This is what fantasy should be. Fabulous story-telling, supported by very good world-building, believable characterisation and alien snakes. I have lost count of the number of copies I have pressed on friends, and the number of complete strangers to whom I have recommended it. ( )

This is a post-apocalyptic story of a young healer who heals by using snakes as carriers for biological agents. In societies of hunter-gatherers, she's the only healer. There are some surprising contrasts of technology and lack of technology. The book is mainly about her quest to remain a healer through difficult times, and an exploration of the world (is it earth, or not?) that remains after some long ago nuclear war. There are also those with technology, and contact with off-worlders, though that's not really a major part of the book.
This is well written, though fairly simple, and it ends a bit quickly. A good, but not great book, overall. ( )

http://tpi-reads.blogspot.com/2009/02... ( )

Link to a review on my personal website. ( )

A good plot concept, disjointed writing (the book is sewn together from short stories), a well-fleshed-out main character but rather weak secondary characters, some confused messages about the roles of genders, a very interesting social backdrop.

I'm not sure why this book has achieved quite the status it has; I'd call it good but not great. I'm puzzled that it won the Nebula over Cherryh's The Faded Sun: Kesrith, a setting just as interesting with better depth to the characters (winning the Hugo was more understandable as the contenders weren't quite as strong due to the differing nomination rules). Oh well, everyone's entitled to an opinion. ( )