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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Bleaker than the first one (Snow Queen), this story reminded me of how Terry Goodkind flays one alive while reading. Vinge really brings one's emotions into play. Helpless anger over the Hegemony's utter arrogance in insisting on merhunts to obtain the water of life. Complete selfishness everywhere. The poor Summer Queen was misunderstood by just about everyone.
Unlike the first book this one does not rally around an Andersen fairy tale. Instead it tells a true story of humanity. One can recognize our own country as the Hegemony, forcing our way into a "backwards" country, taking control, killing off an indigenous species because its blood contains the key to immortality, and introducing technological "things" that snare the natives. And oh, the politics involved!
Unlike the first book this one does not rally around an Andersen fairy tale. Instead it tells a true story of humanity. One can recognize our own country as the Hegemony, forcing our way into a "backwards" country, taking control, killing off an indigenous species because its blood contains the key to immortality, and introducing technological "things" that snare the natives. And oh, the politics involved!
Great book & a continuation of the story begun in The Snow Queen. There's one in the middle, World's End, but I never liked it as much - I think I just didn't like the character it explores as much.
This is a character-driven book with not a lot of action. If you're looking for space adventure - look elsewhere. Having said that, the last third of this book is so suspenseful that I almost missed my stop because I was reading it on BART.
Lots of levels and lots of layers. Ms. Vinge really loves her story and her characters and obviously had a great deal of fun creating all the different worlds and political wheels upon wheels. It was fun to visit other worlds and see what else was out there in her universe, but I think I loved most of all the bits and pieces of the people of Tiamat roaming around their planet amidst the Hegemony's rubble.
Interesting, engrossing, and emotionally engaging - this whole series is great.
This is a character-driven book with not a lot of action. If you're looking for space adventure - look elsewhere. Having said that, the last third of this book is so suspenseful that I almost missed my stop because I was reading it on BART.
Lots of levels and lots of layers. Ms. Vinge really loves her story and her characters and obviously had a great deal of fun creating all the different worlds and political wheels upon wheels. It was fun to visit other worlds and see what else was out there in her universe, but I think I loved most of all the bits and pieces of the people of Tiamat roaming around their planet amidst the Hegemony's rubble.
Interesting, engrossing, and emotionally engaging - this whole series is great.
I really enjoyed this follow-up to the Snow Queen. I honestly felt the romance was far better and the anxiety was higher as well. You get a lot more of that sci-fi and politics woven in. The characters are incredibly flawed and aggravating which just makes the whole thing seem more relatable. Can't say too much because of spoilers but you get a lot of representation in this book which is good to see and if you liked Snow Queen I don't see how you would not like this. The book is incredibly long though and the text is the same font size as the Bible. If you could do a word count I swear it would be just as long as any of the Brandon Sanderson Stormlight books.
I have two tattoos from this book. One of my favorite books of all time.
Once you get over the size of this book (or in my case revel in it!), you'll find such a story!!
We pick up very literally where the Summer Queen ends and follow Moon and Sparks through her reign as the Summer queen, trying to teach tech fearing Summers that there is good in knowledge
while at the same time tame the Winters who are a bit sour at losing all the off-worlders and their gadgets and power, and still try raising her twins and keep her family together.
(Sparks, oh Sparks, you really are kinda useless, but because of what you did for the Mers, I will forgive you...this time...)
Really honestly I don't do it justice, it's an epic story and just drags you in and spins you around and tosses you out looking amazed and satisfied to boot!
A book recommended for Sci-fi/fantasy folk and anyone who you know what, just enjoys a dang good story they can really sink themselves into!
We pick up very literally where the Summer Queen ends and follow Moon and Sparks through her reign as the Summer queen, trying to teach tech fearing Summers that there is good in knowledge
while at the same time tame the Winters who are a bit sour at losing all the off-worlders and their gadgets and power, and still try raising her twins and keep her family together.
(Sparks, oh Sparks, you really are kinda useless, but because of what you did for the Mers, I will forgive you...this time...)
Really honestly I don't do it justice, it's an epic story and just drags you in and spins you around and tosses you out looking amazed and satisfied to boot!
A book recommended for Sci-fi/fantasy folk and anyone who you know what, just enjoys a dang good story they can really sink themselves into!
Book 2 or 3 of the series (depends how you count it. You do want to read 'Snow Queen' first.)
What I've always loved about this author are the occasional passages that are completely immersive. I'm there. I'm on another world, mending a net, the dock beneath me swaying and the sharp tang of sea air in my sinuses and blowing through my hair.
I don't know how she does it, but she does.
The sweep of Vinge's stories is also breath-taking. Multiple characters, worlds, goals, stakes. I was about 100 pages into this book when I did a quick calculation as to the word count (the novel is almost 1,000 pages) and realized it's a 400,000 word novel. Whoa. But it makes sense, because the author takes time to build out not just a world, but a hegemony of worlds.
