The nomination period is CLOSED.
Recommendations:
Nominator in February:
From a reader reveiw at Amazon
(since I haven't read it in awhile and the synopses at Amazon are poor):
"Imagine waking from an car
accident, injured badly - but healed. By who? Mysterious shamans who move
in shadows, showing you all the love and sympathy you've lacked in your
hollow life. Imagine finally seeing their faces. Beautiful people of all
races and mixes between, speaking a foreign language with their lips, but
a universal language with their smiles. Imagine then being well enough
to see your surroundings - see that while your accident occured in a desert,
you are now surrounded by water! This is the genesis of ATA, and by the
time you close the book you will find your heart similarly healed - and
when you
are able, you will see that
your surroundings are not what they once were. You only have to want it
and believe in it."
Nominator: Though I regret the
warm and fuzzy tone of the above, I must agree in spirit and add that this
book is one I constantly collect and give to friends. It involves
more than a "spiritual" journey, but a very practical one in which the
protagonist is transported to a subsistence society in which dreams are
used to guide behavior and culture. I think it is also an important book
in terms of 70's feminist science fiction in that it takes a somewhat different
approach to alternative cultures than such novels as Female Man and Woman
on the Edge of Time. The fact that it can still generate enough interest
to be reprinted
after 26 years is a great indication
of the quality of this novel. I've attached the Amazon.com
page for any who want it.
Second opinion: The Kin Of Alta Are Waiting--a book about dreams and a spiritual journey. This sounds like one that would promote discussion.
Reviews
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Editor's Recommended Book In a world devastated by nuclear war with humanity
on the edge of extinction, aliens finally make contact. They rescue those
humans they can, keeping most survivors in suspended animation while the
aliens begin the slow process of rehabilitating the planet. When Lilith
Iyapo is "awakened," she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow
humans in small groups by first preparing them to meet the utterly terrifying
aliens,
then training them to survive on the wilderness that the planet has become.
But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Bonded
to the aliens in ways no human has ever known, Lilith tries to fight them
even as her own species comes to fear and loathe her. A stunning story
of invasion and alien contact by one of science fiction's finest writers.
Synopsis Known for her African-American feminist perspective, the author
presents the first installment of a trilogy exploring the death of the
earth as we know it and the advent of interbreeding between humans and
extraterrestrials. Reissue.
Reviews: Linköping Science Fiction Archive (Review by Douglas Baker), Literature, Arts and Medicine Database (Remarks by Ann Folwell Stanford), Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews (Review of all Xenogenesis books by Chris Taylor)
From Booklist
, July 19, 1996
In one of the most brilliant
sf debuts in years, Carter offers an unforgettably original vision of the
news media's future in cyberspace broadcasting. Maya Andreyeva is a "camera"
; that is, she is wired with microchips and nanobugs to transmit her on-the-scene
reports, with complete input from all five senses, to a global audience.
Viewers equipped with "moistdisk" can even read her thoughts, which is
why Maya needs Keishi, a "screener," who edits out unwanted memories and
feelings. Besides the immediate psychic intimacy of their relationship,
Keishi quickly discovers Maya's secret: a 10-year memory shield slapped
in place by Net police in punishment for Maya's previous life of crime.
Unfortunately, those same 10 years, into which Maya must eventually delve
somehow, also contain the secrets behind a story she and Keishi are investigating
about a genocidal massacre that rivals the Holocaust. Carter's vision of
a twenty-fourth century dominated by intelligence-enhancing microchips
and twisted political ideologies is as breathtakingly imaginative as the
accompanying story line is gripping. A mind-boggler than ranks with Gibson's
Neuromancer and Stephenson's Snow Crash as one of the best novels about
virtualreality. Carl Hays Copyright© 1996, American Library Association.
All rights reserved
- Review in Strange
Words:
"To put it simply, Raphael Carter
has a genius for language. Carter wields a compelling prose style that
effectively evokes a grimly wired cyber-future, then uses it to confront
issues of Censorship, Surveillance, and Sexual Identity. (Visit the author's
web site extolling the virtues of androgyny for a deeper look into "zer"
(his/her) views on this last topic.) The treatment is sophisticated and
powerful, calling to mind totalitarian horrors of the modern age, without
trivialization or paraphrasing. Make no mistake, The Fortunate Fall is
a stunning first novel and Raphael Carter is a powerful new addition to
the science fiction scene."
