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Ice Song
“Reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin’s paradigm-shattering The Left Hand of Darkness , this piercingly moving story belongs in most fantasy collections.” — Library Journal
There are secrets beneath her skin.
Sorykah Minuit is a scholar, an engineer, and the sole woman aboard an ice-drilling submarine in the frozen land of the Sigue. What no one knows is that she is also a one who can switch genders suddenly, a rare corporeal deviance universally met with fascination and superstition and all too often punished by harassment or death.
Sorykah’s infant twins, Leander and Ayeda, have inherited their mother’s Trader genes. When a wealthy, reclusive madman known as the Collector abducts the babies to use in his dreadful experiments, Sorykah and her male alter-ego, Soryk, must cross icy wastes and a primeval forest to get them back. Complicating the dangerous journey is the fact that Sorykah and Soryk do not share Each disorienting transformation is like awakening with a jolt from a deep and dreamless sleep.
The world through which the alternating lives of Sorykah and Soryk travel is both familiar and surreal. Environmental degradation and genetic mutation run amok; humans have been distorted into animals and animal bodies cloak a wild humanity. But it is also a world of unexpected beauty and wonder, where kindness and love endure amid the ruins. Alluring, intense, and gorgeously rendered, Ice Song is a remarkable debut by a fiercely original new writer.
Praise for Ice Song
“A stunning debut fantasy about love and the ties of blood.” —Armchair Interviews
“Kasai’s debut is a boldly adventurous tale depicting a richly detailed world. The aspect of Traders shifting gender brings Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness to mind, while the activities on Chen’s island are more reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry novels.” — Booklist
“ Ice Song is definitely a compelling read, largely due to the fact that Sorykah is such a well-developed character. She has an equally intense and complex sense of love and resentment for her children. And the fact that she exists between the world of humans and the mutants is also a source of conflict for her character . . . Ice Song is a near-perfect combination of fantasy, great storytelling and social commentary.” — Philadelphia Gay News
There are secrets beneath her skin.
Sorykah Minuit is a scholar, an engineer, and the sole woman aboard an ice-drilling submarine in the frozen land of the Sigue. What no one knows is that she is also a one who can switch genders suddenly, a rare corporeal deviance universally met with fascination and superstition and all too often punished by harassment or death.
Sorykah’s infant twins, Leander and Ayeda, have inherited their mother’s Trader genes. When a wealthy, reclusive madman known as the Collector abducts the babies to use in his dreadful experiments, Sorykah and her male alter-ego, Soryk, must cross icy wastes and a primeval forest to get them back. Complicating the dangerous journey is the fact that Sorykah and Soryk do not share Each disorienting transformation is like awakening with a jolt from a deep and dreamless sleep.
The world through which the alternating lives of Sorykah and Soryk travel is both familiar and surreal. Environmental degradation and genetic mutation run amok; humans have been distorted into animals and animal bodies cloak a wild humanity. But it is also a world of unexpected beauty and wonder, where kindness and love endure amid the ruins. Alluring, intense, and gorgeously rendered, Ice Song is a remarkable debut by a fiercely original new writer.
Praise for Ice Song
“A stunning debut fantasy about love and the ties of blood.” —Armchair Interviews
“Kasai’s debut is a boldly adventurous tale depicting a richly detailed world. The aspect of Traders shifting gender brings Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness to mind, while the activities on Chen’s island are more reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry novels.” — Booklist
“ Ice Song is definitely a compelling read, largely due to the fact that Sorykah is such a well-developed character. She has an equally intense and complex sense of love and resentment for her children. And the fact that she exists between the world of humans and the mutants is also a source of conflict for her character . . . Ice Song is a near-perfect combination of fantasy, great storytelling and social commentary.” — Philadelphia Gay News
372 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2009
About the author
Kirsten Imani Kasai
7 books53 followersKirsten Imani Kasai is the author of three novels: The House of Erzulie, Ice Song and Tattoo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 1, 2011
(4.5 stars) I’ve never been a big science fiction reader, and so it took me far too long to get around to reading Kirsten Imani Kasai’s Ice Song. Its beautiful cover would draw my eye again and again in the bookstore, then I’d flip it over to read the back cover copy and think, “Oh. Submarines. Mutations. This is that science fiction book again.” Now that I’ve read it, I wish the blurb had contained one brief sentence that would have had me snapping up the book right away: This is a fairy tale.
Sure, the setting is an environmentally ravaged future, and the part-human, part-animal beings who populate it are made that way by mutation rather than by sorcery, but make no mistake: this is a fairy tale. Just as the key to Sorykah’s quest is hidden within a fairy tale told to her along the way, I believe that the key to enjoying Ice Song lies in approaching it as a fairy tale.
Sorykah does work on an ice-drilling submarine, but we’re not very far into the story when she leaves her job and everything else behind; her twin babies have been kidnapped by a sinister madman and Sorykah must go rescue them. Like the heroines of such stories as “East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon” and “The Snow Queen,” Sorykah sets out into the wilds to find her loved ones, with only her dogged determination and the often-quirky help of a few strangers on her side.
Oh, and there’s one more problem. Sorykah is a Trader, which means she occasionally switches genders and becomes a man named Soryk. Some Traders can switch easily and at will, but for Sorykah, the change is usually brought about by intense stress, and she and Soryk have separate memories. Kasai skillfully made me feel empathy for both Sorykah, who identifies strongly as a woman and also fears losing control to Soryk and thereby losing time on this important mission; and Soryk, who has been so long suppressed that he has only a few scattered memories that don’t fit together in any logical way. And no matter which body Sorykah is wearing, her secret puts her in danger. Traders — like the animal/human hybrids known as somatics — are at best treated as second-class citizens, and at worst subjected to scientific or sexual exploitation.
On her journey, Sorykah meets a motley collection of characters, both human and somatic, who help or hinder her along the way. It turns out most of them are connected, having had their lives shattered by several generations of a ruthless family that includes Matuk the Collector, the man who has taken Sorykah’s children. Sorykah, while on her own mission, has stumbled into a web of old grudges and sorrows. Her interactions with these other characters follow a fairy tale structure: she meets someone, receives some cryptic advice and is told where to go next, and so on. Some characters are introduced but then don’t turn out to be relevant to the story as a whole, though I suspect some of them may be threads to be picked back up in the sequel, Tattoo.
The most unexpected twist, after the reader follows Sorykah through the frigid wasteland for some time, is a detour to a sensual, corrupt paradise. The incongruous nature of this detour makes sense in fairy tale logic, and it also shows us another side of Matuk’s coin; while Matuk uses science as an excuse for his depredations, the ruler of this island uses sex. This sequence is uncomfortable, though, because the lush descriptions of these scenes make the reader feel (or at least made me feel) at least partially complicit in the exploitation of Sorykah — which may well have been Kasai’s intent. This island may look like paradise, but it’s really another kind of hell.
