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144th out of 172 books
—
46 voters
The Awakeners (Awakeners #1-2)
Come to the world of the River.Come to a world distant in time and space, a world where the pace of life is counted by tides of the great River, but where, as in the river itself, there are swift dark currents flowing under a placid surface.Meet Pamra Don--a young woman scarred by her mother's death, lured to a preist-hood where the truth must be hidden from the faithful....more
Mass Market Paperback, 490 pages
Published
2000
by Voyager (Harper Collins)
(first published 1987)
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I've had uneven success with Tepper's work, but all in all I liked this book. It's anthropologically-minded fantasy, and goes in directions one doesn't necessarily expect. For example, I'm not all that terribly interested in the the young-beautiful-archetype on a quest for truth and justice tale. Tepper starts the story in that vein, and then confounds it utterly and deftly, making pretty good commentary on the way about gender, religion, etc.
The thing I find remarkable about this book is her w...more
The thing I find remarkable about this book is her w...more
Mar 23, 2009
Diane
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
read-before-2011
This is a very imaginative story. On a distant world, mankind - now without any of the technology which first brought their human ancestors there - must wrestle for power, and even survival, with a predatory native species. The writing is inspired, the various plotlines intertwine marvelously, and the world-building is superb.
Mainly, the characters are interesting: the boatman whose realistic sculpture of his dream woman is replaced by an actual drowned and blighted woman, and then replaced aga...more
Mainly, the characters are interesting: the boatman whose realistic sculpture of his dream woman is replaced by an actual drowned and blighted woman, and then replaced aga...more
Human colonists live in an uneasy treaty with the native Thraish, a carniverous bird-people who have hunted all the native beasts to extinction. The balance of truce is maintained through a religious system that conceals the truth from the people of Northshore. But the truth will soon be revealed.
I liked Northshore better than the second book, Southshore. The world that Tepper creates is well fleshed out and interesting, but as the second book wraps up her message, the books start to become a li...more
I liked Northshore better than the second book, Southshore. The world that Tepper creates is well fleshed out and interesting, but as the second book wraps up her message, the books start to become a li...more
Two early novels in one volume. As with most of Tepper's novels, the plot concerns social issues, religion and class structure. Cover blurb: "Come to a world distant in time and space, a world where the pace of life is counted by tides of the great River, but where, as in the river itself, there are swift dark currents flowing under a placid surface. -- Meet Pamra Don, a young woman scarred by her mother's death, lured to a priesthood where the truth must be hidden from the faithful. And meet Th...more
Another good Sheri S. Tepper book. I'm glad that I could find both books in one volume to keep making it through. I had originally ignored this book based on the cover... 'Too fairy-princess-y' I had thought. It has nothing to do with that. A rich story that ends in a way that was interesting and satisfying.
Couldn't finish it. Made it to page 246 and realized that with 6 story lines going, all kind of depressing, all using made up words to a high number level to go with this fantasy world, that I just have better things to do.
Tepper, I love you for Gate to Women's Country and Grass. I will try others. This one was just a miss for me.
Tepper, I love you for Gate to Women's Country and Grass. I will try others. This one was just a miss for me.
I can't add this to both the read and currently reading shelves at once, although I am re-reading Southshore tonight.
I finished Northshore yesterday (again).
I liked this set of 2 very much and think this author has some fabulous world and character building skills.
I finished Northshore yesterday (again).
I liked this set of 2 very much and think this author has some fabulous world and character building skills.
The usual themes from Tepper - complexity of eco- and political systems, religion as manipulative tool, inherent male violence - seen through the eyes of some unusual, wonderful characters, set in an intricate science fictional world. Very enjoyable.
Be sure you have the second book before you get to the end of the first or you will be left hanging. This book has a quite start with Thrasne a boatman aboard a barge. He trades from town to town and sees much of the odd ways of the people on shore. In a town they pass a woman commited suside by throwing herself in the river. A cardenal sin aginst the Awakeners. That night Thrasne pulls her up in his net ravaged with a thing that aflicts things in the water turning them to wood, they call it bli...more
If you're going to read one Sheri Tepper book, this would be the one that I would recommend. This was the first fantasy book that I ever read and it still remains one of my favorites to this day.
I feel certain I read this, but yet I cannot remember it at all.
the story is nice ! i enjoyed reading the story :)
Strange and bleakly captivating.
This book is very interesting and I am alaways impressed by Sheri Tepper's world-building, but for some reason I keep putting this down and re-reading comfort books instead of finishing it. Maybe it is just my mood. I really do want to finish it.
But I couldn't end up getting back to this one. I just didn't care about the main characters that much. Thrasne was boringly tragic and Pamra was over the top tragic. Not my thing. The world was amazing, but the characters didn't come alive for me.
But I couldn't end up getting back to this one. I just didn't care about the main characters that much. Thrasne was boringly tragic and Pamra was over the top tragic. Not my thing. The world was amazing, but the characters didn't come alive for me.
Sheri Tepper has a truly weird imagination, which is wonderfully refreshing after all of the formulaic fantasy out there. There are some themes that this book has in common with Singer from the Sea, but it is rich with its own imaginatively strange and morally interesting ideas and characters, so this is not a drawback, but rather provides an interesting look at how Tepper sees things... at what she finds the most compelling metaphors for our society (and it ain't pretty).
Feb 20, 2007
anne
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
cool scifi geeks
Tepper's imagination has created a strange, creepy, surreal world with compelling characters you'll feel like you know personally. What with the huge pooping crows and love between man and wooden woman, there's no way to put it down.
I picked up this book four times and couldn't get past chapter 1. Then when I tried again and finally got past the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. SST has a way of drawing you into the amazng worlds she creates.
Re-reading an old favorite. Both Northshore and Southshore in one book!
Sep 21, 2011
Ruby Hollyberry
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
covers-i-like,
fantasy-sci-fi
Very dark and kind of icky, but profoundly moving.
nice cover
May 06, 2013
Legato Darksummers
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
daddy-dark-s-baby-warrior-list
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Sheri Stewart Tepper is a prolific American author of science fiction, horror and mystery novels; she is particularly known as a feminist science fiction writer, often with an ecofeminist slant.
Born near Littleton, Colorado, for most of her career (1962-1986) she worked for Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, where she eventually became Executive Director. She has two children and is married to Gen...more
More about Sheri S. Tepper...
Born near Littleton, Colorado, for most of her career (1962-1986) she worked for Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, where she eventually became Executive Director. She has two children and is married to Gen...more
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May 23, 2010 08:38am