- Postviews:
"Part thriller, part romance,
"The Fortunate Fall" is an original, intelligent, poetic and oddly sweet
novel. "
Further reviews: review by Richard Horton, PublishersWeekly Online, review by Christina Schulman, review by Michael Rawdon
Winner of the 1989 Hugo Award for best novel.This was the first Cherryh book I ever read, and it made me a fan for life. Although its main focus is not on overtly feminist themes, I think it would be very interesting to discuss the character of Ariane Emory in a feminist context.
A word of warning: it's a tough book to get into, and Cherryh's writing style is purposely very dry and dense. However, she's a master at developing and interweaving politics, ethics, science, and personal relationships, and it all comes together in _Cyteen_. In my opinion, it's worth a bit of grinding to get to the good stuff.
Amazon.com synopsis and review:
"Genetic manipulation, murder, intrigue and politics are just part of the story of a young scientist in this substantial book. C. J. Cherryh, who won the 1989 Hugo Award for this novel, following on her Hugo Award-winning Downbelow Station, offers another ambitious work. A geneticist is murdered by an adviser, but the scientist is replicated in the lab, leaving a prodigy who attempts to chart a different fate. The book is intense and complex yet always presented with the flow of true storytelling.""This book gripped me for three days straight. Cherryh has a profound gift for imagining the extraordinary as normal, developing and sustaining characters and their relationships, and offering at once a profoundly
disturbing and hopeful vision of a future. I also should add that this work has one of the most tender treatments of same-sex relationships that I have seen in print."Nominator in June 1999:
This volume is a reprint of Cherryh's 1988 novel reuniting the 3 parts originally split up for paperback publication as Cyteen: The Betrayal, Cyteen: The Rebirth and Cyteen: The Vindication. I've loved this book since I first read it. I'd appreciate the opportunity to be able to discuss Ari's struggles with other members of the list.Nominator in October 1998:
Probably the best cloning sf written. A powerful woman who heads, among other things, a vast genetic-engineering concern (designing, birthing, training customized workers) dies suddenly, and a clone is very carefully reared to take her place. Most of the book deals with the raising of her clone (with computerized advice from the original) in a dangerous political atmosphere, and her relationship with the man the original traumatized in his adolescence. Much science, much action, intriguing characters. Interesting issues of sex, power, network associations, and genetics. Beautifully put together, crisp writing, great dialogue, nothing sloppy.
Amazon.com Synopsis:
" Earth is ailing, and Quakers from various countries band together for a brave mission: build a self-sustaining spaceship, and travel to the stars to find another home. The Dazzle of Day chronicles the lives of people who grew up on the Dusty Miller and lived to see it reach its destination.Spiritual, steady Kristina plays the middle note in Gloss's triadic exploration of the inner lives of women; Verano begins the journey from Earth, and Vintro's story comprises the finishing notes after the journey's end. Onboard the Dusty Miller, a depressive malaise spreads throughout the colonists, and Kristina's daughter-in-law
Juko witnesses a suicide by a co-worker while mending the ship's solar sails. Other players include Juko's son Cejo, her quiet ex-husband Humberto, and her husband Bjoro, a scientist who visits the new planet's inhospitable surface and lives to bring back reports. The colonists, who've lived their entire lives on a small climate-controlled ship, must decide whether to adjust to life on the chilly planet, prepare to terraform a section on its surface, or continue on to search for a more suitable home.Gloss's lyrical and leisurely prose describes the lives of the spacefarers: religion and politics, quarrels and friendships, love and despisal, illness and death. At times this science fiction feels homespun as the gentle but human Quakers strive for consensus in their community during a time of wrenching change. "
BTW,this book has a beautiful cover!
