http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-of-second-trip-by-robert.html ( )

A very strange, yet interesting read. There is a bit of sex in this story, but it's not gratuitous. It's used to tell the story of a rapist caught in a world where such crimes are punished by having one's memories wiped, and a new personality implanted for the criminal to serve out the rest of his days. As such, the criminal becomes a rehabilitated model citizen. But what happens if the old personality shows up again? Well, that's the scenario Silverberg draws for us.More interestingly, this book uses some very interesting writing techniques. It's written in the 3rd person, but the narration can, at times, go into the first person as a way of bringing the reader closer into the conscious of the two main characters, both fighting for control of the single body they must share. I found Silverberg's wordsmithing here to be of great interest. Writers looking to better understand narration would be well rewarded to study this book, even if the story turns out to be less than appealing. ( )