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meghan111 's review for:

Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson
4.0

As this book opens, 12-year-old Loon is being sent out naked in the middle of a heavy rain storm to survive on his own in the Ice Age wilderness for a few weeks - this is part of his small tribe's adulthood ritual and also part of Loon's shaman training. Following Loon as he becomes an adult and a shaman, this book imagines humans in the Paleolithic climate with great detail and realism. It's hard to place this into a genre - "prehistoric fiction" might be closest, but it's also a survival story and might appeal to fans of post-apocalyptic speculative fiction. I found it a weird mix of riveting and slow. And, bonus: unlike my decades-old memories of the [b:Clan of the Cave Bear|1295|The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, #1)|Jean M. Auel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385331302s/1295.jpg|1584694], there are no rape scenes.

The story is also smart and goes deep into what it means to live in a culture without writing, with only oral tradition, as well as going far into psychedelic drugs and cave painting.