The Snow Queen
- Narrated by:
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release Date:06-12-12
- Publisher: Audible Studios
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Publisher's Summary
The imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers. But soon the galactic stargate will close, isolating Tiamat, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. All is not lost if Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can destroy destiny with an act of genocide. Arienrhod is not without competition as Moon, a young Summer-tribe sibyl, and the nemesis of the Snow Queen, battles to break a conspiracy that spans space.
©1980 Joan D. Vinge (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
What the Critics Say
- Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1981
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What Members Say
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"A magnificent performance of an old favorite"
What about Ellen Archer’s performance did you like?Fantastic performance - the characters truly came alive!
Any additional comments?I was thrilled to find this old favorite amongst Audible's new releases, and Ellen Archer's performance truly did it justice. I am very much hoping to see World's End and The Summer Queen follow it up!
4 of 4 people found this review helpful -
"Excellent performance of a sci-fi classic"
Very pleased with this performance of a much loved book. The narrator did a superb job matching voice to character. Also, kept the complex tale moving forward between the various locales and character groups.
I very much hope that Audible.com will take on Joan Vinge's other works such as the Summer Queen and the Cat/Psion series.3 of 3 people found this review helpful -
"Star Wars meets Hans Christian Anderson"
A true Sci-fi classic, given a terrific performance. The basic plot focuses on a hero with mysterious powers on a journey to defeat a malevolent space emperor, so Star Wars comparisons are inevitable. Still, published in an era where pulp sci-fi novels were short, morally simplistic, and largely targeted at young boys Joan D. Vinge did something very ahead of it's time. Not one to be missed.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful -
DarthVal Hickory, NC, United States 10-12-15 Member Since 2014- HELPFUL VOTES
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"A masterful mix of fantasy and scifi"
The writing and world building of this story is magical in tone as well as nature. It has the same feel of wonder that a child might have experiences Alice's adventures for the first time. Yet, the story itself is certainly not child's play, but rather a complex and mature drama set within a world that is both immersive fantasy and scifi.
As with any well crafted tale, in The Snow Queen it is often tough to distinguish hero from villain. In this story, as in real life, things are just not that cut and dried. There are characters with noble intentions who have become corrupted by the ideal of any means to justify to end. Other characters might start with a strong moral compass and flounder when faced with difficult circumstances. The result is that as a reader, one might love each character a little, but then hate them just a bit, too.
Then there are the politics. Vinge is quite masterful in her layer upon layer of intrigue. There is the primary culture clash between Winter and Summer, which plays its own metaphor for so many things; cycles of change, old versus new, technology versus faith, class conflict, and finally recreation through rebirth. At the same time, there is the influence of the off-worlders which contributes to the same concepts and adds even more.
This is an outstanding read and I look forward to exploring the world future through the other books in the series.1 of 1 people found this review helpful -
"A triumph of telling over showing"
A long-winded melodrama lost in space, be prepared to gasp in shock every time yet another chapter is announced.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful -
"phenomenal."
was amazed how long ago it was written. has definitely not lost its touch unlike many other sci-fi books of its age.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful -
"good read"
it was a good story once it started to make sense. It was definitely dated. It Was Written In 1980 and it had that feel about it. But it was good.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful -
"Adult fairy tale"
Great story, had read it before years ago but had completely forgotten it... It was like reading it for the first time! The narrator was fabulous, I loved her voices for the characters - amazing... I was saying to my daughter that if it had been written nowadays it would have had a couple of sequels. This is my first time to listen to a book and I found it odd at first, but ended up loving it.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful -
"One of my favorite stories made richer!"
I first read & loved The Snow Queen over 20 years ago. Vinge's characters are so real in their brokenness. Hearing this story narrated has added another dimension to an all time favorite. I wish the sequel was available on Audible.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful -
Kat Hooper St. Johns, FL, United States 08-23-12Kat at FanLit
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"Won a Hugo?"
