Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing read from one of my favorite authors.
Review: I automatically buy everything that Sharon Shinn puts out. It's habit now. I mean, she is JUST that good.So I was disappointed by "Heart of Gold", which, in my opinion, was lacking just that -- a heart. The heroine I found nearly impossible to like, and the hero extremely wimpy and bland. The setting was confusing, and the writing style did not carry it through like it should. I found out later that this book was actually a reprint of one of Sharon's earliest novels, which explains alot. Her later works are much more palatable.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow start but good finish
Review: I found this a thoughtful book about our understanding of our culture and how it affects our prejudices. Sharon Shinn creates a complete society to illustrate different aspects of bigotry and sexism. In some ways this book reminds me of Orson Scott Card and Sherri Tepper in that the plot and characters are there to serve the purpose of getting this message across. Because of that, it's slow going at first, with a lot of stops in the plot to explain a philosophical point. However, it picks up halfway through and ends up being an engrossing read. If you like your fanstasy heavy and your politics light, this probably isn't the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Come on, you know you want to read it.
Review: I love this book. It really tought me about how present diversity really is in our lives.
Rating:
Summary: Good But Not Shinn's Best!
Review: I started this book after reading her 4 Samaria novels. I read mostly fantasy books, and this was science-fiction, but I thought I would give it a try. I have never read much Sci-Fi before, and I found it funny that I can completely believe a character who can wield magic or who could have wings like angels and fly, but that I had a hard time with characters having blue or gold skin. But I did let my preference to fantasy over sci-fi stop me, and I read on. The book was good. And if I had read it first, before any other Sharon Shinn books, I think I would have appreciated it much more. After reading Summers at Castle Auburn and the Samaria books, I found that this book was lacking. I read somewhere that this was one of Shinn's earlier books, and I can understand that. The talent she shows in her newer works are certainly evident in this book, but her writing has improved since this book. This is a good read, but I would recommend some of her other books over this one.
Rating:
Summary: A good find
Review: I've given this book four stars, which may be slightly overgenerous; however, I did find the characters very appealing, the plot a bit different, and the book as a whole very hard to put down.
I won't relate the plot, as other reviewers have already done so, and it's really best not to know too much about the story before you read it. There are some amazing events and plot twists that shouldn't be given away.
I did have some quibbles with this book. In places (just a few) it is a bit preachy, and Shinn works very hard to balance the relative evils of indigo and gulden society. While it's true that societies may indeed be equally bad in their own ways, this balance of evils had such a deliberate feel to it that after a while it started to seem slightly artificial. Emotional impact was somewhat lacking, and I think it took to long to get to the romance (but that's the fault of the cover description, not Shinn). My most serious quibble is how Nolan was abandoned at the end. All the final chapters were from Kit's point of view, which left Nolan's actions and feelings a puzzle.
Overall, though, I found it a really interesting and exciting read - thought-provoking and with characters you come to care about.
