Giving a buzz

Press, 31 August 1985, Page 20

Giving a buzz

The Furies. By Keith Roberts. Penguin, 1985. 220 pp. $7.95 (paperback). “The Furies” was first published in 1966 and is now appearing in Penguin form nearly 20 years on. It is a wellwritten, straight down the middle of the road, what-will-happen-after-the-holocaust, sci-fi adventure. America and Russia crack the earth’s crust by simultaneous atomic tests. The result is not just world-wide earthquakes, but also a sort of retribution by an invasion of giant wasps which are directed by an alien intelligence. They enslave most of what remains of the human race, except for a few pockets of vastly sane, remarkably skilled, and satisfyingly intrepid guerillas on the Dorset-Somerset borders. There are weaknesses and inconsistencies in this rather commonplace plot and the characters are no better and no worse, no more nor less credible, than one might expect. But it is a fast, escapist read and is plausible enough to ensure that one will look a little more closely than usual at anything that is buzzing too loudly next Summer. To put it into its proper sci-fi context, “The Furies” could have been written by John Wyndham, on a slightly off day. ■ Ken Strongman.