Rainbow Man [Paperback]

M. J. Engh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

From the acclaimed author of Arslan and Wheel of the Winds comes a powerful cautionary novel in the manner of The Handmaid's Tale. Liss, a starfarer weary of traveling, decides to settle down on the quiet planet of Bimran. Forbidden to love by the planet's harsh moral code, Liss must battle for her freedom when she becomes a target of fanatical religious rulers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This breezy yet thoughtful book by the author of Arslan brings to mind the works of Ursula K. LeGuin and Orson Scott Card. In the distant future, female starshipper Liss leaves her peripatetic profession to settle on the planet Bimran, a pleasant world with a cheerful populace remarkable for its honesty and probity. But after a few months, Liss begins to sense a distasteful underside to her new home's charms. How is order maintained on a world with no visible government or law? Why do her two attractive male friends frustratingly deny their obvious romantic interest in her? And what role does Bimran's enigmatic religion play in these puzzles? In conversational, powerfully simple prose, Engh creates a rich and detailed culture with understandable, though flawed, reasons for its practices. Her characters are extremely likable and three-dimensional; even the antagonists are sympathetic. The action occasionally bogs down in pedantic debates on religion, but on the whole this is a lively, absorbing page turner.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Seeking respite from her nomadic existence as a starshipper, Liss finds life on the idyllic planet Bimran both restful and appealing until she discovers that her surgically induced infertility classifies her as a "man." When she uncovers the truth behind Bimran's official religion and peculiar laws, she begins to realize that her life is in danger and that her chosen home has become a trap. The author of Arslan (Tor, 1988) and Wheel of the Winds (Tor, 1989) explores the nature of gender and the myth of predestination with an uncanny economy of words. For most sf collections.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312890141
• ISBN-13: 978-0312890148
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,460,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prismatic, December 2, 1998

By 

Haw-Wen Chai ([e-mail]) (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rainbow Man (Paperback)

There is something irresistibly compelling about this novel which defies specific definition. Piquant, poignant, with depth. I'm one of those people who seldom picks up the same book twice, and yet somehow I found myself reading this same novel for the third time, just recently. Let me try to tell you why. Liss, a floating visitor of planets aboard giant starships of the future, finally decides to settle down upon a harmless-looking planet. She is immediately and somewhat cryptically nicknamed "The Rainbow Man", and rainbow man it is; the book is a sparkling yet poetically spare exploration of intriguing psychological issues. There is philosophical conversation, there are enigmatic characters, there is an interesting construction of a world both parallel to and separate from our own. Identity, morals, theology, open-mindedness, time, relationship and connection, and most of all freedom of choice - it's all here, and in a science fiction context which, as a genre, is enriched by this tale. I felt a strong connection with the independent main character, and a delight in the ethereal yet simple style of the piece which leaves much to the imagination but leads you there, and leaves sparkle behind when you've finished. An interesting read and highly recommended if you've got some time on your hands and a curious mind. Reminds me of Michael Swanwick's books "Vacuum Flowers" and "Stations of the Tide" - also wondrous worlds.

4.0 out of 5 stars Deeply Creepy, August 23, 2009

By 

Feo T. "A published author . . . or I will be... (Probably shouldn't add this) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rainbow Man (Paperback)

I've read the great triad of dystopia novels--"1984," "Brave New World," and "We." Let me assure you, none of them are as believable or disturbing as this seemingly pastoral tale with dark undercurrents. Particular credit must go to the author for focusing on believable characterization--it's very easy to understand what each character is thinking that drives their increasingly appalling actions. I only took a star off because of the soapboxing, but you can skip it without detracting much from the story.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very intrigueing, May 30, 2000

By 

Stacy (Burlington, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rainbow Man (Paperback)

This book was unusually good for me. I am used to adventures where the characters go off beating each other up as well as the bad guy, but this book was different. It was more about discovery of other cultures.

The main character in "Rainbow Man" is a woman who has left her starship to live on the planet Bimran? . She is a woman who is defined as a male because she has had an operation done to make her unable to reproduce. This and other strange things about her new surroundings are the main conflict in the story. read it!