Carnival by Elizabeth Bear
Feb. 18th, 2010 08:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyTitle: Carnival
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Science fiction.
Setting: New Amazonia, a planet where women rule.
Reason for Reading: I like Bear on occasion, and the plot of two gay men on a planet of fierce women seemed interesting.
Finished In: Months. I think I had it out of the library three times - the middle is pretty slow going.
Pages: 393
Copyright Date: 2006
Cover: An androgynous, heavily made-up face. The tagline reads, "Behind one mask... lies another." Several people commented to me that the book looked interesting on the basis of the cover and asked me what it was about.
First line: "Michelangelo Osiris Leary Kusanagi-Jones had been drinking since fourteen hundred. He didn't plan on stopping soon."
Best part: The subtle plots. Almost every character has multiple allegiances that come into conflict over the course of the book.
Worst part: For some of the middle I felt like I needed to prop my eyes up with toothpicks. There were points when I felt I would never finish the book at all.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Huston
Grade: C
Recommended for: Those who enjoy science fiction explorations of gender.
Related Reads: Halfway Human by Carolyn Ives Gilman, A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer, Daughters of a Coral Dawn by Katherine V. Forrest.
Secret agents and hidden loyalties abound in this complicated book. I enjoyed it but parts were very slow, and I had a hard time keeping the two main characters distinct in my mind.
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Genre: Science fiction.
Setting: New Amazonia, a planet where women rule.
Reason for Reading: I like Bear on occasion, and the plot of two gay men on a planet of fierce women seemed interesting.
Finished In: Months. I think I had it out of the library three times - the middle is pretty slow going.
Pages: 393
Copyright Date: 2006
Cover: An androgynous, heavily made-up face. The tagline reads, "Behind one mask... lies another." Several people commented to me that the book looked interesting on the basis of the cover and asked me what it was about.
First line: "Michelangelo Osiris Leary Kusanagi-Jones had been drinking since fourteen hundred. He didn't plan on stopping soon."
Best part: The subtle plots. Almost every character has multiple allegiances that come into conflict over the course of the book.
Worst part: For some of the middle I felt like I needed to prop my eyes up with toothpicks. There were points when I felt I would never finish the book at all.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Huston
Grade: C
Recommended for: Those who enjoy science fiction explorations of gender.
Related Reads: Halfway Human by Carolyn Ives Gilman, A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer, Daughters of a Coral Dawn by Katherine V. Forrest.
Secret agents and hidden loyalties abound in this complicated book. I enjoyed it but parts were very slow, and I had a hard time keeping the two main characters distinct in my mind.