Overall, Ice Song is unique, striking, often disturbing (Matuk is a horrible man), and always emotionally moving. I savored the prose, too, which is evocative and dreamlike as befits a story that feels so much like a fairy tale despite its futuristic setting:
--"The noise of the ocean penned in by the icy harbor was terrific. Ice groaned, squeaked, and bellowed. Water droplets froze in midair and fell toward the wooden pier, bouncing upon its snowy crust like scattered, shining stones. Nearer the surface, one long sheet of ice groaned deep within its white skin, a sound like a woman birthing, or so it seemed to Sorykah, still sentimental from the memory of her own children’s birth but a lunar skein behind."
--"Bare feet noiseless against the still-warm path, Sorykah crept catlike toward the manor. She imagined how the sun would soak into the courtyard, how the heavy-headed rosebushes would droop in the heat, cicada song circling as lazy, pollen-drunk honeybees tottered between blossoms trailing chemical bliss to lure their hivemates to the spoils. She paused for a moment, sheltering beneath an ancient weeping willow that mimicked the sound of snakes on the move as its leaves twisted against the stones. Music filled the courtyard and light strained against colored panes, eager to find release in the night."
Sure, the setting is an environmentally ravaged future, and the part-human, part-animal beings who populate it are made that way by mutation rather than by sorcery, but make no mistake: this is a fairy tale. Just as the key to Sorykah’s quest is hidden within a fairy tale told to her along the way, I believe that the key to enjoying Ice Song lies in approaching it as a fairy tale.
Sorykah does work on an ice-drilling submarine, but we’re not very far into the story when she leaves her job and everything else behind; her twin babies have been kidnapped by a sinister madman and Sorykah must go rescue them. Like the heroines of such stories as “East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon” and “The Snow Queen,” Sorykah sets out into the wilds to find her loved ones, with only her dogged determination and the often-quirky help of a few strangers on her side.
Oh, and there’s one more problem. Sorykah is a Trader, which means she occasionally switches genders and becomes a man named Soryk. Some Traders can switch easily and at will, but for Sorykah, the change is usually brought about by intense stress, and she and Soryk have separate memories. Kasai skillfully made me feel empathy for both Sorykah, who identifies strongly as a woman and also fears losing control to Soryk and thereby losing time on this important mission; and Soryk, who has been so long suppressed that he has only a few scattered memories that don’t fit together in any logical way. And no matter which body Sorykah is wearing, her secret puts her in danger. Traders — like the animal/human hybrids known as somatics — are at best treated as second-class citizens, and at worst subjected to scientific or sexual exploitation.
On her journey, Sorykah meets a motley collection of characters, both human and somatic, who help or hinder her along the way. It turns out most of them are connected, having had their lives shattered by several generations of a ruthless family that includes Matuk the Collector, the man who has taken Sorykah’s children. Sorykah, while on her own mission, has stumbled into a web of old grudges and sorrows. Her interactions with these other characters follow a fairy tale structure: she meets someone, receives some cryptic advice and is told where to go next, and so on. Some characters are introduced but then don’t turn out to be relevant to the story as a whole, though I suspect some of them may be threads to be picked back up in the sequel, Tattoo.
The most unexpected twist, after the reader follows Sorykah through the frigid wasteland for some time, is a detour to a sensual, corrupt paradise. The incongruous nature of this detour makes sense in fairy tale logic, and it also shows us another side of Matuk’s coin; while Matuk uses science as an excuse for his depredations, the ruler of this island uses sex. This sequence is uncomfortable, though, because the lush descriptions of these scenes make the reader feel (or at least made me feel) at least partially complicit in the exploitation of Sorykah — which may well have been Kasai’s intent. This island may look like paradise, but it’s really another kind of hell.
Overall, Ice Song is unique, striking, often disturbing (Matuk is a horrible man), and always emotionally moving. I savored the prose, too, which is evocative and dreamlike as befits a story that feels so much like a fairy tale despite its futuristic setting:
--"The noise of the ocean penned in by the icy harbor was terrific. Ice groaned, squeaked, and bellowed. Water droplets froze in midair and fell toward the wooden pier, bouncing upon its snowy crust like scattered, shining stones. Nearer the surface, one long sheet of ice groaned deep within its white skin, a sound like a woman birthing, or so it seemed to Sorykah, still sentimental from the memory of her own children’s birth but a lunar skein behind."
--"Bare feet noiseless against the still-warm path, Sorykah crept catlike toward the manor. She imagined how the sun would soak into the courtyard, how the heavy-headed rosebushes would droop in the heat, cicada song circling as lazy, pollen-drunk honeybees tottered between blossoms trailing chemical bliss to lure their hivemates to the spoils. She paused for a moment, sheltering beneath an ancient weeping willow that mimicked the sound of snakes on the move as its leaves twisted against the stones. Music filled the courtyard and light strained against colored panes, eager to find release in the night."
November 8, 2009
Please note: I wrote almost a complete review of this book last night, and then Safari threw me off and my review disappeared. So if you don't like this review, just know that the original was a work of astonishing beauty that would have moved you to tears!
When I grade student papers, I will often give a student a higher grade if s/he has attempted something daring and put forth an original idea, even if the execution was somewhat flawed.
(In over five years of teaching, this has happened maybe once or twice!).
Ice Song, in many ways, reminds me of those student papers. I think the premise and the heroine are amazing, although the execution is a bit unbalanced. My specific problems were with the narrative mode, and with the world-building, but none of them were grave enough to detract from how impressed I was with the novel overall.
To begin with, Ice Song is a novel that I would term interstitial, in that it has elements of both dystopian science fiction and epic fantasy and blends them, if not seamlessly, at least very well. In the frozen land of the Sigue, Sorykah Minuit works on an ice-drilling submarine. Sorykah is the only woman working on the submarine, but, more remarkably, she is also a Trader, somebody who shifts genders in times of great stress. As a Trader, Sorykah is unusual, in that she has borne children (also Traders), and when these children are kidnapped, she sets out on a quest through the frozen wastes to get them back.
Traders are not the only remarkable creatures who inhabit the world of the Sigue; it is also the home of mutant creatures known as somatics, who blend human and animal traits. For example, early one Sorykah meets Rava, an "octameroon" or human woman with octopus tentacles for legs; other somatics include a walrus-man and a dog-faced girl. These animal/human hybrids are intriguing, because they show how the genres of fantasy and science fiction are blended here; they are mutants, but in the family of the villainous collector Matuk, the mutation is also treated like a curse. Unfortunately, the somatics also brought out my skepticism at times, particularly with blending of incompatible creatures, i.e. those who dwell in water and on land.
