During a recent visit to my local BORDERS Book Store, I noticed a new paperback by an Author whose name I immediately recognized but whose work I haven't read much of. The book was MAMMOTH by John Varley and the cover was intriguing enough for me to wander over to the display to pick up a copy. Flipping it over to read the back cover blurb, I decided to give this one a go. And now that I'm done with it, I find that I'm much better off for that decision.

Mammoth – the very word brings wild imaginings to the minds of history lovers and science fiction buffs. What better entertainment than a tale of an ancient, oversized and hairy relative to the elephant on the rampage? I'm betting none.

Varley starts off the tale with multi-billionaire Howard Christian's obsession with cloning a Mammoth from the DNA found in frozen specimens uncovered across the globe. Unfortunately, all of his efforts have been unsuccessful but, one day, while a research crew is carefully removing an enormous Mammoth from its icy grave, a major discovery is unveiled: frozen there, mostly beneath the great beast's 12,000 year old girth, is the figure of an old man...and he's wearing a watch!

Enter Scientist Matt Wright and master elephant handler Susan Morgan who are enlisted to assist Christian in his quest to bring the ancient Mammoths back to the earth. But here is where things get weird and the tale turns into something more than just a frozen elephant story. No, dear reader, there is much more in store here for you – throw in a time machine that no one can figure out but, as we soon find out, works quite well. Throw in the ego-centric and self-centered Howard Christian himself and his Hollywood girlfriend who just happens to be openly opposed to the Mammoth Cloning project. And throw in a herd of frightened Mammoths suddenly appearing on a crowded Los Angeles thoroughfare on a Thursday night with an LA City Bus barreling straight toward them. Mix them all together and let the roller-coaster begin.

I greatly enjoyed this novel – Varley seemed to have fun with this plot, twisting it in places to secure the reader's interest. He even poked a bit of fun at his 1983 effort MILLENIUM at one point, which I found rather humorous. The ending is also something that takes a turn before concluding – just when I thought I had it all figured out...oh well, that's what keeps us turning the pages, right?

Go ahead and pick up a copy of this one, folks. It's a fairly short book and a fairly quick read – a good way to while away the time on a couple of lazy Summer afternoons. Nothing award winning here, no, but enough entertainment value to make it more than worth your while.