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Woman of the Iron People
Les Nomades du Fer
Tandis que la Terre peine à se relever de la pollution et de la surexploitation de ses ressources, Lixia, une anthropologue, est envoyée vers une planète qui orbite autour de l’étoile Sigma Draconis. Elle et son équipage sont chargés d’observer les sociétés qui s’y sont développées sans interférer avec les populations locales. Nia, quant à elle, est une artisane parmi celles et ceux que l’on nomme le Peuple du Fer. Marginalisée parce qu’elle a autrefois aimé un homme, c’est elle qui est choisie pour guider les terriens sur son monde où, au prix d’une séparation entre les hommes et les femmes, guerre et violence n’ont ni sens ni existence. Toutefois, voilà qu’au sein de l’équipage divisé du vaisseau, la colère gronde et les conflits se multiplient, au risque de tout détruire. L’amitié naissante entre Nia et Lixia résistera-t-elle à ces dissensions?
592 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
89 people are currently reading
1633 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Arnason
109 books73 followersEleanor Atwood Arnason (born 1942) is an American author of science fiction novels and short stories. From 1949 to 1961, Arnason and her parents lived in "Idea House #2," a futuristic dwelling built by the Walker Art Center. Arnason's earliest published story appeared in New Worlds in 1972. Her work often depicts cultural change and conflict, usually from the viewpoint of characters who cannot or will not live by their own societies' rules.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
October 22, 2014
I wish I knew of a list of all the books that Ursula K. Le Guin has ever personally recommended, blurbed, or otherwise endorsed, because she’s pretty much always spot-on. I got this book because of her blurb, and was delighted by it – and surprised that I hadn’t heard of it previously. I’m going to blame poor marketing. I’m also going to give Part One of the paperback edition of this book (A Woman of the Iron People is one book; split into two paperbacks as part of that poor marketing) this year’s award for Most Ridiculously Inappropriate Cover. Check out that lady with the boobs holding a skull! In front of a tall stone tower! With a spaceship in the sky!
I presume that the cover is supposed to depict one of the main characters, an anthropologist. The character in question is ethnically Chinese, describes herself as being more flat-chested than average for a human female, and at no point does she wear a silly fashion bustier, nor does she hold a skull. OK, at one point a character does get his skull bashed in, but said skull does not get removed from his head. There is also a ‘tower’ in the story. It’s a primitive structure fashioned from reeds and organic materials. And there is a spaceship, although the one pictured doesn’t match the description provided. Sigh. The cover for the second half isn’t quite as egregiously random, but it’s not great, either. (Yes, the alien people are furry – but their fur is a slick pelt, like otters, and they have a thick, stocky build, like bears. They also wear clothes and don’t dance around naked, as pictured.)
Ignore the covers, and just get to the story. A criticism that the book could be more tightly plotted might have some validity. It can be a bit meandering. But I still loved it. (Maureen McHugh gets that kind of criticism, and I love her too.) If you’re interested in a first contact story with a strong anthropological focus, which concentrates on the gradual process of two very different women coming to understand each other – this is a book for you.
I presume that the cover is supposed to depict one of the main characters, an anthropologist. The character in question is ethnically Chinese, describes herself as being more flat-chested than average for a human female, and at no point does she wear a silly fashion bustier, nor does she hold a skull. OK, at one point a character does get his skull bashed in, but said skull does not get removed from his head. There is also a ‘tower’ in the story. It’s a primitive structure fashioned from reeds and organic materials. And there is a spaceship, although the one pictured doesn’t match the description provided. Sigh. The cover for the second half isn’t quite as egregiously random, but it’s not great, either. (Yes, the alien people are furry – but their fur is a slick pelt, like otters, and they have a thick, stocky build, like bears. They also wear clothes and don’t dance around naked, as pictured.)
Ignore the covers, and just get to the story. A criticism that the book could be more tightly plotted might have some validity. It can be a bit meandering. But I still loved it. (Maureen McHugh gets that kind of criticism, and I love her too.) If you’re interested in a first contact story with a strong anthropological focus, which concentrates on the gradual process of two very different women coming to understand each other – this is a book for you.
June 25, 2025
6 stars! Wonderful anthropological first-contact novel
There's always some trepidation when one begins to re-read a fondly-remembered book. Will it hold up? Will it be as good as I remember? I'm happy to report that this one has stood up to (so far) four readings. My highest possible recommendation! Arnason's masterwork, and right up with the best of Le Guin. In my not-so-humble opinion.
Lixia, the viewpoint character, is a Hawaiian anthropologist from an Earth still recovering from the excesses of the 20th century (book was published in 1991). She's nerving herself up to enter her first alien village at Sigma Draconis -- 'There was no point in sneaking around. If they caught me spying, I'd be in real trouble. The best thing was to walk right in. The technique hadn't worked in New Jersey, of course. The people there had tried to sacrifice me to their god, the Destroyer of Cities...'
Nia, a woman of the Iron People, is a smith and a pervert -- she once loved a man. Her neighbors drove her from their village in disgrace. Now she has a smithy near a village of the Copper People -- the village Lixia had come to study. Lixia's first contact doesn't go well -- she is driven out. Nia takes her in, befriends her, and they become travel companions. The next village they visit is kinder: "This person without fur is amazing. She knows nothing about anything. But she is willing to listen, and she doesn't interrupt."
Lixia and Nia are joined by Dexter Seawarrior, Ph.D., an Angeleno aborigine. His people prize mellowness and truth. Dexter is devious and ambitious. He left his tribe, went to school, and is now a tenured professor at Berkeley....
The book is filled with complicated people, some of them human, muddling through life.
"When a shamaness of an alien village, having handled for the moment the problem of an alien intruder, walks away complaining aloud, 'Why do these things always happen to me?' the reader knows she's in trustworthy hands. High marks." -- Suzy McKee Charnas
And here's the review to read, by the inimitable JO WALTON: https://www.tor.com/2012/08/15/anthro...
You can find a little poem about the book here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Woman...
