Irontown Blues, the as yet unwritten book which Varley has said will feature a police detective and round out the “Metals Trilogy.” This is the book I long for more than any other. Until then, however, The Golden Globe is the most enjoyable and readable science fiction romp I’ve ever read, and Sparky Valentine one of the greatest characters. ( )

The distance between successful actor and successful con artist is small indeed, and The Golden Globe has a lot of fun exploring the line that separates the two. The main character, Sparky Valentine, is that guy, and Varley has him pulling rabbits out of his hat the whole story long. He's out among the outer planets running from killers, pulling cons, acting in whatever manner he can figure out, loving his dog, and spending time with the lovely ladies he meets along the way.

This book has the strong characterization of most first-person novels, though he slips into an interesting third-person perspective when doing flashbacks, and occasionally breaks the fourth wall when it makes sense. It's got Varley's gizmos and dreams of future tech (including a fascinating sub-dermal face changing thing --- great for actors). Ultimately, a book of this kind lives or dies based on how well the main character appeals to the reader; in this case, I thought he was great. I really liked this book. ( )

The sequel to Steel Beach. The Golden Globe is good, but not nearly as good as its amazing precursor. ( )