The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen Cycle, #1) in Beyond Reality

Oct 31, 2009 Stephen rated it really liked it

Shelves: award-winner-hugo, multiple-award-nominee, 1980-1989, award-nominee-hugo, galactic-civilizations, award-nominee-nebula, science-fiction, award-nominee-locus, award-winner-locus, multiple-award-winners

This is higher end political space opera that borrows a number of themes and central plot components from Frank Herbert’s Dune, while creatively retelling the Han’s Christian Anderson story for which it’s named. I found much to like here. Vinge has quality prose skills and does a excellent job with both world-building and layering in a well thought out political structure. She has also peopled her narrative with strong, determined, intelligent central characters, all of whom are women. A nice c ...more

95 likes · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2016 mark monday rated it it was ok

Shelves: scifi-60s-70s-80s

somewhere along the way this turned from Awesome I want to know more! to Ugh when is this going to be over? insipid characterization ended up trumping the amazing world and universe being built. review to come I guess.

(view spoiler) ...more

74 likes · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2011 Kerry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 10-out-of-10, ebooks, read-pre-tracking, sf, reread, 2020, 2006, rereads-in-2020

REREAD #1: 10/10 (27 February 2006 - 5 March 2006)

[Copied across from Library Thing; 17 October 2012]

REREAD #2: Cancelled until ebooks are available. Too hard for me to read in paper these days.

REREAD #3: 10/10 (1 January 2020 - 11 January 2020)

I have been wanting to get back to rereading this for so long, but something else always seemed to jump ahead. This I saw that it was the January book for Elizabeth from the Books and Pieces Youtube channel's The Lady Vaults Goodreads group. That felt lik ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 05, 2011 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it liked it

Shelves: cover-faceless-female, cover-pretty-white-girl, science-fiction

A re-read. More like 3.5. Interesting concepts and ideas, but I can't help feeling like big parts of this book lack ... immediacy. There isn't the sense of feeling like I'm there with the characters most of the time. But the first time, I remember feeling completely sucked in by this book. ...more

Like · see review