Tangled Up in Blue [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The Snow Queen is my all-time favorite science fiction novel. Magical and mysterious, it is an enchanting story with a host of complex characters from an author who excels at world building. But now that she's established her empire, Vinge seems like she's resting on her laurels.

Tangled Up in Blue smacks of a novel that she dashed together in the blink of an eye. Even the established characters are half-formed, and only LaisTree has more than two dimensions. While I like the idea of a police procedural with a science fiction setting, it is a hard thing to accomplish and Vinge doesn't quite pull it off. I also don't agree that this is a standalone novel. While I think Vinge meant it to be so, she frequently refers to things (like the Golden Mean) that aren't fully explained here. And while the book contains a happy ending of sorts, you have to suffer through a series of scenes where the guns change hands faster than the speed of light.

In the end, Vinge's latest work rings as hollow as the city of Carbuncle in all its dayglo splendor.

I expected to be disappointed in the prequel to the "Dune" series, because its creation was understaken by two men who were not the series' originator. For Ms. Vinge to produce a work so lacking in artistry is a tremendous and inexplicable disappointment.

It fast becomes clear that far more is going on here than your garden-variety smuggling. The complications faced by the officers in blue are soon folding one on top the other, all of it tangled up in the machinations of the Snow Queen and the intrigues of enigmatic offworlders.

Tangled Up In Blue is a stand-alone novel, so you don't have to know the other Tiamat books to enjoy this one. New readers may find it a bit hard at first to follow the world-building, but it comes together fast. The story pulled me in and kept me reading all night. It also made me want to read The Snow Queen again.

However, comparing Tangled Up In Blue to the The Snow Queen is like comparing a sapphire to a diamond. Both are gems, but different. The Snow Queen is a sweeping adventure in the tradition of The Heritage of Hastur, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg. Blue retains the emphasis on character and world-building of those books, but with less of the planetary sweep and more focus on the events unfolding in Carbuncle. It also has an edgier feel, bringing forward the action and mystery aspects of the plot.

This book combines a sensibility of today's science fiction with the best of the qualities that brought many of us to the genre. Vinge's work takes the sense of wonder that defines the top science fiction and blends it with a depth of world-building. At the same time, she has a gift for characterization. She can catch the bittersweet quality of human interaction and make a reader care about the people she creates. Subtly worked into the weave of her stories, those threads offer thoughtful insights into human nature.

If there was anything I wanted to see more of in Tangled Up In Blue, it was, well -- more. The story is complete, but the novel is on the short side. It leaves some tantalizing loose ends, encouraging the reader to hope that more of Vinge's rich Tiamat stories are yet to come.

Tangled Up In Blue has it all: a fast-paced plot that won't let go until its thrilling climax, clever ideas drawn from science, romantic interludes, a great cover by Michael Whelan, and a plot with more twists and turns than the exotic alleys of Carbuncle. Vinge has written another winner.