- Paperback: 231 pages
- Publisher: Edge; 1 edition (Nov 27 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0888783140
- ISBN-13: 978-0888783141
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 11 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,892,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The idea behind Sean Stewart's first novel, Passion Play--a future America ruled by fundamentalist religious groups--has long intrigued science fiction writers including Robert A. Heinlein, Margaret Atwood, and more recently, Lyda Morehouse (in Archangel Protocol). In Passion Play, religious laws and politics are the backdrop for what is essentially a hard-boiled detective novel.
Diane Fletcher has several things going against her. Her profession--she's a hunter, an investigator for hire--makes her an outcast, and she's also an independent woman in a society where the words "independent" and "woman" are an oxymoron. On top of that, she's a Shaper, an empath who can feel and experience the emotions of others, another talent not valued by mainstream society. When on successive days Diane is hired to track down Rutger White, who murdered in the name of God, and to investigate the death of actor Jonathan Mask, her life and work become caught up in events she may not be able to control. Diane cannot help judging the criminals she hunts, and in the end she cannot help judging herself, a conflict that gives Passion Play its emotional power. Stewart is not on a crusade here, and the religious characters are mostly sympathetic. Instead, the novel offers a fine, intense murder drama set against a society that is not afraid to make judgments and a character who finally must face up to her own need to do the same. --Greg L. Johnson
From Publishers Weekly
This tale of a futuristic sleuth who pursues criminals and her own inner demons succeeds both as science fiction and as a mystery. Although pretentious prose studs the first few pages (e.g., "Scattered across the asphalt like murderer's footprints, puddles of water turn bloody with sunset"), it vanishes when Stewart settles in to show us freelance detective Diane Fletcher using her ability as a "shaper" (someone who can read and experience the emotions of others) to help policeman Rolly French investigate the death of Jonathan Mask. An actor, Mask was electrocuted while filming a television show. Since he was the darling of the fundamentalist Christian, anti-technology, anti-intellectual "Reds" who run Redemption Era America, French hopes that the actor's death was accidental; but Fletcher's interview of cast and crew reveals strange patterns under "the murk of events." Even as Fletcher doggedly explores the relationships between Mask and his coworkers, she becomes increasingly disturbed about the morality of her own life and work. This memorable character contributes significantly to Stewart's fast-paced yet thoughtful debut.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite writing and an excellent read, April 10 2001
By S. Katz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Passion Play (Paperback)
When I first picked up Sean Stewart, a few years ago, it was because they happened to have autographed copies of two of his books -- notably Passion Play and Nobody's Son -- on the shelf after a signing. I believe he still lived in the area then. I skimmed the covers, thought they sounded interesting, and bought them.I was in no way disappointed, and I've bought all of his books since.
This is an exquisite book. Stewart has a way with a turn of phrase that always makes me want to read more; he handles sentences delicately, and the emotions that his characters feel infuse the lines. His writing style may not be for everyone, but I enjouy good writing that paints images with words, and his does that for me.
He also writes female voices very well. I was impressed with how well he took on the persona of a woman; she spoke convincingly, had convincing trials and tribulations, and problems that anyone could relate to -- or at least anyone who has ever had that feeling of disconnect from themselves, exacerbated by her profession.
Stewart writes books where magic is integral, and part and parcel to the story; it is not thrown in as an afterthought but is ingrained and the world would not be the same without it. Very original, and very worth reading for the possible promises and futures it ordains.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Passion Play - best I've read in years, Jan 25 1998
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Passion Play (Paperback)
Gets a nine for the annoying, unhappy ending.
Seriously, this is a great book. While on the surface it's a book about a murder, it really engages on other levels. One of the central themes is biblical vs. civil justice, and whether murder is ever right.. Not that this is a religious book. Far from it, thankfully. Faust is another theme that is explored, but it's really just a great book. Stewart has a gift for concise, powerful description.
The main character is unique. Dianne Fletcher is a shaper - a sort of empath discovered by a psychiatrist about 20 years before the novel begins. Shapers can 'read' emotions. Dianne Fletcher comes up with an analogy for how a person acts. For example, a very religious man she 'sees' as a wick, burning brightly in a white wax candle. (Stewart puts it better than I do.) She's a Hunter, basically a private detective, but they're licensed by the government, and work more closely with the police. Basically, they get all the difficult cases that the police can't handle because they're busy arresting people for adultery and other stuff. The world is really well thought out, and isn't that far from the technology level of the present day 1990s, so If you don't like far out SF, don't worry. This is just a nicely detailed backdrop for the story.
Anyway, the book is really, really good. Every time I read it it never lasts long enough. And I'm always mad at the way the ending turns out. But the ending is consistent with the world the book takes place in.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising and excellent, and over too soon, Nov 25 2009
By Tactitles - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Passion Play (Paperback)
Diane Fletcher is a Shaper, which is a sort of empath. She is a private investigator, known as a Hunter, for her dogged determination to pursue criminals. It is an ability that has come naturally for her most of her life, and she has lived with the ultimate certainty of the rightness of her cause. But criminals who have been publicly executed, after being apprehended by her, have begun to haunt her conscience. No longer living with moral certainty, she has begun to question her beliefs and her being. She is not wholly convinced that her Shaper ability has not dulled her humanity, after years of being overwhelmed by others' true feelings and nature. The truth has seemed to shake her view of mankind, which has opened other questions Fletcher is not comfortable asking. Amidst all of this, she is pulled into an apparent suicide of a beloved actor (known as a Communicator). It quickly becomes a possible murder investigation. The investigion leads to a riveting conclusion, which is so well told that the impact is deep, and effective. Those two words aptly describe the book as a whole. It is a deceptively simple story - a murder mystery, with a science fiction backdrop. But there is layer upon layer of other themes wrapped around it. Characters are expertly drawn, moral and ethical issues are explored, and Diane Fletcher is unforgettable. Simply a diamond of a book, waiting to be discovered by the masses.
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