Further review: review by Michael Rawdon, New York Times 22 June, 1997 (Review by Gerald Jonas) (only accessible after free registration)
This one gets unanimously good reviews and has a certain exotic/weird appeal: Skerow, a telepathic alien woman judge, fights to protect the rights of an enslaved amphibious human in planetary settings peopled by a wide variety of sentient beings. Gotlieb, also a poet, uses her language skills to tell a colorful, exciting SF murder mystery with layered subtextual meanings and commentary on contemporary social/political issues. I'm yearning for a good excuse to read this one!Reviews: SF Site Review (Review by Lisa DuMond), Science Fiction Weekly, Issue 64 (Review by Susan Dunman), Review by James Schellenberg, New York Times 12 April, 1998 (Review by Gerald Jonas) (only accessible after free registration)
Review From Booklist , May 15, 1999
On Irustan, a planet settled long ago by humans, the Book of Second Prophet painstakingly details the proper way of being. Despite space travel and advanced technologies, men are the absolute decision makers. Women, draped in shapeless silks, their faces heavily veiled, are chattel. Only a select few get a glimpse at independence by becoming medicants, who are trained in the medical sciences. Such work is regarded as too distasteful for men. The beautiful Zahra is a young wife, a talented medicant, and a murderer. Sickened by a world of abusive husbands, Zahra's choice to kill is believably righteous, but it is fraught with treacherous subsequent ramifications.
Marley realizes Irustan in dynamic detail, and she manages real, consistent character development so that not only does Zahra mature, but secondary characters subtly grow as situations demand. Throughout, Marley's acclaimed, exquisite prose and her universal themes of feminist heroism light the book brightly. (Karen Simonetti,Copyright© 1999, American Library Association. All rights reserved )Review from SF Weekly (by A.M. Dellamonica) -- rated as an "A" pick:
Zahra IbSada has a life of rare privilege. On a world where women are rarely taught to read, she has slipped through a gap in Irustan's strict religious laws to become a medicant, a doctor and surgeon. Her devoted husband Qadir is respectable, intelligent and even gentle. Zahra's career widens what would otherwise be her very limited contact with society, and when the time comes to take an apprentice, she can choose from the brightest girls the colony has to offer.It is her apprentice's arrival that changes everything for Zahra in Louise Marley's The Terrorists of Irustan. Childless by choice, Zahra finds that her relationship with the brilliant and energetic Ishi erodes her carefully
nurtured detachment from the world. On Irustan, women are veiled and hidden from everyone but the men of their household. They are forbidden upon pain of death to travel unescorted, to use a wavephone or even to visit with friends more than twice a month. Upon reaching sexual maturity, they are ceded by their fathers to become the wives of strangers, men who are usually 30 years older than their brides.Even before Ishi comes into her life, Zahra is rebellious, struggling with Qadir to be allowed to treat prostitutes in her clinic. As she and the child become close, she finds it harder and harder to live within Irustan's restrictions. Then danger threatens when a close friend's husband agrees to marry her daughter to a brutal mine worker. Torn between her duty as a healer and her friend's plight, and all too able to envision Ishi falling prey to a similar fate, Zahra must decide if she will cross the line from minor rule-breaking to open revolution.
Marley is unflinching in her portrayal of the repressive and unjust society on Irustan. There are no pulled punches here--Zahra's patients bleed both physically and spiritually, and readers bleed with them. But The Terrorists of Irustan is realism in the best sense of the word--it is neither one-sided nor simplistic. The characters in this novel are drawn with precision, and each has made a different accommodation to the Irustani regime. Qadir, for
example, is motivated at times by his responsibilities, at others by his love for Zahra. His actions run the spectrum from villainous to heroic.The Terrorists of Irustan also boasts vivid imagery, meticulous medical writing and complex relationships, with plenty of terror and suspense thrown in. The pace is as measured as slow poison. Despite its dark tone, the novel
entertains while informing. Readers who like happy or tidy endings will not appreciate this one. Nor will those who strongly dislike feminist SF, though The Terrorists of Irustan avoids most of the pitfalls of the sub-genre.
Perhaps its only weakness is that, in basing Irustan's culture on civilizations far from North America, Marley is giving readers a chance to distance themselves from the day-to-day horror of Zahra's life.The Terrorists of Irustan is set apart from other books of its type by an understanding that people are as enmeshed in their societies as Zahra is hidden in her concealing veil. Marley shows readers a world where women collaborate in their own oppression, and where it is life-threatening for even the men to talk of change. Totalitarianism is so absolute that fighting it seems impossible, and it is so diffuse that Zahra and her friends despair of even identifying a target.
Fight they do, however, and though Zahra IbSada pays a high price for her revolution, readers will appreciate the payoff.
(NOTE: There are lots more reviews at Amazon.com -- but a word of warning: the Kirkus review contains a major spoiler and should be avoided).
