Shaman

By: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Kim Stanley Robinson, the New York Times bestselling author of science fiction masterworks such as the Mars trilogy and 2312, has, on many occasions, imagined our future. Now, in Shaman, he brings our past to life as never before.

There is Thorn, a shaman himself. He lives to pass down his wisdom and his stories -- to teach those who would follow in his footsteps.

There is Heather, the healer who, in many ways, holds the clan together.

There is Elga, an outsider and the bringer of change.
And then there is Loon, the next shaman, who is determined to find his own path. But in a world so treacherous, that journey is never simple -- and where it may lead is never certain.

Shaman is a powerful, thrilling and heartbreaking story of one young man's journey into adulthood -- and an awe-inspiring vision of how we lived thirty thousand years ago.

Critic reviews

"Intellectually engaged and intensely humane in a way SF rarely is, exuberantly speculative in a way only the best SF can be, this is the work of a writer at or approaching the top of his game."—Iain M. Banks on 2312

"2312 is a monumental tour-de-force that re-imagines the solar system in ways no one has envisioned before. Whether comparing the compositions of Beethoven to those of skylarks and warblers, or describing a life-threatening sunrise on Mercury, Robinson fills 2312 with joy and exuberance, danger and fear, and the steadily mounting suspense of a mystery that spans the planets. This is the finest novel yet from the author who gave us the Mars Trilogy and GALILEO'S DREAM. An amazing accomplishment."—Robert Crais

"Robinson's extraordinary completeness of vision results in a magnificently realized, meticulously detailed future in which social and biological changes keep pace with technological developments."—Publishers Weekly on 2312

" In his vibrant, often moving new novel, "2312," Robinson's extrapolation is hard-wired to a truly affecting personal love story. [...] Perhaps Robinson's finest novel, "2312" is a treasured gift to fans of passionate storytelling; readers will be with Swan and Wahram in the tunnel long after reaching the last page."—LA Times

Slow until it gets you!

I admit, I almost didn't finish listening to Shaman. The first third of the book is very slow-going. Hours of description, both of the exterior world and Loon's thoughts about his environment and his body (ahem), almost defeated me. It was kind of like hanging around a thirteen year-old who has one topic of discussion: him or herself. For hours.

But, I slogged on and by the break between parts one and two, you couldn't have pried my iPod out of my clutching fingers. I was hooked. This is not a fast read, but it is good - if you can make it that far.

Recommend.

great story, first time I enjoyed nature writing,

takes awhile to get into, but we'll worth it
highly recommend 8th you enjoyed mats stores

Historical fiction

If you could sum up Shaman in three words, what would they be?

Garden of Eden

Any additional comments?

Robinson is a master of fleshing out a world as it evolves through time. I have read some of his future histories such as the Mars trilogy and enjoyed them. Shaman takes us back to some period before history began and illuminates it with a realism that is engaging and rewarding.

Spellbinding

Readers are split on this book, and I understand why. I am an armchair naturalist/zoologist/anthropologist, recently back from our third trip to Africa, which we find mesmerizing on so many levels. This book reads like immersing oneself in a similarly exotic (for us) place, its people, it’s history, it’s geography, it’s climate, etc. And while Shaman is located in a time and place that is totally alien, it feels like home in so many ways. But it’s not a “page turner,” with complex character development and surprise twists. It is a work of prehistoric fiction with characters whose life is agonizingly simple and repetitive, with very basic annual cycles that reflect the simplicity of their lives: stay alive. Store enough food to make it through winter/spring until the animals emerge or return and the plants and herbs grow from the emerging landscape. Avoid being eaten. Avoid being enslaved by other tribes. Live to have children, and hope to live to the ripe old age of 40. Along the way relationships form (some very odd), and change. There’s the coming of age of one character and the slow decline of another. There is inter-tribe politics. And while it is all very simplistic, it foreshadows life in our own culture. Perhaps “thin gruel” for some, but I couldn’t put it down.

The narrator might drive some crazy, with an unchanging cadence. But it is a masterful piece of weaving the story together, in that it perfectly matches the reality of life: there are few surprises in life, and there’s not much people can do about it. Life comes, people prosper one year, freeze or starve or both the next. People have children, pass along what knowledge they can, and die, from starvation or exposure or other violence from other tribes or old age.

I loved it. And if you are new to Kim Stanley Robinson, as I was until recently, don’t miss “Ministry for the Future,” set in the future rather than the past, and wholly engrossing.

Not a story about shamanism, though a good story

It’s not a story I expected based on the title. It’s an interesting historical fiction story and I enjoyed it. I was interested in a stronger emphasis on a shaman’s journey among the pack but the story is broader than that.