Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
didnt know what i was getting myself in to. had completely different expectations for this book since ive read lots of KSRs books. but it was good and i started to feel for the characters.
An interesting story of a young man and his journey into adulthood in prehistoric times; specifically, near the end of the Neandertal period and the rise of the Cro-Magnon. The story is built on a fascinating base of prehistoric life and full of beautiful detail and scenes. The characters are interesting, with several standing out. I also enjoyed occasional forays into different viewpoints from an animal perspective (e.g. cat).
One of those rare books I couldn't finish. I should have stopped reading when he tried to mate with a deer. I HAD to stop reading when semen was described as "mushroomy spurt milk." This was not the look at the Ice Age that I was looking for...
There's an act of quasi-cannibalism (same genus, different species) and the body gets used as a sled. But even with that, it feels like this pre-agricultural tribe gets off easy. It seems like they're able to solve a lot of their intertribal problems diplomatically. It struck me as kind of outlandish. Too much Noble Savage, not enough nasty, brutish and short.
Still, the characters were interesting and if you accept that it's not speculative fiction (ie what would their lives actually be like?) and more a sort of reverse science fiction (Loon invents a better pair of snowshoes and innovates cave painting) then it can be kind of fun.
Still, the characters were interesting and if you accept that it's not speculative fiction (ie what would their lives actually be like?) and more a sort of reverse science fiction (Loon invents a better pair of snowshoes and innovates cave painting) then it can be kind of fun.
Torn between 3 and 4 stars. The world building (of 30,000 years ago) is incredible, and I was always taken by the protagonist, Loon. But at times it was a bit of a slog. Overall, though, I'm glad I read it.
Shaman starts off quite slowly, and continues on in a very “slice of life” sort of way. I was about halfway through when a friend asked me what it was about, and I had no idea how to answer. As I put it then, I felt that Robinson was establishing the characters and the setting, but the actual plot hadn’t begun yet. I suppose that’s true, there is a Big Thing that takes up much of the second half of the novel, but I think it would be more accurate to say that the plot is simply very subtle and very slow.
The tone was quite different from Auel’s Earth’s Children series. While Auel writes of all the developments in human societies (often thanks to Ayla’s many inventions), Shaman is more aware of how tenuous knowledge can be in pre-literate societies. One untimely death, one forgetful apprentice, and hard-won knowledge can be lost forever – or at least until it’s rediscovered.
The same is true of life. In Earth’s Children, the people lived happily off the land. There were occasional floods, earthquakes, or other disasters, but generally the people were well-fed and established. This is quite different from the view in Shaman where the seasons can be identified by how starved individuals look, and every spring comes with the possibility of death.
Where both agreed – and I quite liked this – was in how problems could be solved. A trouble-maker can’t just be gotten rid of, raiders can’t just be slaughtered. Rather, people have to find ways to work together, to get around their differences and appease hurt feelings.
I really enjoyed Shaman, and it’s clear that Robinson is a very strong writer. I can see why someone who needs Stuff to be happening might feel bored, but I found that my interest was held through the many lulls by my interest in the writing.
The tone was quite different from Auel’s Earth’s Children series. While Auel writes of all the developments in human societies (often thanks to Ayla’s many inventions), Shaman is more aware of how tenuous knowledge can be in pre-literate societies. One untimely death, one forgetful apprentice, and hard-won knowledge can be lost forever – or at least until it’s rediscovered.
The same is true of life. In Earth’s Children, the people lived happily off the land. There were occasional floods, earthquakes, or other disasters, but generally the people were well-fed and established. This is quite different from the view in Shaman where the seasons can be identified by how starved individuals look, and every spring comes with the possibility of death.
Where both agreed – and I quite liked this – was in how problems could be solved. A trouble-maker can’t just be gotten rid of, raiders can’t just be slaughtered. Rather, people have to find ways to work together, to get around their differences and appease hurt feelings.
I really enjoyed Shaman, and it’s clear that Robinson is a very strong writer. I can see why someone who needs Stuff to be happening might feel bored, but I found that my interest was held through the many lulls by my interest in the writing.
de fiecare dată când am citit Robinson mi s-a părut plictisitor, dar pentru că Șamanul nu e SF, ci realist cu o tușă de fantasy, am zis că poate e altfel. Și da, e altfel: e chiar muuuult mai plictisitor. Cum spunea deja alt cititor, e 10% poveste și 90% viața de zi cu zi în paleolitic. Ca să dau un exemplu, aprinderea unui foc ține 20 și ceva de pagini și nu conduce la ceva remarcabil. Doar la un foc...
