rec: This Alien Shore

[dragonyphoenix]

I recently read C. S. Friedman’s This Alien Shore. The main idea is fantastic. Space migration caused mutations to the genome and Earth gave it up as a bad cause. Some humans look nothing like us. The people of one planet still looks human; their mutations were mental. They all have what would be referred to as mental illnesses back on Earth, which is quite homogenized in terms of how your mind can vary from the “norm.” So one character is, I believe, autistic and another has obsessive compulsion disorder; they have different names for the different mentalities and I didn’t know what they all were. They paint or tattoo their faces based on their dominant mode of mentality and have ritualized forms of interaction to counter their dramatically different world-views. It’s fascinating. Friedman has created an awesome universe. Note: this race has found a way to use some of their people to travel through space safely (without causing mutations) and so they dominate space travel.

I believe I also spotted influences of early science fiction authors. The differences between Earth and the outer planets reminded me of E. E. Smith’s Subspace Explorers. The means of space travel reminded me of Cordwainer Smith’s “Game of Rat and Dragon”. Since these are both authors I adored early on, seeing their influence made the book even more fun for me.

The book was fantastic. It seems a bit abridged at the end. After the climax, the denouement should have been longer, but otherwise I adored it.

Comments

[thisficklemob.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec! How would you say Friedman does in terms of fully developed female characters and/or gender issues? (This is one thing that sometimes puts me off sci-fi, but I know some authors do very well.)

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

That's hard for me to say. If the character had been terribly developed, I would have noticed. There are some indications of gender issues. The main character is a girl who's been abused so she will develop multiple personalities, one of which is an older girl who uses seduction to keep the whole group of them (all the personalities) safe. Also the focus shifts at the end. The protagonist shifts, becoming a male hacker.

A book I can recommend female characterization: The Lions of Al-Rassan (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104101.The_Lions_of_Al_Rassan?ac=1&from_search=true). There are three protagonists, one of whom is a woman, a physician. Jehane is a brilliant character. Actually the whole book is brilliant.

[thisficklemob.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it so much!

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I love things - books, music - that have ideas in them. ;-)