Another emigré from the US, Liane Shavian's 'eco-warrior' first novel, Surfing Antarctica ..., roisters around the wilds of the west ... and Perth. Impudent and far from politically correct (despite its Greenie credentials), it's a breathless, irreverent romp treating serious issues with admirable anarchy. Easy perceptions and stereotypes are played with, and frequently subverted. Essentially a morality tale, it is swept along on an avalanche of wisecracks (some recycled), saucy sex, sassy cynicism and ambiguities. Shavian's raw-boned Aussie heroine is a riot, her raunchy self-doubts and grrl-ish ambitions undermined by a bias for truth-telling: the other characters are high camp anti-heroes with attitude. Stark fans will embrace this with gusto. (Murray Waldron's 'Other Voices' 26.6.1999).