I like strong heroines, and I particularly like heroines who demonstrate their strength not only by kicking ass, but through acts of endurance, courage, and resourcefulness, and the latter fits Sorykah quite well. She does not control her gender shifts, and she does not share memories with her male alter, Soryk, which means she finds herself in certain places and situations with no idea how she came to be there. Sorykah's quest throughout the book is ostensibly for her missing children, but it is also for the ability to control her transformation, to have some retention of Soryk's memories, and to convey to him her own. Throughout the novel, not only does she have to rescue her children from a monster, and hopefully before he learns their secret nature, she has to do so knowing that, at any time, she might shift into someone who does not know them, whose life and general priorities don't necessarily match up with her own. It's the equivalent to trusting the fate of your children to someone you've never met; only in this case the someone is you!
Ice Song is a thought-provoking book written in richly descriptive language, about a world I want to revisit and about a heroine I won't soon forget.
When I grade student papers, I will often give a student a higher grade if s/he has attempted something daring and put forth an original idea, even if the execution was somewhat flawed.
(In over five years of teaching, this has happened maybe once or twice!).
Ice Song, in many ways, reminds me of those student papers. I think the premise and the heroine are amazing, although the execution is a bit unbalanced. My specific problems were with the narrative mode, and with the world-building, but none of them were grave enough to detract from how impressed I was with the novel overall.
To begin with, Ice Song is a novel that I would term interstitial, in that it has elements of both dystopian science fiction and epic fantasy and blends them, if not seamlessly, at least very well. In the frozen land of the Sigue, Sorykah Minuit works on an ice-drilling submarine. Sorykah is the only woman working on the submarine, but, more remarkably, she is also a Trader, somebody who shifts genders in times of great stress. As a Trader, Sorykah is unusual, in that she has borne children (also Traders), and when these children are kidnapped, she sets out on a quest through the frozen wastes to get them back.
Traders are not the only remarkable creatures who inhabit the world of the Sigue; it is also the home of mutant creatures known as somatics, who blend human and animal traits. For example, early one Sorykah meets Rava, an "octameroon" or human woman with octopus tentacles for legs; other somatics include a walrus-man and a dog-faced girl. These animal/human hybrids are intriguing, because they show how the genres of fantasy and science fiction are blended here; they are mutants, but in the family of the villainous collector Matuk, the mutation is also treated like a curse. Unfortunately, the somatics also brought out my skepticism at times, particularly with blending of incompatible creatures, i.e. those who dwell in water and on land.
I like strong heroines, and I particularly like heroines who demonstrate their strength not only by kicking ass, but through acts of endurance, courage, and resourcefulness, and the latter fits Sorykah quite well. She does not control her gender shifts, and she does not share memories with her male alter, Soryk, which means she finds herself in certain places and situations with no idea how she came to be there. Sorykah's quest throughout the book is ostensibly for her missing children, but it is also for the ability to control her transformation, to have some retention of Soryk's memories, and to convey to him her own. Throughout the novel, not only does she have to rescue her children from a monster, and hopefully before he learns their secret nature, she has to do so knowing that, at any time, she might shift into someone who does not know them, whose life and general priorities don't necessarily match up with her own. It's the equivalent to trusting the fate of your children to someone you've never met; only in this case the someone is you!
Ice Song is a thought-provoking book written in richly descriptive language, about a world I want to revisit and about a heroine I won't soon forget.
January 26, 2010
This is a well written dark and unusual fantasy that takes place in a world where DNA mutations and combination's had gone a muck. A female / male protagonist fighting to reclaim hers / his babies is the main story line. There are many interesting turns in this story, and the growth that our main character achieves is very satisfying. I really enjoyed that Kasai did not fall back on typical male / female stereotypes to bring this story to a conclusion. Well paced, well written, a great first novel.
June 26, 2016
Kasai's debut novel starts out very sci-fi - a woman works on an arctic submarine harvesting some fabulously expensive product for the urban rich - then floats ever further off into fantasy and fairy tale realms. Her journey to find her kidnapped twins takes her to seedy dive bars full of "somatics" with animal-looking mutations, then to a woman who is either a brilliant botanist or a half-insane sorceress, and finally to a pleasure palace straight out of a Tanith Lee dream.
Ice Song reads like an indie book that actually saw a good editor. Quest stories are so basic as to be archetypical, but the fairy tale touches and moments of wordsmithing beauty elevate this out of the ordinary. Aside from the pretty flourishes, though, I didn't find a tale that gripped my interest. Characters either have murky vague motivations or one-note relentless impulses without nuance. There's a lot of interesting ideas here, but it's ultimately the kind of thing that's so meandering that it's easy to lay down forgotten for days at a time.
Ice Song reads like an indie book that actually saw a good editor. Quest stories are so basic as to be archetypical, but the fairy tale touches and moments of wordsmithing beauty elevate this out of the ordinary. Aside from the pretty flourishes, though, I didn't find a tale that gripped my interest. Characters either have murky vague motivations or one-note relentless impulses without nuance. There's a lot of interesting ideas here, but it's ultimately the kind of thing that's so meandering that it's easy to lay down forgotten for days at a time.
August 28, 2009
I didn’t know what to expect from Kirsten Imani Kasai’s debut novel Ice Song. To be honest this is not the type of book I usually go for when at the bookstore. When Ms. Kasani offered to send me a copy to read I thought would go ahead and take a chance. Wow, I am glad I did as this a truly incredible and totally unique novel. Books like Ms. Kasai’s are why I like having a book review blog as it gives me a chance to read novels that normally I would pass on.
The plot is relatively simple. Sorykah Minuit’s twin children have been kidnapped and she is on a mission to rescue them from their abducter, The Collector. Sorykah is as a Trader or a person who has the ability to switched sexes. Unlike other Traders, Sorykah’s ability happens at inopportune times and she/he retains no memory during the switch. The male version is named Soryk and he really has had a difficult time. The few times he introduced in the novel he does not even know that he has two children or how he ends up in some very strange places.
The interesting aspect to this universe is the Somatics. The Somatics are individuals whose DNA has been crossed with an animals, insects, etc. They retain some of their humanity but also have the instincts of their animal portion. This really makes for some interesting characterizations and Ms. Kasani takes full advantage by creating some very unique people that populate her novel. The Somatics are hated in this universe and at times, are hunted for sport by the normal humans.
