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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Dreamsnake is set on a post-apocalyptic earth, possibly post-nuclear war. Vonda McIntyre doesn’t explain everything that happened to reach this point or even completely explain all of the things we encounter in the story. We are following from the characters’ perspective and they don’t know or understand all these things either.
The story follows a healer, Snake, who uses snakes and their venom as part of the healing process. She travels to different towns and villages and offers her services. At the start of the story, through a misunderstanding, villagers kill one of her snakes, the special and very rare ‘dreamsnake’. Snake sets out to try and redeem herself for the loss of this key element of her profession.
The story covers a lot of ground as Snake meets various people on her journey and often changes their lives through her actions. There are also a few elements of mystery. Snake realizes she is being followed and doesn’t know the intentions of the person. The dreamsnakes themselves are also a mystery, even to the healers who use them, and resolving this central mystery becomes key to Snake’s efforts to find the redemption she seeks.
I liked the main character a lot as well as the role of the snakes since it was grounded in actual snake biology but extended in a fascinating way. I definitely recommend this book.
The story follows a healer, Snake, who uses snakes and their venom as part of the healing process. She travels to different towns and villages and offers her services. At the start of the story, through a misunderstanding, villagers kill one of her snakes, the special and very rare ‘dreamsnake’. Snake sets out to try and redeem herself for the loss of this key element of her profession.
The story covers a lot of ground as Snake meets various people on her journey and often changes their lives through her actions. There are also a few elements of mystery. Snake realizes she is being followed and doesn’t know the intentions of the person. The dreamsnakes themselves are also a mystery, even to the healers who use them, and resolving this central mystery becomes key to Snake’s efforts to find the redemption she seeks.
I liked the main character a lot as well as the role of the snakes since it was grounded in actual snake biology but extended in a fascinating way. I definitely recommend this book.
When I think of science fiction, I think of worlds beyond ours. This book is indeed science fiction, but it is set here on Earth after an apocalyptic nuclear war. Snake is a healer. Communities contract with her to visit rural settlements and, by using poisonous snakes she keeps in her bag, heal those with diseases and cancers. Townspeople consequently both love and fear her because of her use of the snakes. In one community, she must heal a boy with a tumor. She uses a combination of poison snakes for the venom and another snake she calls a dreamsnake, which is a kind of antiseptic to help those being healed sleep. But members of the community fear the dreamsnake placed so close to the boy, and they kill it. Without the dreamsnake, Snake can’t heal others. She must go on a quest to the city to find a replacement snake.
The world building in this is intriguing, and you can’t help but love the healer who adopts a badly scarred child and saves her from an abusive relationship. Before Snake can find her dreamsnake, her life will be imperiled, and the author crafts those scenes well enough that you will feel the utter hopelessness of it all—except that you’ll be wrong. But read it and find out.
The world building in this is intriguing, and you can’t help but love the healer who adopts a badly scarred child and saves her from an abusive relationship. Before Snake can find her dreamsnake, her life will be imperiled, and the author crafts those scenes well enough that you will feel the utter hopelessness of it all—except that you’ll be wrong. But read it and find out.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault
Very interesting world, lots of loving detail, strong-willed characters. The plot moves a bit erratically at times and, frankly, the really climactic/interesting stuff all happens in the last 50 pages or so. But it's a solid old school bit of sci-fi. I want to find the short story that it grew from; I have a feeling I might love that more.
Also kinda digging the hilarity of everyone's reaction to the one character who appears to be the only straight, monogamous dude on the planet. Also I have a weird sense of humor and loved the interlude with Mr Too Pretty That I Must Hide Myself Also Tragic Back Story. Because I kept hearing Edward Cullen's voice in my head when he opened his mouth and that... Well, my sense of humor is weird, I said.
Also kinda digging the hilarity of everyone's reaction to the one character who appears to be the only straight, monogamous dude on the planet. Also I have a weird sense of humor and loved the interlude with Mr Too Pretty That I Must Hide Myself Also Tragic Back Story. Because I kept hearing Edward Cullen's voice in my head when he opened his mouth and that... Well, my sense of humor is weird, I said.
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
There are some fairly progressive ideas floating around in this book, which is refreshing given its age. However, the narrative is painfully dull. The first two thirds of Dreamsnake is just a series of encounters between ‘Snake’, the healer-protagonist, and the different tribes and communities she bumps into along the way. The author relies on some tired tropes in an effort to forcibly evoke sympathy and pity on the part of the reader, including references to an adolescent’s exposure to sexual violence. Most of the characters are flat as pancakes, and nearly every outcome is easily anticipated. The sexualisation of the main protagonist and those she comes across feels like something out of Mills and Boon if all explicit references were removed. Oh, and McIntyre perhaps takes the whole progressive thing a bit too far by normalising sexual relations (and pregnancy) between a 12 year-old and 15 year-old. In truth, though, these issues are minor in the context of an incredibly dull story that lacks any sense of urgency or threat. It is readily apparent that it was adapted from the author’s earlier short story. Nothing much happens and there’s nothing much to care about.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Catching up on past Nebula winners. A strong main character and narrator, the healer Snake loses her dream snake and after multiple adventures gains a daughter, a lover and the secret of the dream snakes. An enjoyable and quick read.
I really like the characters and the setting and the writing style, and I wish I could keep reading, but the medical stuff is too much for me. An additional content warning about that: there's a graphic description of severe radiation poisoning.
The writing style reminds me of The Curse of Chalion, so if you liked that you might also like this (or vice versa).
The writing style reminds me of The Curse of Chalion, so if you liked that you might also like this (or vice versa).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Excrement, War