A WOMAN OF THE IRON PEOPLE

This James Tiptree Jr. Award–winning anthropological science fiction novel about first contact with an alien culture is “fascinating” and “irresistible” (Ursula K. LeGuin).

Lixia and the members of her human crew are determined not to disturb the life on the planet circling the Star Sigma Draconis which they have begun exploring. But the factions on the mother ship hovering above the planet may create an unintended chaos for both the life on the planet and the humans exploring it. As the anger increases on the ship, the ground crew becomes more and more affected by the conflict and begins to rely on their instincts to keep the project moving forward. Unexpected danger plagues the mission as Lixia is determined to expand her knowledge.

This “excellent, anthropologically oriented SF tale” novel (Publishers Weekly) explores the mix of fear and fascination as humans and aliens meet, alert to the potential for both mutual enrichment and mutual destruction, and offers “strong characters, well-written dialogue, and a plot full of adventure” (School Library Journal).

Eleanor Arnason is the author of five published novels and a number of poems and short stories. She has received the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for “gender-bending SF,” and the Mythopoeic Society's Fantasy Award for A Woman of the Iron People. She has also received the Minnesota Book Award for Ring of Swords. Her earlier novels include The Sword Smith, To the Resurrection Station, and Daughter of the Bear King. Her short stories include “The Warlord of Saturn,” “The Lovers” (a preliminary nominee for awards in 1996), “Ace 167,” “The Hound of Merin,' and many others that have appeared in Orbit, New Improved Sun, Tales of the Unanticipated, Xanadu, A Room of One's Own, New Women of Wonder, and The Norton Book of Science Fiction.