At the beginning of the novel we learn that Sorykah has taken a job to mine frozen Fossil Water for The Company. She has planned to rendezvous with her children in the frozen land called the Sigue. After several days pass the nanny who is bringing the children does not show up and the worst is feared. It is discovered that her children have been taken to be used in experiments by the maniacal Collector. It is well known in the Sigue that The Collector takes Somatics to be used in his wicked experiments and they are never seen again, expect with their heads sitting on pole outside his mansion. Sorykah puts together a dog sled team together and begins her desperate race across the frozen tundra to rescue her children.
For me, this is when the novel became very captivating and Ms. Kasani does do not fall into the normal trappings of high adventure stories. For example, there are not endless pages of Sorykah traveling and camping before she comes to her destination. The plot is kept tight and focused and more importantly moving forward. She also explores the backgrounds and motivations of each of the main players. This was the highlight of the novel as it made all of the characters more complex and their motivations not so simple. There is nothing that is strictly black and white in this world as everything is a shade of gray, as it is in the real world.
The only quibble I have with the story probably has more to do with me being a male than anything else. There are numerous passages describing breast feeding in detail and after awhile it somewhat become tiresome.
For some reason, this novel was published without much fanfare when it should have been be on everyone’s radar. Ms. Kasai has written a truly extraordinary novel that I had the extreme pleasure of reading. Her imagination is astonishing but is balanced by well crafted plot that will have you thinking about this story for years to come. I eagerly await future novels from Ms. Kasani and hopefully future volumes in the same universe.
The plot is relatively simple. Sorykah Minuit’s twin children have been kidnapped and she is on a mission to rescue them from their abducter, The Collector. Sorykah is as a Trader or a person who has the ability to switched sexes. Unlike other Traders, Sorykah’s ability happens at inopportune times and she/he retains no memory during the switch. The male version is named Soryk and he really has had a difficult time. The few times he introduced in the novel he does not even know that he has two children or how he ends up in some very strange places.
The interesting aspect to this universe is the Somatics. The Somatics are individuals whose DNA has been crossed with an animals, insects, etc. They retain some of their humanity but also have the instincts of their animal portion. This really makes for some interesting characterizations and Ms. Kasani takes full advantage by creating some very unique people that populate her novel. The Somatics are hated in this universe and at times, are hunted for sport by the normal humans.
At the beginning of the novel we learn that Sorykah has taken a job to mine frozen Fossil Water for The Company. She has planned to rendezvous with her children in the frozen land called the Sigue. After several days pass the nanny who is bringing the children does not show up and the worst is feared. It is discovered that her children have been taken to be used in experiments by the maniacal Collector. It is well known in the Sigue that The Collector takes Somatics to be used in his wicked experiments and they are never seen again, expect with their heads sitting on pole outside his mansion. Sorykah puts together a dog sled team together and begins her desperate race across the frozen tundra to rescue her children.
For me, this is when the novel became very captivating and Ms. Kasani does do not fall into the normal trappings of high adventure stories. For example, there are not endless pages of Sorykah traveling and camping before she comes to her destination. The plot is kept tight and focused and more importantly moving forward. She also explores the backgrounds and motivations of each of the main players. This was the highlight of the novel as it made all of the characters more complex and their motivations not so simple. There is nothing that is strictly black and white in this world as everything is a shade of gray, as it is in the real world.
The only quibble I have with the story probably has more to do with me being a male than anything else. There are numerous passages describing breast feeding in detail and after awhile it somewhat become tiresome.
For some reason, this novel was published without much fanfare when it should have been be on everyone’s radar. Ms. Kasai has written a truly extraordinary novel that I had the extreme pleasure of reading. Her imagination is astonishing but is balanced by well crafted plot that will have you thinking about this story for years to come. I eagerly await future novels from Ms. Kasani and hopefully future volumes in the same universe.
November 13, 2009
I had a hard time deciding how to rate this. On the one hand, the author's tremendous creativity, extraordinary worldbuilding, and unforgettable protagonist are all excellent. On the other, I felt the story got a bit bogged down in places by description. It is a strength of the author, but for my taste, gets indulged too frequently, sometimes at the expense of actually understanding what is going on (which is counter-intuitive but had that effect due to complexity and unusual nature of some of the descriptions. It also seemed like the protagonist kept landing over and over (and over) in the same situation - namely very deep trouble, all alone. So even thought the nature of the trouble changed, it somehow felt repetitive. Also, there were too many seriously icky (from a physical repugnance point of view) incidents for my taste.
In the end, I went with four stars due to unpredictability, imagination, and really liking the main character. Great debut effort, and looking forward to what comes next.
In the end, I went with four stars due to unpredictability, imagination, and really liking the main character. Great debut effort, and looking forward to what comes next.
Want to read
May 5, 2009From Publishers Weekly
Kasai's strikingly original but uneven debut posits a world where DNA has gone wild, producing Traders with amazing abilities and somatics with a mix of animal and human genes. Sorykah Minuit, a gender-switching Trader, arrives in the dirty, dangerous polar town of Ostara to meet her twin children and their nursemaid. She encounters an octopus-woman who tells her the children have been abducted by the Trader-torturing Collector. Passages of stunning imagery veer abruptly into purple prose as Sorykah heads into the perilous, icy wilderness, only to pause her maternal quest for an extended romp at an isolated pleasure-house. After a brush with death, she abruptly becomes a man with no memory of female life. Kasai's imaginative reach exceeds her grasp, and she squeezes in numerous intriguing ideas that languish only partially explored. (May)
Kasai's strikingly original but uneven debut posits a world where DNA has gone wild, producing Traders with amazing abilities and somatics with a mix of animal and human genes. Sorykah Minuit, a gender-switching Trader, arrives in the dirty, dangerous polar town of Ostara to meet her twin children and their nursemaid. She encounters an octopus-woman who tells her the children have been abducted by the Trader-torturing Collector. Passages of stunning imagery veer abruptly into purple prose as Sorykah heads into the perilous, icy wilderness, only to pause her maternal quest for an extended romp at an isolated pleasure-house. After a brush with death, she abruptly becomes a man with no memory of female life. Kasai's imaginative reach exceeds her grasp, and she squeezes in numerous intriguing ideas that languish only partially explored. (May)
August 29, 2009
I am still not really sure what I think of this book. Admittedly it took me over a month to get through, but that wasn't because it was bone-achingly boring. When I was reading it I enjoyed it for the most part, but it didn't give me that "can't put it down" feeling. It was also confusing because there were chunks of the book that I felt were just thrown in there because, not for any specific literary purpose. I am happy to be done with it and moving on to another of my other books. I guess overall I wasn't too big a fan...
