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From: chk@mordred (Chuck Koelbel)
Newsgroups: net.books,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Man-in-the-Rubble
Message-ID: <345@mordred>
Date: Thu, 17-Oct-85 15:17:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: mordred.345
Posted: Thu Oct 17 15:17:32 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Oct-85 03:58:08 EDT
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Organization: Department of Computer Science, Purdue University
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Summary: _Dreamsnake_ by Vonda McIntyre


Another excellent book in this genre is _Dreamsnake_ by Vonda McIntyre.
It is an expansion of her short story "Of Mist, Grass, and Sand", also
a good read (it forms the first chapter of the novel, but can be read
on its own).

Brief summary:  Set in a world several hundred years after a global
catastrophy (exact cause unknown, but it included nukes).  Society has
survived, but regressed to a sort of middle ages (semi-feudal society,
little trade between towns).  The main character is Snake, a travelling
healer; Mist, Grass, and Sand are snakes which she uses to manufacture
her medicines.  The strong points of the book are the writing style,
the characterization of Snake (and other human characters), and a very well-
developed picture of the society of the post-holocaust world.  Unfortunately,
the ending is rather weak (in my opinion) - just a bit too pat for me
to believe.  For a first novel, however, it is extremely good.

All in all, I would give this book 3 stars (out of 4).  Highly recommended.

						Chuck Koelbel