--added by an "unknown" Wiki editor (hee hee).
There's always some trepidation when one begins to re-read a fondly-remembered book. Will it hold up? Will it be as good as I remember? I'm happy to report that this one has stood up to (so far) four readings. My highest possible recommendation! Arnason's masterwork, and right up with the best of Le Guin. In my not-so-humble opinion.
Lixia, the viewpoint character, is a Hawaiian anthropologist from an Earth still recovering from the excesses of the 20th century (book was published in 1991). She's nerving herself up to enter her first alien village at Sigma Draconis -- 'There was no point in sneaking around. If they caught me spying, I'd be in real trouble. The best thing was to walk right in. The technique hadn't worked in New Jersey, of course. The people there had tried to sacrifice me to their god, the Destroyer of Cities...'
Nia, a woman of the Iron People, is a smith and a pervert -- she once loved a man. Her neighbors drove her from their village in disgrace. Now she has a smithy near a village of the Copper People -- the village Lixia had come to study. Lixia's first contact doesn't go well -- she is driven out. Nia takes her in, befriends her, and they become travel companions. The next village they visit is kinder: "This person without fur is amazing. She knows nothing about anything. But she is willing to listen, and she doesn't interrupt."
Lixia and Nia are joined by Dexter Seawarrior, Ph.D., an Angeleno aborigine. His people prize mellowness and truth. Dexter is devious and ambitious. He left his tribe, went to school, and is now a tenured professor at Berkeley....
The book is filled with complicated people, some of them human, muddling through life.
"When a shamaness of an alien village, having handled for the moment the problem of an alien intruder, walks away complaining aloud, 'Why do these things always happen to me?' the reader knows she's in trustworthy hands. High marks." -- Suzy McKee Charnas
And here's the review to read, by the inimitable JO WALTON: https://www.tor.com/2012/08/15/anthro...
You can find a little poem about the book here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Woman...
--added by an "unknown" Wiki editor (hee hee).
September 28, 2020
CF de “primer contacto”, variante “antropología “.
El estilo es similar al de LeGuin.
La cosa va de una nave que llega a un planeta a 16 años luz de la tierra (no explica la tecnología) y allí bajan tripulantes sueltos en distintas zonas a estudiar a los nativos, antropoides recubiertos de pelo con tecnología tipo Edad del Hierro
La protagonista humana, Lixia, conoce a una nativa y empieza a viajar con ella y a descubrir su sociedad matriarcal de clanes.
La teoría es de respetuosa no-intervención.
Siempre es interesante leer sobre un Primer Contacto. Los hay de todos los tipos y colores: belicistas, en inferioridad tecnología, o en superioridad, o con mentalidades dispares, con inteligencias colectivas, con afanes de conquista/explotación, etc, etc, etc.
Y el cómo plantea cada autor ese Contacto y la Sociedad alienígena es gran parte del éxito de la novela; Arnason lo hace bien. La sociedad del planeta tiene su atractivo.
Pero, !ay!, la trama se me ha hecho eterna, sin interés por seguir leyendo una vez “vista” la sociedad. Mucha antropología y poco interés.
Así que al 70% mi mente ha dicho eso de “ya me he aburrido bastante” y lo he abandonado.
Una pena porque el otro que leí de Arnason me gustó bastante y tenía ganas de leer CF que me gustase, que últimamente no acierto con ella.
El estilo es similar al de LeGuin.
La cosa va de una nave que llega a un planeta a 16 años luz de la tierra (no explica la tecnología) y allí bajan tripulantes sueltos en distintas zonas a estudiar a los nativos, antropoides recubiertos de pelo con tecnología tipo Edad del Hierro
La protagonista humana, Lixia, conoce a una nativa y empieza a viajar con ella y a descubrir su sociedad matriarcal de clanes.
La teoría es de respetuosa no-intervención.
Siempre es interesante leer sobre un Primer Contacto. Los hay de todos los tipos y colores: belicistas, en inferioridad tecnología, o en superioridad, o con mentalidades dispares, con inteligencias colectivas, con afanes de conquista/explotación, etc, etc, etc.
Y el cómo plantea cada autor ese Contacto y la Sociedad alienígena es gran parte del éxito de la novela; Arnason lo hace bien. La sociedad del planeta tiene su atractivo.
Pero, !ay!, la trama se me ha hecho eterna, sin interés por seguir leyendo una vez “vista” la sociedad. Mucha antropología y poco interés.
Así que al 70% mi mente ha dicho eso de “ya me he aburrido bastante” y lo he abandonado.
Una pena porque el otro que leí de Arnason me gustó bastante y tenía ganas de leer CF que me gustase, que últimamente no acierto con ella.
April 8, 2018
Reto 27: Un libro ambientado en otro planeta.
This is a First Contact story. With furry hominid aliens.
The alien society portrayed here is of the matriarchal variety. Pre-industrial. The females live generally in nomadic villages , they grew vegetables, take care of the children, tan skins, cure, knit, and are the shamaness and smiths. The males are encouraged and expected to leave after puberty, where they live in the wild , hunting alone, herding animals, guarding territories if strong , and waiting spring to mate.
The males are think as ill tempered and intolerant of other males or people in general; are solitary. The weak males are pushed far , and the old are tolerated in the fringe of villages until their dead or going crazy running into the wild.
There are no wars, no homicide, no crime.
They exchange gifts , crafted jewelry, knives, embroidered clothes (the males do that craft btw), or food. Or stories.
The myths of the world are narrated in the book, interesting tales of creation, spirits, demons and cautionary tales.
All the above are the best of the book. The alien characters are complex and rich, specially Nia. 'Normal' seems elusive for this smith. As hapiness for all the 'perverts' that divert for the rules of normality.
Where the book gets heavy, fortunately near the final quarter of the book, it is with all the blabla of the human crew - old school socialist marxist . The Russian and Chinese characters are like cartoons.
Remember the theory of Jiang, the plumber. It's our revolutionary duty to rescue these unfortunate people from stagnation."
