Thomson, Amy Books

Through Alien Eyes

Amy Thomson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Insightful, logical sequel 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 10 people found this review helpful.

This sequel to The Color of Distance was very well written. The characters' motivations were all explained (unlike the assertions of other reviewers), and the world was highly consistent with the Earth suggested in The Color of Distance.

The human lead had many choices that could have been made on a personal or political basis: The fact that she chose to make them on a personal basis supports the underlying theme of the book rather than making her (in another reviewer's words) "act like a teenager".

Even the main adversaries had motivations that made sense in the world that Ms. Thompson describes, and though the themes she addresses have been raised in other novels, her treatment of them is hardly cliché.

The reviews I read here kept me away from the book for quite a while. However, if you read The Color of Distance and liked it, you will not be disappointed by this book.

Editorial Review:

The John W. Campbell award-winning author of Virtual Girl offers an eyewitness account of "a complex alien ecology" (Washington Post Book World) in her stunning new novel. Amy Thomson captivated readers with her national bestselling debut, Virtual Girl. Her acclaimed thriller, The Color of Distance, was praised by Vonda N. McIntyre as "an energetic and entertaining first-contact novel." Now, Thomson has imagined a first-contact of a different sort-as two members of an alien species struggle for survival on a strange planet...called Earth.

Praise for Amy Thompson:

"A decidedly different point of view." -Science Fiction Chronicle

"A 90's sensibility, state-of-the-art technology, and a complexity of characterization reminiscent of Shelley." -Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Entertaining and observant." -Locus

Virtual Girl (Ace science fiction)

Amy Thomson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful portrayal of being a sentient being. 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a terrific book on what it is like to be a sentient being. The main character is flooded by information, like all of us and has to learn to survive. After the first 100 pages there is a detour in the book's strength, in that secondary characters are introduced who are sexual minorities. There may have been a reason for this, but it was a minor distraction. I would recomend this book to fans of basically sentient characters (like Robocop), fans of pursuit/suspense (like Dean Koontz and Jefferson Swycaffer novels), and to readers interested in artificial intelligence or just the mystery of being alive. Whenever I feel down I pick up this book or Shadows Fall by Simon Green.

Tired of T3? Read this! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book is the flipside of Terminator 3. This is a humane, simple yet exciting story of a female android built by an ambitious male scientist who rejects her and leaves her to fend for herself in the Real World. This book is sensitive to both women and robots, and is a very good jumping-off point for new readers of feminist sf, mostly because Amy Thomson doesn't hit you over the head with complex feminist issues; by sending Maggie out to live her own life, Thomson creates a believable character who uses her personal skills (physical, mental, and eventually emotional) to build her own independent individual life. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

Arnold Dexter breaks the law when he creates Maggie, a robot companion who seems perfect in every way, but when Maggie is separated from her creator, she begins to become a sentient being.

The Color of Distance

Amy Thomson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An amazing book, but not for kids 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.

What an amazing book. This book is split into sections often alternating between alien and human points of view. I found this book to be an enjoyable light read while still satisfactorily exploring its fascinating subject. Unfortunately this book contains a small amount of quite MATURE SUBJECT MATTER near the end as well as a brief yet somewhat graphic description of an alien mating. I'm sure everyone who's read the book thinks I'm being over sensitive but I'm not that old (certainly not old enough to have any experience with the stuff she's talking about) and I felt kind of uncomfortable. I found it quite shocking that she would chose to add such unnecessary details to an otherwise nice story of friendship and discovery. I still highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read it, I just think that parents should think a little about how much they want their kids to know about the birds and the bees, though I'm sure they won't learn about anything they haven't already heard about at school.

PS. If you thought you'd like to read this fascinating and eye-opening book out loud to your kids the mature bits could easily be edited out.

Editorial Review:

Juna is the sole survivor of a team of surveyors marooned in the dense, uninhabitable Tendu rainforest. Her only hope for survival is assimilation into the amphibian Tendu species. Now she must take on their life--and their fears--in a frightening world of alien possibilities. Amy Thomson's first novel, Virtual Girl, won the John W. Campbell award.

A portion of the proceeds of this book will be contributed to rainforest conservation.

Story Teller

Amy Thomson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

the choices we make 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Humanity has come the the planet Thalassa, but they are not the only sentient beings living there. The acquatic, telepathic harsel live in the oceans. How both come to live together in a harmony as rare as it is wonderful, is this fine story of choices, the choices humankind must make to live in peace out among the stars, to the inner choices we all make. A fine story, beautifully done, I highly recommend it

A thoughtful and insightful look at life choices 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I found Storyteller's approach to the issues of loss, abandonment, personal choices and societal compassion to be compelling and insightful. I have consistently enjoyed Ms. Thomson's perspective on our cultural and societal mores and on ways that we might modify them to create a more caring and compassionate culture that still allows for individual choice and personal freedom.

Starting with Teller's hesitance to take on responsibility for Samad the child through to Samad's final determination to forgo a life choice that appeared to offer greater immediate personal freedom and instead make the choice that carried greater responsibility but, ultimately, greater freedom, I found that Ms. Thomson addressed the issue of choices and results in a compelling and intelligent fashion. Her approach to parenting and the limits that a parent can choose to impose upon parental controls and influence in order to assure that a child grows to take on full ownership of personal choices and their results provides a rational and sensible method for our own times.

I did find the representation of Samad's sexual awakening and subsequent choices to be handled in a cursory fashion that left me feeling that his choices were poorly considered and unhealthy. That those choices, as represented, match the choices of many of our own time and place is realistic and unnerving. Since the issue was addressed on any level, I would have liked there to be some resolution to Samad's sexual life. Was he ever able to have a loving and sexually intimate relationship?

Overall, I would recommend this book and all of Ms. Thomson's works. It is intelligently written and well constructed.

Editorial Review:

National bestselling and Joseph W. Campbell Award-winning author.

On Thalassa, storytelling is Teller's life. With the great sea-beast to whom she is telepathically bonded, she travels Thalassa's many oceans. But Teller has a secret--and when her young apprentice discovers it, he will be changed profoundly.