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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
A third of the way in and I don't care about the characters or the plot. The writing isn't enough to keep me going. I like the topic, but I had Jean Auel's series for that. Sorry, I wanted to love it, but I couldn't get into it.
A low 4. Fascinating, but typically light on plot. The opening section about Loon's wander was gripping, then all tension faded for a while.
My reaction is alternating between "How could our ancient ancestors have been this smart about things, it's unbelievable" and "Of course they had to be smart to survive in such a world, it's their main advantage."
My reaction is alternating between "How could our ancient ancestors have been this smart about things, it's unbelievable" and "Of course they had to be smart to survive in such a world, it's their main advantage."
I finally read Kim Stanley Robinson's novel Shaman, which first came out in 2013. Even though Robinson is one of my favorite authors, I was a little dubious about it. Prehistorical fiction is not my genre of choice.
I'm glad this book eventually floated to the top of my to read pile. Robinson's ability to imbue spirit and life into setting is on display here like nothing I've read since his Mars trilogy. Whenever I set the book down, my mind would wander from ice age Europe to the Sierras and I'd find myself wanting to be there, on a trail in the mountains, as close as I could get to the world inhabited by his protagonist Loon.
The plot of this coming of age story gave me an excuse to turn the pages, but it was the portrayal of the characters, how they lived and thrived, that captivated me. Robinson's treatment of characters is often a little detached. In Shaman, that detachment made the characters feel real in ways that in a more intimate portrayal would have fallen false. I cared about the characters and what happened to them because I was convinced of their independence and reality.
There is an extended scene in the book in which Loon paints horses on a cave wall. After I finished the novel, I found this review that focuses on the research Robinson did, and which refers to the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in France. The spirit that enlivens this picture also animates the novel.
I'm glad this book eventually floated to the top of my to read pile. Robinson's ability to imbue spirit and life into setting is on display here like nothing I've read since his Mars trilogy. Whenever I set the book down, my mind would wander from ice age Europe to the Sierras and I'd find myself wanting to be there, on a trail in the mountains, as close as I could get to the world inhabited by his protagonist Loon.
The plot of this coming of age story gave me an excuse to turn the pages, but it was the portrayal of the characters, how they lived and thrived, that captivated me. Robinson's treatment of characters is often a little detached. In Shaman, that detachment made the characters feel real in ways that in a more intimate portrayal would have fallen false. I cared about the characters and what happened to them because I was convinced of their independence and reality.
There is an extended scene in the book in which Loon paints horses on a cave wall. After I finished the novel, I found this review that focuses on the research Robinson did, and which refers to the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in France. The spirit that enlivens this picture also animates the novel.
Initially the.summary didn't grab me, but after seeing the author at a local signing & hearing him talk about how he was inspired by the frozen man discovered wearing the highest technology hiking materials of his time, and the Chauvet cave art featured in that Werner Herzog documentary, I decided to give the audiobook a try. I highly recommend reading it that way - it feels almost like you're listening to a long story told by the shaman to his tribe.
The world presented here feels utterly convincing as a portrait of how prehistoric life might have been, what people would have spent their time doing and thinking about, and how well they knew the world around them. The story follows an apprentice shaman as he matures - it's a bit slow-paced at times, but there are plenty of exciting sections and I felt completely absorbed throughout.
The world presented here feels utterly convincing as a portrait of how prehistoric life might have been, what people would have spent their time doing and thinking about, and how well they knew the world around them. The story follows an apprentice shaman as he matures - it's a bit slow-paced at times, but there are plenty of exciting sections and I felt completely absorbed throughout.
I don't think this is a great book, but I enjoyed reading it and for whatever reason found it really comforting/exciting. Reminded me of my favorite bits of Alan Moore's The Voice of the Fire, as well as Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt. Stories of low-tech/Stone Age survival put my own struggles in perspective, and remind me of my childhood enjoyment of My Side of the Mountain etc.
Decent. Reminded me a lot of Clan of the Cave Bear. I haven't checked reviews, but I'm sure a lot of people have said much the same.
After having read this book, I feel like I understand in a deeper way what prehistoric human life was like. I'm not even sure I would call the book good. But it is amazing what Robinson accomplished after putting so many constraints on himself. Were the analogies vivid and amazing? No. But he restrained himself to metaphors that people in the time of his writing could have gotten their heads around. I'm positive that if I tried to explain anything at all in prehistoric terms, I would make anachronistic mistakes on top of each other. You can tell that he was limiting his own vocabulary intensely since words themselves can be out-of-place metaphors. I think of Robinson as a science fiction author. There was definitely science involved here, but it was archaeology and anthropology. And... it feels very believable.
I am extremely happy that I stuck with this book as it dramatically improved. The first two sections are slow, and I was tired of the references to bodily fluids after a few pages. Thankfully, when things actually start happening in the late second section/early third section, the book is amazing.