- Hardcover
- Publisher: TOR BOOKS ST MARTINS MASS (1988)
- ASIN: B000GK9IH0
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is one of my favorites. It is SO good, I wish there were many more books available by this author instead of only 1 or 2. It is one of the few books I know in a sub-genre of SF I think of as 'linguistic' fiction. Not only does this book introduce an interesting universe very unlike your run-of-the-mill galactic empire, but a whole host of unusual concepts and new ways of looking at the world as well as inter-personal relationships.
This is a welcome new edition of an old favorite long out of print from the original publisher.
Format:Paperback
This is a book which is definitely worth reading- but, if you're anything like me, you'll have to read it twice before you get the shape of the plot. The first time through, all that really sticks is the strenuous attempts of the author to create believable, and varied, body languages for the different cultures represented in the book.
Having said that, I'd still say I enjoyed the first reading; it just came across as a study of cultures, rather than a narrative. The characterisation is a little uneven- some of the characters were very three-dimensional, and even evolved through the book. Others remained little more than ciphers, even though they had as much 'book space' as the more clearly defined ones. And an odd thing- I came away from even the second reading with very little visualisation of even the lead character, Tocohl. If the front of the book hadn't shown her, I would not even now (after the fourth reading) be able to tell you what colour her hair was, or how old she appeared to be. The visual descriptions just didn't stay with me.
So, all in all, very interesting and engaging- just not what I'd have expected of a science fiction book. And not a patch on Janet Kagan's 'Mirabile'- very topical now, lots of stuff on cloning, but not militant or depressing.
Having said that, I'd still say I enjoyed the first reading; it just came across as a study of cultures, rather than a narrative. The characterisation is a little uneven- some of the characters were very three-dimensional, and even evolved through the book. Others remained little more than ciphers, even though they had as much 'book space' as the more clearly defined ones. And an odd thing- I came away from even the second reading with very little visualisation of even the lead character, Tocohl. If the front of the book hadn't shown her, I would not even now (after the fourth reading) be able to tell you what colour her hair was, or how old she appeared to be. The visual descriptions just didn't stay with me.
So, all in all, very interesting and engaging- just not what I'd have expected of a science fiction book. And not a patch on Janet Kagan's 'Mirabile'- very topical now, lots of stuff on cloning, but not militant or depressing.
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book so much that I have clung to a friend's copy for several years, selfishly declining to return it until I could find a copy for my very own. Now that it's been reprinted, I'll have to go get my own, and read that one to tatters. I like the worlds, like the people, this is good stuff. I'm hoping the reprint means a sequel is in the works??
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