The Golden Globe
| Author | John Varley |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Eight Worlds |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Berkley Books |
|
Publication date
|
1998 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 528 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 38527945 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| Preceded by | Steel Beach, (1993) |
| Followed by | Irontown Blues |
The Golden Globe is a Locus nominated novel by John Varley, a science fiction writer who has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards multiple times.The Golden Globe is set in the same continuity as Steel Beach, taking place about 10 years later, and was published in 1998.
The Golden Globe and Steel Beach take place in a universe similar to, but different from, Varley’s "Eight Worlds" universe; in both universes, the solar system has been colonized by human refugees fleeing aliens (known simply as "the Invaders") invading the Earth. Earth and Jupiter are off-limits to humanity, but Earth's moon (known as Luna) and the other planets and moons of the solar system have all become heavily populated. There are also minor colonies set in the Oort cloud beyond the solar system itself. The Golden Globe story is told initially from a first person perspective, but a substantial portion of the book comes in the form of extended flashbacks.
The Golden Globe in question is Luna, Earth's moon and the most heavily inhabited world in the solar system since the Invaders obliterated human civilization on Earth.
The novel begins as a first person account of Valentine's adventures in the outer worlds of the solar system as he attempts to make his way to Luna in order to play King Lear in an upcoming production. Valentine is a consummate actor and a skilled con man. It is by exercising the latter skill that he runs afoul of the Charonese Mafia, personified by the cold-blooded and nigh-unkillable assassin Isambard Comfort.
The story is punctuated by several extended flashback sequences in which we learn that Valentine's father, a supremely egotistical and domineering stage actor, has groomed his son almost from birth to follow in his footsteps. It is Valentine, Sr.'s megalomania and obsession with the stage that sets the tone for much of the flashback material.
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