Customer Reviews

Door into Ocean

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dune was probably the first "environmental" sci fi, exploring issues of how "where you live" and how your relative harmony/disharmony with that place can affect your society. This book is similar in that way-- and it adds the element of a society where gender relationships are examined, like the best utopia sci-fi. I thought that the characters were interesting, and the clash between a sort of "patriarchy" with a definite matriarchy was thought-provoking, as well. If you liked books like Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, The Handmaid's Tale, The Gate to Women's Country, and other "dystopic/utopia" fiction, you'll probably like this one.

In this novel Joan Slonczewski combines striking character interactions with a solid science background, making a thoroughly enjoyable story that completely captured my attention. The clash of the Sharer society concerned with fitting into the overall ecosystem on the ocean moon Shora with the techno-mechanical Valan military trying to establish lordship over Shora makes for an excellent story that should become one of the textbooks for future science fiction writers. The interaction of the Shora and Valan cultures are effectively illustrated from both an overall culture perspective and a personal point of view, and I was captivated with the diverse character set created by the author. The book manages to convey the Shora ecosystem science aspects in an easily readable form that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand. The internal conflict in the Sharer community over how to deal with the Valan presence seems to me to be a classic study on the trials all non-violent societies go through to maintain their ideals when confronted with an opponent prepared to use violence. I found this book to be a most enjoyable read and have gone back many times to reread it.

This is a very good science fiction novel. The scene is a system with 2 inhabited worlds. There is an inhabited planet and a moon around the planet which is entirely ocean. Markedly different societies occupy these worlds. The planet is a largely traditional human society; capitalist, patriarchial to a large extent, traditional forms of government, and physics based technology. The inhabitants of the aqueous moon are females who reproduce via parthenogenesis, have a very egalitarian society, and rely on sophisticated biotechnology. The book is about the clash of these two cultures. The themes are rapacious patriarchy versus feminism, hierarchy versus egalitarianism, ecological integration versus exploitation of the natural world, and coercion versus pacifism. This is a well written and enjoyable book. The author does a very good job of depicting ecology of the aqueous moon. Defects include the fact that the contrasts between the two societies are too black and white, and an overly elaborate plot with unnecessary prolongation of the book. This book is also somewhat derivative. There are themes and ideas drawn clearly from Ursula Le Guin's great utopian novel, The Dispossessed. This book is still superior to most science fiction but because it has pretensions to greater value, invites harsher criticism.

The planet Shora is covered completely by water, giving it the name The Ocean Moon. Its inhabitants, all female, have lived peacefully for tens of thousands of years, peacefully co-existing with all the creatures of the planet. That is, until the Valan traders from the neighboring planet of Valedon come, bringing with them pollution and a terrible stonesickness.

To understand the Valans, two Sharers leave for Valedon with the hope of sharing learning with them: Usha the Inconsiderate and her lovesharer, Merwen the Imaptient, who believes deep down that Valans are humans, too, like the Sharers of Shora. For her to prove this, she must teach a Valan the ways of Shora, and after their ordeal on Valedon, they bring home with them a young stonecutter's son, Spinel.

As Spinel's learnsharing begins, the Patriarch, protector of Valedon, wants to bring Shora into its folds in order to make use of its valuable resources such as minerals and fish. His Envoy dispatches a military unit to move relations along, at first with kind words. When that goes nowhere, he resorts to terrorism, both ecological and physical. Undaunted, the Sharers, unaccustomed to useless killing, fight back with pacifism and intelligence, hoping to bring an end to this unwanted presence on their homeworld.

Slonczewski has created two very distinct and intriguing worlds, populated with very human-acting characters. One item I truly liked about this book is the interplay of the contrasting world views of the Sharers and the Valans don't think that the either is human: the Sharers consider Valans nothing more than children who need to learn in order to grow; the Valans think of Sharers as nothing more than catfish. Faced with a problem, one species uses patience and diplomacy, whereas the other immediately resorts to violence. And stuck in the middle is young Spinel, torn between his homeworld and his new-found family.

A fantastic novel full of rich characters and whose themes of environmentalism and activism ring true today. A definite page-turner!

