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by Connie Willis
Professional debunker Rob, proprietor of the Jaundiced Eye magazine, considers himself incredibly lucky to have Kildy as his sole employee.
Smart, dedicated, gorgeous, and, thanks to her last movie before she hung up on Hollywood, rich, she's a pleasure to oblige when she says Rob has to witness this channeler Ariaura's act--on her, not the Eye's, nickel--despite channelers being so last year. It's quite a show, all right, for in the midst of Ariaura's particular ancient wise guy's basso spiel, a gravelly baritone interrupts (both voices emanate from the channeler's female mouth) to berate the audience as "yaps" and the act as "claptrap." Why is Ariaura undermining herself? Or is she? After all, she angrily accuses Rob and Kildy of scheming to destroy her. Could the baritone belong to a genuine channeled spirit? Willis, one of sf's most spirited writers, rounds on the New Age; pays tribute to a great, skeptical journalist; and affectionately parodies pulp fiction at its best in this irresistible entertainment.
Hugo Awards, 2006
"[C]harming...While not as tightly woven as one of Willis's typical short stories nor as layered as her novels (Passage, etc.), this novella is still highly enjoyable, somewhat educational and will leave readers happy at the end." —Publishers Weekly
"Willis spins an absorbing tale that explores the world of debunkers and their quarry while paying a delightful homage to literary curmudgeon and brilliant essayist H.L. Mencken. A consummate storyteller whose novels (e.g., To Say Nothing of the Dog) combine serious themes with sparkling comic relief, Willis grows even better in her short fiction, bringing to this novella both richness and integrity. Highly recommended." —Library Journal
This information about Inside Job was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis has won, among other accolades, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards for her writing, and was recently named an SFWA Grand Master. She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado.
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