Conscience of the Beagle

Library Journal

Sent from earth to the planet Tennyson to investigate a series of terrorist attacks, Major Dyle Holloway instead finds traces of a conspiracy pointing to the heart of the planetary government. Anthony ( Cold Allies , LJ 12/92) transforms a minitechno-thriller into a sensitive exploration of human motivation. Her bare-bones style and feel for nuance make her a writer worth watching. Suitable for most sf collections.

Carl Hays

After 150 years as a tranquil, staunchly religious colony of Earth, the planet Tennyson is rocked by a series of deadly terrorist bombings, among the victims of which are several people who are later identified as revolutionaries. Called in especially from the Home Forces on Earth because of his stalwart reputation, Maj. Dyle Holloway leads a crack team of detectives that includes the mind of a dead investigative genius downloaded into the body of an android, a shaky demolitions expert, and a police officer who may be a spy from headquarters. As Holloway wrestles with his own paranoia and nightmarish flashbacks to the only case he never solved--the murder of his wife--the evidence begins to indicate that the culprit behind the bombings is a high-level member of Tennyson's own government--in fact, the man who hired the investigators. Combining quick, deft characterization with sharp, suspenseful first-person narration (Holloway's), Anthony's third and shortest novel is easily her best.