Preternatural 3 by Margaret Wander Bonanno

From the Publisher

First, it was telepathic jellyfish. Then, it was a bit of time travel that altered history. Or did it? But now . . .

We're way beyond jellyfish this time, baby.

In the third Preternatural novel, our human friend Karen and the alien known as Govannon learn once again that time ain't what it's cracked up to be.

Govannon's people, a.k.a., TQ, have always had the knack of transmigrating from There to Here. Or is it Here to There? But then a timeline hiccuped, stranding the entire species between dimensions, out of time. In short, neither Here nor There.

Meanwhile, one of Govannon's human avatars seems to be in two places at once. Or is he actually two different people? Unless they solve this conundrum, Govannon may never find his species or his way back home. He'll have to settle for a human life and spend the rest of that life trying not to change anything. And we all know how difficult that can be. Besides, if he goes human on her, Karen's will lose him, because he'll either be married or dead, and she can't decide which would be worse. So here we go again.

Along the way, Karen and Govannon intervene in a kidnapping, tangle with a group of neo-Nazis, and encounter a woman who may be the illegitimate daughter of the Nazi mastermind Joseph Goebbels. They're even involved in the search for a missing billion-dollar Russian art treasure. All of which bears a striking resemblance to a spy novel that Karen once wrote but couldn't sell.

Except this time her fiction turns out to be fact. Again. Or is it the other way around?

With her usual stylistic flare, Bonanno takes the reader on another roller-coaster ride through the Möbius stripof time, in what is meant to be her swan song in "professional" publishing before she vanishes into a dimension all her own.

Be seeing you . . .

Publishers Weekly

Good things usually come in threes but, alas, not here. In the concluding volume of Bonanno's critically acclaimed Preternatural series, self-pity has largely displaced the wit that distinguished the first two books (Preternatural; Preternatural Too: Gyre). In the novel's opening pages, Karen Rohmer Guerreri, the time-traveling "midlist writer," happily experiences life in the form of a mud puppy, thanks to her alien lover, Govannon (time traveler and Third Thing-TQ). Then, with apologies to the "Gentle Reader," the "Narrator" interrupts the story and launches into a diatribe on the unfairness of the publishing industry to authors, segueing awkwardly into remarks on the slippery plot lines unveiled in the first two books (i.e., the S.oteri, who don't do the time-travel thing, and the TQ, who can). While clever and light in the previous books, these asides now sound whiny and intrude on a plot that's murky enough as it is, involving time-line hiccups and the dubious wisdom of falling in love with time-traveling aliens. Govannon must solve the conundrum of one of his human avatars appearing in two places at once. If he gets stuck in human form, Karen could lose him forever. Mix in the well-written subplot novel, The Amber Room, which Karen wrote and can't sell, and you have one mixed kettle of fish, or mud puppies. (Oct. 2) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Midlist author Karen Guerreri's previous encounters with a pair of alien species have introduced her to the concept of travel in time and space. When Govannon, an alien capable of taking human form, becomes trapped with the rest of his species in a place between dimensions, Karen must find a solution to his dilemma or condemn him to a solitary existence as his race's sole survivor. The author of Preternatural and Preternatural Too creates an intriguing supernatural mystery featuring a protagonist whose incisive observations on life and literary pursuits add a humorously ironic dimension to a tale that belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Third in the-trilogy? maybe-featuring SF writer Karen Rohmer Guerreri, who, at first, imagined she was being contacted by telepathic jellyfish called S.oteri, only to find that it was true (Preternatural, 1996) and then dreamed up another alien race who could travel through tunnels in space and time (Preternatural Too: Gyre, 2000). This time, Karen's heavily involved with an alien named Govannon, whom she met during a previous adventure in the time of Julius Caesar. Through shortcuts in space-time called Gats, Govannon and his ilk can share the lives and memories of other species. But Govannon, unfortunately, has become stranded on Earth, sharing several lives simultaneously; worse, the rest of his race seems to have vanished. Karen can visit his home planet, Relic, but Govannon can't fully materialize there. So, in the Museum, a building that remembers the history of Govannon's race, Karen must invent the story of Govannon and his travels in the hope that she'll set everything to rights and allow Govannon to rediscover himself. One part of the story focuses on Anna Bower, an art historian who may or may not be the illegitimate daughter of infamous Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels, and thus becomes the target of kidnap attempts by various neo-Nazi groups; meanwhile . . . . Multiple stories, multiple times, multiple lives, not to mention an omniscient author and her acerbic asides (re publishers and editors, not merely biting the hand that feeds her, but gnawing off entire arms), knowing commentaries, self-references, and SF/fantasy criticism. An existential tour-de-force by any standard.

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