Other review: SF Site Review by James Seidman
Paksenarrion, the daughter of a sheep-farmer, runs away to join the army. She works her way up through the ranks, then takes a sudden twist to become a sort of spiritual knight--but things don't work out as planned.I bought this when it was nominated a couple of cycles ago and enjoyed it a whole lot more than the average Epic Fantasy Trilogy (TM). Although it seems to appeal to many because of its peasant-rises-to-greatness theme, I liked it for the way Moon demonstrated the effect of epic wars on the grunts, the soldiers and the con-combatants. Towards the end of the trilogyv there's some clever perspective reversal, exposing the tendency of heroic fantasy to show only the superheros and nobles. The traditional meteoric rise to greatness and power is subverted to some degree; and to top it all off, we've got a strong, independent female hero and a fun read.
Other reviews: Review by Patrick Conway, Linköping Science Fiction and Fantasy Archive (Review by Dani Zweig)
Synopsis (Booklist):
"When the Earth-based
sponsors of a distant colony planet decided to pack it up and move the
citizens elsewhere, the widow Ofelia, determined to spend the rest of her
days on the planet, evades the evacuation party. She contentedly resumes
tending her garden and livestock and writing a history of the colony. Then
a new landing party encounters bloody resistance from aliens on the planet
whom Ofelia and her fellow colonists never knew existed. Although expecting
to suffer the same fate as the new arrivals, Ofelia slowly establishes
an alliance with the aliens. . . . As word
of her achievement spreads,
Ofelia gains respect as humanity's unlikely first ambassador to an alien
species."
Synopsis (by nominator in February
1999):
Ofelia is an old woman, one
of the last living members of the original first-colony on a frontier planet.
Now that the colony had failed, they were being evacuated by long voyage
cryo ships to a new planet. People had always told Ofelia what to do; for
once she was going to do what she wanted. She refused to get on the cryo
ships with the other evacuees, refused to leave the only world she could
call home. And when they finally came to look for her, she hid-not that
authorities looked all that hard for one crazy old woman. Now Ofelia is
alone, content to live her remaining years with no more demands on her
self or her time from other people, the only human remaining on an abandoned
planet.
Then new settlers arrive. At
first Ofelia fears they will land to reoccupy the settlement she has come
to think of as hers alone-but they land far away across the continent.
And as Ofelia secretly listens on the settlement's radio comms, the new
settlers are slaughtered within minutes to the last child, by stone-age
aliens no
one knew were there. Now it
is up to Ofelia to save the aliens from Earth's wrath.... "
I loved this book, it was so much fun and a wonderful romp of ideas and 'issues' of ageing, feminism and humanism, with a delightful heroine in the character of Ofelia - and I read it through in one sitting, or lying:) (since I tend to do most of my reading lying in bed!)
Further reviews: SFSite review, review by Christina Schulman, review by Steven Silver, review by Jennifer Krauel, review by Michael Rawdon, Award Winner's Review, Starfire Reviews, Review by James Walton in Sigma - The Official Newsletter of P.A.R.S.E.C
This book was the "Del Rey discovery of the Year."Synopsis:
"Mikk of Vyzania, the galaxy's greatest performance master,commanded stages on all the myriad worlds with his
sublime and ethereal performances. But when the Somalite songdance--the extraordinary dance form Mikk treasured to the point of obsession--was banned, he was devastated, until his sense of justice forced him to defy
the law. His trial will be the most sensational in the galaxy's history.And the sentence he faces is death--unless he can summon all his gifts to overthrow the stranglehold of censorship. "
I've ordered it after I read all these reviews. According to them it is poetic and inspired. And I am curious about the Native American 'magic'. However, it's probably not overmuch feminist.From Kirkus Reviews , August 15, 1996
Distinctive contemporary fantasy set in the Arizona desert, from the well-known editor (the annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, with Ellen Datlow, etc.). When the prize-winning, gin- sozzled English poet Davis Cooper died in a dry gully (of drowning!) near his home east of Tucson, he left his house, papers, and real estate to budding poet Maggie Black, with whom he had corresponded but had never met. Separating from her talented but demanding musician husband Nigel, Maggie takes up residence in Cooper's old house, discovering fragments of unpublished poems, together with a gallery of extraordinary paintings left by Cooper's lover, Anna Navarra --paintings that Maggie finds both provocative and disturbing. The locals, too, seem to hint of another, unseen world behind the real one, a world of magic and metamorphoses that Maggie can almost perceive, whose landscape is defined by mysterious, powerful mages operating by rules that she finds herself gradually able to comprehend. To understand Cooper, Navarra, and the unseen world, Maggie must delve deep inside her own being, where, ultimately, she will find the key to her own poetry--as well as the means to transcend space and time, to actually meet Cooper and unravel the mystery of his bizarre death. A splendid desert enchantment that flows with its own eerie logic-- arresting, evocative, and well worked out despite the entirely superfluous last couple of chapters.Mythprint Review by Eleanor Farrell