If you are looking for a single protagonist pursuing a single goal, this book won't scratch your itch. But if you like being immersed into a wild galaxy of interconnected needs and opposing aims, written in a lush, immersive narrative, this might be what you are looking for. I love Joan Vinge. I love this series.
What I've always loved about this author are the occasional passages that are completely immersive. I'm there. I'm on another world, mending a net, the dock beneath me swaying and the sharp tang of sea air in my sinuses and blowing through my hair.
I don't know how she does it, but she does.
The sweep of Vinge's stories is also breath-taking. Multiple characters, worlds, goals, stakes. I was about 100 pages into this book when I did a quick calculation as to the word count (the novel is almost 1,000 pages) and realized it's a 400,000 word novel. Whoa. But it makes sense, because the author takes time to build out not just a world, but a hegemony of worlds.
If you are looking for a single protagonist pursuing a single goal, this book won't scratch your itch. But if you like being immersed into a wild galaxy of interconnected needs and opposing aims, written in a lush, immersive narrative, this might be what you are looking for. I love Joan Vinge. I love this series.
The Summer Queen is the kind of book I really enjoy reading. It begins in small parts of complex and original world, and slowly expands the readers understanding of that world until the final framework is laid clear.
This book is the final book in the so called “Snow Queen” sequence. I had read the Snow Queen many years ago, and I will now be looking for a copy of World’s End, the second in this series. Reading the first two books may or may not have increased the power of the final novel, as I quite enjoy working out was has gone before just from the asides in the story.
The first third of the book is somewhat stop-start as the author is trying to cover important events that occur over a span of years, but as the pace slows the quality of the story increases, and I found myself glued to the book for the final third enjoying myself immensely.
The book has strong characters, and is an excellent space opera in a similar tone to Walter Jon Williams at his best. Extremely good read…
This book is the final book in the so called “Snow Queen” sequence. I had read the Snow Queen many years ago, and I will now be looking for a copy of World’s End, the second in this series. Reading the first two books may or may not have increased the power of the final novel, as I quite enjoy working out was has gone before just from the asides in the story.
The first third of the book is somewhat stop-start as the author is trying to cover important events that occur over a span of years, but as the pace slows the quality of the story increases, and I found myself glued to the book for the final third enjoying myself immensely.
The book has strong characters, and is an excellent space opera in a similar tone to Walter Jon Williams at his best. Extremely good read…
Loved the first one, and I hope to return to this one later, but frankly, this one was just too much of a downer for me. After rooting for the characters so much in "The Snow Queen," it was so frustrating watching their lives unravel in this one; particularly Moon's.
Speculative fiction at its long-winded best: fractured reflections of universal themes. Some of the grandest conflicts are oversimplified (killing animals is bad), but most are densely nuanced (the dangers and the benefits of colonialism). The imagery is lovely.
Sex and sexuality are much more visible than in [b:The Snow Queen|139986|The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen Cycle, #1)|Joan D. Vinge|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1172113963s/139986.jpg|522872]. Sometimes this is successful; sometimes it's problematic, like the treatment of queerness; and sometimes it's "the flaming sword of his manhood," which, OH JOAN VINGE NO.
Sex and sexuality are much more visible than in [b:The Snow Queen|139986|The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen Cycle, #1)|Joan D. Vinge|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1172113963s/139986.jpg|522872]. Sometimes this is successful; sometimes it's problematic, like the treatment of queerness; and sometimes it's "the flaming sword of his manhood," which, OH JOAN VINGE NO.
Several millennia ago, an ancient empire had the most magnificent technology and inventors, including a gay couple who created a network that functions like the internet, except instead of computers, the ability to “compute” is given to those who can withstand a smartmatter virus. After the ancient empire collapsed, society rebuilt itself in a system of eight planets monitored by the Hegemony, and the people who compute still exist. It’s base of operations is the most tech-savvy planet left, which is high tech, but a mere shadow of the ancient empire.
The least “worthy” planet, called Tiamat, has antithetical clans called Summers and Winters who worship a sea goddess. Backwards, ignorant by Hegemony standards, this planet has one asset: sea creatures whose blood grants temporary immortality. For 150 years while a Winter Queen reigns, she encourages off-planet technology, decadence, and the sea creatures are hunted almost into extinction by people from the seven other planets who get there through a black hole.
Then, it’s summer, when those not native to Tiamat leave because the black hole will close and all travel will cease, and a Summer Queen reigns for 150 years while the sea creatures replenish their population. Summer queens encourage prayer, harmony, and fear technology.
Published in 1991, Joan D. Vinge’s third book in the Snow Queen Cycle, The Summer Queen, is riveting, unforgettable, and creative. While things have always followed the same pattern on Tiamat, change has been brewing. The same queen isn’t supposed to reign the full 150 years — they are human — but the last Winter Queen did because she was drinking the blood of the sea creatures. At the end of her reign, she was tossed into the sea to drown, as per tradition. The Summer Queen, a young woman named Moon, is also different. She knows the source of the computer-like network, and she also knows that the sea creatures are sentient beings. These facts mean she isn’t a mindless goddess worshipper. She works to save the creatures, encouraging the people of Tiamat to see the benefits of some technology in their efforts. This is one plot thread.
