Rating: 
Summary: Multi-levels of humanity
Review: Interesting, exciting and engaging novel of first contact. Moon aptly demonstrates that a novel can be exciting without blowing everything up. Fantastic view of aging. Thank you EM
Rating:
Summary: First contact story where wisdom is the valued commodity.
Review: Moon has proven herself capable in the past of providing masterful characterizations of young women (Deed of Paksennarion) and middle-aged women (Heris Seranno in Hunting Party et. al.). Here she proves herself equally adept at very old women. The basic plot involves a first contact where only one human is left. I can think of several cases where this has been used where the protagonist is a young person inadvertently or willfully left behind. In this case, the twist is that the person is a very old woman, on the order of 80. She stays behind deliberately and the early part of the book details her blossoming once she has gotten away from family oppressors. By the time the aliens arrived I was thoroughly identifying with the protagonist and really hoped for her success. This one deserves an award nomination, Hugo probably
Rating: 
Summary: An Unusual premise...
Review: Moon starts off with an unusual premise: an older protagonist who doesn't want to move on -- and who works very hard to avoid being forced to leave. All alone, she finds a happiness and peace which had been denied to her. And then, she meets up with the 'alien' race. The first contact is intriguing, and the unusual character holds suspense very well.
Rating:
Summary: An Unusual premise...
Review: Moon starts off with an unusual premise: an older protagonist who doesn't want to move on -- and who works very hard to avoid being forced to leave. All alone, she finds a happiness and peace which had been denied to her. And then, she meets up with the 'alien' race. The first contact is intriguing, and the unusual character holds suspense very well.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable, moving and heart-warming
Review: Not only tough to put down, but brought a tear to my eye at the end. Nice to read something that makes one feel good to be a human. Advice: ignore other reviewer's comments that attempt to make this book an issue for sexism or ageism.. it's for and about people.
Rating:
Summary: A Most Unusual Book
Review: Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon is an unusual book in quite a few ways.To start with, the protagonist, Ofelia, is over 70 years old, and a grandmother. She's not as spry as she was, and not taken seriously by her family or community. Just a "crazy old lady". I can think of very few SF books where the protagonist is that old, unless of course they have some life-extension technology. Ofelia's people do not seriously consider the wants and concerns of an old person. Perhaps our culture doesn't either, if you judge by their (lack of) prominence in fiction. Ofelia lives in a struggling colony on a far-away planet. She's put her whole life into the colony -- the gardens, the family and friends she has buried there, the labor of a long life. Now the corporate owners of the world and the colony have decided it is "not viable" and they are shipping their employees off to start over on another world. Ofelia decides she won't leave. The colonists and the corporate masters leave, not too concerned about one missing old lady. Ofelia is alone. Alone means un-fettered by the needs and demands of other people. Un-concerned about what the neighbors will think of what she wears or does. Free to do sensible things which she is very capable of, and also free to make her own artwork and to sit in the sun and dream. This is the first and perhaps largest joy of the book. It is a personal growth story about someone whose life we might have assumed to be nearly over. Left to go wild, Ofelia blossoms. She is practical and careful, but at the same time her child self is finally set free. Of course all is not well in paradise for long. Ofelia will be presented with plenty of challenges. She was un-educated and under-valued by her society, but it turns out that a lifetime of experience at "women's work" has given her skills that she needs but barely has names for - diplomacy, conspiracy, management, teaching, practical use of social dynamics, to name a few. Through it all we enjoy Ofelia's sharp wit about the strange goings-on around her. This is also a First Contact story. The aliens (natives actually) are quite interesting, with a very different culture and social structure than what we are used to. They do have some surprises in store for the humans. I always like well-done aliens and alien - human interactions, and this is the second joy of this book. Remnant Population is also unusual in that there is very little violence. Elizabeth Moon has written quite a lot of military SF and swords-&-sorcery, but this book is free of those familiar combat scenes. Instead we have the joy of seeing inept corporations and short-sighted military baffled and outwitted by an old lady who understands how people work, how to resist, and how to find common ground. Anyway, this is the best book I've read this year, and goes on my "favorites" shelf, to lend to friends and read and re-read. It's available in paperback now, copyright 1996. You should find and read this one now, before it vanishes from the publishing scene and becomes an unobtainable legend. (This review first appeared in TANSTAAFL, the 'zine of the
Stilyagi Air Corps science fiction club.)