With the exception of Lixia, the hawaiian anthropologist She is the main protagonist, a sort of chronicler or observer in the planet. Empathic and naive too, she is the only whom seems fall in love with the planet or maybe is just the 'inmersion' period. In another hand, Derek , the other researcher, is an annoying arquetipe of californian male whom all-in-life-is-easier, the contrast is hard. As character Derek is obnoxious in great part of the story.
The debate about the human intervention is moot, it's the thing 'you observe - you change' thingy , to me.
-----------
Conoci a esta autora por Círculo de Espadas, el cual parece encontrarse bastante en el futuro de este primer encuentro.
Lo raro/extraño: Todo ese concepto de socialismo soviético de los años 1970s es tan extraño metido en una expedición científica , es como una vieja serie de tv con camaradas y eso. Muy cliche. Y la mera idea de que solamente los paises capitalistas son los responsables de la contaminación del planeta ... no, eso NO es cierto. Y, la verdad es que suena tan extraño ser salvados de la extinción por una utopia socialista.
quotes:
Ara made the gesture of agreement. “You are right about that. Look at the Trickster. He thinks he is so clever. He runs around setting traps and telling lies. And what happens? He falls into his own traps half the time, and his lies get so complicated that he can't keep track of them. That isn't clever. It's stupid-smart.” He paused. “What is the name of your people?"
---
Finally everything became so bad that no one could come up with anything comforting to say. Then the people said, ‘Change is impossible. It's already too late. Anyway, we don't really mind the way things are.'” I paused. “Those are the four kinds of lie the people told. ‘We are making things better.’ ‘There is no problem.’ ‘There are no real gifts.’ ‘It is too late to change.’”
This is a First Contact story. With furry hominid aliens.
The alien society portrayed here is of the matriarchal variety. Pre-industrial. The females live generally in nomadic villages , they grew vegetables, take care of the children, tan skins, cure, knit, and are the shamaness and smiths. The males are encouraged and expected to leave after puberty, where they live in the wild , hunting alone, herding animals, guarding territories if strong , and waiting spring to mate.
The males are think as ill tempered and intolerant of other males or people in general; are solitary. The weak males are pushed far , and the old are tolerated in the fringe of villages until their dead or going crazy running into the wild.
There are no wars, no homicide, no crime.
They exchange gifts , crafted jewelry, knives, embroidered clothes (the males do that craft btw), or food. Or stories.
The myths of the world are narrated in the book, interesting tales of creation, spirits, demons and cautionary tales.
All the above are the best of the book. The alien characters are complex and rich, specially Nia. 'Normal' seems elusive for this smith. As hapiness for all the 'perverts' that divert for the rules of normality.
“Women never quarrel with strangers?” I asked.
“Once in a while. Hakht did. She is a bad person.” Nia said this firmly with conviction. “And Inahooli did. She was crazy.[...] But ordinary women, women with self-respect, never quarrel except with people they know. Kinfolk and close neighbors. That is the right way to have an argument.” Nia ate more fruit. “There is no way to be certain who a stranger is or what will happen if you give her trouble."
Where the book gets heavy, fortunately near the final quarter of the book, it is with all the blabla of the human crew - old school socialist marxist . The Russian and Chinese characters are like cartoons.
Remember the theory of Jiang, the plumber. It's our revolutionary duty to rescue these unfortunate people from stagnation."
With the exception of Lixia, the hawaiian anthropologist She is the main protagonist, a sort of chronicler or observer in the planet. Empathic and naive too, she is the only whom seems fall in love with the planet or maybe is just the 'inmersion' period. In another hand, Derek , the other researcher, is an annoying arquetipe of californian male whom all-in-life-is-easier, the contrast is hard. As character Derek is obnoxious in great part of the story.
The debate about the human intervention is moot, it's the thing 'you observe - you change' thingy , to me.
-----------
Conoci a esta autora por Círculo de Espadas, el cual parece encontrarse bastante en el futuro de este primer encuentro.
Lo raro/extraño: Todo ese concepto de socialismo soviético de los años 1970s es tan extraño metido en una expedición científica , es como una vieja serie de tv con camaradas y eso. Muy cliche. Y la mera idea de que solamente los paises capitalistas son los responsables de la contaminación del planeta ... no, eso NO es cierto. Y, la verdad es que suena tan extraño ser salvados de la extinción por una utopia socialista.
quotes:
Ara made the gesture of agreement. “You are right about that. Look at the Trickster. He thinks he is so clever. He runs around setting traps and telling lies. And what happens? He falls into his own traps half the time, and his lies get so complicated that he can't keep track of them. That isn't clever. It's stupid-smart.” He paused. “What is the name of your people?"
---
Finally everything became so bad that no one could come up with anything comforting to say. Then the people said, ‘Change is impossible. It's already too late. Anyway, we don't really mind the way things are.'” I paused. “Those are the four kinds of lie the people told. ‘We are making things better.’ ‘There is no problem.’ ‘There are no real gifts.’ ‘It is too late to change.’”
December 21, 2009
If you have ever wondered what it'd be like to experience menstruation on another planet, this book is for you. It is also for anyone who appreciates thoughtful, character-driven science fiction.
Periods in space sounds like a joke—maybe an ill-conceived title for an anthology of science fiction by women—but the inclusion of this detail is something I truly appreciate about Arnason's book. She has done the hard work of imagining what life might really be like for her characters. Consequently, her characters quickly acquire depth and personality. Far too often, what imagining work a science fiction author does is spent in full upon plot and tech. These are the books I pick up for their interesting ideas, but put down because everyone—including some not very alien aliens—sounds like a bunch of smart-alec teenagers. When I picked up Woman of the Iron People, I couldn't put it down.
Ironically, I almost never picked it up in the first place. The cover art on this book is so off-putting that I didn't consider reading it until I saw a favorable review from a goodreads friend. In what I can only assume was an attempt to appeal to male teenagers, the publisher has stuck on a sultry woman with breasts about to tumble out of her half-undone top and what appears to be a human skull gripped in her blue-taloned fingers. She has no resemblance to the character in the book, who is anything but sultry and thinks of sex in hygienic rather than romantic terms. If the teenager picks up the book because he thinks it is going to be about the woman on the cover, I expect he'll put it down about the time the woman inside the book gets her period.
Periods in space sounds like a joke—maybe an ill-conceived title for an anthology of science fiction by women—but the inclusion of this detail is something I truly appreciate about Arnason's book. She has done the hard work of imagining what life might really be like for her characters. Consequently, her characters quickly acquire depth and personality. Far too often, what imagining work a science fiction author does is spent in full upon plot and tech. These are the books I pick up for their interesting ideas, but put down because everyone—including some not very alien aliens—sounds like a bunch of smart-alec teenagers. When I picked up Woman of the Iron People, I couldn't put it down.
Ironically, I almost never picked it up in the first place. The cover art on this book is so off-putting that I didn't consider reading it until I saw a favorable review from a goodreads friend. In what I can only assume was an attempt to appeal to male teenagers, the publisher has stuck on a sultry woman with breasts about to tumble out of her half-undone top and what appears to be a human skull gripped in her blue-taloned fingers. She has no resemblance to the character in the book, who is anything but sultry and thinks of sex in hygienic rather than romantic terms. If the teenager picks up the book because he thinks it is going to be about the woman on the cover, I expect he'll put it down about the time the woman inside the book gets her period.
August 26, 2016
This book is 25 years old as I write this review, and it recalls the sort of anthropological science fiction that was just beginning to be popular in the 90's. It actually holds up fairly well when it comes to playing with tropes about research ships and encountering alien populations. Why didn't I rate it higher?
First, the author commits the sin of having her anthropologist character make all sorts of assumptions about the aliens she encounters. She assumes that they have two genders. She assumes that they would have a language that's verbal and one that she could learn to speak. She assumes that they will have social cues around eating and work that are human. There's no reason that any of these things would be true on an alien planet with intelligence that's evolved completely differently. Arneson's aliens are sort of a combination of Clan of the Cave Bear and some Native American tribes. I think that if she wanted to make this culture so human, she should have set her book on a remote place on earth or on a human-settled planet that had fallen out of contact. While I was interested in her alien race, I just couldn't let these huge mistakes go.
The next issue I had was that the book wandered a lot. I think that Arneson has this tendency as an author- some other things I have read by her feel like they wander about in search of a plot but have random things just keep happening one after another. There doesn't seem to be a build to any climax, and it can be hard to tell what's important since we don't see a lot of emotional reaction from our main character.
I ended up a bit bored. It's not a bad book, but I got impatient with it and ended up skimming when I found I couldn't really describe the book in terms of plot more than half way in.
First, the author commits the sin of having her anthropologist character make all sorts of assumptions about the aliens she encounters. She assumes that they have two genders. She assumes that they would have a language that's verbal and one that she could learn to speak. She assumes that they will have social cues around eating and work that are human. There's no reason that any of these things would be true on an alien planet with intelligence that's evolved completely differently. Arneson's aliens are sort of a combination of Clan of the Cave Bear and some Native American tribes. I think that if she wanted to make this culture so human, she should have set her book on a remote place on earth or on a human-settled planet that had fallen out of contact. While I was interested in her alien race, I just couldn't let these huge mistakes go.
The next issue I had was that the book wandered a lot. I think that Arneson has this tendency as an author- some other things I have read by her feel like they wander about in search of a plot but have random things just keep happening one after another. There doesn't seem to be a build to any climax, and it can be hard to tell what's important since we don't see a lot of emotional reaction from our main character.
I ended up a bit bored. It's not a bad book, but I got impatient with it and ended up skimming when I found I couldn't really describe the book in terms of plot more than half way in.
May 27, 2020
This is a very good 3 stars, because there are several elements that I liked a lot.
The story is about a human anthropologist who encounters a solitary female of the indigenous species on the planet she and her team are exploring. They travel together and reader and anthropologist get to know different tribes, cultural habits and individuals on their way. On their own each encounter is interesting and well written, in sum it is a bit on the dragging side. There were times when I wished the author would have told her story tighter.
What was a bit irritating was a twist at the end that came plotwise out of nowhere, the imagined future political situation on Earth, which nowadays feels anachronistical and I would have wished for a more alien species which didn't feel like a variety of stone age people.
This novel is recommendable for readers who like unagitated anthroposophical and psychological takes on Science Fiction.
The story is about a human anthropologist who encounters a solitary female of the indigenous species on the planet she and her team are exploring. They travel together and reader and anthropologist get to know different tribes, cultural habits and individuals on their way. On their own each encounter is interesting and well written, in sum it is a bit on the dragging side. There were times when I wished the author would have told her story tighter.
What was a bit irritating was a twist at the end that came plotwise out of nowhere, the imagined future political situation on Earth, which nowadays feels anachronistical and I would have wished for a more alien species which didn't feel like a variety of stone age people.
This novel is recommendable for readers who like unagitated anthroposophical and psychological takes on Science Fiction.
August 11, 2007
I'm a sucker for any good human/alien contact book that's socially smart. This one is.
Recommended for any social science dork. There's very little hard SF here (and what there is is mostly biology). The people spend a lot of time arguing about social/political/anthropological theory, in a very compelling, interesting, and accessible way. I loved it. Also, Arnason's idea of the future of Earth is a unique one that rings true.
I was having so much fun in this world, I didn't want the book to end.
Recommended for any social science dork. There's very little hard SF here (and what there is is mostly biology). The people spend a lot of time arguing about social/political/anthropological theory, in a very compelling, interesting, and accessible way. I loved it. Also, Arnason's idea of the future of Earth is a unique one that rings true.
I was having so much fun in this world, I didn't want the book to end.
