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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
A brilliant epic with a solid foundation in hard SF but the heart of an elaborate fantasy. There’s a cast of diverse and eccentric characters, and innovative use of concepts that later became more common than they were in 1981 when this was written. Expansive in scope, while intimately expressive in the individual stories that intertwine to form the larger pattern. Almost every character seems to strain against the role they’re fated to play, creating a feeling of tension that makes for an engrossing reading experience; on the other hand there’s also a grimness to these characters; a sense of dark resignation and a regret for past actions that revealed their darker instincts. The writing is polished and elegant, and the arc of the plot wraps up so neatly that I didn’t realize that there were sequels to come. I look forward to following up with at least The Summer Queen at some point.
Epic! Effortless synthesis of Fantasy and Sci-Fi, incredible world-building and an amazing showdown. And not to mention the spectacular cast of heroines!
4.5 stars. The sheer imagination involved in this story is absolutely amazing! I think I was about five minutes into it when I started frantically searching for the rest of the series. The fascinating thing about it is that the world itself seemed very much like a fantasy world but this is most definitely a sci-fi story. It's not subtle about the space travel and other planets and FTLT stuff. But it was this blend of sci-fi and fantasy that made the story a bit of genius. More than a bit.
I'm going to botch all of the names because I used the audiobook. I'm pretty comfortable with Moon and Sparks, but somebody please tell me how to spell Arianroad? And Inganott and whatever the hell BZ's last name was.
The story is about a young man and woman, Moon and Sparks, two Summers who are separated at the very beginning because Moon is taken to be a Sybil and Sparks is not chosen. This creates a very early rift between the two, despite being pledged to each other, that leads to a truly fascinating avalanche of hardships and frustrations on both sides. It was brilliant because it made it seem as though these two had very little control over their lives and this made them seem so much more real.
The Snow Queen, Arianroad, who is a Winter, is about to see the end of her 150 year reign and is frantically trying to figure out a way to extend it. She's sown clones of herself throughout the population of Summers, the population that the next Queen will be chosen from, so that she can be immortal. All she has to do is make sure that Moon, the only surviving and sane clone, is the next Summer Queen.
This is brilliantly imagined and utterly human. I want to turn around and listen again :)
I decided to tag this as fantasy as well as sci-fi because the world of Tiamat seems like a fantasy world within a sci-fi world. It's definitely sci-fi but I just have to respect this beautiful planet and people that Vinge has created.
As far as the audio goes, the narrator did a truly excellent job. She's got a serious knack for accents and worked very well because there were multiple cultures interacting here. My only real complaint is that it was difficult to tell when the character was thinking or talking. Otherwise, it was amazing and I'm very disappointed that the rest of the series isn't available.
I'm going to botch all of the names because I used the audiobook. I'm pretty comfortable with Moon and Sparks, but somebody please tell me how to spell Arianroad? And Inganott and whatever the hell BZ's last name was.
The story is about a young man and woman, Moon and Sparks, two Summers who are separated at the very beginning because Moon is taken to be a Sybil and Sparks is not chosen. This creates a very early rift between the two, despite being pledged to each other, that leads to a truly fascinating avalanche of hardships and frustrations on both sides. It was brilliant because it made it seem as though these two had very little control over their lives and this made them seem so much more real.
The Snow Queen, Arianroad, who is a Winter, is about to see the end of her 150 year reign and is frantically trying to figure out a way to extend it. She's sown clones of herself throughout the population of Summers, the population that the next Queen will be chosen from, so that she can be immortal. All she has to do is make sure that Moon, the only surviving and sane clone, is the next Summer Queen.
This is brilliantly imagined and utterly human. I want to turn around and listen again :)
I decided to tag this as fantasy as well as sci-fi because the world of Tiamat seems like a fantasy world within a sci-fi world. It's definitely sci-fi but I just have to respect this beautiful planet and people that Vinge has created.
As far as the audio goes, the narrator did a truly excellent job. She's got a serious knack for accents and worked very well because there were multiple cultures interacting here. My only real complaint is that it was difficult to tell when the character was thinking or talking. Otherwise, it was amazing and I'm very disappointed that the rest of the series isn't available.
It took a little while to get into the story, but after getting to know the characters and the world in which they lived, I was sufficiently interested in seeing their stories carry out. There was mystery, intrigue, romance and treachery, and I especially appreciated that strong, female characters dominated the action. At times I definitely felt scenes were unnecessarily long and complicated, and the story was a little rough around the edges (it didn’t help that my e-copy was riddled with formatting and spelling mistakes), but overall, a worthwhile read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dated and without a doubt overwritten (considering that the Summer Queen is half again as long, I'm not sure whether I will be continuing), but still enjoyable.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes