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stephenmeansme's review
4.0
This story reminded me a lot of THE BIRTHGRAVE, in that we follow the wild road of a powerful female protagonist, with much commentary on sexual politics. The observations were in some ways much more cutting in THE BIRTHGRAVE, but LEVIATHAN'S DEEP has the tighter story and no deus (or dea) ex machina.
One thing I wasn't sure about is why/how the Delyene women seem so irresistibly erotic to the human men - though that's very likely Carr's point, and the perspective discontinuity is intentionally sharp and artificially heightened - and how Kimassu of the Deylene was able (through a glass darkly) to grok some principles of "Terrene magics" but the star-faring Terrans were fucking up ET contact this badly.
Props for the ending, too - Kimassu is much changed by her adventure among Terrans, but not completely remade into something utterly un-Delyene.
One thing I wasn't sure about is why/how the Delyene women seem so irresistibly erotic to the human men - though that's very likely Carr's point, and the perspective discontinuity is intentionally sharp and artificially heightened - and how Kimassu of the Deylene was able (through a glass darkly) to grok some principles of "Terrene magics" but the star-faring Terrans were fucking up ET contact this badly.
Props for the ending, too - Kimassu is much changed by her adventure among Terrans, but not completely remade into something utterly un-Delyene.
matdredalia's review
4.0
First of all, let me say that this is not my normal reading material. I don't read very much "older" Sci-Fi, as it usually feels cheesy and dated. While Leviathan's Deep did feel dated to some degree, it didn't take away from the book at all.
I actually picked the book up just to have something to keep me occupied for a moment, and expected not to read more than a few pages. But a few pages was all it took to suck me in. It had a very unique story and I greatly enjoyed it.
It is NOT a very happy story, and there is a lot of sorrow to be had. There are things I would have written differently, but that's why it's not my book!
Overall, it's an excellent story that explores themes such as the driving force behind patriarchy, the necessity of rules and regulations throughout a society, the innate sense of superiority that the human race possesses, and even what the flaws of a society ruled by females might be.
Overall, it was an excellent story and was greatly enjoyable. I'm not sure if this book will be easy to find for most, since it seems to be a fairly old (and not every well known) novel, but if you enjoy fantasy/sci-fi at all, and/or enjoy stories involving studies of human nature, as well as matriarchy vs. patriarchy, I highly recommend it.
I actually picked the book up just to have something to keep me occupied for a moment, and expected not to read more than a few pages. But a few pages was all it took to suck me in. It had a very unique story and I greatly enjoyed it.
It is NOT a very happy story, and there is a lot of sorrow to be had. There are things I would have written differently, but that's why it's not my book!
Overall, it's an excellent story that explores themes such as the driving force behind patriarchy, the necessity of rules and regulations throughout a society, the innate sense of superiority that the human race possesses, and even what the flaws of a society ruled by females might be.
Overall, it was an excellent story and was greatly enjoyable. I'm not sure if this book will be easy to find for most, since it seems to be a fairly old (and not every well known) novel, but if you enjoy fantasy/sci-fi at all, and/or enjoy stories involving studies of human nature, as well as matriarchy vs. patriarchy, I highly recommend it.
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