February 2, 2021
This was a pretty wonderful book. Nia and Lizia’s friendship across alien cultures was well thought out and well written. Their journey across this beautiful world with Derek and the oracle made my heart ache. The appearance of other humans from the ship made me afraid for the native people of Nia’s world and for the world itself, humanity has never been able to share very well. We are selfish and greedy. I was puzzled however by the naivety of the humans. How did they not realize that after leaving earth and being gone for 120+ years that their society would be unrecognizable on their return?
This book is a thoughtful meditation on the meeting of two hugely different cultures. I’m so glad I read it.
This book is a thoughtful meditation on the meeting of two hugely different cultures. I’m so glad I read it.
October 11, 2018
-Haciendo género desde lo antropológico y sentimental.-
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Una mujer del pueblo de hierro (publicación original: A Woman of the Iron People, 1991) conocemos a Nia, una mujer del Pueblo de Hierro que ha tenido problemas sociales con su tribu al intentar seguir rumbos que su entorno no acepta. Lixia es una exploradora terrestre que aterriza en el planeta en el que vive Nia y su especie, junto a otros humanos, con la intención de conocer más a los alienígenas, su cultura y costumbres. Pero las relaciones sociopolíticas de la lejana Tierra todavía afectan a muchos miembros de la tripulación que dirige la nave en órbita al nuevo planeta.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Una mujer del pueblo de hierro (publicación original: A Woman of the Iron People, 1991) conocemos a Nia, una mujer del Pueblo de Hierro que ha tenido problemas sociales con su tribu al intentar seguir rumbos que su entorno no acepta. Lixia es una exploradora terrestre que aterriza en el planeta en el que vive Nia y su especie, junto a otros humanos, con la intención de conocer más a los alienígenas, su cultura y costumbres. Pero las relaciones sociopolíticas de la lejana Tierra todavía afectan a muchos miembros de la tripulación que dirige la nave en órbita al nuevo planeta.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
November 2, 2021
I've no idea what to think of this. While the parts with the aliens were interesting as expected, I don't understand some of the decisions the author made when it came to the human crew at all. Why were there some hardcore caricature Marxists? What narrative or thematic point did that serve? They seemed so out of place in far future sci-fi and for supposedly educated people a lot of the characters were very...single-minded and one-dimensional. I don't get it. I'm not sure I'll do a full review.
August 19, 2018
There are some very interesting things here, as far as the human-meets-alien thing, exploration of a new world, and the debate on the pros and cons of getting involved with an alien species. I even appreciated the straight-forward narration style.
However, I was never able to enjoy the book as much as I might have, primarily because it feels so strongly rooted in some very dated politics - in particular, what I would describe as second-wave white eco-feminism. For one, I find any book with a place called "Ecotopia" impossible to take seriously. There's also a fair amount of racial stereotyping and what feels like appropriation of Native American culture and experience (and why tf are people who appear to be survivors of the current U.S. population being called aboriginals?), as well as a view of gender and sexuality that may be trying to be imaginative but still feels stuck in a some very binary assumptions. Add in an obsession with Marxism to the exclusion of any other model of communism or political thinking...
However, I was never able to enjoy the book as much as I might have, primarily because it feels so strongly rooted in some very dated politics - in particular, what I would describe as second-wave white eco-feminism. For one, I find any book with a place called "Ecotopia" impossible to take seriously. There's also a fair amount of racial stereotyping and what feels like appropriation of Native American culture and experience (and why tf are people who appear to be survivors of the current U.S. population being called aboriginals?), as well as a view of gender and sexuality that may be trying to be imaginative but still feels stuck in a some very binary assumptions. Add in an obsession with Marxism to the exclusion of any other model of communism or political thinking...
December 2, 2012
Tiptree Award 1991.
I had abandoned my desire to read all the Tiptree Award winners after I read a couple books I hated. But, somehow! this book got downloaded onto my kindle. :) Thank goodness: I loved reading this book.
Anyway. Yeah, the language of the story is really dry and "matter of fact". I liked this, and it really worked for this story. This is the first book I've read by Arnason, and I have to wonder if this is her normal story-telling style or if it was just for this book. Will have to do research... ;)
I had abandoned my desire to read all the Tiptree Award winners after I read a couple books I hated. But, somehow! this book got downloaded onto my kindle. :) Thank goodness: I loved reading this book.
Anyway. Yeah, the language of the story is really dry and "matter of fact". I liked this, and it really worked for this story. This is the first book I've read by Arnason, and I have to wonder if this is her normal story-telling style or if it was just for this book. Will have to do research... ;)
September 26, 2012
I hadn't really read any sci-fi in a while and looked online for recommendations of "classic" reads and this came up as one of them. This book is an anthropologically oriented SF tale which explores the cultures of the humanoid people of a planet. Li Lixia is one of eight field anthropologists set down on Sigma Draconis II after the first starship from Earth detects pre-industrial intelligent life there. The book split between the narratives of Lixia and Nia, an exile of the Iron People. But I have to admit I was more drawn to the narrative of Nia. It was a good read that made me think of what it would be like to find a humanoid civilization. And I soon realized that it was hard not to think in terms of the cultural norms that I'm accustomed to. This reading was an interesting philisophical venture into how we became the humans we are today.
August 25, 2012
Lixia has just landed on an alien planet. Humanity have come exploring the stars, with high-minded ideals, and rules about what action should be taken depending on how advanced the peoples they meet are.
Nia has grown up among the Iron People. Her mother died when she was young so she went to live with one of her mother’s sisters. She has always felt a little different from the other women of her village.
And I really don’t want to say much more about the plot. Suffice to say it is a first contact story.
The reason I picked it up, in fact the reason that I heard about this book at all is because I came across a post on Tor.com by Jo Walton which called it a masterpiece. And because of the wonders of modern technology was able to go online and buy it straight away. I love living in the future :)
But this book is set even further in the future, a strange sort of Socialist, Zen future, where clearly the earth has gone through some bad times, but come out doing okay. More than okay if they are travelling to the other planets. Still, they have been travelling for a long time, and maybe home isn’t what they thought it would be.
