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Book Review By Dune
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

Meg Murry-O'Keefe, married to Calvin (no surprise) and expecting her first child, is home with the rest of the Murrys for Thanksgiving. Calvin is away in London giving a groundbreaking paper to a major conference, and so isn't present when Meg's father gets a disturbing call from the President of the United States.

Mad Dog Branzillo, the military dictator of a South American republic is doing more than sabre-rattling with his nuclear weapons, and the President is not hopeful about the prospects for avoiding all-out nuclear war. The world could well end within twenty-four hours unless this very unreasonable despot is made to see reason.

Calvin's mother unexpectedly provides the family with a clue, however. It seems that Branzillo may be a very distant relation of the family. Fifteen year old Charles Wallace pounces on this very small hope and, with the help of a unicorn named Gaudior, goes backward in time and experiences the joys and sorrows of the O'Keefe's ancient ancestors through their eyes.

The story of the extensive family that eventually produces the insane Branzillo is explored, and Charles Wallace tries to subtly alter the 'might have beens' in the hopes of bringing about a better present. Can he do it? He has the help of Gaudior, and Meg Murry provides moral support via kythe, but opposing Charles Wallace are the Echthroi, who would be quite happy to see the Earth vanish in a mass of mushroom clouds.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet has its foot in both the Time Quartet and the O'Keefe family series of novels, and not just because Meg is pregnant with Polyhymnia O'Keefe. On the Time Quartet side, it features Charles Wallace travelling back through time in order to save the world. On the O'Keefe family side, we are presented with a far more complex story about human interrelationships.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - sensitive (sigh....)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - part earth & part fantasy world
Time Travel: - largely backwards/past
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)
Time Travel story? Yes
Family relations Yes
Descript. of chases or violence - 20 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 50 %

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen
Really unusual traits?

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status:
Has magical powers? Yes
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Genius (really!)

Setting
Terrain
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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