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juushikaTitle: Dreamsnake
Author: Vonda N. McIntyre
Published: Book Review Café, 2009 (1978)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 313
Total Page Count: 172,606
Text Number: 505
Read Because: mentioned byrachelmanija, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A healer travels through an inhospitable desert with her snakes, genetically engineered so that their venom can be used as medicine. Dreamsnake is kind but ungentle. Its protagonists are sympathetic and well-drawn, its world compelling and cruel, and the two mesh well: the focus is not on how the world came to be, but how individuals attempt to survive, and heal, within it, rich with personal struggles and daily details. That leaves many mysteries about the setting unresolved, which isn't a drawback but does (almost for the first time) make me want to read other books in the same setting. The human element can be slipshod—antagonists are particularly underwhelming—but the central trio is accessible and their victories hard won, enough even that the abrupt ending is satisfying. This isn't a perfect book but it's lovely, small and private and heartfelt; I adored it, and will read more from the author.
Author: Vonda N. McIntyre
Published: Book Review Café, 2009 (1978)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 313
Total Page Count: 172,606
Text Number: 505
Read Because: mentioned by
rachelmanija, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County LibraryReview: A healer travels through an inhospitable desert with her snakes, genetically engineered so that their venom can be used as medicine. Dreamsnake is kind but ungentle. Its protagonists are sympathetic and well-drawn, its world compelling and cruel, and the two mesh well: the focus is not on how the world came to be, but how individuals attempt to survive, and heal, within it, rich with personal struggles and daily details. That leaves many mysteries about the setting unresolved, which isn't a drawback but does (almost for the first time) make me want to read other books in the same setting. The human element can be slipshod—antagonists are particularly underwhelming—but the central trio is accessible and their victories hard won, enough even that the abrupt ending is satisfying. This isn't a perfect book but it's lovely, small and private and heartfelt; I adored it, and will read more from the author.
