Brightness Falls from the Air

by James Tiptree Jr.

Book Overview

They have gathered now on Damien and are about to witness the last rising of a man-made nova. They are 16 humans in a distant world about to be enveloped by an eruption of violence - horror and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312930976
• ISBN13: 9780312930974
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 382 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

So cringe

It is so cringe and wrong it could have been written in 2020. It is also very well written.

A Very Different Book

I can see why the reviewers are pretty much split down the middle on this one. The set-up is extraordinary, the writing style is unusual, and the payoff is less than the reader hopes for. Even so, I really enjoyed this novel. There are more ideas in this book than in a dozen average SF novels, so I can look past the fact that many of the ideas are never fleshed out. It is the first "James Tiptree" novel (or short story) that I've read, and now I will definitely search out some of her earlier and more highly regarded works to see what I think of them.

Beautiful novel by one of SF's greatest short story authors

One of the most surprising announcements in science fiction history was when award-winning but reclusive science fiction writer James Tiptree, Jr. revealed that she was actually Dr. Alice Sheldon.Sheldon wote some of the best short fiction of the 70s, including such classics as "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (which anticipated many cyberpunk themes years before William Gibson), "The Women Men Don't See", and "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?". Brightness Falls from the Air was Sheldon's second (and final) novel. Although Sheldon's best work was certainly in her short stories, my favorite thing about this novel was seeing Sheldon express many of her recurring themes in a longer form, weaving several seemingly disparate plot lines into one. The novel works well both as a mystery and as science fiction, and offers a nice helping of excitement as well.This is one of my favorite science fiction novels of all time, and is an excellent introduction to the work of James Tiptree, Jr.

An intense but incomplete novel

A group of humans gather on the planet Dameii to see the light of a war-destoyed star, on a planet that was itself the site of terrible atrocities against the native inhabitants. Some come out of interest, others revenge, and still others plan to start the horrors all over again. As with Tiptree's (aka Alice Sheldon) other work, this features the beautiful, intense prose which sets her apart from other sci-fi authors. It's very moving and, as you near the climax, very suspenceful. Quite a work of art. The story, however, doesn't really start until the story is at the halfway point. Many of the characters seem to lack depth, and the aliens only rarely appear. It is not quite equal to her earlier work, "Up the Walls of the World". I can only give this 4 stars. Had the characterization and pace been better, I would have rated this the best book I'd ever read

Beautiful novel

The sheer beauty of the language Tiptree uses to tell her compelling tale is incredible. I have always thought that if I could ask Tiptree what the meaning of life is, and why I should go on living, she'd know...her passing is unfortunate.

Sad, beautiful tale - Tiptree's best

This is a tale of beauty, horror and greed. On a faraway planet, a nearly extinct species of beauty and love lives, now protected by the very same humans that earlier exploited them in the cruelest ways imaginable. And man returns. This book tells us about the darker sides of humanity, as well as of beauty and love. It made me cry. Recommended.