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143rd out of 763 books
—
659 voters
Beholder's Eye (Web Shifters #1)
by
Julie E. Czerneda (Goodreads Author)
They are the last survivors of their race beings who live on and communicate through energy, who are capable of assuming the shape of any other species. When their youngest member is assigned to a world considered safe to explore, she is captured by the natives. To escape, she must violate the most important rule of her kind, and reveal the existence of her species to a fe...more
Paperback, 413 pages
Published
October 1st 1998
by DAW Books
(first published 1998)
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Interesting plot, well rounded, believable characters with adventure and action sequences made this book a bit of a 'page turner' for me. Lovely portrayal of different alien species, concentrating less on the physical attributes and more on the characters and cultures.
Synopsis
Never reveal your true nature to another
It should have been simple enough to follow that first Rule, the rule intended to keep Esen's kind safe in a universe filled with aliens willing to distrust and fear anything as diffe...more
Synopsis
Never reveal your true nature to another
It should have been simple enough to follow that first Rule, the rule intended to keep Esen's kind safe in a universe filled with aliens willing to distrust and fear anything as diffe...more
This is a stand alone novel (despite the sub title) where the main character is a shape shifting being part of a Web (not the internet!).
Which means that the POW shifts from this character under any form, any perception levels, from formless protoplasm to canids, with savory sentences like :
- on the other hoof...
- I narrowed my eyes at the dealer. He narrowed all six of his eyes back at me...
A satisfying read, and not at all the usual boy-meets-(shape-shifting)-girl-usual-ending. The value an...more
Which means that the POW shifts from this character under any form, any perception levels, from formless protoplasm to canids, with savory sentences like :
- on the other hoof...
- I narrowed my eyes at the dealer. He narrowed all six of his eyes back at me...
A satisfying read, and not at all the usual boy-meets-(shape-shifting)-girl-usual-ending. The value an...more
I love Julie Czerneda. She's definitely in my top-five list of sci-fi authors (along with, hm, Bujold, Asimov, Clarke, and Miller&Lee? Maybe?). This series is about a shape-shifter, but like any good sci-fi author, Czerneda puts enough limits around her heroine's seeming-super-power that the plot holds your interest. Czerneda is probably the best alien-builder I know, going way beyond your simple humanoid-with-extra-forehead-ridges or humanoid-with-blue-skin. In this series, I loved how her...more
This was quite an enjoyable read. The first couple chapters are awkwardly crammed with exposition, telling us what our hero Esen-alit-Quar is and how the mechanics of her shape-changing work, but after that it settles into a lively adventure story, with an appealingly warm interspecies friendship at its center. Czerneda's taken a bit of trouble over coming up with interesting alien species, too, including the herd-thinking Ganthor and the touch-oriented Ket. Whatever shape she's in, Esen is a se...more
Do you have a habit that helps you thing? Are you a kinesthetic learner? Then you might be able to understand the main character's role here. Czerneda writes my favorite aliens. Claiming the title of biologist as her day job, she may just have a few things to say about how another species works.
I love this series in particular because she manages to capture what it would be like for a secret species, in a starfield of species, to be hiding from all the rest, secretly blending in for their own p...more
I love this series in particular because she manages to capture what it would be like for a secret species, in a starfield of species, to be hiding from all the rest, secretly blending in for their own p...more
started this several years ago, and stopped because I generally find "shape shifters" and endless partly drawn aliens off-putting. came back to it and enjoyed it. definitely traditional hard sci-fi with ships, battles, fate-of-the-galaxy stuff. The portrayal of the central character, including around her shape shifting, intersection with other species, and relationship to the main human (or should I say, Human), most interesting. For those who have read the book, makes me want to, well, consume...more
Characterization and descriptive ability are clearly 4 to 4+ stars, but the pacing unfortunately really drags the book down. Just at the high points, you're inevitably presented with a anthropology lesson on some non-existent alien culture, that's not always relevant, or if it is, is easily inferable from the context (rather than the 10 - 20 pages of textbook in between the story).
Still, the story really is pretty good, and I think the main character is my favorite example of a "strong female ch...more
Still, the story really is pretty good, and I think the main character is my favorite example of a "strong female ch...more
Great start to a wonderful series. I'm always impressed when an author comes up with a brilliant new world and alian species. The author does an amazing job of creating emotion from physical descriptions, not just dialog. She's a really gifted writer and her species and the interactions between them are well thought out and meaningful. The conflict is super charged and the action is quick....kind of like a Bond movie only with a plot and fully realized characters! Great Sci-fi. I look forward to...more
Oh my Glob, this book reached up and grabbed me! It is part of a series! Hooray! (I just noticed the #1 next to the title, derp.)