'Windling's choice of approach and style has similarities to the stories of Charles de Lint and Robert Holdstock, but I think here, at least, she is a better writer thaneither of these authors. Where Holdstock's creation of mythagos and their appearance in the wood in which his stories center is often over-written and convoluted, Windling tells a clear straightforward tale, bringing the magic of the Sante Fe mountains quietly to the surface and into the life of her main character. [...] I must say that I found her setting and use of mythic figures a refreshing change. Windling uses the Native American motifs of the Trickster, shape-changing and the spiral path, weaving these with Celtic elements like the Wild Hunt into a pattern which demonstrates the universal nature of spirit myths.'Strange Words Review
'Terri Windling’s The Wood Wife [Tor, 1996] is a richly detailed, engaging modern fantasy replete with deep friendships, self-discovery, and spirits of the land.'Kinrowan Review
'Windling's characters are brilliantly unique, and real; in many ways, they remind me of the myriad persons peppering Charles de Lint's novels, and indeed The Wood Wife has echoes of novels like Moonheart. But where Charles de Lint can occasionally stray into obscurity, Windling keeps a tight grip on her tale as mystery transforms into fantasy, and reality widens to accommodate it. At only 292 pages, it may seem that The Wood Wife is a quick read. But in an era when most fantasy authors live by the rule "Why use 300 pages when 900 will do?" (Tad Williams, are you reading this?), Windling never wastes a word, never meanders down a diversion. The result is a novel with an edge like a well-forged blade that will leave you breathless and gratified. The final unfolding of the
plot is magnificently complex, and the climax is bracing and worthy of the name.'Read Chapters 1 and 2 Online
A 1992 Nebula nominee. Mythopoeic Award winner in 1993.Summaries from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:
"A young woman's promise to her dying grandmother leads her on a quest to {Poland to} discover the truth of her own family's mysterious beginnings in this . . . retelling of the classic fairy tale 'Briar Rose,' or 'The Sleeping Beauty.' In Yolen's modern-day novel, the wall of thorns becomes a barbed-wire prison, while the sleeping princess is both victim and heroine." (Libr J)
Around the castle there grew a hedge of thorns, which every year grew higher, and at last there was nothing more to be seen, not even the flag upon the roof. But the story of the beautiful sleeping princess, Briar Rose, went about the country so that from time to time the King's sons came and tried to get through the thorny hedge . . . So goes the German fairy tale of Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty ... an old, old tale, yet so potent that few among us do not know it today. Now one of America's most celebrated writers tells it afresh, set this time in forests patrolled by the German army during World War II - a tale with no guarantee of an ending that reads they lived happily ever after. A young American journalist is drawn to Europe and to the past as she investigates the mystery of her grandmother's life. From her grandmother she inherited a silver ring, a photograph, and the traditional tale of Briar Rose: clues that will ultimately lead her to a distant land and an astonishing revelation of death and rebirth. The story of the Holocaust, like the story of Sleeping Beauty, is indeed familiar - yet such is a master storyteller's skill that along the way we learn the tale anew. This is a tale of life and death, of love and hate, despair and faith. A tale of castles and thorns and sharp barbed wire. This is Briar Rose.
A powerful and moving novel that deftly blends the legend of Sleeping Beauty with the historical tragedy of the Holocaust. After her grandmother's death, a young American woman struggles to uncover the truth behind the old woman's past. The trail eventually leads to Europe and the darkest days of WWII.The only review I could find, from Kirkus Reviews, was very negative. You can read it at amazon.com.
I was originally unsure if this book fit the speculative fiction category, although it is listed at several of the online booksellers as science fiction and fantasy. It is also a part of Terri Windling's excellent Fairy Tale Series. If anyone else on this list who has read Briar Rose considers it realistic fiction and therefore unsuitable for the BDG, I will withdraw the nomination. Do not confuse this book with Briar Rose by Robert Coover, published in 1997.Other review: Linköping Science Fiction and Fantasy Archive (Review by Evelyn Leeper)