The novel is based on an excellent novella, Death and Designation among the Asadi, a runner-up for the 1973 Hugo Award, narrowly beaten out by Gene Wolfe’s The Death of Doctor Island. It’s anthropological sf, a strange sort of sub-niche. The mc goes on a journey to an alien planet and lives among the inhabitants in an effort to understand them and identifies a little too closely with them (they are humanoid but definitely alien). The novel resolves some of the unanswered questions left by the novella, however the overall quality isn’t up to the same level-the novel was completed some time after the original story and some of the impetus may have been lost.I admit to having been completely captivated by the original novella, back when I first read it (in the 1974 Annual World’s Best SF, which was a superior volume with standout stories). The only story I liked better in the book was R.A. Lafferty’s Parthen, about which I’ll write someday, but not now. I just thought it was so extremely different from what I was used to, and sought out other Bishop work in hopes that it reached the same level or was written in the same style (it never did, either way). I like Bishop’s work okay. He’s done some very readable tales, is a competent wordsmith in all respects, but there was just something about that novella that was superior in my opinion.Because I went on a reading hiatus during the period when Transfigurations was published (1979, my first year in college), I didn’t even know it was out there. Otherwise I’d have read it long ago. Might’ve liked it better, though I doubt I’d have been as effusive in my praise as Theodore Sturgeon or John Clute. The second half of the book just really doesn’t work for me. It’s obvious that it was written later, and the style and sense of it are subtly different.Still, it’s a very good-to-excellent read, a tad dry if you’re not into science, by a not-quite-big-name sf author.
Although an interesting book with a fascinating conceit, I couldn’t help being distracted by the character of Elegy (appropriately named due to her involvements towards the end of the book) who, intentionally or not, comes across as a huge slut. Her sexual relationship with the narrator seems to come out of nowhere, and then she has sex with someone as well. That aside, this story which features some pretty obvious links with the Bible story concerning the Transfiguration of Jesus, manages to be entertaining and mysterious by leading us slowly into the world of the Asadi and only revealing their true nature towards the very end of the novel.
Do You like book Transfigurations (1980)?
I enjoyed the beginning, which was genuinely creepy. However, I found the characters became a bit silly and non-realistic as the book progressed and certainly weren't like any scientists I know. Some parts of the book are a bit dated, especially the scientific theories discussed and all this left-brain right-brain nonsense. I was also annoyed by the scientific impossibility of some parts of the book. It's ok to bend the scientific rules a bit in SF, but the impossibility of the photosynthesis explanation in the book was disappointing.
—JSS
Xenological science fiction, a sub-genre of SF that generally appeals to me. And the premise sounded interesting.An alien species (much like terrestrial apes) are discovered on a planet and appear to have degenerated into a barbaric state and exhibit bizarre and inscrutable behaviour. After an anthropologist attempts to live among them and bares witness to strange rituals he ends up abandoning the human camp and disappears among them forever. Years later his estranged daughter arrives determined to find him and along the way hopefully gain a greater understanding of these mysterious alien beings...The first part of the book is the missing anthropologist's last writings and recordings (that apparently was originally published as a short story) and the rest is the protagonist's story who is tasked with assisting the daughter in her efforts to find her father.It was an engaging read throughout but ultimately left me somewhat dissatisfied in the end. It certainly wasn't as mind blowing a conclusion that the introduction (by Pat Cardigan) led me to expect. Still, worth a read if the premise appeals.
—Simon