The biggest change to the planet is a side effect of love. BZ Gundhalinu, the man Moon saved in The Snow Queen and discovered the mystery of Fire Lake in World’s End, figures out how to travel to other planets when the black hole is closed. Tiamat is now open permanently, and the sea creatures are likely to be hunted to extinction — fast.
There are many other plot threads, including watching Moon’s twin children become young adults and how they become similar and different from their parents. Is a new crew of characters led by Reede, strangely one of the brightest scientists alive who knows more about smartmatter than anyone else, despite being about twenty and having a deadly drug dependency. And then there’s the everyday issues with ruling a planet, like listening to complaints and fighting off threats to Moon’s rule.
Joan D. Vinge writes a wonderfully immersive story, full of unforgettable characters (even though there are at least ten individuals who affect the plot like primary characters). Vinge crafts longing and romance and sex scenes in a way that moves the plot forward and adds depth to the world. The science fiction aspects are believable, though unrealistic currently, as most science fiction technologies are, but I was able to follow all of it. Depending on which planet the characters are on, the environment can feel shiny and modern or downright apocalyptic.
At almost 700 pages, The Summer Queen might be a hard sell, but I haven’t cared about a story so much in ages. It’s as if when I’m not reading the book, I’m missing out on an alternate reality that’s important. You may have read my complaints about how long it took me to finish The Summer Queen. I set daily reading goals for myself as a sort of “homework” assignment, and due to the small font and scrunched spacing, I missed my target goals every day, which set me back with other novels and reviews.
Had I more information about the book during my planning, this would not have been an issue. I recommend you get an e-book edition instead of the physical copy so you can adjust the font. Highly recommended, and I can’t wait to read the last book in the quartet, Tangled Up in Blue.
This review originally appeared at Grab the Lapels..
The least “worthy” planet, called Tiamat, has antithetical clans called Summers and Winters who worship a sea goddess. Backwards, ignorant by Hegemony standards, this planet has one asset: sea creatures whose blood grants temporary immortality. For 150 years while a Winter Queen reigns, she encourages off-planet technology, decadence, and the sea creatures are hunted almost into extinction by people from the seven other planets who get there through a black hole.
Then, it’s summer, when those not native to Tiamat leave because the black hole will close and all travel will cease, and a Summer Queen reigns for 150 years while the sea creatures replenish their population. Summer queens encourage prayer, harmony, and fear technology.
Published in 1991, Joan D. Vinge’s third book in the Snow Queen Cycle, The Summer Queen, is riveting, unforgettable, and creative. While things have always followed the same pattern on Tiamat, change has been brewing. The same queen isn’t supposed to reign the full 150 years — they are human — but the last Winter Queen did because she was drinking the blood of the sea creatures. At the end of her reign, she was tossed into the sea to drown, as per tradition. The Summer Queen, a young woman named Moon, is also different. She knows the source of the computer-like network, and she also knows that the sea creatures are sentient beings. These facts mean she isn’t a mindless goddess worshipper. She works to save the creatures, encouraging the people of Tiamat to see the benefits of some technology in their efforts. This is one plot thread.
The biggest change to the planet is a side effect of love. BZ Gundhalinu, the man Moon saved in The Snow Queen and discovered the mystery of Fire Lake in World’s End, figures out how to travel to other planets when the black hole is closed. Tiamat is now open permanently, and the sea creatures are likely to be hunted to extinction — fast.
There are many other plot threads, including watching Moon’s twin children become young adults and how they become similar and different from their parents. Is a new crew of characters led by Reede, strangely one of the brightest scientists alive who knows more about smartmatter than anyone else, despite being about twenty and having a deadly drug dependency. And then there’s the everyday issues with ruling a planet, like listening to complaints and fighting off threats to Moon’s rule.
Joan D. Vinge writes a wonderfully immersive story, full of unforgettable characters (even though there are at least ten individuals who affect the plot like primary characters). Vinge crafts longing and romance and sex scenes in a way that moves the plot forward and adds depth to the world. The science fiction aspects are believable, though unrealistic currently, as most science fiction technologies are, but I was able to follow all of it. Depending on which planet the characters are on, the environment can feel shiny and modern or downright apocalyptic.
At almost 700 pages, The Summer Queen might be a hard sell, but I haven’t cared about a story so much in ages. It’s as if when I’m not reading the book, I’m missing out on an alternate reality that’s important. You may have read my complaints about how long it took me to finish The Summer Queen. I set daily reading goals for myself as a sort of “homework” assignment, and due to the small font and scrunched spacing, I missed my target goals every day, which set me back with other novels and reviews.
Had I more information about the book during my planning, this would not have been an issue. I recommend you get an e-book edition instead of the physical copy so you can adjust the font. Highly recommended, and I can’t wait to read the last book in the quartet, Tangled Up in Blue.
This review originally appeared at Grab the Lapels..