Karen Lord

DNF. The intriguing premise of the book - a planet is destroyed, leaving the few survivors who were off-world at the time adrift - is squandered. It oozes heteronormativity - for Reasons, most of the off-world survivors are male, which is fine, but the sole focus (up to the point where I bailed) is on finding them suitable female wives - there's no mention that not all of them might want female companions, not even an offhand sentence. The book includes a non-binary character - not bad for show more 2013 - but the portrayal is so cringingly bad I wish it didn't. The character is introduced by the viewpoint character explaining that while most non-binary people are asexual that doesn't mean they all are (where did *that* weird misconception come from? I guess if in your worldview everyone is straight, then someone who isn't male or female couldn't possibly be attracted to anyone?), and both the viewpoint character and the authorial voice proceed to scrupulously avoid any pronouns for the non-binary character, leading to some tremendously awkward sentences. I enjoyed Lord's previous novel and was disappointed in the lack of awareness exhibited here. show less

This was such a wonderful adventure!

This is not typical science fiction at all. It's part fable, part folklore with gods and tricksters interfering in the lives of humans all the while.

I loved Paama. She's a heroine who is particularly difficult to write, unassuming, stoic, quiet, steadfast, vulnerable. How Karen Lord is able to take someone so seemingly ordinary and take all the little details that make her human and show the reader how great she is.

The narrator is funny, witty, dry and show more breaks the fourth wall in a way that I adore.

The only reason I would give this book a lower rating is because I think there are some parts that are so, so exciting and other times there were a few lulls in the action, but I can't complain anymore than that.

This book is great for its subtlety, for its details, for its depth, for its warmth, for its compassion.

I'm really, really happy I read this book. show less

The exact moment I fell in love with this book was on p. 15, the paragraph that goes, "I know your complaint already. You are saying, how do two grown men begin to see talking spiders after only three glasses of spice spirit? My answer is twofold. First, you have no idea how strong spice spirit is made in that region..." Entertaining and thoughtful and damn well-written books that don't suffer from TMWP* that are also sf/f (or at least flavored by the Genre) are somewhat hard to find, and show more I'm getting pickier as I get older. Please, Karen Lord, keep writing, 'cause you're my new favorite. I love you just as much as I love China Mieville and Nnedi Okorafor.

* Too many white people. show less

In as much as it turns out that this is the third book in a loose series, I probably did myself no favors by not reading "The Best of All Possible Worlds" and "The Galaxy Game" first, at least for the back story of one of the main characters, and the interstellar context in which this tale of First Contact is taking place. Still, I enjoyed this novel, and find it rather old school in terms of its economy and getting to the conceptual point. That economy is also appreciated in what is show more something of a political thriller, as Lord keeps the momentum going in terms of how her game is going to play out. show less