Rating:
Summary: Don't get me wrong, I love Sharon Shinn
Review: If you are going to read one Sharon Shinn novel, please don't let it be this one. Shinn hit three homeruns with her Samaria trilogy. In comparison, Heart of Gold seems suspiciously simplistic. She writes about racism and sexism without adding anything new to the conversation -- one just feels lectured to. Indeed, to me, it seems almost as if the publisher approached her after The Alleluia Files and asked if there was anything hiding away under her bed, any old work that she could possibly dust off for them to print. It is a perfectly good book. However, it is nowhere near the mastery Shinn demonstrates elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and thoughtful
Review: In "Heart of Gold," Sharon Shinn builds a world in which two conflicting societies, the matriarchial indigo and patriarchial gulden have an uneasy coexistence. This book is very interesting, in terms of world-building, with some interesting plot twists. The society has some striking parallels with nineteenth-century America, or South Africa under apartheid; and the plot deals with important themes: sexism, racism, genocide, and social expectations. Nolan is a very sympathetic character: Kit, somewhat less so. She seems to spend quite a lot of time rebelling for the sake of rebelling. I also did not understand why such an intelligent woman was involved with such a cruel, violent person as Jex. I thought her character definitely came alive toward the end of the novel. Although this novel was very good, it lacked the emotional intensity of her other works, which was why I rated it as four stars. Good, but not as great as the superb Sharon Shinn usually writes.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant epic
Review: In a galaxy far from this planet, lies a world similar in many respects to that of earth. On one of that planet's continents live three sentient races. The Blueskins range in color from sky blue to Navy, the different shades representing that person's place in the caste system. The Gulden are golden in color. Finally, the Whiteskins are albinos. The Blueskins dominate the planet feeling culturally and intellectually superior to the other races. They also are larger in population and control much of the available landmass. However, unrest and rebellion are brewing with a Gulden warrior, Jex Zarlon, who serves as the symbol of the coming revolution. Jailed for bombing a city building, he is the rallying point of his people in their quest for equality and racial parity. However, extreme conservative forces within the Blueskin government conspire to keep the status quo, entering into a conspiracy that will achieve their goal. When scientist Nolan Adolphe discovers what his own people are planning for an unsuspecting race, he does everything possible to stop and expose the planned holocaust. After reading HEART OF GOLD, the audience will compare Sharon Shinn's highly developed imaginary world with South Africa's apartheid system and the de jure segregated South United States. This extraordinary work is indeed science fiction of the highest caliber but it is also an allegory that condemns prejudice and intolerance. The characters are well-drawn and extremely complex beings that constantly question their place in the established world order. Ms. Shinn scores big time with this triumphant piece and shows how high science fiction can soar when a creative author writes it. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Sharon Shinn is BRILLIANT!!!!!
Review: In this fabulous fantasy novel, Sharon Shin plays fast & loose with racial AND gender stereotypes, as well as the much over-used and wrong-headed notion that the world would be a much better place if women ran it. Kit, a socially high-placed Blue, was raised by her scientist father among the enemy, the Gulden. She's been burned once already by a love she just can't give up on, and must also fit back into a world where she never really belonged. Nolan, also a high caste Blue, is currently being ALLOWED to persue a career, until his time is up and he goes back to the country to marry and raise a family, his ultimate responsibility. Meanwhile, their society is being torn apart by racial and territorial issues, and Nolan must face himself, and his own ideas to do some terrible things to save a society. The characters are real, in all of their scars and glory, insecurities and pettiness. As quickly as the first page, Shinn sucks you into another brilliantly crafted world, and makes you live the issues our world faces every day.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking and spellbinding
Review: It has been a while that I have read a book so captivating that I lost track of time while reading it. That having been said, Heart of Gold relates the story of two people discovering their independence in a world of very strict social hierarchy. Shinn offers interesting insights into the nurture vs. nature debate, and comes down very heavily on the nurture side of the argument. In the worlds of indigo and gulden -- the two main races in Heart of Gold -- your rearing defines your world. Only, both the main characters, as well as others, show how independence and strong characters are maintained even so. Heart of Gold takes a strong look at how society defines individual roles, and how individuals can become iconoclastic despite their society. On another level, Heart of Gold explores biological warfare, and its underlying prejudices. It is a thoughtful indictment of extreme warfare in our post Cold War society -- and offered through the lens of a society that is just entering a political Cold War. Heart of Gold may be science fiction, but the issues it addresses are ones faced in our every day world. On yet another level, this is a story of two people falling into love truly, madly, deeply. This is NOT a romance, but a true look at how emotions become involved, and how hard decisions have to made anyway. The heroes and "lovers" of the story are stronger because they have these emotions despite and including their worlds collapsing around them. All in all, this is one of the best books I have read in years. I recommend it highly to anyone who likes thoughtful, social science fiction. This isn't about computers, robots, elves or dragons (all of which I can enjoy in there own right), but about interesting social interactions -- and how much we tend to take for granted about our own places in society. Read it -- it'll be fun and good for you.
| 
