Through the Eye of the Glacier

Rating:
Summary: Alaskan Science Fiction
Review: As a resident of Fairbanks, Alaska myself, I would love to give this tale five stars. But there are serious problems with it. It's obvious the author knows and loves Alaska, from the glaciers and the northern lights, to the people who live here and have been shaped by the land. But in his desire to share these feelings, he often becomes mawkishly sentimental.
The story spans millenia, and starts with a Native couple, a glacier, and an orb, and leads to first contact with a galactic civilization. Ambitious indeed, and unique in its use of Native culture, especially the music and storytelling.
It has a strong underpinning of science, real and projected: unfortunately it becomes virtually unreadable to a non-scientist. It reminds me of the very early days of science fiction when scientists wrote a lot of idea stories for Analog, Amazing and Fantastic. Many suffered the same fate as the tale-telling became too technical for the average reader.
The natural sciences suffer less: galloping glaciers and mastadons dot the landscape, as do meticulous descriptions of fire-building and white-water river running in a Zodiac. The book is weighted down with long descriptions, giving the feeling the author just didn't know how to edit himself -- what to put in, what to shorten.
And the writing itself is amateurish, clumsy, awkward, and sometimes downright hard to read. Here's an example: "He had only a spec [sic] of a clue what his amazingly enthusiastic red-haired, green-eyed young friend was going on about, but the display of energy and grace between Shanna and Laura was, well, sort of stimulating." Shanna is the redhead, and the reader knew that 200 pages ago.
If you're truly curious about science fiction set in Alaska, by all means read this. But check out the other ones, too, as they're usually better written. Email me if you want a list.