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scheu's review against another edition
3.0
Three-and-a-half stars, really, but I can't do four. The core ideas of the book (first contact) were enthralling, but the story itself was weak. (as opposed to the storytelling of the aliens, which I enjoyed).
Also, the edition I read has the worst cover ever. Embarrassingly bad.
Also, the edition I read has the worst cover ever. Embarrassingly bad.
aralakh's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
micahhortonhallett's review
3.0
It was... okay? Like I read it to the end but I have no really strong feelings about it either way. The writing was competent, the world building also- although the parallel evolution thing was pushed to its limits. The final chapter was nice though... Right. To sum up. Mildly interesting anthropological SF that dares to ask the question: Can humanity not be dicks to everyone they meet? I mean even if they try REALLY hard?
catallena's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
mfmatter's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great first-alien contact story with a lot of big ideas in it. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds but the last third was even better and I loved the final chapter pushing my rating to 5 stars.
snivets's review against another edition
4.0
An ethnographic masterwork
Remember how Seveneves was rad hard SF up until suddenly humans overtook the plot a bit and it became soap opera-y if not a wannabe movie and you craved a return to ideas and a less obvious structure? Remember the feminist legacy of Ursula K. LeGuin and how her interest in Native cultures would reshape science fiction forever? Remember how when you sit down with a book about alien words you crave a complete, systemic worldview of what's only being hinted at? Remember in your anthropology class, the joy of learning that things could be another way? And then you add the impossible to that, a capturing of not only the depth of existing societies but the tumultuous moments of massive societal shifts?
And do you remember the dream that the pacing of a book could be the perfect journey, rather than feeling like choppy 3-act structures attempted to be disguised oh so many ways?
Read this book. It's incredible.
Remember how Seveneves was rad hard SF up until suddenly humans overtook the plot a bit and it became soap opera-y if not a wannabe movie and you craved a return to ideas and a less obvious structure? Remember the feminist legacy of Ursula K. LeGuin and how her interest in Native cultures would reshape science fiction forever? Remember how when you sit down with a book about alien words you crave a complete, systemic worldview of what's only being hinted at? Remember in your anthropology class, the joy of learning that things could be another way? And then you add the impossible to that, a capturing of not only the depth of existing societies but the tumultuous moments of massive societal shifts?
And do you remember the dream that the pacing of a book could be the perfect journey, rather than feeling like choppy 3-act structures attempted to be disguised oh so many ways?
Read this book. It's incredible.
stellajo's review against another edition
4.0
While investigating a section of the planet, human scientist Lixia befriends Nia, an outcast living at the edge of a settlement. Nia's outsider status allows a friendship between the two women to form. And they set off on a richly described journey of exploration with Nia acting as guide. Meanwhile, political tensions erupt within the crew of Lixia's spaceship. Some desire contact with the planet's alien population with an eye to the planet's mineral resources, some propose strict non-intervention.
Terrific world building including mythological and medical detail, a range of well defined personalities, and much discussion of political ideas make this book a pleasure to read. The novel was written thirty years ago and contains echos of the cold war, but it also hilariously predicts of social media, with tweet-like quips used to demonstrate the collapse of Earth's society.
Definitely recommended.
Terrific world building including mythological and medical detail, a range of well defined personalities, and much discussion of political ideas make this book a pleasure to read. The novel was written thirty years ago and contains echos of the cold war, but it also hilariously predicts of social media, with tweet-like quips used to demonstrate the collapse of Earth's society.
Definitely recommended.
jeannedes's review against another edition
4.0
Unlike almost all Sci-Fi books I have ever read, A Woman of the Iron People reads more like an anthropological study. Well-written, it raises many questions about the nature of being human which fits current ethnography research probably better than it did in 1991. Do yourself a favor and let Arnason introduce you to a thought-provoking SF without the prejudice of flesh-eating aliens.
kaa's review
3.0
There are some very interesting things here, as far as the human-meets-alien thing, exploration of a new world, and the debate on the pros and cons of getting involved with an alien species. I even appreciated the straight-forward narration style.
However, I was never able to enjoy the book as much as I might have, primarily because it feels so strongly rooted in some very dated politics - in particular, what I would describe as second-wave white eco-feminism. For one, I find any book with a place called "Ecotopia" impossible to take seriously. There's also a fair amount of racial stereotyping and what feels like appropriation of Native American culture and experience (and why tf are people who appear to be survivors of the current U.S. population being called aboriginals?), as well as a view of gender and sexuality that may be trying to be imaginative but still feels stuck in a some very binary assumptions. Add in an obsession with Marxism to the exclusion of any other model of communism or political thinking...
However, I was never able to enjoy the book as much as I might have, primarily because it feels so strongly rooted in some very dated politics - in particular, what I would describe as second-wave white eco-feminism. For one, I find any book with a place called "Ecotopia" impossible to take seriously. There's also a fair amount of racial stereotyping and what feels like appropriation of Native American culture and experience (and why tf are people who appear to be survivors of the current U.S. population being called aboriginals?), as well as a view of gender and sexuality that may be trying to be imaginative but still feels stuck in a some very binary assumptions. Add in an obsession with Marxism to the exclusion of any other model of communism or political thinking...