PG- Snail's Pace (slight v,slight b)

Sanchez is an ebook writer who does not rely on romance to gain the reader's interest in her plots. Her characters are lively and interact with one another realistically. She does a good job of presenting the world according to the main character, then leaving hints for the reader that all may not be quite that simple. Sanchez has distinct promise, especially in terms of her imaginitive plots and character relationships.

Snail's Pace is a brief but interesting story about the clash between young Susannah's Victorian ideals and the truly alien culture she finds herself working in- aboard a spaceship. Though one's suspension of belief is stretched just a bit at the beginning as the young lady in question is hired as a Teacher for a spoiled young space brat, Susannah quickly steps onto her high Victorian horse and insults everyone around her, including the only other human because he happens to be Chinese instead of English. Through a comedy of errors with sinister undertones, Susannah becomes friends with some members of the crew and angers others, then makes one of her trademark fatal mistakes and ends up in deep trouble. The moral that unfolds is thus easy for young adults to understand, though perhaps we all could use the lesson. The various alien races are mostly based on animals, but they have uniquely funny personalities. Sanchez's strong imagination also shows through in the setting and in Susannah's reactions to the world around her, which are carefully related to her historical time period, rather than to modern sensibilities. In all, this was a nice bit of SciFi that should especially appeal to younger readers. A warning for nitpickers: there are some typos in the manuscript, so if you are extremely annoyed by such things, you may wish to avoid the story or to correct them on your copy.

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Last Updated: January 22, 2000

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