cover image Other Nature

Other Nature

Stephanie Smith. Tor Books, $21.95 (253pp) ISBN 978-0-312-85638-0

While the publisher claims that Smith's first novel in a decade is more SF than fantasy (as were two previous books, The Boy Who Was Thrown Away and Snow-Eyes), it, too, will be more satisfying to readers of fantasy than to hardcore SF buffs. The primary nod to science fiction, besides the novel's being set in a dystopic future, is a scrap of paper--clearly a middle section of DNA sequencing--described by one character as being in a ``language [that] is repetitious and indeed tediously limited.'' The community on which Smith focuses is one that claims to be well educated, yet it has no knowledge of even rudimentary science and technology. Among its members are Emily Zafieras and Maria Monkar, women who develop deep relationships with the children of the community (especially the mute Tomas Nitehammer, whose actions are presented as being intuitive), all of whom appear to have been born with some form of birth defect. There are enough inconsistencies in the limning of the community to frustrate readers who ask the most rudimentary questions, yet Smith weaves her story around the gaps skillfully, filling several (though not enough) with ancillary material or through implication. The author has made a bold attempt to tell as much by exclusion as by inclusion, and though weak moments--both in prose and reasoning--mar the narrative, this is still a fascinating, occasionally bold, work. (Oct.)