Ancient Light [Import] [Paperback]

Mary Gentle (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 736 pages
• Publisher: Vista Publication; New Ed edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575601124
• ISBN-13: 978-0575601123
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,453,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Light, July 26, 2002

By 

K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancient Light (Paperback)

It's almost impossible to assign this book a numerical rating. It's an intelligent book, a book of good qualities, but it's also something I wish I hadn't read.

Ancient Light marks the return of Christie "S'aranth" to Orthe, now in the pay of an exploitative vaguely John Company-esque corporation. Will Witchbreed technology be rediscovered? What harm will the Company do post-holocaust Orthe? And how will Christie reinvent her relationships with her former friends and rivals?

Hampered by a slowly unfolding, jerkily paced and overly complex plot, this is at times a powerful book. It's powerful enough, especially taken with its wonderful prequel, to make me care; to make me care a lot.

And that's why I wish I hadn't read it. Without wanting to spoil the ending... to say that it's depressing is an understatement. It hurts. I suspect the book is a parable about interference and exploitation. It's not an unintelligent treatment. But it's not, by any stretch of the imagination, fun to read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than the first, March 3, 2003

By 

C. Asher (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancient Light (Paperback)

It's hard, if not impossible, for any sequel to live up to a really good book, but this one succeeds wonderfully. In this book, the human Lynne Christie returns to Orthe as an employee of an exploitative multinational company looking to make Orthe it's new market. Christie is hoping to minimize cultural disruptions to a people she came to love.
The book is darker than the first, with a much different pace. It's a serious look at how destructive culture clash can be, and in this case the results are total. Be warned : if you like happy endings, this one's not for you. But it's a remarkable book, and it deserves a spot on your shelf.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL, September 30, 1999

By 

Linda A. French (Los Lunas, New Mexico USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancient Light (Paperback)

What a terrific book! In fact, I'm sorry I read it because I can find no other works like it, and I would so enjoy repeating the discovery. Gentle's alien world is spellbinding and her prose is solid. You won't be disappointed.