This gem of a sci fi novel is the best case study of nonviolent resistance to oppression I've ever seen. It follows the struggles of a peaceful, aquatic (women's) culture as an outwardly more powerful (male-dominated) enemy from another world tries to take them over. From the viewpoints of strategically-placed protagonists, we see the characters contend with the atrocities committed against them by their enemy, as well as with their own divisions and disagreements about how to resist. These characters include a wide range of perspectives: community leaders; an adolescent male who was invited to come live among them so the inhabitants of "Ocean" and a representative of their opponents can learn to understand each other better; and a three-year-old girl who participates in a coming-of-age ritual with other children when they are held hostage, and decide in their captivity to take up the adult responsibilities of resisting the enemy. The only book I know that compares to this one is Starhawk's almost-as-wonderful "The Fifth Sacred Thing."

The ocean planet Shora is home to the Sharers, a purple humanoid race of women who reproduce by parthenogensis. As traders from the neighboring planet Valedon interact with the Sharers, the seawomen strive to better understand the Valans and travel to Valedon. Merwen and her lovesharer bring Spinel, a young man, back to Shora to exchange knowledge. All too soon, the armies of Valedon arrive on Shora to bring it under their rule, but how can a people who have no comprehension of war or rule submit to this harsh invasion? Merwen wages a peaceful communication with the Valans, but understanding is tenuous for both sides and this strange war escalates beyond the control of either party. Only through a blending of Valan and Sharer ways can this war be stopped before Shora is damaged irrevocably. "A Door into Ocean" is an expansive ecofeminist feast featuring two radically different cultures trying to find common ground. Not just a dialogue between men and women or between warmongers and peacemongers, this book is a fascinating vision of coexistence in a universe where differences carry more weight than similarities. Rich in philosophy and love, "A Door into Ocean" is a compelling novel beautifully rendered.

The characters and the world in which they navigate is very well designed. However it is also a very slow paced book because the characters and the world are so complex. This is unlikely to be a book you can read in a day or two. You'll need to think about what is happening to keep track of it all. A lot of the slow pace is also about the politics in both the Valans and the Shora worlds and not as much as I would have liked about the characters themselves.

If you're looking for something different and interesting, this is a story worth reading. A planet consisting of only water and floating rafts populated by women struggles to cope with a visiting planet's representatives. On the planet, Shora, the women live based upon a philosophy of sharing, but the visiting delegation only is interested in having Shora and their inhabitants as resources. A philosophy of sharing and cooperativeness vs. a philosophy of domination and control. This one is worth sharing with others. The only drawback I noticed was the slow start I felt reading through Part One and the beginning portion of Part Two. Don't stop there, as this is all necessary as building blocks for the rest of the novel.

I heard about this book at an eco-feminism talk, and my advisor who is male read it first and raved. Don't let the all-woman society scare you away. This book is unexpectedly good, especially if you look into it a little deeper. Their language, how they name themselves, the Sharer society has a lot to share about life as great sci-fi books do. Get past the first chapter and you won't put it down.

This book details how a culture based on sharing interacts with a culture based on war. While reading, I never forgot the Lifeshapers of Shora could engineer a killing plague and destroy the entire empire of Valedon. At will. Their levels of bioscience are only matched by their maturity, their drive to share healing rather than fear. Slonczewski doesn't tell us, she shows us this, and amazingly captures the frustration and emotions of the main characters. This is why the novel is amazing.

This work has been compared to Dune from a philosophical standpoint. The culture of Shora transcends science fiction and become literature.

The book isn't perfect, and over-uses themes at the story's expense. Dramatic action scenes and brutality are glossed over in favor of focusing on theme of sharing. It is my opinion Joan went too far in this direction, cutting suspense in favor of philosphy where it wasn't warranted. I still *liked* the philosophy, but I think the book would have been better with a tighter structure.

The final overused theme is feminism. Simply, too many 'moments of feminism.' They interfere with the plots. The author uses too much thematic repetition; she came off as sacrificing more interesting aspects/questions of the novel in favor of 'Girlz Power!' Not a big flaw because I gave five stars, but as a man, I would have enjoyed the story more if Joan S. had toned the feminism dial down between love-sharers.

Overall, "The Door Into Ocean" is a triumph of what it means to be a human adult. The focus on independence yet sharing is unique to literature. Buy and read the book. Highly Recommended.