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A classic novel of anthropological science fiction originally published broken into two books even though it's not that long, an inexplicable decision compounded by giving the first book a cover depicting a fortune-teller falling out of her corset:
A first contact novel featuring a human spaceship split between various factions, several human anthropologists, and the aliens, who are furry humanoids whose women live in villages and whose men live alone. The main alien character, Nia, is an outcast because rather than doing the normal thing of mating with a man during the season for that and then leaving him, she lived with him in a monogamous relationship. This is an exploration of the underpinnings of sexual norms, not an argument for "monogamy is good."
The worldbuilding and culture clashes are well-done, but the book overall felt dry due to a lack of felt emotion. The main characters do get to be friends, but in a very low-key, non-intense manner. The humor, a mix of social satire and human comedy, was also extremely low-key and the satirical aspects fell flat for me. Overall I preferred Arnason's other book about furry aliens, Ring of Swords.
Leaning into premise score: It definitely delivers what it promises, it just didn't do so in a way that really worked for me.
A Woman of the Iron People
A first contact novel featuring a human spaceship split between various factions, several human anthropologists, and the aliens, who are furry humanoids whose women live in villages and whose men live alone. The main alien character, Nia, is an outcast because rather than doing the normal thing of mating with a man during the season for that and then leaving him, she lived with him in a monogamous relationship. This is an exploration of the underpinnings of sexual norms, not an argument for "monogamy is good."
The worldbuilding and culture clashes are well-done, but the book overall felt dry due to a lack of felt emotion. The main characters do get to be friends, but in a very low-key, non-intense manner. The humor, a mix of social satire and human comedy, was also extremely low-key and the satirical aspects fell flat for me. Overall I preferred Arnason's other book about furry aliens, Ring of Swords.
Leaning into premise score: It definitely delivers what it promises, it just didn't do so in a way that really worked for me.
A Woman of the Iron People
