Watersong

by Mary Caraker

When one of the suns begins to die, Embri and her amphibious species must learn to adapt the changing conditions on her planet

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

214 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

About the author

Born in 1929, Mary Jane Lumijarvi is the granddaughter of Finnish immigrants who
settled near Astoria, Oregon. She grew up in a rural Finnish-American community,
and attended Willamette University, the University of Oregon, and San Francisco
State University. She holds a BA and an MA degree in English Literature.

Mary was married in 1957 to Edward Emmett Caraker, and was widowed in
1989. She has taught in secondary schools, and now works as a freelance writer.

She is most often anthologized as a science fiction writer. She lives in California.

Reviews

[Rachel Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating science fiction novel in which all the characters are amphibious aliens, struggling to cope with biological and ecological changes which they don't understand. There's a subplot involving a particular character who seems too human (it involves some cliched stuff about female jealousy and beauty) but overall, an excellent book - exactly the sort of thing that science fiction can do and nearly nothing else can.

[Ry Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My spouse recommended this one to me as a beloved book from her childhood, and it holds up well. A richly imagined story of amphibious aliens undergoing a cultural change brought on by an ecological one. It reads a little bit like Tiptree's "Love Is The Plan The Plan Is Death" reimagined as a YA novel.