But the main thrust of the novel deals with the “natives”, Nia in particular, but there are some other great characters on the planet. And some really interesting ideas. Nia comes from a people where the women stay in the village, but once the men go through “the change” they leave. They can’t cope with being around people, and so live alone. Every spring the women go out from their villages to find the men and mate, they then return and raise the children. Nia isn’t entirely happy with this set up, and over the course of the book we meet with a few others who don’t quite fit in either, leading to speculation as to whether it is custom that dictates or biology. Ahhh, nature vs nurture debates :)
I really loved a lot of this book, unfortunately it did drag a little towards the end but not enough to put me off really enjoying it.
Nia has grown up among the Iron People. Her mother died when she was young so she went to live with one of her mother’s sisters. She has always felt a little different from the other women of her village.
And I really don’t want to say much more about the plot. Suffice to say it is a first contact story.
The reason I picked it up, in fact the reason that I heard about this book at all is because I came across a post on Tor.com by Jo Walton which called it a masterpiece. And because of the wonders of modern technology was able to go online and buy it straight away. I love living in the future :)
But this book is set even further in the future, a strange sort of Socialist, Zen future, where clearly the earth has gone through some bad times, but come out doing okay. More than okay if they are travelling to the other planets. Still, they have been travelling for a long time, and maybe home isn’t what they thought it would be.
But the main thrust of the novel deals with the “natives”, Nia in particular, but there are some other great characters on the planet. And some really interesting ideas. Nia comes from a people where the women stay in the village, but once the men go through “the change” they leave. They can’t cope with being around people, and so live alone. Every spring the women go out from their villages to find the men and mate, they then return and raise the children. Nia isn’t entirely happy with this set up, and over the course of the book we meet with a few others who don’t quite fit in either, leading to speculation as to whether it is custom that dictates or biology. Ahhh, nature vs nurture debates :)
I really loved a lot of this book, unfortunately it did drag a little towards the end but not enough to put me off really enjoying it.
November 4, 2017
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2883700.html
I enjoyed A Woman of the Iron People a lot. It's a great piece of speculative anthropological writing, about vulnerable Earth people exploring a planet where gender roles are very different from ours (men live solitary hunting lives, and possibly are not all that bright; women run all the settlements and technology). The tensions in the human starship crew and among the locals are sharply defined. It's in the shadow of The Left Hand of Darkness, obviously, but I thought Arnason managed the exceptionally difficult feat of creating an alien society and then concentrating on those who are deviant within that society's own constraints - by contrast, Gethen seems to be full of "straight" Gethenians.
I enjoyed A Woman of the Iron People a lot. It's a great piece of speculative anthropological writing, about vulnerable Earth people exploring a planet where gender roles are very different from ours (men live solitary hunting lives, and possibly are not all that bright; women run all the settlements and technology). The tensions in the human starship crew and among the locals are sharply defined. It's in the shadow of The Left Hand of Darkness, obviously, but I thought Arnason managed the exceptionally difficult feat of creating an alien society and then concentrating on those who are deviant within that society's own constraints - by contrast, Gethen seems to be full of "straight" Gethenians.
November 15, 2021
I'm a fan of Arnason's Hwarhath stories (Ring of Swords and Hwarhath Stories), and at first blush, A Woman of the Iron People is somewhat similar--furry aliens with unusual gender roles, though here the aliens are pre-industrial vs. the spacegoing hwarhath in the other books.
Most of the book is set up as an excuse for our human narrator Lixia to follow Nia across the continent and get exposed to different alien tribes (each tribe named for what they're known for giving--the Iron People, the Copper People, the Amber People, the People of Fur and Tin, etc.), all of which have slightly different legends and social mores. We often get to see various nonconforming individuals as well, which provide a varied look at alien society as well. What I enjoy most about Arnason's work is avoiding the monolithic alien society and culture.
The humans of the interstellar mission who are observing the aliens are interesting, but in different ways. Earth has clearly had some kind of terrible collapse at some point (Hawaii is independent, Southern Californians have "regressed" into some kind of mellow tribal structure, and we're definitely not going to talk about New Jersey). The book was published in 1991 which makes this book fall into that uncanny valley of accidental alternate history, as the Soviet Union is still in existence and some minor human characters are clearly Soviet. We get a lot more discussion of Marxism and societies than I think most readers are expecting, though it does lead to some amusing parts in later chapters.
The only thing I'd fault with the book is the lack of exactly what she was going for in the last two chapters. Thematically, I can see how the differences among the aliens related to the differences among humans, and how change is inevitable, but I'd need to discuss this book with others more to suss it out.
Most of the book is set up as an excuse for our human narrator Lixia to follow Nia across the continent and get exposed to different alien tribes (each tribe named for what they're known for giving--the Iron People, the Copper People, the Amber People, the People of Fur and Tin, etc.), all of which have slightly different legends and social mores. We often get to see various nonconforming individuals as well, which provide a varied look at alien society as well. What I enjoy most about Arnason's work is avoiding the monolithic alien society and culture.
The humans of the interstellar mission who are observing the aliens are interesting, but in different ways. Earth has clearly had some kind of terrible collapse at some point (Hawaii is independent, Southern Californians have "regressed" into some kind of mellow tribal structure, and we're definitely not going to talk about New Jersey). The book was published in 1991 which makes this book fall into that uncanny valley of accidental alternate history, as the Soviet Union is still in existence and some minor human characters are clearly Soviet. We get a lot more discussion of Marxism and societies than I think most readers are expecting, though it does lead to some amusing parts in later chapters.
The only thing I'd fault with the book is the lack of exactly what she was going for in the last two chapters. Thematically, I can see how the differences among the aliens related to the differences among humans, and how change is inevitable, but I'd need to discuss this book with others more to suss it out.
March 19, 2022
This is a big, deep world; don’t be fooled by the humanoid aliens or the Dakota overtones. It’s clear that Arnason thought out a lot more about this place then made it into print. I think that’s what the Mythopoeic people meant when they gave it their award, it’s like the Inklings in the way that one suspects Arnason has a silmarillion level of backstory in a drawer some where. Adding to the fun are the late 60s SDSers who are disguised as cosmonauts from a very Chinese future. Which only makes the cover even more ridiculous... there are no skull holding witches or blue nail polish in this novel.