August 27, 2012
As I'm more interested in "hard" scifi stories, I did not find this book as engrossing as others. However I did enjoy reading it. It was well written, I loved her very descriptive writing and great creativity. However I found it a bit slow paced as her descriptions bogged down the story telling in some parts. I think I would have enjoyed it better if it dealt more with her 2 genders and how that affected her life and relationships.
February 28, 2010
This was a very odd book that I picked up because I liked the cover. It took me a bit to get into, but I did enjoy the book as a whole. The transitions were a bit abrupt, confusing me a tad bit, however the characters were relatively well fleshed out. Felt like a new author book. If another comes out set in the same world, I'd probably try it.
May 5, 2020
This was an engrossing, thrilling, fresh, lovely read... for about 200 hundred pages of the 384 total duration. Not that I didn't enjoy the last of the novel, or that I wasn't involved in Soryk/ah's unique tale - Ice Song simply and sadly suffers (alliteration is fun!) from a problem that so many other novels of the fantasy genre also suffer: it's just too long. Three hundred eighty-four pages is far from the longest book I've read this year, but it's nothing to sneeze at, certainly. But, truthfully, it's no doorstopper in a genre with works like The Way of Kings (1007 pages), To Green Angel Tower (1104 pages), and The Bonehunters (1231 pages) easy to come by and at more than twice this one's length. The problem with Ice Song is that the length outlasts the actual plot - large sections could have been culled from the narrative (for example: halve the trek across the ice,
I loved a lot about this very creative and individual 'fantasy' novel, including the fact that this was clearly and awesomely not just a straight fantasy. There's the obvious signs early on that seem to set this darkly captivating novel out as clear-cut, epic fantasy: the long journey against an well-established enemy, the alien world peopled with the chimaera-like "somatics" - a genetic(?) mutation of both human and animal, and last but not least: Sorykah's strange ability as a Trader to change genders and become Soryk. But further and close reading will out many and often references to a very familiar world - which would make this more of a post-apocalyptic novel than a fantasy. References to a very modern society gone: "canned soda", the use of opium, "DNA", mutterings of a "Great Change" and a mysterious "Split"between humans and the changeling somatics, "video cameras" and most tellingly: "baseball". I also came around to believing the setting for the trek Soryak takes - the harsh and frozen Sigue - could be what we call Antartica. The sly mentions of more populated areas "up North" along with the frozen and inhospitable climate further reinforce my opinion that Sorykah's world is our own, but far in the future.
I loved the creative take the author used to build her world, and the lovely way she wrote only helped make a favorable impression. Before I got tired of the seemingly-endless (and deadly! ) This also reads like a fairytale at times, which I found both charming and odd juxtaposed against the dark nature of the novel. Kasai has an elegant way with words, and her vivid descriptions of both character and setting evoke a very detailed, real world and read.
"He smiled, wickedly, or so it seemed, for the grins of wolves always appear wicked, even when innocently offered."
Doesn't that sound like a line straight from a fairytale? A Little Red Robin Hood with a gender-bending Red Robin Hood. Too bad the rest of the story doesn't fit within the LRR story or I would make a theory on the spot.
I loved the somatics as a species. Described as a human/animal hybrids with "scrambled genetics and bizarre deformities" they are the fringe of society within this (our?) world. While some of the minglings of man and creature strain credulity at times I loved that the somatics were often shown as the most human, the most humane characters (read: Dunya, Sidra, Carac) in a world where their race are considered sport and open game for freak hunters, and the actual monsters were wholly human. Soryk/ah shares some of same plights as the somatics: isolated, hunted, and misunderstood. However, unlike the species, Sorykah is one of so few like her that many in the world have never seen a Trader. For Soryk's entire existence it was fight or flight, hide or be hunted and used as a sexual circus freak. Though born of and into a harsh life, Soryak isn't a fighter or a rebel: she's a lowkey,
My main gripe besides the length is the House of Pleasures stay towards the final fourth of the book. Until this bit, the author took pains never to make Sorykah's 'problem' the entire focus of her characterization. Yes the character switches genders, personalities but there's much more to her than her alternating names. The House of Pleasures put Sorykah on the spot (literally) and it was not fun to read for 20+ pages. Both Sorykah's motivations for being there and her actions once there don't really fit well within the frame of the novel or her previous personality. Not to mention that both the creepy women of the House and Sorykah's display at their hands were just uncomfortable to read. I'm not a prude, I can handle sex in books just fine, but the House of Pleasures displays were too distasteful for me.
To finish this review, just go here --> Ageless Pages Reviews: Ice Song.
December 21, 2014
I didn’t know what to expect from Kirsten Imani Kasai’s debut novel Ice Song. To be honest this is not the type of book I usually go for when at the bookstore. When Ms. Kasani offered to send me a copy to read I thought would go ahead and take a chance. Wow, I am glad I did as this a truly incredible and totally unique novel. Books like Ms. Kasai’s are why I like having a book review blog as it gives me a chance to read novels that normally I would pass on.
The plot is relatively simple. Sorykah Minuit’s twin children have been kidnapped and she is on a mission to rescue them from their abducter, The Collector. Sorykah is as a Trader or a person who has the ability to switched sexes. Unlike other Traders, Sorykah’s ability happens at inopportune times and she/he retains no memory during the switch. The male version is named Soryk and he really has had a difficult time. The few times he introduced in the novel he does not even know that he has two children or how he ends up in some very strange places.
The interesting aspect to this universe is the Somatics. The Somatics are individuals whose DNA has been crossed with an animals, insects, etc. They retain some of their humanity but also have the instincts of their animal portion. This really makes for some interesting characterizations and Ms. Kasani takes full advantage by creating some very unique people that populate her novel. The Somatics are hated in this universe and at times, are hunted for sport by the normal humans.
At the beginning of the novel we learn that Sorykah has taken a job to mine frozen Fossil Water for The Company. She has planned to rendezvous with her children in the frozen land called the Sigue. After several days pass the nanny who is bringing the children does not show up and the worst is feared. It is discovered that her children have been taken to be used in experiments by the maniacal Collector. It is well known in the Sigue that The Collector takes Somatics to be used in his wicked experiments and they are never seen again, expect with their heads sitting on pole outside his mansion. Sorykah puts together a dog sled team together and begins her desperate race across the frozen tundra to rescue her children.
For me, this is when the novel became very captivating and Ms. Kasani does do not fall into the normal trappings of high adventure stories. For example, there are not endless pages of Sorykah traveling and camping before she comes to her destination. The plot is kept tight and focused and more importantly moving forward. She also explores the backgrounds and motivations of each of the main players. This was the highlight of the novel as it made all of the characters more complex and their motivations not so simple. There is nothing that is strictly black and white in this world as everything is a shade of gray, as it is in the real world.
