Customer Reviews

Isle of Woman (Geodyssy, Book 1)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A series of twenty snapshots of the lives of Blaze, Ember, and their families, Piers Anthony's 'Isle of Woman' interweaves fantastic fiction with exciting history. These identities of Blaze and Ember reappear at different times, in different places, from the beginning of human development to the immediate future. Thus as the characters meet, separate, partner with others, raise their families, and eventually reunite septuagenarians, the reader progresses from mankind's earliest art and tools to the many guises of civilization. A concept this grand in scope demands such an innovative device, and it is used effectively. In this way, with familiar protagonists, even the shortest of chapters becomes effective.The centerpiece, in which Blaze finds a wife for his son, is set around 6500 BC in Catal Huyuk, and other of Anthony's settings are still more unconventional. Elaine Morgan's infamous "aquatic ape" hypothesis illustrates biological evolution, the Sahul Shelf the land bridges of old. Neandertal man, too often mercilessly mocked, is instead portrayed with sympathy; Malthus, not Marx, alerts us to future dangers. Indeed, the unfortunate path man seems to be treading is this novel's very message. The author sees catastrophe over the horizon, primarily ecological, and this warning recurs throughout both implicitly and explicitly.'Isle of Woman' is not history as we know it. This is history as it might have been, replete with suppositions, scant evidence, and even suggestions. It is also history as it ought to be: it informs, it entertains, and we can learn from it.

i'm a big fan of great chunks of Anthony's work. i've been reading his (tamer) stuff since i was in grade school, and i have really enjoyed the majority of his novels. i went into this book with an open mind, having liked others of the more "reality" based books.

isle of woman attempts to tell the tale of the whole of human culture through vignettes arranged in chronological order. two different families are showcased, with the storyline (such as it is) bouncing back and forth between them every chapter. snippets of their lives are shown from the dawn of furry pre-man to the near future apocalypse.

the book tries to be both entertainment and education, to teach us why people react like they do, why culture and civilization is arranged like it is, where we came from, and where we're going. and it pretty well succeeds in that goal. the book is obviously well and lovingly researched, and has the majority of the scientific concepts accurate. the teaching of history as a series of short tales about everyday persons (rather than a rote list of kings and statesmen) has a great way of allowing the reader to understand the culture and they way of life of the time.

the problems i had with the book were the language and a disturbing tendency to over-use rape as a plot device. the book reads like a patient mother instructing a slow child: the wording is about on an early high school reading level. all the major concepts and the BIG POINTS are carefully spelled out, leaving no room for the reader to think about it on his/her own. i kept thinking to myself, "come on Piers, i'm smart enough to get the point, you don't have to hold my hand." and in nearly every chapter (there were maybe 3 that didn't), someone was either being raped or discussing their past rape(s). if it's happening *all the time* through the book, especially with such a cavalier "so what" attitude, it turns into a cheap plot trick rather than the horror and trauma it is.

basically, i judge series books by whether or not i'd feel the need to continue reading them. this book was a great idea that didn't quite work out. i was bored in some places, and annoyed in a few others. i would definately not be picking up the next books. Piers Anthony can do (and has done) much better.

I first picked up this book in my school library thinking it would amuse me for at least 1/2 an hour. I was wrong, I sat in the library for 2 hours before I realized I had missed 2 classes. The book is so absorbing and wonderfully told that I become so involved with the characters that I got teary eyed at the end. What facinated me even more is the history, while I realize that the book has a lot of inaccurate information it can really fascinate people by making them think, could this be true (does anyone REALLY know what happened to the neanderthals?) A must read for any age

I started this book with high hopes and enjoyed the first quarter of it, after which my opinion of the book got progressively worse until I finished it, thoroughly displeased.
The constant jumping between characters and times simply doesn't give one a chance to get attached or emotionally invested in the book. I would rather read each era as a different book. Rape is used as a plot device too frequently. I believe that there are some historical inaccuracies in the book.
It isn't boring and it is interesting to read because it is original and different, but I didn't enjoy it and would not read it again. 2.5/5.

The person who wrote the editorial review obviously is one of those people who underestimated Anthony and let it color his/her opinion of the book.

