Rating: 
Summary: The Falling Woman is a classic
Review: After a long & fruitful life as an archeaologist, Liz Butler remembers that dig, long ago in the ruins of a Mayan city, when the shade of a long-dead priestess toppled her into a pool of twilight Mayan magic. This little adventure leapt off the best-seller shelf of a general store in a tiny town over a decade ago. One of those tourist racks, here this month & gone with the summer except that this one has some gristle, guts & a timely, riveting premise. Notwithstanding a fascinating heroine, hair-raising drama & suspenseful scenes. I'm glad to see it in reprint!
Rating: 
Summary: A promising idea that bogs down in melodrama
Review: Elizabeth Butler is a successful archaeologist and a riveting lecturer and author. Her secret - she can see ghosts of those native peoples that lived in her digs in the distant past. Is she crazy? She questions her own sanity at times, trying to take her own life and abandoning her family (including her young daughter) because she is not sane by corporate America's standards. She is much more at home in the dirt and bugs of the Yucatan peninsula, but her most recent dig is different - one of the ghosts starts speaking to her. The ghost is a priestess of the Mayan moon goddess and as such has blood on her hands - she has led human sacrifice rites and has herself performed the coup de grace in her ceremonies. It is clear that this ghost wants a sacrifice of Elizabeth, but of what type?
Enter Elizabeth's daughter Diane, fresh off a messy break-up and the death of her father, her sole care-giver growing up. Diane arrives at the dig fearing that she is going crazy - she too has the family gift for seeing the shadows, but it's not well developed. Will Diane be the sacrifice required of the ancient priestess? Will Diane go crazy before she accepts her gift? These are the questions that the novel asks, and we are carried along as the dig progresses, simultaneously with the power of the priestess over Elizabeth.
This novel won the Nebula award, granted by science fiction writers, as the best book of the year. The book is clearly not science fiction, but then, neither was Zahn's "This Immortal," a book I thoroughly enjoyed. No, the problem with this book is that it has such a promising setup, but then bogs down in melodrama. Since it's written in the first person (alternately Elizabeth and Diane), the entire novel rests on the sincerity and believability of the main 2 characters. Unfortunately, I never really believed in the characters (especially Elizabeth), so they never earned their right to act in bizarre and self-distructive ways. Similarly, the book treats luck as if it is a tangible, physical force like gravity, but the author uses it a cause for otherwise implausible events.
Finally, there were some scientific and/or philosophical incongruities. For example, for someone who so thoroughly understands the Mayan calendar, it's irritating that she apparently doesn't understand that its origin comes from the fact that the Earth's period of revolution about the sun is not exactly 365 days (it's slightly longer). Likewise, she unwisely groups Mayan and Christian religions together as both being based on human sacrifice when there seems to me to be a fundamental difference. One (divine) sacrifice as a symbol is different that the Mayan idea of lives as divine finance (the more sacrifices, the more power the god will gain). Likewise, consider Abraham's experience when God told him NOT to sacrifice his son. This point wouldn't be so irritating if it was developed, but it's not, like some other philosophical teasers the author introduces and then neglects.
Basically, my enjoyment of the book decreased the more of it I read. I grew more and more impatient with the characters and the plotline. A promising idea eventually degenerated into melodrama, when such a good idea deserves better.
Rating:
Summary: Supernatural, paranormal mystery
Review: Elizabeth is a troubled woman archeologist. She left behind her husband and daughter to pursue a dream. She also sees the shades of the past. Are they just visions of what once was, or are they ghosts? This haunts her through her life and she wonders about her own sanity.Her daughter Diane comes to the latest archeological dig in search of her mother. Why did her mother really leave her? What haunts her, troubles her? Diane seeks to understand her mother while just barely able to bury her own resentment for the abandonment she experienced. This story, however, isn't just about family dynamics, or lack thereof. This is a story of the present which abruptly becomes entwined with the past. One of Elizabeth's visions see her and talks to her. Elizabeth and Diane become embroiled in a dangerous game where they may not survive. Can love triumph over the danger they face? You'll have to read this WONDERFUL book to find out. This was a truly satisfying read that kept me up past my bedtime and wishing for more. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Given all the hubbub surrounding this book, I found it quite disappointing. I admit that space opera is my favorite sub-genre, but I also enjoy the occasional "little" book, and really looked forward to reading this one.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Given all the hubbub surrounding this book, I found it quite disappointing. I admit that space opera is my favorite sub-genre, but I also enjoy the occasional "little" book, and really looked forward to reading this one.
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful book
Review: It's hard to tell how this is science fiction, or even fantasy as it's branded on the spine. I rather think it's magical realism. But whatever it is, it's just a beautiful, mesmerizing look at the world of the ancient Maya and how misunderstood they are by today's anti-spiritual world. Lovely writing, and some amazing craftsmanship went into the making of this novel. Plus, I learned a great deal more about the Maya.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful novel recommended to all serious students.
Review: This intriguing novel won the 1987 Nebula Award for best science fiction novel of the year. This is actually more of a psychological fantasy rather than a work of classical science fiction, although there are clearly science fiction elements present. A female archaeologist working on a dig in Central America is able to identify with the spirit of an ancient Mayan woman. The attempted sacrifice of this woman is apparently linked to the destruction of the Mayan civilization. The archaeologist's ability to link herself with the early inhabitants of an archaeological site has given her great advantages in her field. The interactions between the Mayan, the archeologist, and the archeologist's estranged daughter result in a healing embrace across time. All serious students of science fiction and speculative literature should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of my top ten picks
Review: This is a fantastic book, but falls into the "Speculative Fiction" category as upposed to traditional F&SF, which for me made it all the more endearing. It is a wonderful character and relationship study of mother and daughter. The charaterization is so authentic that these two women really come to life. Even down to the manorisms of the mother's smoking habit. The way she pauses to light each cigarette. The mother is a famous archeologist who had little time for her daughters upbringing. Reluctantly her, now adult, daughter joins her on a dig of the Mayan ruins. Ghosts of the past, both the Mayans, and the mother and daughter, mix to bring the two women closer together. One of the most unique aspects of this book is that the two women take turns telling the story, so that each chapter swithes back and forth between opposite view points.
Rating:
Summary: One of my top ten picks
Review: This is a fantastic book, but falls into the "Speculative Fiction" category as upposed to traditional F&SF, which for me made it all the more endearing. It is a wonderful character and relationship study of mother and daughter. The charaterization is so authentic that these two women really come to life. Even down to the manorisms of the mother's smoking habit. The way she pauses to light each cigarette. The mother is a famous archeologist who had little time for her daughters upbringing. Reluctantly her, now adult, daughter joins her on a dig of the Mayan ruins. Ghosts of the past, both the Mayans, and the mother and daughter, mix to bring the two women closer together. One of the most unique aspects of this book is that the two women take turns telling the story, so that each chapter swithes back and forth between opposite view points.
Rating:
Summary: One of my top ten picks
Review: This is a fantastic book, but falls into the "Speculative Fiction" category as upposed to traditional F&SF, which for me made it all the more endearing. It is a wonderful character and relationship study of mother and daughter. The charaterization is so authentic that these two women really come to life. Even down to the manorisms of the mother's smoking habit. The way she pauses to light each cigarette. The mother is a famous archeologist who had little time for her daughters upbringing. Reluctantly her, now adult, daughter joins her on a dig of the Mayan ruins. Ghosts of the past, both the Mayans, and the mother and daughter, mix to bring the two women closer together. One of the most unique aspects of this book is that the two women take turns telling the story, so that each chapter swithes back and forth between opposite view points.
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