White Queen

The Aleutian Trilogy #1

by Gwyneth Jones

Johnny Guglioli used to be a journalist, but his QV virus has rendered him an outcast. In exile from his native America, he encounters an enigmatic young woman. He is convinced she is an alien, and that she is part of a small force sent to reconnoitre Earth.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Aliens

312 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

Gwyneth Jones is a writer and critic of genre fiction. She's won the Tiptree award, two World Fantasy awards, the Arthur C. Clarke award, the British Science Fiction Association short story award, the Dracula Society's Children of the Night award, the P.K.Dick award, and the SFRA Pilgrim award for lifetime achievement in sf criticism. She also writes for teenagers, usually as Ann Halam. She lives in Brighton, UK, with her husband and two cats called Ginger and Milo; curating assorted pondlife in season. She's a member of the Soil Association, the Sussex Wildlife Trust, Frack Free Sussex and the Green Party; and an Amnesty International volunteer.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memorable but maddening. The lounging, verminous aliens! Could’ve been great....

Here's the author, talking about how she came to write the Aleutian series. Which has a revised edition, apparently. http://www.gwynethjones.uk/ALIENS.htm Interesting essay.
Excerpt:
".... I wanted to study the truly extraordinary imbalance in wealth, power, and per capita human comfort, from the south to the north, that came into being over three hundred years or so of European rule in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent: an imbalance which did not exist when the Portuguese reached China, when the first British and French trading posts were established on the coasts of India; when European explorers arrived in the gold-empire cities of West Africa. I also wanted -the other layer of the doubled purpose- to describe and examine the relationship between men and women. There are obvious parallels between my culture's colonial adventure and the battle of the sexes. Men come to this world helpless, like bewildered explorers. At first they all have to rely on the goodwill of the native ruler of the forked, walking piece of earth in which they find themselves. And then, both individually and on a global scale, they amass as if by magic a huge proportion of the earth's wealth, power and influence... "
The women. Well. Not so much.

Maybe I should have another go at it? Or not. Read the other reviews first. Mixed reception, at best.
So many books....
But do give her DIVINE ENDURANCE a try!

[tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a first contact story, I liked the book. The Aleutians are fascinating, if kinda gross--there are a lot of references to waste management and underwear before you ever get an explanation--and by the end I really wanted to know more about them. The alien/human politics leading up to the climax were also really interesting, but god, the character development. I just didn't care about anyone. There were too many hints that weren't followed up on and characters doing out of character things that I didn't understand. I keep seeing references in reviews to the love triangle in the book. Technically sure, there is one, but god, again, I just felt nothing. So frustrating because I want to love Gwyneth Jones' fiction, because her criticism is super smart, articulate, and feminist. I found her aliens to be interesting enough to put the sequel on my to read list, so maybe my probs will be addressed there.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the extraordinary Spirit, I went back to the original Aleutinian trilogy starting with this book and I have to say that despite that it is set in a somewhat dated future - we can interpret it as an alternate Earth without the Internet essentially and with violent revolutions, split in the late 80's from our Earth - this books is still very entertaining though not an easy read.

The story of the first alien contact, Johnny the retrovirus infected journalist with an affinity for the Aleutinian Agnes/Clavel, the manipulative Braemar who may stop at nothing to "defeat" what she perceives as an invasion, Peenemunde who may or may not have change the Simultaneity and brought into being the aliens and of course the Aleutinians themselves, strange and unfathomable for the most part.

Looking forward to read book 2 North Wind and, book 3 Phoenix Cafe.

[Salimbol · Rating 4 out of 5]

As intelligent and uncompromising as any of Gwyneth Jones' other works, this boasts the creation of a* truly* alien society, and examines the tragic misunderstandings that ensue when humanity and aliens make first contact while labouring under some fundamentally flawed assumptions. It has her usual searing and frequently discomfort-inducing treatments of politics and sexuality, and some solid characterisation and carefully-considered world-building.
I admire the hell out of her writing, but (small confession) I don't necessarily enjoy reading her books all that much. However, she *always* provides me with food for thought, and that is why I'll continue to read her work.

[Ebenmaessiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

dense, dislocating, and sometimes off puttingly dissonant. and one of the more trenchant critiques of empire in recent-ish sf.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1833686...

started off very much enjoying the well-constructed future Earth of the story - the decayed America, the peculiar infections, the African setting for many of the chapters, the aliens who are more than human and less than human in various ways, the central character who is a newsblogger avant la lettre. But I didn't quite feel that the plot then did much with this promising elements. Perhaps it's just that I got to it towards the end of a long plane flight, but I also remember having much the same reaction to Bold As Love.

[Noémie J. Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I was not expecting this that is for SURE, but alright sure why not.
I am a bit on the fence with this one because it clearly wants to be futuristic on some aspects namely politically, but also some parts just seem a bit silly for a story taking place in 2030-ish - the aliens just arriving on Earth and no one really caring for one thing ? Is it supposed to be a commentary on our total lack of interest for the world or whatever ? I do not think so, I might be wrong though. Many fucked up stuff happen all around the book too and some are harder than others to read through, not helped by the fact that most characters are generally vain human beings with few redeeming qualities and not written to be very likeable. I like morally grey characters but grey is a mix of black and white, and I did not get that.

So, yeah. Not bad, good time overall, but won'tlet a long lasting impression.

[Annika Fägerlind · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nej, det här var ingen bok för mig. Kanske är den för svår, kanske är den bara en bok för någon annan. Jag tror att den är en bok för de som gillar att tolka innebörden av drömsekvenser i böcker.
När jag var tonåring älskade jag svåra böcker, men jag gör nog inte det nu. Kanske har jag blivit dummare, eller latare, eller bara tröttare.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing.

It is at once very traditional (Aliens coming down to save us, culture clash of different sexual mores), of it's time (lots of aids parallels, the collapse of governments, very 80s technology) and contemporary (reproductive interest, environmental catastrophe). Whilst in some cases this can create an interesting medley, but here it's just a mess.

First of all, far too much is crammed into this short book. We get huge long unnecessary descriptions of potential future developments and wild tangents thinking about the gendered nature of political groupings. These could be interesting but they are given no room to breathe. Instead the focus will just shift completely in the next paragraph.

Secondly, the characters are so unlikable. Their main characteristic of the humans seems to be a malaise and xenophobia. Perhaps the point is that people are awful and we should all be nicer to the other? That could work but it's hard to care about the main plot if the protagonists are so flat.

Then the plot, what plot? It seems to be trying to do a tense thriller and a long drawn out world build at the same time and fails at both. Most of the story ends up just being people sitting in rooms having very pretentious conversations.

Finally there is the rape scenes, which are treated poorly. I am sorry but I cannot agree with anyone who could describe the feeling about being raped as fading like a bruise. A lot of writers have trouble with writing these scenes well but with the way the rest of the book is laid out it is extremely problematic.

I would not describe it as truly awful as, if one is too look beyond the flaws, there are a lot of interesting ideas locked inside. Perhaps it is a good outline but fails in itself as a work of prose fiction.

[Michael Brokaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never quite knew what was going on. It felt like pieces of the narrative were missing, or assumed to be clear enough to make the current scene make sense. Sometimes yes, maybe, but many times, no, how this "fits" in justdidnt materialize for me. I actually wondered if my aging short term memory was at fault.

I'm chalking it up to Ms Jones writing style and the nature of the gender fluidity of some of her major characters. It's good for me to come up against a set of stimulating ideas about just how alien an alien culture can be and how alien our human culture can seem.

It's just a puzzle how this tale, for me, skipped along unevenly when so much science fiction flows or even roars along.

To do a real review, I should insert examples of what contributed to my experience of this book. It's just that I often reread passages to try to understand what was being said, but then moved on, thinking, "oh, well, maybe this will get clearer later." Alas, not so much.

Still, I did get some of the ideas about gender expression, the way faster than light travel might be made possible, and how enticing and dangerous interspecies affection, both emotional and physical, could be.

