What do you think?
Rate this book
Under the Canopy
1980, original mass market paperback edition, Signet / New American Library, NY. 246 pages. Science fiction novel.
245 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
Barbara Paul
99 books19 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Barbara Paul is an American writer of detective stories and science fiction. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1931 and was educated, inter alia, at Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7.
Barbara Paul is an American writer of detective stories and science fiction. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1931 and was educated, inter alia, at Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 11, 2012
I picked this book up when I walked into my favourite used bookstore to be faced with over a hundred boxes of old, mostly out of print, sci-fi paperbacks. I was so overwhelmed that I just picked up the first one written by a woman and hoped for the best. What I liked about this book was that it didn't follow the standard type of story. There was no real villain, it was not an action based story at all. Rather it was the story of the only two humans on a distant planet which has been colonized for its resources.
The crux of the story is the conflict between the two vastly disparate characters in the context of interplanetary colonialism. One, Margot, has been living on the planet Gaeia for several years and is in charge of all IU operations on the planet. She has established a comfortable symbiosis with the Gaeian people based on a mutual respect for each other's ways. Although she is an ardent believer in the rightness of the Interplanetary Union's presence on the planet, her choice to honour the cultural traditions and mores of the people earns her their respect and admiration.
The other human is Stephanie, Margot's new aide sent by the IU to assist with the running of the operations on Gaeia. Stephanie brings with her a combination of superficial egalitarianism and an unwillingness to judge the people on their own terms. So while she is on one hand berating Margot for not living as the Gaeians do, she takes every opportunity to insult the Gaeian way of life.
While I was amused by the fact that the only means of interplanetary communication was telefax (the book was published in 1980) I enjoyed the focus on character and the exploration of the issues. I will not say that this is a comprehensive indictment of the exploitation of indigenous peoples and natural resources but it is a good read and it presents some interesting perspectives.
The crux of the story is the conflict between the two vastly disparate characters in the context of interplanetary colonialism. One, Margot, has been living on the planet Gaeia for several years and is in charge of all IU operations on the planet. She has established a comfortable symbiosis with the Gaeian people based on a mutual respect for each other's ways. Although she is an ardent believer in the rightness of the Interplanetary Union's presence on the planet, her choice to honour the cultural traditions and mores of the people earns her their respect and admiration.
The other human is Stephanie, Margot's new aide sent by the IU to assist with the running of the operations on Gaeia. Stephanie brings with her a combination of superficial egalitarianism and an unwillingness to judge the people on their own terms. So while she is on one hand berating Margot for not living as the Gaeians do, she takes every opportunity to insult the Gaeian way of life.
While I was amused by the fact that the only means of interplanetary communication was telefax (the book was published in 1980) I enjoyed the focus on character and the exploration of the issues. I will not say that this is a comprehensive indictment of the exploitation of indigenous peoples and natural resources but it is a good read and it presents some interesting perspectives.
August 12, 2025
I was easily sold by it being a 1980 sci-fi written by a woman. I had no idea what I was getting into, and I'm new to reading sci-fi, but this turned out weirdly good and I flew through it. I loved the fun twists with the jungle life and the different perspectives of alien culture and behavior. Village drama, jungle terrors, and galactic administration.. What a wild ride.
August 4, 2019
I consumed this book in audio format. Excellent narrator.I
I related to this story as I have a relative who falls into the exact 'slot' as does Stephanie. And even though I was hoping for a different type of story, I was not disappointed!
I related to this story as I have a relative who falls into the exact 'slot' as does Stephanie. And even though I was hoping for a different type of story, I was not disappointed!
September 19, 2014
Not a bad read, all things told. The Science in this particular bit of Science Fiction just so happens to be anthropology, which is fine by me, because that's what I'm trained in. It is exactly what it says it is in the Foreward, a novel-length, interplanetary version of W. Somerset Maugham's 'The Outstation'. It starts like it, goes like it, feels like it and ends like it. If you liked that short-story you'll like the book and visa-versa.
Despite the rather terrestrial-sounding fauna and flora (lianas, humans, apes, frogs, snakes, monkeys, ants etc.) Paul does a credible job creating a realistic-seeming, complex ecosystem, which is, let's be honest here, the real star of the show. This is a book about a place. There are people in that place and things surely happen to them, but all of this is just part of describing the setting. The Planet Gaea is what this is all about.
The only real complaint I have about this is the obnoxious younger bureaucrat. Yes, she's SUPPOSED to be obnoxious and that's well done. To the point where reading things from her point of view could be physically painful on occasion and actually slowed down my reading because there was only so much of the angry, selfish, hypocritical bitch I could take in one setting.
Despite the rather terrestrial-sounding fauna and flora (lianas, humans, apes, frogs, snakes, monkeys, ants etc.) Paul does a credible job creating a realistic-seeming, complex ecosystem, which is, let's be honest here, the real star of the show. This is a book about a place. There are people in that place and things surely happen to them, but all of this is just part of describing the setting. The Planet Gaea is what this is all about.
The only real complaint I have about this is the obnoxious younger bureaucrat. Yes, she's SUPPOSED to be obnoxious and that's well done. To the point where reading things from her point of view could be physically painful on occasion and actually slowed down my reading because there was only so much of the angry, selfish, hypocritical bitch I could take in one setting.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews