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Title: Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre ISBN: 0-395-26470-7 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 01 March, 1978 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.28 (18 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Lyrical and Beautiful
Comment: Vonda N McIntyre rose to fame with this book, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. I believe that this book represents a totally different form of science fiction from the type representative of John Campbell which is deeply scientific in nature. McIntyre is more concerned with characterization and this is what makes this story so unforgettable.
Snake, the protagonist is especially well drawn out, someone any reader can relate to, yet possesing her own character traits. Her sense of duty as a healer is well portrayed. In fact, most of the characters in the novel, with the exception of the villian North, were extremely well drawn.
This is essentially the tale of how Snake searches for a new Dreamsnake, which she uses to cure illnesses, and recounts the situations Snake finds herself in. The presentation of the post nuclear holocaust world and its distopic and fractured society is highly believable.
I agree that the story is somewhat fractured and that the plot seems to me to be stuck together, but McIntyre links it together brilliantly through her narrative. The narrative succeeds in casting a spell on the reader, such that the events no longer become the focus. My sister, when I asked her about the book several months after she read it, could tell me little of the plot, but commented on the lyrical quality of the narrative.
In conclusion, it is a captivating book, and worth reading.
Rating: 5
Summary: Dream of a Book
Comment: Reading this book is like dreaming, except that it makes sense.
Now that Vonda McIntyre is famous, everybody loves this book. I loved it before anybody had ever heard of her, when the book was still a short story, called Grass. (In case you don't 'get it,' that's the name of one of the heroine's snakes.) The short story eventually became the first third or so of the novel, and there's still a timeless, lyrical, almost ecstatic quality to that part of the book that gradually disappears during the rest of the story, and rightly so.
The story is about a healer who uses snakes as assistants and their bite as medicine. When she loses her healing snake, she must undertake a journey to find another.
Like many 'journey novels,' Dreamsnake's strength is not in the plot but in the characterization. The heroine's insights, strengths, and fears make her so real that you feel deprived when the book is over, except that she will stay with you forever after, both in your dreams and out.
McIntyre has written many wonderful books now, but this one is still my favorite. It's one of my 'top six best science fiction works of all time' picks.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Snake Healer
Comment: Vonda N. McIntyre fans will recognize many themes in her new novel, Dreamsnake. A boy named Stavin is ill from radiation poisoning as a result of nuclear fallout and needs to be healed. Believe me on this. It's a great theme, and McIntyre uses great detail to describe the situation. This story has more adventure in it than a trip around the world.
As the story opens, Stavin is being tended to by Snake and Grass, two snakes who have healing abilities, but only when they're together. Snake must wrap herself around Stavin's waist and Grass has to lay very still on Stavin's head in order for them to heal him. The operation seems to be going well until Stavin's father, Arevin accidentally drops a rock on Grass and kills her.
Spin ahead two days later to Snake's plan of finding another dreamsnake so Stavin could be healed. Stavin agrees to her plan, but is told that a dangerous road lies ahead. Snake tells him that they'll have to travel through rough terrain to find a dreamsnake because of their extreme rarity. They gather up needed supplies and head off into parts unknown.
One week later Snake and Stavin pass through the forest and encounter a bear. It charges them, but Snake is able to bite it and the bear passes out. The same day, they reach a small mountain range, and encounter a mountain lion. It catches Snake by surprise and slashes her in the stomach. Stavin attempts to save her, but gets bitten badly on the chest. All hope seems lost until two snakes named Jesse and Gabriel bite the lion and kill it. Snake says they need a dreamsnake so she can heal Stavin. Gabriel says that she is one herself and heals both Snake and Stavin from their slash wounds.
As the story whirls ahead, we learn that Gabriel was the victim of a bear many years ago at the same forest where Snake and Stavin passed through. As they were talking about the encounter, a bear lunged from the brush and tackled Stavin. Jesse jumped on the bear and bit it hard, killing it instantly. He told the gang that they needed to seek refuge, so they headed back to Stavin's village.
I don't know if I agree with the story resolution. There is a huge load of twists involved. But I'll say this for Dreamsnake, there was no way in the world that I was putting off reading the rest of this book until I found out everything. Vonda N. McIntyre does a superb job at keeping you hooked to her books. The moment you start reading her works, you become addicted.
Sincerely,
David Bondi
English Student of Excellence, Chemical Engineer
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Title: The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy ISBN: 0312854064 Publisher: Orb Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1993 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg ISBN: 0446340618 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1986 List Price(USD): $3.95 |
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Title: The MOON AND THE SUN by Vonda N. McIntyre ISBN: 0671567667 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: No Enemy but Time by Michael Bishop ISBN: 0553281879 Publisher: Spectra Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: Man Plus (SF Masterworks) by Frederik Pohl ISBN: 1857989465 Pub. Date: 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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