Nu mi-a plăcut deloc, mi s-a părut infernală la ritm și uluitor de neinteresantă; nu o recomand deloc.
Nu mi-a plăcut deloc, mi s-a părut infernală la ritm și uluitor de neinteresantă; nu o recomand deloc.
Having made his mark in science fiction Robinson is now writing historical fiction. I have read Galileo's Dream before, which i really enjoyed, so was looking forward to this one.
This story is set in Palaeolithic times, when the glaciers set the northern boundary and is centred around a character called Loon, a 12 year old, learning to be a Shaman, and his small tribe of twenty of so people. At the very beginning he is set off on his 'wander' where he is released naked and has to rely on his training an intuition to survive for a number of days; part of the training of becoming a Shaman. He survives, and his training progresses.
At a meeting of tribes he meets with girl, who returns with him to his tribe where they marry. At the next gathering she is snatched back by her tribe and Loon follows. He is captured and is taken back to be used sa a slave. His mentor Thorn decides to try a rescue of Loon and Hega from the tribe.
Overall the story isn't too bad. It has reasonably well formed characters and moderate plot development. Robinson manages to convey really well just how tough it was for humans then, and just how close to starvation that they were on a regular basis. Where the book failed for me was the dialogue. Whilst humans have been capable of complex communication for thousands of years it seems like the dialogue was from the middle ages at times. Closer to 2.5 stars; and didn't take long to read.
This story is set in Palaeolithic times, when the glaciers set the northern boundary and is centred around a character called Loon, a 12 year old, learning to be a Shaman, and his small tribe of twenty of so people. At the very beginning he is set off on his 'wander' where he is released naked and has to rely on his training an intuition to survive for a number of days; part of the training of becoming a Shaman. He survives, and his training progresses.
At a meeting of tribes he meets with girl, who returns with him to his tribe where they marry. At the next gathering she is snatched back by her tribe and Loon follows. He is captured and is taken back to be used sa a slave. His mentor Thorn decides to try a rescue of Loon and Hega from the tribe.
Overall the story isn't too bad. It has reasonably well formed characters and moderate plot development. Robinson manages to convey really well just how tough it was for humans then, and just how close to starvation that they were on a regular basis. Where the book failed for me was the dialogue. Whilst humans have been capable of complex communication for thousands of years it seems like the dialogue was from the middle ages at times. Closer to 2.5 stars; and didn't take long to read.
The perfect camping book. Speaks to the reader interested in indigenous narratives. Amazing descriptions of nature. Although these people are from 35000 years ago, they are us.
Shaman is a very, very good novel about people. Loon is a young man who never wanted to be shaman, but is nonetheless apprenticed to the current shaman as he comes of age in Paleolithic times. While Loon is our main character, and generally the narrator, the tale is sometimes told by the Third Wind, a non-entity that is never really defined. The Third Wind tells a story within a story as you follow Loon over the years, from his Shaman's Wander to the gathering of people at the Eight Eight Festival, from marriage to kidnapping to rescue and eventual ascension to full Shaman. The Third Wind's role is never clear: is it a separate being, able to interact with the real world? Or is the story that
It's hard to describe why I liked this book so much. A great deal of it was the obvious references to the cave paintings in Lascaux, France. The paintings themselves have always been a humbling, awe-inspiring concept for me - like stepping back into time, sharing an experience with people across immense centuries. Reading Shaman felt a little bit like I imagine visiting the Lascaux caves would be like, if they were open to the public. It had just the right amount of mysticism without stepping over the line into magic.
It's hard to describe why I liked this book so much. A great deal of it was the obvious references to the cave paintings in Lascaux, France. The paintings themselves have always been a humbling, awe-inspiring concept for me - like stepping back into time, sharing an experience with people across immense centuries. Reading Shaman felt a little bit like I imagine visiting the Lascaux caves would be like, if they were open to the public. It had just the right amount of mysticism without stepping over the line into magic.