The Veils of Azlaroc
by Fred Saberhagen
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Ace (New York): 1978. Paperback: 216 pages. ISBN-10: 0-812553-24-1 ISBN-13: 978-0812553246 Suggested retail price: $1.95 (US) Tags: assassination; black holes; pulsars; Science Fiction; space Tactical strength: [5/10] |
In The Veils of Azlaroc, Saberhagen presents an interesting idea with a flimsy plot wrapped around it as an excuse for writing about his idea. Azlaroc, located near an anomalous binary star system comprised of a pulsar and a black hole, can sustain life as long as man brings his own oxygen and water. Every year (conveniently about 365 days long) a veil falls -- an odd space/time/energy phenomenon created by Azlaroc's unique astronomical situation. When a veil falls, the veil traps all objects and people on the surface of Azlaroc. The original settlers found this out quite by mistake. The veils encapsulate all the matter accumulated on the surface. People within 40 or so years of each other can still communicate, but beyond that, too many veils prohibit communication. This creates a situation where one can eat in a restaurant and several other people from different years may also eat at the same table and even in the same chair without disturbing each other.
No particular character functions as the protagonist; rather, a group of characters have minor adventures to illustrate Azlaroc's unique properties. One character, Ramachandra, believes he has found a way to escape Azlaroc, but he ends up surrounded by every veil formed since the beginning of the anomaly. Another character, an original settler learns from his studies of native coral that the next veil will fall early, and he tries to warn the people of year 431. Eventually he does send a message forward through a person sent to kill him. The murder subplot feels entirely contrived and out of place; Saberhagen introduces it in the middle of the book with no foreshadowing.
None of the characters experienced any change. The story had a lot of potential for a fun if Saberhagen had limited the action to a few interesting characters, but he introduces too many characters and too many ideas. In fact, he continues to introduce characters and ideas right up to the end, producing a fatal effect for a novel this short. In a longer novel, Saberhagen could have still presented Azlaroc's interesting phenomena, but put the environment in the background, rather than having the characters subservient to the development of a cool idea.
