by Joan D. Vinge
Imagine a mixture of Han Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, Celtic/Welsh mythology (which I talked about here), the changing and turning of the year; now add in the science fiction and space opera sensibilities of Frank Herbert's Dune, with a dash of Star Wars, and finish it off with Joan D. V...
This was difficult to follow at first. Once I got into it however, it swept me away.
Nothing I have tried to write comes even close to capturing this delightful book. The only comparison I can come up with (solely in terms of the blend of fantasy and science fiction) is Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle - a degenerate society that uses technology left over from a legendar...
This book took me as long to read as Infinite Jest.That's saying something, right there.
I don't know why I got away from this book like I did. It shouldn't take that long to read, and it's very, very good.I love that the main characters in the book are strong women. I love that the world building is fully fleshed out. I love that it's a coming-of-age story that's not weak. I just ...
Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’...
I always found the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen oddly disturbing, that business with mirror splinters in the eye creeped me out as a kid. This Hugo award winning book by Joan D. Vinge (Mrs. Vernor Vinge no less), takes the original tale and turns it up to 11. I find that fema...
OK, I am going to describe a scene to you, and I want you to then tell me which famous science-fiction property it comes from. Ready?So, this is the climax of the middle part of the story. The hero finally meets up with the primary antagonist. They go head-to-head in a duel on a narrow bridge over a...
Chosen as the science fiction selection for July 2011 by the SciFi & Fantasy Book Club. To peruse the discussion from the group read, click here. I know it's September now, but I'm still very interested in finishing this novel and reviewing it soon.
One of my all time favorite books. It's a rich tale full of characters, worlds, and vast cultures. In fact this book helped fuel my interest in Cultural Anthropology - which makes sense as Vinge IS an Anthropologist and it shows in her work.
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