I had forgotten the link to how I got recommended this book but it did remind me of the "Foreigner" series and I hadn't really thought about it but I kind of dig stories involving humans and aliens working together, being in danger and learning to trust each other despite their differences. Also the fact the main character Esen had to keep her shape-shifting abilities...more
I had forgotten the link to how I got recommended this book but it did remind me of the "Foreigner" series and I hadn't really thought about it but I kind of dig stories involving humans and aliens working together, being in danger and learning to trust each other despite their differences. Also the fact the main character Esen had to keep her shape-shifting abilities...more
This was very disappointing. I've read other books by this author which were much better. The biggest let down was the character for me. Though this was written in the late 90's, it reads much like the post-twilight books (but with way too much description). It's your standard, dumb girl syndrome. It could have worked if it was a rebellious streak or something out of the character's hands, but it was not written this way. It simply went - Don't reveal yourself.... "Oh no, I have revealed myself....more
A trilogy by the dependable Ms Czerneda our youthful (500 yer old heroine finds that when you are a near -immortal shape shifting alien. Capable of devouring just about everything up to and including starships it pays to keep a low profile if you don't want people to get excited about you. Amusingly different aliens populate this book. And via the shapeshifter's perspective we get an insiders view of how they think.
A good story about a shapechanger named Esen, who is from a web of creatures who can share their knowldge by giving pieces of themselves to others of their web. The story revolves around her and a human named Paul who become friends from their shared travails. For such an alien creature, Esen sure does act like a human.
I was looking for something different, something non-military, something..different. This book really did the trick. The story was an easy read, and the characters were easy to relate to, thus pulling you deeper and deeper into the plot. My only regret is that my local library system doesn't have the next book in inventory, so I am going to have to track it down through the Inter-Library Loan System.
This would be a good readalike for Stephanie Meyer's The Host. Features a young alien on her first job-of-sorts on a new planet who has to reveal her shapeshifting talents to a human male when trouble erupts on the planet. More off-planet adventures and trouble ensue.
Wonderful development of an alien life form - a multiple being consisting of six entities who share their memories, experiences, and lives. Their self-aapointed mission is the protection and preservation of intelligent life.
I liked it more when I thought the main character embodied a male personna, but it was still a very good book. Since it appears there are more - or will be more - making this a series, I'll read them.
Highly enjoyable, well-rounded characters. I keep meaning to track down more of Czerneda's books. Most of them seem to be series, and I don't have time to commit to more series atm.
The world-building and alien race is interesting. But I got a hundred pages in and just... didn't care. Good enough generic sf but lacked any kind of spark or depth.
This was a very interesting story with very good descriptions of a variety of alien cultures. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Aug 16, 2012
Lee Bice-Matheson
marked it as to-read
I will be reading this when I am finished my trilogy. Something to look forward to, for sure.
This is probably my favorite series of hers. Esen is definitely my favorite alien! :)
Jul 28, 2011
Marie Judson-Rosier
added it
I love these Webshifter books by Czerneda. It's still my favorite of her series.
Shape changers! Also, you've read other stuff by this author that was ok.
I discovered Czerneda with this book about a decade ago and it became an instant favourite. I've recommended it twice in recent weeks, so I figure I ought to know what I'm telling people to read...
It's not quite as stunning upon a reread as I remember, but still a solid and inventive scifi journey with a real emotional punch. Certainly much more enjoyable if you don't remember the ending :)
Fortunately, I've completely forgotten book #2 and never read #3, so I might move on to those next...
It's not quite as stunning upon a reread as I remember, but still a solid and inventive scifi journey with a real emotional punch. Certainly much more enjoyable if you don't remember the ending :)
Fortunately, I've completely forgotten book #2 and never read #3, so I might move on to those next...
Czerneda's first book of her second series is quite as wonderful as A Thousand Words for Stranger, but completely different in it's style, characterization, and overall feel. She definitely matured in her writing style, and as per usual, continues to have creative ideas and executes them well.
Slow going.
Great story in the Space opera style. Ooriginal premise with writing style that carries the story at just the right pace. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
This book should have been written by a psychologist. Thinking about my own web and how my soul would be the same regardless of my physical self...This series makes me think.
She really does do aliens well (and hooray for them not all being humanoid!). I have to get the next book now, since it looks like there's more!
I was hoping I would like this other book better because I enjoyed some of her other books. I didn't find this one near as enjoyable.
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Jan 23, 2013 07:34pm