Baen Books -- hc (book club edition)New York -- ©1990 -- 278pp
no ISBN - book club edition
An alternate history story, featuring Edgar Allen Poe ... possibly explaining why he was so tormented (he was living in the wrong dimension, having been switched with Edgar Allen Perry). Perry takes up the story, trying to right the dimensional discrepencies with the help of Annie, the powerful woman who created the rift though was duped into doing so by men seeking the secrets of alchemy.
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I admit that I struggled some with this book at the beginning, but I believe that this is because Zelazny tends to start a story right in the middle, forcing the reader to catch up to him.
I am not at all familiar with Fred Saberhagen, so I'm not sure what his influences are with this book.
Once I was caught up with the story, this was the type of read that is difficult to put down. I always wanted to read 'just one more chapter.'
Although the book managed to hold my interest through to the end, the last quarter or so seemed to get bogged down. I actually wondered if perhaps the authors traded off chapters and each wanted to add his own mark to the tale, although they both lacked necessity in telling the tale.
Some chapters spanned a few minutes ... the action being 'real time' and some chapters took place over several months. The inconsistency was always jarring.
I liked it well enough... reading Zelazny is like luscious, literary fruit ...but it failed to tell the story cohesively for me.
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