Grass

Rating:
Summary: Science-Fiction with a message
Review: "'Damn it,' she cried aloud. 'Can't you see that theoretical answers are no answers at all! It has to be something you can DO!'"

Sheri S. Tepper writes engrossing science-fiction. While melodrama is the driving force behind many of the characterizations, the message of this novel goes much deeper than that, addressing such themes as religion and government, guilt and charity, the place of human beings (termed: 'very small being' in a particularly well-drawn scene in the novel) in the future universe, God, class, reproductive rights and overpopulation, and metamorphosis. While it is not a 'Brave New World', it is a sound work of science-fiction, and though it may not break out of this literature ghetto, it is worth however much time you spend reading it, whatever genre you prefer.

Rating:
Summary: Science-Fiction with a message
Review: "'Damn it,' she cried aloud. 'Can't you see that theoretical answers are no answers at all! It has to be something you can DO!'"

Sheri S. Tepper writes engrossing science-fiction. While melodrama is the driving force behind many of the characterizations, the message of this novel goes much deeper than that, addressing such themes as religion and government, guilt and charity, the place of human beings (termed: 'very small being' in a particularly well-drawn scene in the novel) in the future universe, God, class, reproductive rights and overpopulation, and metamorphosis. While it is not a 'Brave New World', it is a sound work of science-fiction, and though it may not break out of this literature ghetto, it is worth however much time you spend reading it, whatever genre you prefer.

Rating:
Summary: Liked it. Didn't like it. Not sure.
Review: All of those statements although they may see contradictory, are true for me. I couldn't put it down - which would seem that I liked it. Although at times I skimmed over pages that were just too brutal. At the end I was left confused and somewhat frustrated. It seems if it kept me engaged and even after finishing I have not been able to shut it from mind - it must have been a good read, yes? I guess you will need to decide for yourself. I think the book had to do with risk not just change, but risking so that how you felt, thought and lived becomes different. You are not only to accomplish that which you were sent here to do but you become who you were meant to be. Through the philosophy of the main charactors - the Arbai, the Hippae, the foxen, the Sanctified, the bons, the commoners, the Old Catholics, the Green Brothers, the moldies, the climbers and the ambassador's family, I found the contrast that helped establish the theme of the book for me - Risking to Become.

Rating:
Summary: A good read; a book of superb imagination.
Review: Although "Grass" was not the best science fiction book I ever read, it was certainly entertaining and thought provoking. Tepper does some wonderful things with the ecology of the planet Grass and offers interesting insight into the working of an alien mind.

The book also had a strong religious aspect, using religion as a tool for the exploration of sin and virtue in the universe. While the religious aspect was handled well, it was a bit simplified at times. Luckily, this simplification did not greatly detract from the better parts of the book.

The thought and imagination put into the book is astonishing; in fact, it almost makes up for the mediocre prose stylings. Among science fiction authors, the only a few authors surpass Tepper's use of science fiction as a philosophical tool (perhaps Wolfe, Herbert, or Heinlein).

I have to say that my favorite part of Grass was the Game and the politics between the "bon" houses. I have always enjoyed science fiction books dealing with radically different social organizations and those with aristocratic court intrigue (eg Dune). Grass had no shortage of aristocrats, politics, and the strange Hunt that drove them.

Yes, overall a good book; I recommend it for anybody who enjoys imaginative and thought-provoking science fiction. I know, it's a bit long, but any less and the book would have been incomplete. It is marvelously executed but lacks a bit in writing style. Well, what are you waiting for? Go get the book!

Rating:
Summary: undoubtedly Tepper's best book
Review: and an un(der)recognized classic of SF. Readers who have been put off by Tepper's more recent books, which I've found preachy and tendentious, should not let that scare them away from Grass. The book is concerned with some of the same issues that pervade her other fiction (gender and environmental themes, and more general ethical issues), but unlike in, say, Sideshow or Gibbon's Decline and Fall, the storytelling never founders under their weight. I read this book when it first came out and have read it at least 6 times since and never tired of it.

Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: Grass is a memorable book. I've read thousands of books, and Grass is literary science fiction that speaks to women.

Rating:
Summary: Not Since Dune Has Sci Fi Been This Good
Review: Grass is an enthralling, beautifully crafted work of science fiction. Not since Dune (Frank Herbert) and Maia (Richard Adams) have I so believed in a created world. This planet is steeped in mystery as are the people and creatures that inhabit it. Ms. Tepper has a storytelling gift all too rare today in science fiction. This is a lush and wonderful novel in every way.

Rating:
Summary: An absorbing exploration of religion and culture.
Review: Grass is an exceptionally absorbing and thought-provoking science fiction/fantasy novel. Tepper creates a world that is wholly believable, and uses it as a forum to explore contemporary concerns, particularly those related to religion and humanity's relationship to other species. Tepper takes up similar questions in "Raising the Stones," a which is almost--but not quite--a sequel to "Grass." For readers unfamiliar with the genre, this is an excellent introduction; for those who are confirmed fans of science fiction and fantasy, Grass is further proof that this genre allows acute analysis of our own world and its challenges

Rating:
Summary: This author's best book to date
Review: Grass is an incredibly rich book, with intense descriptions and characterizations. The aliens are complex and surprising; the environment so real, you will swear you can smell and hear the grass... This book is my first choice to introduce science fiction to reader friends who want works which provoke thought, and demand involvement from the reader. It has no special theme, unlike other of Ms. Tepper's books, which may focus on the meaning of religion, feminism, or environmentalism. It is simply excellent storytelling, and outstanding science fiction

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and imaginative, but lacking in religious insight
Review: Grass is unquestionably first-rate science fiction: a well-crafted story of engaging ideas and characters in a vividly imagined universe. The book is almost worth reading solely for its exceptionally imaginative world and ecosystems -- easily in the same league as Dune and the Helliconia series. I'd begun to lose interest in science fiction, but Grass reminded me of just how engrossing the genre can be.

So why a rating of 7? One of my pet peeves about science fiction is its frequent ignorance in religious matters, and Grass is at times yet another example of this. It's not simply that Tepper tells some theological "whoppers" (e.g. her explanation of original sin), but that her insight never goes beyond the superficial. The central characters are supposedly devoted "Old Catholics," yet Tepper's portrayal of their "faith" never gets any deeper than the typical pasteboard cutout stereotypes. When the idea of a postmodern-type nihilist group was introduced and their motive discussed, I began to wonder if I'd underestimated her insightfulness, but it proved a false hope when later the group turned out to be nothing more than stereotypical crazed religious fanatics who were in fact anything but nihilistic. None of this might matter if not for two things: 1) Religious issues have a central place in the story, so a superficial understanding of them is not a trivial flaw; and 2) Since a turning point in the story is a character's faith being shaken, having that faith be totally insubstantial is a serious strain on believability.

The bottom line: A first-rate read, but with some flaws in its religious facets.