Wizard

A sequel to Titan (1979), in which Varley invented Gaea - an enormous sentient artifact orbiting Saturn while serving as whimsical demigoddess to the several races of creatures whom she has amused herself by creating within her remarkable topoggraphy. Cirocco Jones and Gaby Plauget, members of the first Terran crew to investigate the huge wheel-shaped structure, have now spent 75 years as (respectively) Wizard and Chief Engineer of Gaea - Cirocco overseeing the welfare of the inhabitants, Gaby in charge of roads, way-stations, and the built-in Gaean machinery. Gaea herself, more captious than ever, has taken to encouraging human pilgrims to seek miracle cures and has cooked up an elaborate practical joke involving Cirocco and the future of the lovely centaurian race known as the Titanides. So Cirocco (by now a sodden alcoholic) and Gaby decide to map the possibilities for revolt among the subsidiary Gaean nerve-centers by accompanying two new pilgrims on a miracle-cure quest. And the results, though catastrophic for Cirocco and Gaby, do leave epileptic Robin (member of a militant lesbian "coven") and periodically deranged Chris with a better sense of themselves and their afflictions. An even better book than Titan, with a snappy but unforced pace and at least five strong characterizations (the four humans plus Valiha, the Titanide who loves Chris) - welcome work from an unusually sane sf writer who is also one of the few men in the genre who can create convincing women. (Kirkus Reviews)