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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This was truly excellent. The fact that it was published in the late 1970's blows my mind. This story centers around a heroine travelling post-apocalyptic earth as a healer who uses three snakes to make medicine and ease pain. The number of poly relationships, queer characters, treatment of queer relationships and desires as normal, and the concept of biocontrol where a man is shamed for not being able to control his fertility places this book far ahead of its time. That our heroine's most substantive relationship is with a girl she adopts and a man who is clearly supportive and in awe of our heroine, as well as being a POC is fantastic.
Any deficiencies or plot holes are more than made up for by its blatant feminism, inclusivity, and likable characters.
Any deficiencies or plot holes are more than made up for by its blatant feminism, inclusivity, and likable characters.
I realised recently that I’d only read the titular story, which is brilliant. So I dug the book out for a read.
It’s ok. The first chapter remains stunning. But the rest of the book is a bit dreamy and the world building doesn’t bite. Often you can feel McIntyre trying to retrofit in ways that don’t quite work.
The most radical aspect is the sexual politics and the clue to the solution that is tied to it, but it feels less radical than it once did, especially as a nuclear family is reconstructed at the end.
It’s ok. The first chapter remains stunning. But the rest of the book is a bit dreamy and the world building doesn’t bite. Often you can feel McIntyre trying to retrofit in ways that don’t quite work.
The most radical aspect is the sexual politics and the clue to the solution that is tied to it, but it feels less radical than it once did, especially as a nuclear family is reconstructed at the end.
A post-apocalyptic landscape, in which a healer woman and her three poisonous snakes wander the lands looking for people in need of her services. When her rare dreamsnake is killed, she must find the means to replace it and faces dangers and meets new friends along the way.
After reading the first three pages I nearly put this one down (I have a snake phobia and I didn't think I could manage an entire book in which they play such a big part and are described in such detail). I'm so glad that I decided to stick with it, because it's such an excellent read. The characters are wonderfully drawn, the world is interesting and imaginative, and the story compelling and smart. Highly recommended.
After reading the first three pages I nearly put this one down (I have a snake phobia and I didn't think I could manage an entire book in which they play such a big part and are described in such detail). I'm so glad that I decided to stick with it, because it's such an excellent read. The characters are wonderfully drawn, the world is interesting and imaginative, and the story compelling and smart. Highly recommended.
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
There's a distinct 80's vibe to the story. For the time, the story was well done but it's a bit simplistic now in plot & characterizations. Another story I would have loved as a kid.
Currently on Audible Plus
There's a distinct 80's vibe to the story. For the time, the story was well done but it's a bit simplistic now in plot & characterizations. Another story I would have loved as a kid.
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
There's a distinct 80's vibe to the story. For the time, the story was well done but it's a bit simplistic now in plot & characterizations. Another story I would have loved as a kid.
Currently on Audible Plus
There's a distinct 80's vibe to the story. For the time, the story was well done but it's a bit simplistic now in plot & characterizations. Another story I would have loved as a kid.
I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. A few months ago, io9 posted a link to the first chapter, which I devoured, and promptly discovered that none of my libraries (yes, I have four) actually HAD a copy I could take out.
So I bought the ebook as soon as I found it and finally got around to actually reading it.
McIntyre's grasp of animals, people, the relationships between them and healing is masterful, her characters come alive on the page and the world she has created makes me wish there were more. This book is everything I want in a science fiction novel - thoughtful, compelling, with excellent characters and a world that relies on the character's experience of it to convey both the familiarity and the alien-ness.
Also, McIntyre's prose is great; rather like Patricia McKillip, she's mastered the art of doing a lot with simplicity, though she never sacrifices clarify (which McKillip sometimes does).
What can I say, I loved this and will undoubtedly now meander off to hunt down some of her other work.
So I bought the ebook as soon as I found it and finally got around to actually reading it.
McIntyre's grasp of animals, people, the relationships between them and healing is masterful, her characters come alive on the page and the world she has created makes me wish there were more. This book is everything I want in a science fiction novel - thoughtful, compelling, with excellent characters and a world that relies on the character's experience of it to convey both the familiarity and the alien-ness.
Also, McIntyre's prose is great; rather like Patricia McKillip, she's mastered the art of doing a lot with simplicity, though she never sacrifices clarify (which McKillip sometimes does).
What can I say, I loved this and will undoubtedly now meander off to hunt down some of her other work.
3+
It was fairly well written but it wasn't ground breaking. I can see how it would have generated so much interest when it was written though. If there were another I would have read it.
It was fairly well written but it wasn't ground breaking. I can see how it would have generated so much interest when it was written though. If there were another I would have read it.
Absorbing story set in a well-realized world. The tale of one lone woman travelling through a harsh land and cultures differentiated by different levels & awareness of technology.
I really appreciated how little info-dump exposition there is in this book. Everything arises from characters interacting with one another, a seemingly off-hand description here and there with no particular fanfare. These seem like genuine thoughts and actions from people who LIVE in their world, with entire lives' knowledge of background info that came to the fore as situation arose, not artificially displayed for some hidden reader /listener.
The world itself, its harshness, the way people lived scrabbling to conserve and re-use every resource, is excellently realized, is thoroughly logically consistent and still beautiful.
I like how the story begins with basic tribe-level subsistence-level life, ignorant of vaccination & complex medicine, then opens up from thereon to hint at greater and greater events, enlarging the scope and complexity of this world. Even though the story remains centered on Snake and her immediate concerns, it is fascinating how knowledg changes one's perspective. If the world is a terrifying and mysterious place to one person who has no understanding of technology, shift the perception to another person who has greater understanding and the very nature of the world shift as well (and we as readers get to experience these shifts first-hand). This happens several times in the novel, and the interaction of characters each with these different levels of understanding is masterfully conveyed.
A story from a master storyteller, told with low-key poetry, and feels as relevant today as it did 40 years ago. Timeless. Highly recommended!
I really appreciated how little info-dump exposition there is in this book. Everything arises from characters interacting with one another, a seemingly off-hand description here and there with no particular fanfare. These seem like genuine thoughts and actions from people who LIVE in their world, with entire lives' knowledge of background info that came to the fore as situation arose, not artificially displayed for some hidden reader /listener.
The world itself, its harshness, the way people lived scrabbling to conserve and re-use every resource, is excellently realized, is thoroughly logically consistent and still beautiful.
I like how the story begins with basic tribe-level subsistence-level life, ignorant of vaccination & complex medicine, then opens up from thereon to hint at greater and greater events, enlarging the scope and complexity of this world. Even though the story remains centered on Snake and her immediate concerns, it is fascinating how knowledg changes one's perspective. If the world is a terrifying and mysterious place to one person who has no understanding of technology, shift the perception to another person who has greater understanding and the very nature of the world shift as well (and we as readers get to experience these shifts first-hand). This happens several times in the novel, and the interaction of characters each with these different levels of understanding is masterfully conveyed.
A story from a master storyteller, told with low-key poetry, and feels as relevant today as it did 40 years ago. Timeless. Highly recommended!
When a book is set in the far future and an apocalyptic even has created a clean break from the past, it's easier for a Sci-Fi book to age.
While it is indeed a products of it's time, there any glaring anachronisms.
We take a journey in a broken world with a broken past. While we are subjected to stereotypes the world as a whole is rich and interesting and the plot isn't simplified and doesn't offer simple solutions.
While it is indeed a products of it's time, there any glaring anachronisms.
We take a journey in a broken world with a broken past. While we are subjected to stereotypes the world as a whole is rich and interesting and the plot isn't simplified and doesn't offer simple solutions.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes