Heart of Gold

Rating:
Summary: Shinn spreads herself too thin here
Review: This semi-fantasy novel has a lot of lofty ambition. Unfortunately, it falls short of just about every goal it sets for itself, save only as a good story. If it didn't try so darn hard, you wouldn't even notice its shortcomings, however, like the novels of Sheri Tepper, you can't separate this book from it socio-political preaching.
Race and gender are the two big hot-buttons here, with bio-warfare and terrorism as sidekicks, as Shinn gives us a dualistic world where the two major races are the matriarchal indigo and the second-class patriarchal gulden. The indigo are basically Victorian England with a gender reversal, while the gulden seemed to represent (despite the more obvious racial parallel to blacks) a sort of Arab-Muslim society that we're not supposed to approve of. (This comparison is only more striking since there's a land struggle that parallels the Isreali-Palestinian conflict, with the gulden participating in the more conventional bombing-style terrorism.) Despite the fact that this books is about a "forbidden love" and "two races", both protaganists are indigo - one, a male scientist starting to squirm at the thought of marrying his rich fiancee and giving up his career to become a good househusband, the other, a high-caste heiress who's spent most of her childhood among the gulden and who is the lover of the gulden's most notorious terrorist/hero. When Nolan, the scientist, uncovers a plot against the gulden, he kidnaps Kit, the heiress, and uses her to get into gulden society so he can warn them.
Aww, how altruistic. I can't even count the number of times Nolan "stubbornly" asserts, "It's the right thing to do," when both gulden and indigo alike stare in disbelief and say, "I wouldn't have done it." Neither side of this conflict comes out particularly attractive: the gulden are ruthless and opportunistic, the indigo are condescending snobs.
And what the heck is the point of giving us a matriarchal society when you don't do anything with it? OK, I can accept not wanting to just give us the "women in charge would mean Utopia" line. But you'd think that it would mean a few differences. Instead, again, the indigo are nothing more than the Victorians. Worse, the women in power manage to combine the worst aspects of both men and women of that era - patronizing, scheming, and class-obsessed, but also flighty, shallow, and more concerned with social events than politics.
The main trouble with this book remains that it tries to be too many things and ends up not being enough of any of them. A good story, marred by boring characters, an unconvincing romance, and a hard-to-swallow premise.

Rating:
Summary: Sociological SF
Review: Thought provoking! Heart of Gold puts several compelling characters in a society approaching a revolutionary re-evaluation of gender, race, culture. The characters are hot blooded and passionate. I was impressed that the societies were complex enough so that there were no simplistic good vs. bad roles. The complexity also meant that although the story draws from much that we would recognize, it is NOT just a single current conflict with a thin coating (Palestine/Ireland/South Africa etc.) Reminds me of some work by Ursala LeGuin. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!
Review: Well, I love this book!

I must admit Heart of Gold started out a bit slower than I generally like, but as the story unraveled I found myself becoming more and more drawn into it. I read for one day strait to finish the book. I love the ending, 'cause it left me feeling completely satisfied. She wove the love story beautifully, without any unneeded mush.

What can I say, Sharon Shinn is an amazing writer!!

Rating:
Summary: comfortable reading
Review: what I love about this novel is the confident, seamless style of the author. You don't need to make great efforts when reading this story about two different societies that have totally opposed, incompatible lifestyles. Even though the issues are clearly thought-provoking, the second half of the story is entirely predictable. In fact, there are very few surprises altogether -we know from the beginning who is going to fall in love with whom, as we know that the author cannot present us any of the societies (matriarchy and patriarchy) as perfect and has to make their defects stand out. Having said this about the plot, I think the characters are well fleshed out, we care about them and we see how they change throughout the story. The character of Kit, a girl who does not belong in any of the two societies and has a drive for rebellion, is especially likeable. All in all, I like the smoothness of this writer's style and I feel comfortable when reading her books.