6. Uncharted Territory

by Connie Willis (149 pgs)

Rating: 4

Findriddy and Carson are a couple pioneer type surveyors on planet Boohte. Their job is to chart the surface of the new planet without corrupting the native sentients and doing the least damage to the environment. What this means is that their native guide spends a good part of his time fining them for imagined transgressions and using the profits to buy dictionaries and umbrellas.

Uncharted Territory was an amusing read although a tad predictable. The characters were a blast. Aside from the fact that I missed that Findriddy was meant to be female until a good ways in, the characters were distinct and believable. This book had me chortling.

Structurally, it's set up like a log where chapters are given names by expedition date. While there's nothing wrong with this, it didn't really do anything for the book either.

I'd recommend this to sci fi fans and anyone who likes the movie 'Support Your Local Sheriff'