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Dreamsnake Vonda McIntyre 9780553296594 Books

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Dreamsnake Vonda McIntyre 9780553296594 Books

I wish I could say that we have come a long way since the 70’s when talking about sexuality and reproductive rights. I wish I could say that a book written 40 years ago was no longer revolutionary when dealing with the topic of a woman claiming sovereignty over her own body and her own sexual satisfaction. Alas, we do not live in a world that would allow me to truthfully claim any of these things. So, while Vonda McIntyre’s beloved classic Dreamsnake is always rightfully praised for being way ahead of its time, it’s hard for me to say that without noting with some degree of sadness that it is STILL ahead of its time four decades later.

If I hadn’t checked the publication date, I could easily have believed Dreamsnake was a 21st Century novel. With very few exceptions, it holds up surprisingly well relative to the majority of its genre contemporaries. But what struck me most about reading this in 2017 is not necessarily how prescient it was in terms of gender and sexuality, but how quietly progressive it was. There’s a naturalness to it, a way of normalizing concepts that we STILL have not quite come to terms with -- three-person marriages, the fluidity of sexual preference, the ambiguity of gender, the concept of being consensually non-monogamous -- all of these things are treated in an almost offhand way in the world of Dreamsnake. We’re never given a big exposition dump or introductory essay to any of the ethics or customs of this world -- it’s all given to us as a matter of course, something that’s just a fact we have to accept. In fact, creative writing teachers could actually use this novel when trying to teach the old axiom of “show, don’t tell.” All of this stuff was quietly revolutionary then, and still is now, and we’re never beat over the head with any of it in any kind of proselytizing way. This is what human sexuality is, this is what happens when it’s left to evolve on its natural course, deal with it.

It’s a short book focused mainly on just three characters, but all three are fully realized people and never fall into being one dimensional stock sci-fi tropes. We only get to spend a relatively brief time with Snake, especially by genre standards, but by the time we reach the end of her story, we feel like we truly know her as a real live thinking feeling person. She’s the perfect lens for viewing this strange post apocalyptic landscape. We’re only shown a small part of this world, but what we do see feels real, like there’s a real history behind these people and places that makes sense. I feel that another author would have stretched this one compact story into a huge ten book series, but as much as I wish I could spend more time with these characters, I feel like it's much stronger for McIntyre’s show of restraint. Everything that’s here is here for a reason. There’s no filler, and the book moves through us cold and clear.

I found Dreamsnake through Ursula LeGuin’s essay, reprinted in her wonderful book Words Are My Matter, which introduced me to several other “lost classics” of the genre. And I’m so happy that I did. It’s a shame that this book is often overlooked while so many inferior titles by male authors have always remained in print, but I’m encouraged by the fact that a critical reassessment seems to be taking place at the moment. A new generation of readers are starting to discover it and give it the credit and praise that it deserves. Since reading it, I’ve been telling everyone I know to find a copy, whether they’re fans of sci-fi or not, and I hope anyone reading this review decides to give it a shot too.


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Dreamsnake Vonda McIntyre 9780553296594 Books Reviews

beautiful
A great posy apocalyptic sci-fi story!! It takes place in the far future after society as we know it has collapsed, but has been rebuilt into a fascinating new world. It feels like both a sci-fi and fantasy story. Tons of female empowerment. Would definitely recommend!
Strong female protagonist in a dystopian future. The worlds, the people and their cultures were fascinating. The dream snake origin and the offworlders were a bit fuzzy though and left me wanting to know more about them.
I've always loved this book and this is replacing my missing copy. It is about a woman who is one of many who uses snakes in her healing practice several years after humans destroyed the earth with nuclear war.
This is one of the best written books I have ever read. Even tough it was published in the 70's it stays on the edge of our knowledge and hints at many yet undiscovered possibilities for science. A bit like Dune, 40th Anniversary Edition (Dune Chronicles, Book 1), the universe unfolded is extremely rich and suggesting. The main plot follows Snake, a woman healer who uses a rattler, a cobra and an alien "dreamsnake" to help people. The background is a strange post apocalyptic world where high tech mingles with a society sent in some aspects back to the middle ages. This ageless book has followed me half around the world, and now and then when I retake it the pleasure of reading a master story is undiminished.
This is the novel that extends the original short story "Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand". Story of a post-apocalyptic medic who uses snake venom (with alterations) to heal. This is her story of how she sets out to replace her dreamsnake after a treatment goes wrong and the valuable snake is killed. Good premise for the story, good characterisations, a bit of romance and good twist at the end. This is a story I go back to read again. Heartily recommended.
There's a reason this book was award-winning. Compelling story with interesting observations on societal roles of both genders. Considered ground-breaking at the time of its original publication, readers today (used to more explicit grotesqueries in modern dystopias) may not perceive the hard questions being addressed.
I wish I could say that we have come a long way since the 70’s when talking about sexuality and reproductive rights. I wish I could say that a book written 40 years ago was no longer revolutionary when dealing with the topic of a woman claiming sovereignty over her own body and her own sexual satisfaction. Alas, we do not live in a world that would allow me to truthfully claim any of these things. So, while Vonda McIntyre’s beloved classic Dreamsnake is always rightfully praised for being way ahead of its time, it’s hard for me to say that without noting with some degree of sadness that it is STILL ahead of its time four decades later.

If I hadn’t checked the publication date, I could easily have believed Dreamsnake was a 21st Century novel. With very few exceptions, it holds up surprisingly well relative to the majority of its genre contemporaries. But what struck me most about reading this in 2017 is not necessarily how prescient it was in terms of gender and sexuality, but how quietly progressive it was. There’s a naturalness to it, a way of normalizing concepts that we STILL have not quite come to terms with -- three-person marriages, the fluidity of sexual preference, the ambiguity of gender, the concept of being consensually non-monogamous -- all of these things are treated in an almost offhand way in the world of Dreamsnake. We’re never given a big exposition dump or introductory essay to any of the ethics or customs of this world -- it’s all given to us as a matter of course, something that’s just a fact we have to accept. In fact, creative writing teachers could actually use this novel when trying to teach the old axiom of “show, don’t tell.” All of this stuff was quietly revolutionary then, and still is now, and we’re never beat over the head with any of it in any kind of proselytizing way. This is what human sexuality is, this is what happens when it’s left to evolve on its natural course, deal with it.

It’s a short book focused mainly on just three characters, but all three are fully realized people and never fall into being one dimensional stock sci-fi tropes. We only get to spend a relatively brief time with Snake, especially by genre standards, but by the time we reach the end of her story, we feel like we truly know her as a real live thinking feeling person. She’s the perfect lens for viewing this strange post apocalyptic landscape. We’re only shown a small part of this world, but what we do see feels real, like there’s a real history behind these people and places that makes sense. I feel that another author would have stretched this one compact story into a huge ten book series, but as much as I wish I could spend more time with these characters, I feel like it's much stronger for McIntyre’s show of restraint. Everything that’s here is here for a reason. There’s no filler, and the book moves through us cold and clear.

I found Dreamsnake through Ursula LeGuin’s essay, reprinted in her wonderful book Words Are My Matter, which introduced me to several other “lost classics” of the genre. And I’m so happy that I did. It’s a shame that this book is often overlooked while so many inferior titles by male authors have always remained in print, but I’m encouraged by the fact that a critical reassessment seems to be taking place at the moment. A new generation of readers are starting to discover it and give it the credit and praise that it deserves. Since reading it, I’ve been telling everyone I know to find a copy, whether they’re fans of sci-fi or not, and I hope anyone reading this review decides to give it a shot too.