Door Into the Ocean

by Joan Slonczewski

Book Overview

"A Door into Ocean" is the novel upon which the author's reputation as an important SF writer principally rests. A ground-breaking work both of feminist SF and of world-building hard SF, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis--there are no males--and tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380701502
• ISBN13: 9780380701506
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

A glorious telling

The ocean planet Shora is home to the Sharers, a purple humanoid race of women who reproduce by parthenogensis. As traders from the neighboring planet Valedon interact with the Sharers, the seawomen strive to better understand the Valans and travel to Valedon. Merwen and her lovesharer bring Spinel, a young man, back to Shora to exchange knowledge. All too soon, the armies of Valedon arrive on Shora to bring it under their rule, but how can a people who have no comprehension of war or rule submit to this harsh invasion? Merwen wages a peaceful communication with the Valans, but understanding is tenuous for both sides and this strange war escalates beyond the control of either party. Only through a blending of Valan and Sharer ways can this war be stopped before Shora is damaged irrevocably. "A Door into Ocean" is an expansive ecofeminist feast featuring two radically different cultures trying to find common ground. Not just a dialogue between men and women or between warmongers and peacemongers, this book is a fascinating vision of coexistence in a universe where differences carry more weight than similarities. Rich in philosophy and love, "A Door into Ocean" is a compelling novel beautifully rendered.

Something different and interesting

If you're looking for something different and interesting, this is a story worth reading. A planet consisting of only water and floating rafts populated by women struggles to cope with a visiting planet's representatives. On the planet, Shora, the women live based upon a philosophy of sharing, but the visiting delegation only is interested in having Shora and their inhabitants as resources. A philosophy of sharing and cooperativeness vs. a philosophy of domination and control. This one is worth sharing with others. The only drawback I noticed was the slow start I felt reading through Part One and the beginning portion of Part Two. Don't stop there, as this is all necessary as building blocks for the rest of the novel.

Environmental utopia

Dune was probably the first "environmental" sci fi, exploring issues of how "where you live" and how your relative harmony/disharmony with that place can affect your society. This book is similar in that way-- and it adds the element of a society where gender relationships are examined, like the best utopia sci-fi. I thought that the characters were interesting, and the clash between a sort of "patriarchy" with a definite matriarchy was thought-provoking, as well. If you liked books like Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, The Handmaid's Tale, The Gate to Women's Country, and other "dystopic/utopia" fiction, you'll probably like this one.

A Timeless Science Fiction Classic

In this novel Joan Slonczewski combines striking character interactions with a solid science background, making a thoroughly enjoyable story that completely captured my attention. The clash of the Sharer society concerned with fitting into the overall ecosystem on the ocean moon Shora with the techno-mechanical Valan military trying to establish lordship over Shora makes for an excellent story that should become one of the textbooks for future science fiction writers. The interaction of the Shora and Valan cultures are effectively illustrated from both an overall culture perspective and a personal point of view, and I was captivated with the diverse character set created by the author. The book manages to convey the Shora ecosystem science aspects in an easily readable form that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand. The internal conflict in the Sharer community over how to deal with the Valan presence seems to me to be a classic study on the trials all non-violent societies go through to maintain their ideals when confronted with an opponent prepared to use violence. I found this book to be a most enjoyable read and have gone back many times to reread it.

terrific, terrific, terrific

This gem of a sci fi novel is the best case study of nonviolent resistance to oppression I've ever seen. It follows the struggles of a peaceful, aquatic (women's) culture as an outwardly more powerful (male-dominated) enemy from another world tries to take them over. From the viewpoints of strategically-placed protagonists, we see the characters contend with the atrocities committed against them by their enemy, as well as with their own divisions and disagreements about how to resist. These characters include a wide range of perspectives: community leaders; an adolescent male who was invited to come live among them so the inhabitants of "Ocean" and a representative of their opponents can learn to understand each other better; and a three-year-old girl who participates in a coming-of-age ritual with other children when they are held hostage, and decide in their captivity to take up the adult responsibilities of resisting the enemy. The only book I know that compares to this one is Starhawk's almost-as-wonderful "The Fifth Sacred Thing."