Rating:
Summary: A Most Unusual Book
Review: Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon is an unusual book in quite a few ways. To start with, the protagonist, Ofelia, is over 70 years old, and a grandmother. She's not as spry as she was, and not taken seriously by her family or community. Just a "crazy old lady". I can think of very few SF books where the protagonist is that old, unless of course they have some life-extension technology. Ofelia's people do not seriously consider the wants and concerns of an old person. Perhaps our culture doesn't either, if you judge by their (lack of) prominence in fiction. Ofelia lives in a struggling colony on a far-away planet. She's put her whole life into the colony -- the gardens, the family and friends she has buried there, the labor of a long life. Now the corporate owners of the world and the colony have decided it is "not viable" and they are shipping their employees off to start over on another world. Ofelia decides she won't leave. The colonists and the corporate masters leave, not too concerned about one missing old lady. Ofelia is alone. Alone means un-fettered by the needs and demands of other people. Un-concerned about what the neighbors will think of what she wears or does. Free to do sensible things which she is very capable of, and also free to make her own artwork and to sit in the sun and dream. This is the first and perhaps largest joy of the book. It is a personal growth story about someone whose life we might have assumed to be nearly over. Left to go wild, Ofelia blossoms. She is practical and careful, but at the same time her child self is finally set free. Of course all is not well in paradise for long. Ofelia will be presented with plenty of challenges. She was un-educated and under-valued by her society, but it turns out that a lifetime of experience at "women's work" has given her skills that she needs but barely has names for - diplomacy, conspiracy, management, teaching, practical use of social dynamics, to name a few. Through it all we enjoy Ofelia's sharp wit about the strange goings-on around her. This is also a First Contact story. The aliens (natives actually) are quite interesting, with a very different culture and social structure than what we are used to. They do have some surprises in store for the humans. I always like well-done aliens and alien - human interactions, and this is the second joy of this book. Remnant Population is also unusual in that there is very little violence. Elizabeth Moon has written quite a lot of military SF and swords-&-sorcery, but this book is free of those familiar combat scenes. Instead we have the joy of seeing inept corporations and short-sighted military baffled and outwitted by an old lady who understands how people work, how to resist, and how to find common ground. Anyway, this is the best book I've read this year, and goes on my "favorites" shelf, to lend to friends and read and re-read. It's available in paperback now, copyright 1996. You should find and read this one now, before it vanishes from the publishing scene and becomes an unobtainable legend. (This review first appeared in TANSTAAFL, the 'zine of the
Stilyagi Air Corps science fiction club.)
Rating:
Summary: Everlasting Potential
Review: Remnant Population is a character-based story. It contemplates the nature of radical change, exploring its effects on an aged individual and her physical world. This book begs the questions... Is it ever too late to remake life and redefine self? Is it truly possible to change our own, and other's, social values? How stable is change, begun in solitude, when challenged with social expectations? I enjoy novels, of any genre, that offer a platform from which readers may contemplate the mysterious depth of their own truths and choices. In Remnant Population, Elizabeth Moon has gifted her readers with a rare combination of ageless truths, introspection and a sensitivity to wisdoms most prevalent in the aged. She has also gifted me with a book I treasure and won't part with.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book - all women and most men should read it!
Review: Remnant Population is the very best of Elizabeth Moon - an author noted for combining inspiring fantasy with gritty realism. Our heroine is unexpectedly found in the character of an elderly Hispanic woman who has worked herself into the very ground, too stubborn to move, too strong to die. She helps an alien population find harmony with the violent human race in a surprisingly delightful way - using a woman's strengths and a mother's perceptions. Although this book addresses deep seated human fears and agressions, it's a fun, light read. When I reached the last page, I turned the book over and read it again!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, interesting premise.
Review: The concept of an elderly woman purposefully stranding herself on an alien planet as her colony departs forever is brilliant. The aliens were pretty well conceived, though it would have been more interesting if Ms. Moon could have elaborated on the planet's alien ecosystem. I grew somewhat tired of the ongoing detailed descriptions of Ofelia's daily living activities . . . cooking, going to bed, and gardening for instance. The book did captivate my imagination however, and I was glad I read it.
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