Other Nature

by Stephanie A. Smith

Book Overview

Set in a small community on the Oregon coast in the middle of the next century, after diseases have ravaged the civilized world, "Other Nature" tells the story of the end of this world and the beginning of a new one--of humanity saved but transformed by genetic engineering. "Wonderful . . . haunting".--"Starlog".

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312856385
• ISBN13: 9780312856380
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 253 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

lyrical and disturbing

I read this overlooked classic around 10 years ago; scenes from it still haunt me and give me chills. S. A. Smith plays deftly with SF genre conventions and those of feminist science fiction to focus on questions of what it means to be human - not in the sense of "what it means to be human" in a speech of Captain Kirk, but instead in a way that made me think "How should I live my own life? What is important?" As post-apocalyptic fiction with brooding, thoughtful atmosphere it stands with John Crowley, Octavia Butler, Greg Bear, Gwyneth Jones, Peter Dickinson, Pat Murphy. "But wait - this is just a story about some people in a small town community or some sort of Kim-Stanley-Robinson-esque hippie commune. Where is the science?" Well, yes. We all know what kind of novel would be written that focuses around the elided scenes in the protagonists' visit to (and escape from) the dystopian post-apocalpyse San Francisco; it's been written countless times. Here is the "other" story to that story. Very subtle and cool.

Wow...

I just finished reading _Other Nature_ about thirty minutes ago. I'm still in a bit of shock. It's that good.Stephanie A. Smith is relative rarity in the Science Fiction genre, an author who doesn't insult your intelligence. You don't catch the rich subtleties, tough. She isn't going to shove your nose in it until you realize what she is trying to say.The story, unlike so many science-fiction stories, doesn't depend on a nifty little idea. It's about people, and a small town.This novel will probably be rejected by many, which is a shame. If more science fiction was like this, I would read it a lot more.

subtle, rich messages in this stark story

Stephanie Smith uses a possible (all too near) future to explore many subtleties about what it is to be human and to explore transcendence. As Stephanie indicates in her own review, this book will not find it's audience easily, its subtleties may elude many. On the other hand, I find it on par with the widely heralded, often quoted, seminal work in the same (sub) genre, A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ. I find this less of a post-disaster novel than a study in human nature through the exploration of not-quite or perhaps more-than human nature. Anyone who is intrigued by the subtleties of complex human relations and with possible ways we might transcend ourselves as a species and culture should read this book. Yes, it can be dark and stark but I found rich subtle messages woven into that weft. Whether read literally or as somewhat of an allegory, I found it to be rich in substance to reflect on.