November 22, 2021
4 stars, an interesting sociological and political look at first contact and consciously trying to avoid exploiting a native population. It can be slow moving at times, and some of the political frameworks are a bit outdated, but it's still an interesting story.
Read
September 21, 2024I think this book deserves to be better-known than (I think) it is. I feel like I know sf/f pretty well but hadn't heard of it until a member of my book club mentioned it as a possible pick (she hadn't read it either). Although we didn't choose it, I was interested enough to read it anyway. (Members of Kiwi Post Office--although I'm going to avoid spoilers, I suggest you not read my review yet if you think you might read the book!)
The book is similar to "The Left Hand of Darkness" in many ways--it's a "soft" first-contact book that focuses mainly on a long journey shared by an emissary and a native person--and while I think it's not quite as good, I think it's close. In a way it's a blend of TLHOD and "Always Coming Home."
Things I liked about it:
-The people of Sigma Draconis, while sharing a basic culture, are not depicted as homogeneous. There are many different groupings (the Iron People, the Amber People, and so forth) with different customs and perspectives.
-We encounter the people of Sigma Draconis mainly through the eyes of individuals who are outcasts or otherwise unusual within their own culture--primarily Nia, who is the main character of the book, but also The Voice of the Waterfall, Ulzai, and others. This gives us an interesting set of perspectives on the culture of Sigma Draconis, not to mention human culture.
-Arnason's simple idea to have much of the language of Sigma Draconis ("the language of gifts") consist in gestures with various meanings is so flavorful. It adds a lot of richness when she describes someone as "making the gesture of uncertainty" rather than saying that they said "I don't know." These gestures are almost never described, so it forces the reader to use their imagination more. It also got me thinking about how many meaningful gestures we use in our own communication--for almost every gesture mentioned in the book, I could think of a plausible human gesture that could be described in the same way (for example, a shrug being "the gesture of uncertainty"). Yet it still gives the narrative just a little alien feeling.
-The future status of Earth society is never described via infodump, but alluded to through the various interactions of the human crew. We can tell that it is more socialist, more Chinese, and more indigenous than actual modern society. It's never clear if it is supposed to be an alternate history or a future development of our own timeline--though it's definitely related, as we get references to Marx and other real figures.
-I really liked Lixia as a narrator. As I mentioned before, Nia is the main character of the book, but not the narrator. Lixia is a bit of a cypher--she reminded me a lot of a classic Murakami protagonist, trying to live a simple life (even while participating in an interstellar exploratory voyage!) and rarely revealing much about herself. A lot of the interest for me was trying to get a read on Lixia.
There is a lot of philosophical discussion between expedition members about the ethics of exploration, first contact, and colonization, and in particular, whether humanity could do a better job of first contact than it did during the era of colonization or whether the enterprise is fundamentally unethical. I didn't get the sense of Arnason conveying a strong view on this topic, but more that she found it interesting to think about.
I'm going to try to get my other book club members to read this because I want to talk with some other people about it!
The book is similar to "The Left Hand of Darkness" in many ways--it's a "soft" first-contact book that focuses mainly on a long journey shared by an emissary and a native person--and while I think it's not quite as good, I think it's close. In a way it's a blend of TLHOD and "Always Coming Home."
Things I liked about it:
-The people of Sigma Draconis, while sharing a basic culture, are not depicted as homogeneous. There are many different groupings (the Iron People, the Amber People, and so forth) with different customs and perspectives.
-We encounter the people of Sigma Draconis mainly through the eyes of individuals who are outcasts or otherwise unusual within their own culture--primarily Nia, who is the main character of the book, but also The Voice of the Waterfall, Ulzai, and others. This gives us an interesting set of perspectives on the culture of Sigma Draconis, not to mention human culture.
-Arnason's simple idea to have much of the language of Sigma Draconis ("the language of gifts") consist in gestures with various meanings is so flavorful. It adds a lot of richness when she describes someone as "making the gesture of uncertainty" rather than saying that they said "I don't know." These gestures are almost never described, so it forces the reader to use their imagination more. It also got me thinking about how many meaningful gestures we use in our own communication--for almost every gesture mentioned in the book, I could think of a plausible human gesture that could be described in the same way (for example, a shrug being "the gesture of uncertainty"). Yet it still gives the narrative just a little alien feeling.
-The future status of Earth society is never described via infodump, but alluded to through the various interactions of the human crew. We can tell that it is more socialist, more Chinese, and more indigenous than actual modern society. It's never clear if it is supposed to be an alternate history or a future development of our own timeline--though it's definitely related, as we get references to Marx and other real figures.
-I really liked Lixia as a narrator. As I mentioned before, Nia is the main character of the book, but not the narrator. Lixia is a bit of a cypher--she reminded me a lot of a classic Murakami protagonist, trying to live a simple life (even while participating in an interstellar exploratory voyage!) and rarely revealing much about herself. A lot of the interest for me was trying to get a read on Lixia.
There is a lot of philosophical discussion between expedition members about the ethics of exploration, first contact, and colonization, and in particular, whether humanity could do a better job of first contact than it did during the era of colonization or whether the enterprise is fundamentally unethical. I didn't get the sense of Arnason conveying a strong view on this topic, but more that she found it interesting to think about.
I'm going to try to get my other book club members to read this because I want to talk with some other people about it!
January 2, 2019
I saw this referred to as anthropological sci-fi. That it is. I loved it! Arnason does character very well, regardless of what peoples might be involved and the world she has created here is quite interesting (not that I would like to see all men banished from the village, mind you).
One thing that was most interesting to me, as someone who came of age addicted to "Star Trek" was lack of firm commitment to the Prime Directive. Imagine the controversies amongst various factions of the "visiting" human scientists/explorers--some were much in favor of "helping" the non-industrial, non-urban people they found; some grew giddy at the thought of mining and industry on this rich planet; and some were horrified at the vary thought of even staying for a long visit, because influence would be inevitable. In the process, Arnason touches on many political issues and the destruction wreaked on others by many of our so-called civilizations.