The only quibble I have with the story probably has more to do with me being a male than anything else. There are numerous passages describing breast feeding in detail and after awhile it somewhat become tiresome.
For some reason, this novel was published without much fanfare when it should have been be on everyone’s radar. Ms. Kasai has written a truly extraordinary novel that I had the extreme pleasure of reading. Her imagination is astonishing but is balanced by well crafted plot that will have you thinking about this story for years to come. I eagerly await future novels from Ms. Kasani and hopefully future volumes in the same universe.
The plot is relatively simple. Sorykah Minuit’s twin children have been kidnapped and she is on a mission to rescue them from their abducter, The Collector. Sorykah is as a Trader or a person who has the ability to switched sexes. Unlike other Traders, Sorykah’s ability happens at inopportune times and she/he retains no memory during the switch. The male version is named Soryk and he really has had a difficult time. The few times he introduced in the novel he does not even know that he has two children or how he ends up in some very strange places.
The interesting aspect to this universe is the Somatics. The Somatics are individuals whose DNA has been crossed with an animals, insects, etc. They retain some of their humanity but also have the instincts of their animal portion. This really makes for some interesting characterizations and Ms. Kasani takes full advantage by creating some very unique people that populate her novel. The Somatics are hated in this universe and at times, are hunted for sport by the normal humans.
At the beginning of the novel we learn that Sorykah has taken a job to mine frozen Fossil Water for The Company. She has planned to rendezvous with her children in the frozen land called the Sigue. After several days pass the nanny who is bringing the children does not show up and the worst is feared. It is discovered that her children have been taken to be used in experiments by the maniacal Collector. It is well known in the Sigue that The Collector takes Somatics to be used in his wicked experiments and they are never seen again, expect with their heads sitting on pole outside his mansion. Sorykah puts together a dog sled team together and begins her desperate race across the frozen tundra to rescue her children.
For me, this is when the novel became very captivating and Ms. Kasani does do not fall into the normal trappings of high adventure stories. For example, there are not endless pages of Sorykah traveling and camping before she comes to her destination. The plot is kept tight and focused and more importantly moving forward. She also explores the backgrounds and motivations of each of the main players. This was the highlight of the novel as it made all of the characters more complex and their motivations not so simple. There is nothing that is strictly black and white in this world as everything is a shade of gray, as it is in the real world.
The only quibble I have with the story probably has more to do with me being a male than anything else. There are numerous passages describing breast feeding in detail and after awhile it somewhat become tiresome.
For some reason, this novel was published without much fanfare when it should have been be on everyone’s radar. Ms. Kasai has written a truly extraordinary novel that I had the extreme pleasure of reading. Her imagination is astonishing but is balanced by well crafted plot that will have you thinking about this story for years to come. I eagerly await future novels from Ms. Kasani and hopefully future volumes in the same universe.
October 3, 2011
Egalley thanks to Random House
This book reads like a mad inventor's fairy-tale. I love crazy, but sometimes it was too much even for me. That's why I think I'm having difficulties describing what I feel about this book.
You've read the synopsis, right? A mad, mad world full of genetic mutations, hard work and extreme climates.
Sorykah is a Trader, a rare mutation with genetic make-up of two people. Her other half, Soryk has been suppressed all her life and only comes out for short spurs of time when Sorykah's body goes through too much stress. Sorykah doesn't remember what happens when she is male, Soryk doesn't know he is a Trader and blames what he can't remember on memory loss.
Sorykah has baby twins, who get kidnapped by an absolutely mad monstrous Collector of rare mutations, and the poor woman has to go through numerous trials and tribulations to save her babies. It's a classic fairy tale but from a very twisted angle.
I look back and all I can see is a slew of images imprinted on my brain after I finished this book...
Sorykah's dogs get eaten by a giant seal; Dunya, the dog-faced housekeeper of Collector's house keeps the children safe in her kitchen; Soryk falls in love with mutants' Queen who hides her people in the big trees of the forest; Sorykah goes to Collector's son, a sexual deviant who lives on an island where pleasure is the only ruler; Soryk cuts his little finger to use as a key to Collector's house; merged personality, mad battles, weird hazy conversations, torture and evil experiments....
Mad enough for you?
It's an undeniably unique and interesting book, it's gripping, frustrating and exhausting with plenty of fascinating secondary characters. Will I read book #2? I guess I will when I feel brave enough.
This book reads like a mad inventor's fairy-tale. I love crazy, but sometimes it was too much even for me. That's why I think I'm having difficulties describing what I feel about this book.
You've read the synopsis, right? A mad, mad world full of genetic mutations, hard work and extreme climates.
Sorykah is a Trader, a rare mutation with genetic make-up of two people. Her other half, Soryk has been suppressed all her life and only comes out for short spurs of time when Sorykah's body goes through too much stress. Sorykah doesn't remember what happens when she is male, Soryk doesn't know he is a Trader and blames what he can't remember on memory loss.
Sorykah has baby twins, who get kidnapped by an absolutely mad monstrous Collector of rare mutations, and the poor woman has to go through numerous trials and tribulations to save her babies. It's a classic fairy tale but from a very twisted angle.
I look back and all I can see is a slew of images imprinted on my brain after I finished this book...
Sorykah's dogs get eaten by a giant seal; Dunya, the dog-faced housekeeper of Collector's house keeps the children safe in her kitchen; Soryk falls in love with mutants' Queen who hides her people in the big trees of the forest; Sorykah goes to Collector's son, a sexual deviant who lives on an island where pleasure is the only ruler; Soryk cuts his little finger to use as a key to Collector's house; merged personality, mad battles, weird hazy conversations, torture and evil experiments....
Mad enough for you?
It's an undeniably unique and interesting book, it's gripping, frustrating and exhausting with plenty of fascinating secondary characters. Will I read book #2? I guess I will when I feel brave enough.
May 12, 2010
Sorykah is an engineer on an ice-drilling submarine, and a new mother about to be reunited with her children -- except they've been abducted. What makes them so special and worth kidnapping is that they've inherited their mother's Trader ability, which allows them to physically change sex. Meanwhile, other mutations abound; most deal with human-animal hybrids, so that a woman might have an octopus's tendrils or a man the characteristics of a walrus. There are mild flavors of Elizabeth Lynn and Mieville, but I wouldn't look too much into these comparisons.
There's lots of premise, but the fulfillment falls flat. We never get to see this submarine, and the gender-switching was handled rather cheaply, I thought, with the male and female versions being treated as two separate people (who even think thoughts to each other and have separate sets of memories). And despite the veneer of science fiction (mutations are specifically called out as DNA mix-ups), fantasy elements like people offering riddles instead of actual answers and a queen of the wilderness make their appearance -- and the feel isn't mythic enough to carry it off.
