Biologist, educator and Quaker, Joan Slonczewski is an award-winning science fiction writer. A Door Into Ocean is the first in a series of four novels labeled Elysium Cycle.

The back cover states "This novel concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis (there are no males). It tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization decides to develop Shora's ocean world and sends in an army"

The New York Times Book Review wrote: "The story deals with the efforts of decent people on both sides to see beyond their culture-bound definitions of humanity."

Intricate and thought-provoking. Not lyrical, but some nice turns of phrase. I appreciated especially Merwen and Usha, but felt Spinel was underused. ( )

Should appeal to readers into world creation. She was partly inspired by the Vietnam War. ( )

Human history suggests that those who anticipate future violence are likely to be correct. But Slonczewski, like the Quakers to whom she belongs, believes that it need not be true, that if determined people stick to their principles of non-violence in spite of challenges, pressures, and temptations, they can create a future in which people, and even aliens, live in harmony with each other and with their environments. - Masterpieces of Science Fiction

5 stars+ ( )