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Watchstar #3
Homesmind
Arna and her people face the threat of extinction from their own distrustful natures as well as an insatiable alien invader.
278 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1984
65 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Sargent
161 books207 followersPamela Sargent has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. In 2012, she was honored with the Pilgrim Award by the Science Fiction Research Association for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship. She is the author of the novels Cloned Lives, The Sudden Star, Watchstar, The Golden Space, The Alien Upstairs, Eye of the Comet, Homesmind, Alien Child, The Shore of Women, Venus of Dreams, Venus of Shadows, Child of Venus, Climb the Wind, and Ruler of the Sky. Her most recent short story collection is Thumbprints, published by Golden Gryphon Press, with an introduction by James Morrow. The Washington Post Book World has called her “one of the genre's best writers.”
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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December 19, 2018Impulse grab at the library. Turns out to be third in a trilogy, which explains why the beginning was so awkward. Maybe I'll return to it if I ever find the other two.
May 10, 2011
Perhaps I shouldn't have sped through the three books in this series as quickly as I did; if so, the patterns might not have been so apparent.
The driving plot behind this story - that the Minds on Earth are losing their structure and will be destroyed - felt like a cheat after everything that had happened in the first two books. It also was frustrating that almost nothing had happened between the second and the third books as far as society was concerned. The people of Homesmind still lived in their way, although they were dreaming more (which would have worked better if we'd been shown it rather than told it), most of the people of Earth are still killing solitaries...in other words, no one has learned a darn thing. The slowness of change in the first two seemed reasonable; in this book it seemed forced.
The main character, Anra, falls in love with a boy not because he has many redeeming qualities (he's mostly a jerk to her) but just because he's in deep emotional pain. After the emotional growth that took place through the relationships in the first two books, this really felt like a letdown.
I was also disappointed that Sargent upped the ante by having almost everyone on two worlds except a small handful of people die. It just seemed like a waste - like apocalypse porn.
The driving plot behind this story - that the Minds on Earth are losing their structure and will be destroyed - felt like a cheat after everything that had happened in the first two books. It also was frustrating that almost nothing had happened between the second and the third books as far as society was concerned. The people of Homesmind still lived in their way, although they were dreaming more (which would have worked better if we'd been shown it rather than told it), most of the people of Earth are still killing solitaries...in other words, no one has learned a darn thing. The slowness of change in the first two seemed reasonable; in this book it seemed forced.
The main character, Anra, falls in love with a boy not because he has many redeeming qualities (he's mostly a jerk to her) but just because he's in deep emotional pain. After the emotional growth that took place through the relationships in the first two books, this really felt like a letdown.
I was also disappointed that Sargent upped the ante by having almost everyone on two worlds except a small handful of people die. It just seemed like a waste - like apocalypse porn.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2021
Once again, Pamela Sargent proves she is a top-tier author! I thoroughly enjoyed this cap to the Watchstar trilogy. It is the best book of the three. Rulek’s backstory hit me very hard emotionally. The Visitor lent the narrative a strong mystery and I found it difficult to put the book down many times. I feel satisfied by the climax and denouement.
In many ways this trilogy feels like the baby sister trilogy to Sargent’s Venus trilogy. There are many parallels, as if Sargent were testing out themes and ideas here that she would take to the next level with Venus.
Pamela Sargent is an absolute goddess among authors. This was my seventh book of hers that I have read. I am so impressed that I am now on a quest to read her entire bibliography.
In many ways this trilogy feels like the baby sister trilogy to Sargent’s Venus trilogy. There are many parallels, as if Sargent were testing out themes and ideas here that she would take to the next level with Venus.
Pamela Sargent is an absolute goddess among authors. This was my seventh book of hers that I have read. I am so impressed that I am now on a quest to read her entire bibliography.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews