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A review by hoppy500
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
5.0
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Vonda N. McIntyre wrote books with well-developed female characters at a time when they were relatively uncommon in science fiction literature. I think you would be hard-pressed to find another novel from the 1970s which features a stronger female lead role. And Snake is no cliched Amazon warrior woman. In fact, she is quite the opposite, since she eschews violence whenever possible on principle. Rather, Snake is a healer, and is described with all the nuances and contradictions that a complete human being should have.
The worldbuilding in this post-apocalyptic story is superb, which is surprising if you consider how little we are told about it by the author. There are no tedious information dumps masquerading as conversations, and everything about the history and state of the world is achieved through well-timed hints and oblique references. The landscape of the semi-desert environment is described in sumptuous detail, but this is seamlessly merged into the lyrical and fast-paced narrative so that the reader absorbs the atmosphere effortlessly. The author evidently devoted considerable effort to developing the emotional identities of her principal characters, since the novel possesses a strongly introspective element which adds a satisfying dimension of depth and meaning.
Since Snake is a practitioner of medicine in a world which has in many ways returned to primitive conditions, and probably due to the need for sufficiently powerful and convincing scenarios to drive the plot forward, some of the descriptions of medical conditions and procedures may be disconcerting to more squeamish readers. Also, this may not be the ideal book for people who suffer from herpetophobia, unless they are actively seeking to overcome the condition. While reading the first third of the novel, I was impressed by the author's ability to make me feel quite an intense level of concern about the fate of one particular snake, which I think is quite an achievement in itself.
Dreamsnake works well on several levels, not least as a tightly-plotted mystery and adventure story which culminates in a gratifying climax. For me, the whole work was suffused with a surreal quality which evoked an engaging sense of wonder.
Vonda N. McIntyre wrote books with well-developed female characters at a time when they were relatively uncommon in science fiction literature. I think you would be hard-pressed to find another novel from the 1970s which features a stronger female lead role. And Snake is no cliched Amazon warrior woman. In fact, she is quite the opposite, since she eschews violence whenever possible on principle. Rather, Snake is a healer, and is described with all the nuances and contradictions that a complete human being should have.
The worldbuilding in this post-apocalyptic story is superb, which is surprising if you consider how little we are told about it by the author. There are no tedious information dumps masquerading as conversations, and everything about the history and state of the world is achieved through well-timed hints and oblique references. The landscape of the semi-desert environment is described in sumptuous detail, but this is seamlessly merged into the lyrical and fast-paced narrative so that the reader absorbs the atmosphere effortlessly. The author evidently devoted considerable effort to developing the emotional identities of her principal characters, since the novel possesses a strongly introspective element which adds a satisfying dimension of depth and meaning.
Since Snake is a practitioner of medicine in a world which has in many ways returned to primitive conditions, and probably due to the need for sufficiently powerful and convincing scenarios to drive the plot forward, some of the descriptions of medical conditions and procedures may be disconcerting to more squeamish readers. Also, this may not be the ideal book for people who suffer from herpetophobia, unless they are actively seeking to overcome the condition. While reading the first third of the novel, I was impressed by the author's ability to make me feel quite an intense level of concern about the fate of one particular snake, which I think is quite an achievement in itself.
Dreamsnake works well on several levels, not least as a tightly-plotted mystery and adventure story which culminates in a gratifying climax. For me, the whole work was suffused with a surreal quality which evoked an engaging sense of wonder.