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willowvine 's review for:
Shaman
by Kim Stanley Robinson
3.5 For me the first half was one of those hard, ungainly reads. Robinson probably paints a realistic picture of a fourteen-something stone age boy, but I do not enjoy the constant masturbation and sex thoughts and lets be frank sex scenes are not the author's forte (not in Mars and not here). That part was a 2.0 for me. Once you're past the first third, the narrative picks up considerably and the author manages to subvert expectations in many instances (though not all). The characters also come more alive as the focaliser matures.
On the whole, the novel gives a fascinating glimpse into ice-age life, but some things stand out negatively. Robinson uses modern words for many things and concepts. I don't mind reading 'burin', but some colloquialisms really jarred me. What I really liked was calling the Neanderthals "Old Ones". It would have been nice to see more of that.
Also he doesn't really describe the people much. Only in comparison to the "Northers" do we learn that Loon's people are brown-skinned, but not as dark as their northern fellows. I didn't like the fact that the mystical "Third Wind" narrates the narrative either. Apart from that the supernatural is mostly deniable and you could call the narration a conceit, but it didn't work for me.
All in all, not a bad book, still closer to a four than a five - even if you don't mind the frantic sex stuff.
On the whole, the novel gives a fascinating glimpse into ice-age life, but some things stand out negatively. Robinson uses modern words for many things and concepts. I don't mind reading 'burin', but some colloquialisms really jarred me. What I really liked was calling the Neanderthals "Old Ones". It would have been nice to see more of that.
Also he doesn't really describe the people much. Only in comparison to the "Northers" do we learn that Loon's people are brown-skinned, but not as dark as their northern fellows. I didn't like the fact that the mystical "Third Wind" narrates the narrative either. Apart from that the supernatural is mostly deniable and you could call the narration a conceit, but it didn't work for me.
All in all, not a bad book, still closer to a four than a five - even if you don't mind the frantic sex stuff.