Three stars for the ideas - more stars if I didn't feel distanced from the story by the style of writing.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this a rather difficult read, particularly at the beginning. However, it got easier and more gripping as it went on, probably because I got more used to the writing style. The aliens were very alien and I would have liked to have found out more about them. The writing was good but I found the plot rather uninteresting and the characters were quite unsympathetic. It was OK but not really my cup of tea.

[Ed · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel guilty as this was the first novel for ages I just could not finish, despite doggedly persisting with it for almost a month. I don't mind admitting that I was basically totally baffled from start to finish. A very strangely written novel that shot right over my head.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world's ecology has been destroyed and humanity is ravaged by illness, disease and pestilence.

Then the aliens arrive.

Jones' novel is well written and captures a sense of awe as regards our place in the world.

[Rob McMinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Named after the islands they first landed upon, the Aleutians are one of the best examples of imagined aliens I have read. Jones sets out to give her reader an experience of encountering beings that are peculiar and unsettling. She does this partly through evoking different minds and a different theory of mind, but also through an allusive and saltatorial narrative technique that positions the reader as one of the confused and frequently upset humans in the novel. You’ll read reviewers who say they struggled to follow the structure, or “couldn’t get on” with Jones’ prose — and that’s the point. The author creates alienation effects through narrative and structure, and also creates unsettling and upsetting scenes. For example, an alien who loves humans enough to rape one. Some early 90s experiments with pronouns and pronoun switching, too.
It’s “What can I do to help you stop screaming?” turned up to eleven. Of course, like attempts to create fictional utopias, attempts to create truly alien aliens always have to fall back on human philosophies, but you have to admire the attempt. And Jones is a feminist writer, so behind her alienating aliens are the uncomfortable sexual violence and gender politics she wants her readers to think about.
Jones exposes you little by little to the Aleutians. An encounter here, another there, an unexplained puzzle, a weird non sequitur. Eventually, the reader starts to understand things about the aliens that many of the human characters do not. This is because we’ve seen more of them than the fictional humans have. For example, they use recording technology as a way of memorialising the dead, so they’re kind of repelled by humans using it all the time, for everything. They also assume media people (reporters, presenters) are priests. But really, I’ve probably got that a bit wrong, because the point here is that we don’t understand them and they don’t understand us. Or, to put it another way, we’re similar enough that our differences lead to major misunderstandings. For example, the Aleutians so far believe in reincarnation that they have no concept of a forever death. For them, an execution is a relatively merciful punishment.
White Queen is set around 2040. Jones imagines certain environmental and political events have put humanity in peril, but this isn’t necessarily a climate change novel. And then come the aliens. The second book in the series, North Wind, is set 100 years later, but continues the exploration of gender and sexual politics, and the impact that encountering the aliens has on humanity. On top of this comes the invention of faster-than-light travel, which has less to do with the aliens than you might think.
Recommended, but don’t expect a comfortable read.

[USOM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The aliens broach the delicate line between terror and wonder, forcing us to question the strange within us. The novel interrogates the expanse of what it means to be ‘alien’ and ‘human’. It delves into the various reactions of the characters to their own alien-ness, confronted with the illusion of their own humanity. One of the beautiful strengths of the book is its ability to force the readers to see through alien eyes at their own alien qualities. We are all alienated. It explores subjects of identity, gender, humanity, rape, love and desire, as well as belief in ways that are fascinating and also discomforting. The readers are taken on the same psychological journey the characters undergo and this kindred bond is one of the reasons for our own philosophical growth. Each character is special and essential to the intricate plot. They emphasize the importance of personal growth.

full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/?p=474

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not an easy book to read - the nature of the topic made it so. It examines what alienness actually is and by definition is alien in its portrayal - foreign thinking, foreign motives and foreign understandings. On the surface it is the tale of aliens coming down to Earth - The Aleutians - and the efforts of an anti-alien group called White Queen to discern their motives - but the real story is far more complex and requires a commitment on behalf of the reader to work as co-investigator with the author, to try to understand just what the aliens want, think and need. Gwyneth Jones has set herself a difficult task here - the explication of the inexplicable, the understanding of something which may be fundamentally not understandable. By and large she is successful and this is a book which will reward effort.

