Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Tor Books (1992), Edition: 1st, 315 pages
Description
Nou Occitan is a place where duels are fought with equal passion over insults and artistic views alike. Giraut--swordsman, troubador, lover--is a creature of this swashbuckling world, the most isolated of humanity's Thousand Cultures. But the winds of change have come to Nou Occitan. As the invention of the "springer"--instantaneous interstellar travel, at a price--spreads throughout the human galaxy, the stability and purity of no world, no matter how isolated, is safe. Nor can Giraut's life remain untouched. To his wonder, his is about to find himself made an ambassador to a different human world, a place strange beyond his wildest imaginings.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Waianuhea
I can't stop re-reading this book! It's one of my top-5 favorite books of all time! I'm interested to see what book this lost the Nebula to because it definitely deserved it! The language is so well thought out, the cultures so well fleshed-out, the narrator so strong, you feel so immersed and even
John Barnes KNOWS how to write - he's not kidding around. You get a fantastic story and fantastic writing. You don't always get both.
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culture-shocked. John Barnes KNOWS how to write - he's not kidding around. You get a fantastic story and fantastic writing. You don't always get both.
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LibraryThing member scottcholstad
Giraut is from the planet Nou Occitan, a place where duels are fought with equal passion over perceived insults and artistic views alike. A place where the language seems derived from Portuguese and there’s entirely too much of it, untranslated. Giraut is an enthusiastic member of a culture based
This book is a lot more exciting than what I’ve described. I’ve done a poor job. Giraut is shown to be a shallow cad who learns, to a certain degree, that he is and is forced to make some changes. Caledon undergoes some radical changes and we apparently learn puritanical religious cultures are essentially evil and stupid. At times, this is a very entertaining and interesting book. At times, it’s annoying as hell. Often, you can’t understand the words being used and there’s no dictionary, so you just have to guess. Often you just want to slap Giraut upside the head for being such a shallow, rather stupid young person who’s a snob. But then he does something good and you relent. At times, it feels like the author is preaching anti-religion to you and while I’m generally okay with that, as I’m not overly fond of most religious cultures, I can see where devoutly religious readers might be offended. Apparently, this is the first book in a series, although I’ve never seen any of the other books in the series. I’d be open to reading the second. So, above average. At times, quite good. At times, annoying. Three stars. Cautiously recommended.
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around the ideals of the medieval troubadours, a culture of literature and art, dueling, and “macho” personal honor. However, with the invention of the "springer," instantaneous interstellar travel has now become possible. Now the young people of Nou Occitan are turning to the trendy but tacky Interstellars, new to their culture, and Giraut’s “entendedora,” girlfriend/whore, is one of these young women who do so. When he discovers this, he accepts an invitation to travel to the planet, Caledon, as part of an ambassadorial team to help the Caledonions deal with the imminent opening of a gateway on their planet. Caledon couldn’t be any more different from Nou Occitan. It has a patriarchal rigid religious culture where even cheerful color is banned. It is a puritan culture on an icy world -- one where terraforming was only partially carried out because apparently, “suffering is good for the soul.” The arts are dismissed as irrational (everything must be “rational”), and the flamboyant Occitan culture is considered immoral. It is in the inevitable clash between these two cultures where Giraut is forced to face himself and life and grow the hell up.This book is a lot more exciting than what I’ve described. I’ve done a poor job. Giraut is shown to be a shallow cad who learns, to a certain degree, that he is and is forced to make some changes. Caledon undergoes some radical changes and we apparently learn puritanical religious cultures are essentially evil and stupid. At times, this is a very entertaining and interesting book. At times, it’s annoying as hell. Often, you can’t understand the words being used and there’s no dictionary, so you just have to guess. Often you just want to slap Giraut upside the head for being such a shallow, rather stupid young person who’s a snob. But then he does something good and you relent. At times, it feels like the author is preaching anti-religion to you and while I’m generally okay with that, as I’m not overly fond of most religious cultures, I can see where devoutly religious readers might be offended. Apparently, this is the first book in a series, although I’ve never seen any of the other books in the series. I’d be open to reading the second. So, above average. At times, quite good. At times, annoying. Three stars. Cautiously recommended.
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Awards
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 1992)
Arthur C. Clarke Award (Shortlist — 1994)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1992
Physical description
8.5 inches
ISBN
031285210X / 9780312852108
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