No, not everyone will understand what Anthony is trying to do. It is a very intelligent book, with a concept for plot structure that is entirely different from what most readers are accustomed to seeing. That doesn't mean it's a bad book. Just because the book has a message beyond "don't worry, be happy" doesn't make it a hokey book. Now, it IS the first book in the series, so cut the man some slack if he doesn't completely realize his concept. What mistakes he does make, he makes up for in the next book. I intend to read them all.

Ember and Blaze met at the beginning of time and fell in love. They couldn't marry each other because they were members of the same tribe, so they both married other people and had families. Ember, Blaze and their kin are reborn every chapter, each in another point in history. But all the while, they feel a strange longing for each other. And in the furture from today, they finally meet again. Piers Anthony brings a reader all around the world throughout the centuries, and into the personal lives of the characters associated in the story. As teenage girls, we found this story to be well-written and detailed in all aspects of life. We recommend it to all mature readers

The author said this book was supposed to be about how thing man did to survive are killing the earth.
His point was totally overshadowed by all the rape and sex that happened in the first half of the book. I have no idea why these scenes were needed as they added absolutely nothing of value to the story.
I did like the overall layout of the book. Following a family through the eons and learning a bit of the history of the times was interesting.

Next to Incarnations of Immortality, this is Piers Anthony's best work. The research seems accurate, and it is clear that Mr. Anthony took this research in mind as he wrote the stories in this book. I found myself interested in the first two stories, that happened millions of years ago.

My beef is Blaze and Ember's long separation, and their instant knowledge of their past lives when they finally come face to face in the future (last story) That was such a cheesy and contrived ending. I would have liked better if the entire plot had Blaze and Ember together through the ages, meeting in different ways and unconsciously remembering one another, instead of them finding others and the story shifting to their children and then their grandchildren. Still, a decent read, with interesting stories.

This book should appeal to anyone interested in history, anthropology, or who simply likes to settle back and read a superior novel written by one of the most creative thinkers in modern fiction. Courageous idea to take up the challenge and write a book like this with a setting that stretches across the vastness of human time, from Africa 10,000 generations ago to settings any person alive today can recognize all too frighteningly well. I enjoyed every single chapter of Isle of Woman, even as the results of human actions that were presented in this cautionary excursion frustrated me. Every book Anthony has written in this milestone series is a worthy read!

In the beginning of human pre-history, mankind learned to throw stones use fire, and create vivid pictures with words. Doing so gave him an advantage over other animals, allowed him to spread out of Africa and into the rest of the world. In those earliest beginnings, mankind shared the world with other hominids. Over time, he had only to share it with other humans, but even that proved sometimes difficult.

Author Piers Anthony envisions a connected lifetime. Two people, Ember and Blaze, are in love back in the beginning of time, but they can never marry as they come from the same tribe. Blaze must leave the tribe and strike out on his own, as all men do. Repeating their lives over and over, in locations around the world as humanity spreads, they see, and take part in both the epic and tiny changes that create history--control of fire, contact with the neandertols, reaching Australia, creation of early civilization in the Tigris/Euphrates basin, Rome, China, the Mongol Empire all play their part and in every case the continuing characters are there. Anthony advances the ages of the characters slightly with each shift (some of which encompass thousands or even millions of years), but allows them a continuous history.

It's a strange approach to story-telling--Ember and Blaze each have families, grow older, yet keep their fascination with fire and with the cultural advances of the times. The characters keep the same names and (evolving) backstory, yet this isn't an immortal, living through time--it's a lifetime played again and again against a different backdrop--but with that backdrop adding consequence to the decisions they make.

Anthony ends his story with a bit of a twist, shifting not to the present, but to a near-future where the consequences of many of the decisions that mankind has made play themselves out. The ending is bittersweet, and Anthony adds a hard-hitting author note for anyone who missed the point.

I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this story and I suspect that few authors have the skill to pull something like this off, or the clout with publishers to persuade them to take a chance on such a radically different form of story. Piers Anthony, however, manages to involve the reader in both the struggles his families must undertake and the playout of history and anthropology as mankind literally conquers and vanquishes the earth. The decade and a half since ISLE OF WOMAN was published bear out some of the most frightening of Anthony's concerns. Still, the fact that authors like Anthony can take a stand like this and write so persuasively is cause for some hope for the earth. I certainly recommend ISLE OF WOMAN to anyone who is uncertain about the tradeoff between 'jobs' and the environment.