RISSA KERGUELEN by F. M. Busby

Berkley Medallion, 1976

In a distopian Earth, Rissa Kerguelen loses her parents and is sent into 'total welfare,' the virtual enslavement of the majority of the earth's population. By winning the lottery she buys her way out, but will she be able to stay away from the corporate government which now dominates Earth? Escape from Earth is only the first step.

RISSA KERGUELEN's world is compelling and powerful. Bran Tregard, Rissa's love/hate interest, and the corporate establishments that pursue their own interests, sometimes in keeping with and sometimes in opposition to the Earth corporation, make a convincing world.

Near light-speed travel allows Rissa and the non-Earth characters to take what F. M. Busby calls THE LONG VIEW (sometimes sold as a separate novel). They can count on outlasting their enemies if they can only survive. Of course their enemies are institutions that endure and have a nasty tendency to co-opt even Rissa and Bran's friends.

Although the writing is sometimes clunky, Busby's world building more than compensates for this. Total Welfare and 'escape' are completely developed and intriguing.

Four Stars

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