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?The Snow Queen, published in 1980, is Joan Vinge’s science fiction adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale of the same name. In Vinge’s version, Anderson’s love story takes place on the planet Tiamat which is located near a black hole. Tiamat is a convenient rest stop for interstellar travelers and they often go down to the planet for respite or trade, but Tiamat also has its own special commodity: the Water of Life. This youth-preserving substance is made by killing a marine species found only on Tiamat and is available to rich travelers who are willing to leave their money or their technology behind. The “Winter” clan who governs Tiamat craves the technology that will make their life more comfortable, but the Hegemony, the real rulers of several worlds, keeps Tiamat (and, therefore, the Water of Life) in their control by restricting technological development.
The Snow Queen has been ruling Tiamat for the Winter clan for 150 years, but everything on Tiamat is about to change because the planet’s unusual orbit is nearing the phase where the black hole will become unstable, closing the planet to outside influence. At that time the planet’s relationship to its sun will also change, reverting Tiamat to its “Summer” ecology. As has been the tradition, the Summer clan will choose a Summer Queen who will sacrifice the Winter Queen and her consort and will rule for the next 150 years until the orbit changes again. The Summers are backward, superstitious, and hate technology. They also revere the sea creatures that the Snow Queen has been killing. Thus, the entire culture of Tiamat will be transformed when they are in power. But the Winter Queen is not ready to be sacrificed and she has a plan to keep her clan in power. It involves our protagonists, Moon and Sparks, a pair of teenage cousins and lovers who belong to the Summer clan.
Joan Vinge’s The Snow Queen won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1981 and I respect the opinion of several people I know who love it and claim it as one of their favorite science fiction novels. I, however, remain completely mystified. Perhaps if I had read it back in 1980 (except that I was too young) I would have appreciated it. After all, the novel has an ecological focus and its main characters are women — both of those features were unusual for science fiction novels of that era.
Vinge’s main characters may be women but most of them are pathetic. On the surface they seem to be strong, but those in power are either evil (e.g., The Snow Queen), unconfident because they’re women (e.g., Jerusha the police inspector) or are completely derailed by their love of a man (e.g., Moon). Fortunately, there are some admirable secondary female characters.
I had a couple of major issues with The Snow Queen. The first is that I had a hard time believing in Vinge’s world. The black hole, orbit and ecology change is a clever setup, and there were other clever features which I can’t explain without spoiling the plot, but I didn’t really believe in the Summer/Winter dichotomy and that any rulers could ever expect such a governmental and cultural transition to be successful. Along with this, I didn’t believe that the Winters, with 150 years worth of technology to study (and immortality besides) couldn’t figure out how to replicate, or create their own, technology, even if they had to keep it hidden from the Hegemony.
But what I disliked most about The Snow Queen was the protagonists, Moon and Sparks. Biologically they are cousins, they were raised as twin siblings by their grandmother, and they became lovers as children. YUCK. It’s really hard to root for their love affair, upon which the entire foundation of the plot rests — The Snow Queen is, after all, a love story at heart. I could not get past the incest or the sick single-minded blind devotion to each other. In addition, besides the weird relationship, I found both characters hard to like. They were sulky, self-absorbed, and impetuous. Sparks brooded for the entire story. Moon was better, but still did not display enough loveable qualities to explain why everyone thought she was a saint. Yet nearly every character either fell in love with her or announced that she had profoundly changed their life. I didn’t get it and this eventually ruined the story for me.
I listened to Audible Frontiers’ version of The Snow Queen which was read by Ellen Archer. At first her narration is plodding — lacking the right rhythm to effortlessly carry the listener along — but this resolves about 1/3 of the way through. I’m not enamored of Ms. Archer’s Irish accents — they just don’t seem to fit the story — but other listeners may feel differently.
So, while I did not like The Snow Queen, I hesitate to try to steer potential readers away. The book won a Hugo Award and I know people of excellent taste who love it. This is one you’ll have to read and decide for yourself.
Originally posted at FanLit.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful
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