Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta by Doris Lessing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I went through a lot of revisions on my opinion of this book as I was reading it.

To summarize: It's a wild grab-bag of an author thumbing her nose at all sorts of conventions, writing exactly and only what she wants to write about, courageously, jumping about in whatever direction she wants to go, and doing it with heart.

She enjoys flights of grand imagination that I can only liken favorably to Olaf Stapledon.

At first, I thought all these ancient alien colonizer official reports, a bit dull and officious, were pretty cute and stuffy, preparing us for a gut punch later, but then the novel turned into a beautifully scientific re-imagining of creation myths as seen with a heartbroken eye, and then into shotgun spread of a skewering condemnation of our modern society.

At almost every point in the novel, I feel its deep SF heart, its observer's eye, its anger, its reliance on nothing but itself.

This is not a normal genre novel in any respect. So, why should anyone care about this SF in particular?
It feels like an Important work. On many levels.

Take your pick: colonization, religion as control, politics, loss of what makes us human, holding on to that one little thing that gives your life meaning when it all falls apart, or just the sensation of deep time and monumental changes. It's all here.

Or perhaps, on a potential re-read, it may hit me differently at different parts of my life. It's simply one of THOSE novels. Worth it, in other words.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.

Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com



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