Ice Song feels like a first novel, with elements tossed in and twisted so that they'll fit together. I never was quite convinced by the characters; they played all too obvious roles in the story, instead of really coming to life on their own. It kept the book from being the successful fusion of a strange world and the deep personal exploration (by Sorykah) that Kasai tries for.
There's lots of premise, but the fulfillment falls flat. We never get to see this submarine, and the gender-switching was handled rather cheaply, I thought, with the male and female versions being treated as two separate people (who even think thoughts to each other and have separate sets of memories). And despite the veneer of science fiction (mutations are specifically called out as DNA mix-ups), fantasy elements like people offering riddles instead of actual answers and a queen of the wilderness make their appearance -- and the feel isn't mythic enough to carry it off.
Ice Song feels like a first novel, with elements tossed in and twisted so that they'll fit together. I never was quite convinced by the characters; they played all too obvious roles in the story, instead of really coming to life on their own. It kept the book from being the successful fusion of a strange world and the deep personal exploration (by Sorykah) that Kasai tries for.
December 17, 2014
I was very intrigued by this book from the blurb on the back, which prompted me to check it out from the library. And then it was nothing like what the back leads you to believe. For a novel whose main character is a gender-bender (literally), she spends awfully little time as her male counterpart. He doesn't even show up until more than a third of the way into the book. I did think it was a neat twist that her two halves don't share memories - talk about confusing. But the rest of the story left me with a dissatisfied 'Hrm.'
For one, it kept switching from being science fiction to a macabre kind of fantasy novel. And I don't as a rule have a problem with cross-genre or mixed genre, but in this case it just didn't work. For another, occasionally the author would throw in a whole little subplot that didn't serve ANY purpose whatsoever (particularly the Zarina/Elu bit - no point to it, which the author seemed to realize as it abruptly cut off). Also, I really wanted to like the main character, but sometimes her reactions just didn't make any sense (and had nothing to do with her gender-changing abilities). To round it out, the end was very unsatisfying as well. Without giving it away, lets just say a LOT of loose ends weren't tied up, and even the immediate fate of the surviving characters was left in question. Call me old fashioned, but I like a little bit more of a resolution in my endings. Overall, it was an interesting idea, just not executed as well as it could've been.
For one, it kept switching from being science fiction to a macabre kind of fantasy novel. And I don't as a rule have a problem with cross-genre or mixed genre, but in this case it just didn't work. For another, occasionally the author would throw in a whole little subplot that didn't serve ANY purpose whatsoever (particularly the Zarina/Elu bit - no point to it, which the author seemed to realize as it abruptly cut off). Also, I really wanted to like the main character, but sometimes her reactions just didn't make any sense (and had nothing to do with her gender-changing abilities). To round it out, the end was very unsatisfying as well. Without giving it away, lets just say a LOT of loose ends weren't tied up, and even the immediate fate of the surviving characters was left in question. Call me old fashioned, but I like a little bit more of a resolution in my endings. Overall, it was an interesting idea, just not executed as well as it could've been.
July 28, 2009
Ice Song is a new and welcomed addition to the sci-fi/fantasy world and for it to be Kasai’s debut novel, to say the least I’m impressed!
I love Kasai’s writing style and the imagery in Ice Song is fascinating. This novel grabbed my attention well into the first few pages. Kasai’s writing is so vivid and I felt as though I was watching a movie on big screen. I was captivated by the world that Kasai created involving somatics (people born with animal genes/mutations) and the rare and highly sought after traders (their genetic makeup allows them to switch genders).
The characters and places in Ice Song are extraordinary and I was amazed as to how creatively imagined they are. Sorykah morphs into Soryk - her male counterpart under stress and neither one of them has any recollection of the other’s whereabouts. The secondary characters are noteworthy too as they tie into the plot quite well.
The plot consists of Sorykah/Soryk’s journey to find her infant twins. The constant interactions with interesting people and new places traveled during their journey kept me turning the pages. It was nice to see who/what Sorykah/Soryk would encounter next.
I look forward to reading more of Kasai’s work.
I love Kasai’s writing style and the imagery in Ice Song is fascinating. This novel grabbed my attention well into the first few pages. Kasai’s writing is so vivid and I felt as though I was watching a movie on big screen. I was captivated by the world that Kasai created involving somatics (people born with animal genes/mutations) and the rare and highly sought after traders (their genetic makeup allows them to switch genders).
The characters and places in Ice Song are extraordinary and I was amazed as to how creatively imagined they are. Sorykah morphs into Soryk - her male counterpart under stress and neither one of them has any recollection of the other’s whereabouts. The secondary characters are noteworthy too as they tie into the plot quite well.
The plot consists of Sorykah/Soryk’s journey to find her infant twins. The constant interactions with interesting people and new places traveled during their journey kept me turning the pages. It was nice to see who/what Sorykah/Soryk would encounter next.
I look forward to reading more of Kasai’s work.
August 13, 2015
In the frozen land of Sigue where the environment has degraded and genetic human/animal mutations make for hideous beings, Sorykah is a rare mutant human able to switch genders at will. She has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who have inherited her trait. While they are in the care of a nanny and Sorykah is away on a submarine, they are stolen by The Collector who does ghastly experiments on the mutants. On her quest to find her children, Sorykah passes through water worlds and primordial forests, meeting friend and foe, mutant and human. Many of the characters are grotesque but we hear of their plight from their human side sharing their panic and fear. Some characters only meet Sorykah and some Soryk; a few meet them both. At the beginning of the story Sorykah, the dominant, knows of Soryk but Soryk does not know of his female side. He just awakes with no memory of any other past. This is a definite problem for the quest. I enjoyed this tale which was very different from anything else I have read.
February 13, 2015
The concept of human-animal hybrids, and sex-shifting characters are what drew me in and kept me reading, despite times when the plot/action felt as holey as swiss cheese and the prose required third-try readings. Descriptions of cold, the forest, and the characters' bodies were interesting, but I can't say it was stellar writing.
Take this bit at the end. "The torch she'd lost in her scuffle with the dogs lay smoldering and now the rug beneath it had begun to blaze." And yet this fire isn't mentioned in the following fight scene, nor does it seem to exist when they go back upstairs to light everything else on fire. Huh? Plus, the marble is described as "rotting". Does stone rot? And she's frigging FROZEN in a puddle, yet not frostbitten? Stuff like this was on every page. If you aren't paying much attention, it's fine, but I do, and ugh, it was no good.
