Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Method of Obtaining: I obtained my copy from the publisher.
- Published by: Orbit
- Release Date: 9.03.2013
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A new epic set in the Paleolithic era from New York Times bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson.
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Mars trilogy and 2312 comes a powerful, thrilling and heart-breaking story of one young man’s journey into adulthood — and an awe-inspiring vision of how we lived thirty thousand years ago.
Let’s talk about survival for a moment before I get into this review of Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson. No, I’m not talking about the reality television show – I’m talking about honest-to-goodness survival. Think about this scenario. You are a young man or woman, it’s freezing cold – arctic even, you have no supplies, no clothing, no anything – just you and your naked body. Now, take that image and place it in the middle of the wilderness where you have to survive until the brand new moon has reached its full point. Do you have that image placed firmly in your mind? If you have absolutely no idea what you would do in such a situation then you need to pick this book up and find out how Loon, the protagonist of Shaman, copes with that impossible situation.
I could not put down Shaman for the first 50 pages or so. Not even to eat or to take care of normal, everyday chores and needs. I buried my nose in the book and emerged only when Loon finishes the first of many journeys held in the pages of Shaman. Robinson has thought of everything for that first portion of the book, and just when you think you will walk away from it amazed and intrigued, he hits you with one small fact. Just a small one and I’m telling you – my mind was blown.
Shaman is the story not only of survival on his own, but also Loon’s coming-of-age story as he becomes the Wolf Tribe’s newest shaman. He dreams, paints, listens, loves, learns, and explores. He watches older wiser, and not so much wiser, men of his tribe (a tribe that is matriarchal, interestingly enough) and learns by watching the dysfunctional marriage of his mentor and the wise woman of the tribe.
Although it’s fairly long (and that’s my only complaint about the book – it’s very long and very little actually happens through quite a few of the portions), Loon’s journey is interesting enough to hold the readers attention. There’s adventure and crime between tribes that throws some spice into the story and I put down the book feeling satisfied at where the characters were when everything was tended to and the stories wrapped up.
Overall, Shaman was a very satisfying read and an interesting one – having a setting I’ve never experienced before and, although there was some unfamiliar jargon, it was easy to understand. Speaking of jargon – I did have trouble with some of the phrases used by the characters in the book. I can’t imagine a paleolithic-era woman saying “mama mia” … but then, who knows? It’s not distracting enough to take away from the value of the story.
So if you are looking for something totally different and not-quite-hardcore science fiction that also combines a great coming-of-age story and survival techniques, then look no further. Robinson’s epic story will give you something to talk about for quite some time.
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