White Queen

by Gwyneth Jones

Book Overview

Winner of the first James Tiptree, Jr., Memorial Award for provocative science fiction about issues of gender, White Queen is a dazzling vision of a future out of control--from the author of Divine Endurance. In 2038, a cyberjournalist infected with a deadly computer virus goes to West Africa to follow the trial of extraterrestrials driven by a dark imperative.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312890133
• ISBN13: 9780312890131
• Release Date: October 1994
• Publisher: Orb Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent first-contact novel

The books in this trilogy read just fine as stand-alone novels; I read Phoenix Cafe first, then this volume, followed by West Wind. The author's conceptualization of aliens is believable and different enough to be unsettling. This book--and the subsequent volumes that carry the plot line forward--go far beyond the "invaders from outer space" cliche. These are beings--and individuals--who communicate and understand via shared parasites...which should give you an intimation of the Otherness that characterizes them. With this said, it seems more an anthropological difference than the shock of "monsters" familiar to us in alien-encounter stories. I recommend this series for any SF fan who appreciates original writing.

"White Queen" is an unnerving and rewarding read

This is a dense cyberpunk crack at the alien-invasion motif, carried out with a highly-developed grasp of concept. Despite its ambiguity, I found myself reading this in one or two sittings. Weird and worthy.

Brace yourself...

Gwyneth Jones isn't a writer for wimps, sissies, and fanboy geeks, but she's *really* talented.