Why I feel compelled to give this three stars instead of two is beyond me, but for whatever reason it was worth finishing, so that's something.
Take this bit at the end. "The torch she'd lost in her scuffle with the dogs lay smoldering and now the rug beneath it had begun to blaze." And yet this fire isn't mentioned in the following fight scene, nor does it seem to exist when they go back upstairs to light everything else on fire. Huh? Plus, the marble is described as "rotting". Does stone rot? And she's frigging FROZEN in a puddle, yet not frostbitten? Stuff like this was on every page. If you aren't paying much attention, it's fine, but I do, and ugh, it was no good.
Why I feel compelled to give this three stars instead of two is beyond me, but for whatever reason it was worth finishing, so that's something.
August 10, 2010
This is a completely original fantasy written by a talented new writer, two things which make me excited. Kirsten Imani Kasai has created a beautiful, dangerous, multi-layered, world and a protagonist who is strong, yet completely believable, even as she changes genders. This is the story of a mother trying to rescue her kidnapped children from a mad man known as "The Collector," a woman who is not a superhero, but who faces incredible dangers and trials as she crosses the frozen land. She is also a Trader, a person who changes genders, which makes the world doubly dangerous for her as she tries to hide her secret. To save her children, Sorykah must learn to embrace her male half, Soryk, and integrate the two parts of herself, so that she can face the demons in the Marble Castle where her two babies are held captive.
Discovering a new writer is exciting, doubly so because Kirstin Imani Kasai is writing the sequel right now. I can't wait.
Discovering a new writer is exciting, doubly so because Kirstin Imani Kasai is writing the sequel right now. I can't wait.
September 12, 2009
In a world filled with genetic mutations, Sorykah Minuit is still a rarity: she's a trader- able to switch from her primary female gender to the male,Soryk. Sorykah takes a job as an engineer with a company working in the frozen North. Her nanny is supposed to meet her there with Soryah twin babies but the nanny and babies are kidnapped by the collector who is known to kill the mutants he collects in his efforts to find a cure for his daughter who has mutated into a beast. The book tells the saga of Sorykah's journey to find the collector and retrieve her twins before they are murdered. The dangers are exacerbated by the fact that when Sorykah is in danger she switches genders and there is no memory transfer between Soryk and Sorykah.
August 23, 2011
Very intense book, intriguing premise.
the review I posted on Snip:
This book was SO GOOD, I find myself very reluctant to return it the library. What if I NEED to read it again, some more, incessantly, every night?!?! The lead character, Sorykah, is a mother of two kidnapped babies, an ice-drilling engineer...and a Trader who can switch back and forth between genders. Her world is also populated by Somatics, people who are part human/part animal, and her search for the twins finds her making unexpected alliances.
As with so many books I love, it was rich in detail to the point of tactility; the characters were heartbreakingly real in all their aches and pains and loves and hates. I believed in the world and the story and the quest and the emotions. It all came alive.
the review I posted on Snip:
This book was SO GOOD, I find myself very reluctant to return it the library. What if I NEED to read it again, some more, incessantly, every night?!?! The lead character, Sorykah, is a mother of two kidnapped babies, an ice-drilling engineer...and a Trader who can switch back and forth between genders. Her world is also populated by Somatics, people who are part human/part animal, and her search for the twins finds her making unexpected alliances.
As with so many books I love, it was rich in detail to the point of tactility; the characters were heartbreakingly real in all their aches and pains and loves and hates. I believed in the world and the story and the quest and the emotions. It all came alive.
June 8, 2009
This is a dark and heavy fantasy set in the wilderness outside of a 20th century society. Issues of gender, abnormality and family are dealt with as a Nursing mother journeys to retrieve her kidnapped twin infants.
The language is beautiful, the emotions are strong, and violence is not shied away from. I'd not recommend this to the squeamish or prudish. I called it fantasy, but the underlying strangeness in the book could just as easily have scientific explanations and no magic is explicitly invoked. I'm tempted to classify this as "new weird" although I'm still getting a feel for how to correctly classify something as such.
The language is beautiful, the emotions are strong, and violence is not shied away from. I'd not recommend this to the squeamish or prudish. I called it fantasy, but the underlying strangeness in the book could just as easily have scientific explanations and no magic is explicitly invoked. I'm tempted to classify this as "new weird" although I'm still getting a feel for how to correctly classify something as such.
July 23, 2014
Excellent debut; I marked it as sf since while undeniably fantasy-like in style it's also closest to Liz Williams Darkland/Bloodmind in theme and setting, so it's more of a gothic sf than anything else.
Superb style, imagery and emotion with an ok plot and a little too much tell rather than show, but debut and all the positives vastly outweigh the negatives. A strange book and I expect it will be a love it, hate it kind - I loved it
This is a book that establishes Ms. Kasai as an author to follow and get any new book asap
June 23, 2012
Eh. I picked up this book because Tattoo seemed to be getting a lot of hype when it came out and it seemed interesting. It's not bad per se, certainly not unreadable, but I couldn't really get into it and sort of figured why bother when I have so many other books I want to read.
August 27, 2010
didn't like it very much, slow to start too fast throughout the second half not much happened and then too much happened. not fully fleshed out, oddly anticlimactic even though all sorts of sh*t happens... wish i had never read it. it was weird and gross and confusing and disappointing, if you havent read it dont, if you have read it im sorry.
September 17, 2010
3.5 stars on this one.. the prose was well written and the world an original one but the 'quest' seemed too stereotypical of the genre. The pacing was poor.. and despite elegant descriptions, I wasn't drawn into the world Kasai created. I enjoyed the read but if there were a sequel, it wouldn't make it to my 'must-read' stack.
December 13, 2011
I picked this up to fulfil a reading challenge calling for a book with the word "Ice" in the title and I'm really glad I did! It was a good read, some ideas flashed past a bit quickly, and others dragged on a bit (most of the pleasure palace stuff) but overall interesting ideas and an enjoyable read.
November 9, 2010
Good read! I enjoyed it! I especially enjoyed the pleasure chapter..that's how I refer to it..very pleasurable to read..and imagine. :) My only "complaint" is the over usage (is that proper grammar?) of descriptive words. Step away from the thesaurus woman! <3
May 21, 2010
I had a very difficult time getting through this book. It wasn't terrible a little too dull for my taste. The concept of the main character Soryk/ah was rather interesting, I just wished we more "conflict" with her alter-ego.
July 30, 2010
An interesting book. There were some interesting scifi concepts regarding human mutation and corporate power that were compelling. The main characters were mostly engaging. There were some parts of the book that were a little gross for my tastes. Overall pretty engaging.
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