[Albert_Camus_lives]

When aliens land near American-exile Johnny Guglio's adopted African home, Braemar Wilson, a cutthroat reporter, befriends him to get a jump on the story. Though no one knows the alien's intent, White Queen, an anti-alien group, begins working to undermine human trust. Even as ambassadors from both worlds talk, Braemar and Johnny must work together find themselves in a unique position to uncover the truth

[Pershing48 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise for a first-contact novel somewhat let down by the book never making it clear what's the same and what's different in the 2037 timeline except through somewhat vague clues scattered throughout the text. There was some kind of climate crisis in 2004 and some humans live in arcology factories or something? Lots of detail about the setting that's confusing and ultimately unimportant to the alien plot.

[Elizabeth Thacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Very prescient in some ways, although failed to predict things that seem obvious in others. Moving and complex and an excellent take on how different cultures perceive and react to one another. However, far from an easy read and the non linear aspects were confusing in places.

[Jeannie Cloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like history then you will like this book.

[Sue Chant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tiptree winner 1991

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read for Book Club.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but not what I enjoy reading.

The word "psycho-drama" used in the text itself to describe a specific situation in the story strikes me as an appropriate reflection of the whole story.

I find the majority of the story is about lies, selfishness, and betrayal. So much so that it gets annoying as well as depressing at times. The story is also full of hate and fear in many forms, of which a prominent recurrence is hate of oneself. Depressing times two.

Real people are complex, but for characters to be accessible to readers, there has to be some understandable thread for the readers to grasp on. The portrayal of the characters is intentionally opaque and frequently misleading. There is a lot of withholding of information which I find unfair. (Most of the time the author dwells in the thoughts and emotions of the characters, yet specific information which is relevant at the time of the event is frequently omitted – for the purpose of suspense? – and is reported on afterwards.)

And even with the belated reports or "explanations", they don't always add up satisfactorily. Many actions seem out of characters, and there are not enough explanations to help me understand the characters or to convince me otherwise.

Apart from inaccessible characters, there are also the inaccessible settings. Past events and present contexts of the story are mentioned heavily without real explanations. One might argue that this creates a realistic effect; one might also argue that it hinders the reading and understanding.

One technique that the author uses all the time and I find most confusing is changing the narrative viewpoints amid the scenes. It is most common to find that the point of view has changed without warning, and I had to backtrack to understand from whose head is the story being told now. Too often of this backtracking and it gets rather cumbersome.

The premises are interesting and challenging. It could have been a very touching story. Yet I find the main characters no less bizarre than the aliens (or even more bizarre, I can't quite decide yet). A lot of texts are invested in following the thoughts and feelings of the main characters, but that does not help me much. The more investment, the more entanglement really. (When you keep thinking "why would s/he do that?!?" and can see no good reason, you either give up and halfheartedly accept it just to continue reading, or you gradually lose trust in the narration along the way.)

This is a difficult read for me, and not so enjoyable. Some parts are exciting enough for me to keep turning the pages, but they are much rarer than parts that make me leave the book untouched for a few days. It could be intellectual, but it didn't really touch me.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is 2038, and a great economic disaster in 2004 derailed the United States and most of Europe as any super power. Japan and China are now one country. Most of the book is set in Africa. At some point, the USA changes to the United Social States of American and nobody cares. It doesn't even make the mainstream news! And then the mind-reading aliens come....

[Wealhtheow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in the near future, two journalists try to break the story of an alien landing. Although the characters were well-developed, the technology was casually used and often gritty, and the aliens quite alien, I just didn't like this book much.

[Judith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish it, was a little cold and overly sci-fi for me. I like aliens and space but this one got a little wierd. writing was good, just didn't care for the story line.

[Lily C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really grab me

[Kim]

I'm understanding the book more now, at page 74, but the writing jumps around a lot and I am having a very hard time understanding some of the basic world setting.

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

White Queen
Didn't really understand or enjoy this book.

[Stig Edvartsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope.

This book was just difficult to read. The characters are opaque and behave seemingly out of character, the locations are confusing, the background flavour is confusing, the science hand-waved and there's confusing bits of messy metaphysics added. It seems to be a choice, but it just made me feel alienated from the book.