The Luck of Brin's Five

Torin #1

by Cherry Wilder

An Earthman arrives accidentally on a planet where the people are marsupial and changes the lives and fortunes of a family group living there.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Aliens, Fiction

230 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Matt Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes a book carries such startling content and weighty matter that it overcomes poor presentation; conversely, a telling of freshness and beauty can elevate simple into sublime. The Luck Of Brin's Five is the latter. Wilder's talent lay in storytelling, and this is told very well indeed, in its phrasing, pacing, and in perspective. Narrative point-of-view profoundly influences the way a tale comes across and can make or break SFF; what we have here is a First Contact story not only presented from an alien's perspective, but through the narration of an alien child. How brilliant is that?

Probably best considered YA nowadays, TLoBF is fairly lightweight in plot and stakes; there's no great sturm und drang, and the violence is minor (and largely fisticuffs). While the Moruians really aren't terribly alien in physiology or communication, the cultural world-building is excellent: Ursula Le Guin-level, really. And the p-o-v allows for the reader to be informed of the cultural mores as the child narrator is getting reinforced; I actually laughed out loud at an early scene in which Dorn (the kid) is dubious about Diver (the human) not because he's an alien, but because he's a grown-up! Great stuff.

Seems there are sequels from this New Zealand-born Aussie author. Tracking down these lost gems sounds like a good idea to me.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting world. Obviously there's a lot of world-building behind the scenes and I wanted more explanation or just a tour through that (unusual for me). The story itself is hard to follow and Diver(Scott) unappealing as a character. It's abit heavy on male characters but this was the 70s and considering that female roles in the story are fairly liberated (at least they are not just arm candy). The book got more interesting and compelling toward the middle though the very different world was still confusing and the reasons behind things (like the sleep baskets or why the boy was incarcerated in them or beaten) were hard to understand.

I've read one of the later ones which I found even more confusing. I really like the idea of the marsupial characters and the "fives" and I just want to know more about that.

[Jesús · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente! magnífico! Mi hermano estuvo hace un mes en Londres y me compró este libro en una tienda de segunda mano, y la verdad me ha encantado.

Se trata de una historia de ciencia ficción. Scott Gale, un viajero espacial cae por accidente en el planeta Torin, donde viven los Moruian. Una familia Moruian llamada Los cinco de Brin le acogen y le enseñan su cultura, su religión y su sociedad.

Me ha enganchado mucho, es un libro entretenido, con aventuras, viajes, acción... pero lo mejor es ir descubriendo poco a poco cómo funciona esta cultura tan diferente y al mismo tiempo tan parecida. Estoy deseando leer la continuación.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A human man crashes on a different planet & is rescued by Brin's clan, because their old Luck died and they need a new one. If you like books about strange (or alien) cultures where you have to figure things out as you go instead of having them explained to you, you might like this book. I did. ;) As an anthropological sidenote, it is the most emic book I can remember ever reading.

[2Due · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 / 5

This was such a fun story to read! Loved the plot and the main characters, so interesting to learn the new things this world had.
The story is told in first person by the eldest child of the alien family and he's a brave sweetheart and it was quite compelling and engaging to follow the story from his point of view, although not quite perfect, some parts I think it would have been better told by an external narrator (but I get why it was done so).
I loved how the human just accepted his fate of being the family's Luck, adopted on the whim! And we see him learning his new family's language and customs, it was quite enchanting, it doesn't need to be hard sci-fi to be believable, it's done quite well.
I wish I could give this book a 5 stars though, alas it was a bit difficult to follow at times. The style is rich of details and characters, but the actions seem to be fuzzy to understand at times (consider English is not my first language too, but it's the first time I had this issue in years). The narrator being the kid have influenced my trying to understand the world and interactions.
We have a lot of characters too and there's a list before the prologue, but some are just listed with names and nothing else... wish it was more in details.
I also honestly wish there was more into everything, from the bonding of the family and their interactions, to the worldbuilding. Every base is there, ready to sprout, but to me it came out like unfinished, it could have been so much more!
I felt that especially at the very end, I could see where the punchline was, how the whole set was furnished, but I kind of lost half of its meaning because I lost track of the characters a bit...
Despite that, immediately after finishing the story, I went to read the prologue again and it added such a good warm note that left me smiling for a good while. It happens everytime I start reading a new book, the first pages are a confusing cotton ball to understand, but this time rereading it gave the whole book a sparkle of joy since it was set in 4 years in the future after the end. I can see this story easily being adapted to a tv mini-series.

Such a lovely, fun adventure, I'll be looking for the other books of the series for sure!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had trouble putting this book down--lots of twists and turns, lots of excitement and adventure. But what I liked most about the book was how Cherry Wilder created a fascinating culture of weavers who send messages by knotted skeins, of richly dressed grandees, of psychics and twirling dancers and air shows. I will be looking for the other books in the trilogy. The ending left me hanging, so I have to read on.

[Vincentvanstop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my most favorite book ever. First read it at 11 years old in 1990. Have finally finished the trilogy and immediately had to devour this first book again. The power of people regardless of gender had a big (good) impact on me. I still find Scott Gale annoying, but it’s sort of funny.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book from my childhood. My great grandmother gave me this one, the first of three not long before she died. I was pretty stoked to find a set of the three at a second hand bookstore at Malaney, having never been able to find the two sequels at the time.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series should be better known. The setting is rich and detailed, and it repays a close, careful reading. It's a convincing portrayal of a society in which gender is unimportant. Somebody should bring the whole trilogy back into print.

[Katharine Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was entirely charming.

[Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lot's of World Building, but not very interesting plot recounted by a slightly peripheral child character, very typical of its period, 1970s. A human scientific observer crashes on the inhabited continent of a planet he is studying and falls in with a group of Marsupial humanoids, local politics ensue, and an air race. The most interesting part is that after a forward the story is told from the POV of the local humanoids, but the narrator is a bit too ingenious and it is pretty turgid.

[Esther_a · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting social structures and family setups.