There isn't much to say about this brief, forgettable novella. Uncharted Territory is about two explorers, Findriddy and Carson, who are surveying a new planet, accompanied by their grasping indigenous guide, Bult. Along the way they are joined by an admiring junior explorer, Evelyn (male), who is obsessed with Findriddy and Carson, though he is less interested in the flirtatious C.J.

The story displays all of Willis's trademarks: there is a whole lot of aimless, frustrating, and chaotic hustling and bustling, there is enigmatic action and dialogue whose significance (if you can call it that) only gradually becomes apparent during the course of the narrative, there's a whole lot of research (on animal mating behavior), and there is something like romance--as you discover only about a quarter of the way through the novella (via a throwaway comment, not via some Crying Game-like revelation), Findriddy is female.

And yet, nothing works. The story is meandering, pointless, and dull. The second highest point of the novella occurs when Carson discovers a waterfall. And the absolute highest point of the novella occurs when it ends--and you purge it from your memory.

Copyright © 2003 Steven Wu