One thing that was most interesting to me, as someone who came of age addicted to "Star Trek" was lack of firm commitment to the Prime Directive. Imagine the controversies amongst various factions of the "visiting" human scientists/explorers--some were much in favor of "helping" the non-industrial, non-urban people they found; some grew giddy at the thought of mining and industry on this rich planet; and some were horrified at the vary thought of even staying for a long visit, because influence would be inevitable. In the process, Arnason touches on many political issues and the destruction wreaked on others by many of our so-called civilizations.
October 12, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing was pretty good as was the characterization. The pacing was really glacial at times, but I really enjoyed most of the first half. My major criticism is that the aliens were too human like. The author did a pretty good job of giving them different biology, but their emotions, ways of thinking, and cultural patterns were too close to ours. That is a cardinal sin, for me, in first contact stories. I gave the book three stars because the rest of the elements of the story were generally well done.
March 2, 2018
A triumph of the author's imagination, "A Woman of the Iron People" was an entertaining read. At the same time, it was worrisome because of the fact that HUmans proliferate too much and are hateful and destructive, so now I'm worried about the future of the planet they invaded. At the ending, the shamaness tells them to stay on their island, and not to bring more HUmans from the ship, but in the last chapter, it is questionable if they are obeying those orders. See how believable Arnason made her craft?
August 30, 2007
Anthropologists from a future Earth land on an alien planet. The story follows Lixia, one of the anthros, in her exploration of the alien planet and its denizens. There’s a lot in here about language and how societies develop, but there’s still a lot of adventure and character development.
May 18, 2024
Hu! Everyone seems to like this book, and [makes sign of agreeement]
August 25, 2017
For some reason I thought I had read this years ago. But when I actually read it here, I remembered nothing about it. So it must just have been the title that stuck in my brain.
A spaceship from a kinder, gentler earth arrives at an alien planet. There is indigenous, intelligent life there. The societies are nomadic or pre-urban and mostly unindustrialized. It's also a matriarchal society, because when males reach puberty, they become extremely quarrelsome and difficult. So the men go off to live with the herds or on the verges of society. Women have annual estrus cycles, and go out to mate with the men once a year or so.
Most of the story is about Lixia, a researcher who's put down with one of the small villages. She meets Nia the smith, the titular Woman of the Iron People. Nia lives on the outskirts of a village far from home. That's a story and plot point all on its own. But because of it, Nia may be a little more tolerant of the Lixia's strangeness than less solitary females in the culture. Then another member of the ship's crew, Derek, joins Nia and Lixia as they travel back across the planet.
There's a lot of anthropological musing in this book. We see human society through the indigenes' eyes. Humans see a world where living with men on a daily basis is Just Not Done. When the human crew discovers that the planet is metal-rich, they talk about exploiting the resources there, and possibly exploiting the indigenes too. The humans are also 120 years from earth. They can't go back to the world they know, because it's changed out of recognition with the passage of time.
Some of the plot points are a little dated. The crew is multicultural. The Chinese talk about Revolution; the Russians talk about Marxism.
Still, I liked the story a good bit. I liked the indigenous society. The humans weren't too heinous in their approach to the society. For example, when they found out that males weren't welcome most places, they pulled the men out.
A classic of the genre, an interesting look at a very different kind of culture. I liked it.
A spaceship from a kinder, gentler earth arrives at an alien planet. There is indigenous, intelligent life there. The societies are nomadic or pre-urban and mostly unindustrialized. It's also a matriarchal society, because when males reach puberty, they become extremely quarrelsome and difficult. So the men go off to live with the herds or on the verges of society. Women have annual estrus cycles, and go out to mate with the men once a year or so.
Most of the story is about Lixia, a researcher who's put down with one of the small villages. She meets Nia the smith, the titular Woman of the Iron People. Nia lives on the outskirts of a village far from home. That's a story and plot point all on its own. But because of it, Nia may be a little more tolerant of the Lixia's strangeness than less solitary females in the culture. Then another member of the ship's crew, Derek, joins Nia and Lixia as they travel back across the planet.
There's a lot of anthropological musing in this book. We see human society through the indigenes' eyes. Humans see a world where living with men on a daily basis is Just Not Done. When the human crew discovers that the planet is metal-rich, they talk about exploiting the resources there, and possibly exploiting the indigenes too. The humans are also 120 years from earth. They can't go back to the world they know, because it's changed out of recognition with the passage of time.
Some of the plot points are a little dated. The crew is multicultural. The Chinese talk about Revolution; the Russians talk about Marxism.
Still, I liked the story a good bit. I liked the indigenous society. The humans weren't too heinous in their approach to the society. For example, when they found out that males weren't welcome most places, they pulled the men out.
A classic of the genre, an interesting look at a very different kind of culture. I liked it.
June 26, 2025
An anthropological first contact story, recommended by Ursula LeGuin. Definitely from the 90s, but not overwhelmingly so. I cared about our central group of characters, and no ones name had too many apostrophes or x's. Their struggles, both moral and physical, never rang false. I liked the atmosphere of the planet, the native flora and fauna, as well as the initially out-of-sight ship politics.
A good novel, but limited by having been written at the beginning of this specific genre boom.
A good novel, but limited by having been written at the beginning of this specific genre boom.
November 10, 2017
Más que ciencia ficción es una novela antropológica en la que conoces diferentes culturas y el choque entre ellas. El ritmo es lento, a veces desesperante, pero aun así es muy recomendable.
April 12, 2019
Well done for an older sci fi. Much more character- and place-based story than plot-driven. But interesting, and with excellent world building.
June 27, 2020
Well written and very enjoyable. Reminded me of Le Guin's "Always Going Home" strongly, in both writing style and some of the setting and themes, even though it is set on a planet far far away.
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