Ivory

Oddly likable yam that turns out much better than you'd expect, given the absurdity of the premise: thousands of years from now, and hundreds of light-years away, the last of the Masai tribesmen searches for the largest pair of elephant tusks ever known. Why? Well, narrator and computer-whiz Duncan Rojas is approached by the mysterious Bukoba Mandaka to locate the tusks; Duncan's computer searches out various tall tales concerning the long and improbable history of the tusks (involving hunters, gamblers, pirates, aliens, and so forth). After many yarns and thousands of elapsed years, Duncan learns that a Masai originally killed the elephant and robbed him of the tusks. Following which dreadful deed, the Masai's luck ran out; the tribe dwindled until, now, Mandaka is the last. So, to atone for his ancestor's trespass and soothe the elephant's unquiet spirit, Mandaka must return the tusks to Africa and perform a ritual suicide over them. Not as foolish as it sounds in summary - some of the stories aren't too bad - and some patient work at character development helps. (Kirkus Reviews)