White Queen

White Queen is the first novel in Gwyneth Jones's Aleutian trilogy. On an Earth changed by disasters and social upheaval, alien arrival entangles journalism, politics, gender, and cross-cultural contact.

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Work Information

A science fiction novel in which the arrival of aliens exposes the fears and desires of Earth's societies.

First published by Gollancz in nineteen ninety-one, White Queen is set in twenty thirty-eight, where alien arrival draws together journalism, political conflict, and private ambition. As the opening of the Aleutian trilogy, it is driven by tensions around gender and cross-cultural understanding.

Review Summaries

Readers note the strange, sophisticated setting and the way alien contact unsettles social power relations.

Book Information

Publisher: Gollancz
Published: 1991-10-24
Pages: 288 pages
Language: 英語
ISBN-13: 9780575046290
ISBN-10: 0575046295
Price: 3742 JPY
Category: 洋書/Science Fiction & Fantasy/Fantasy

Three people - a journalist who contracts an AIDS-related disease, an enigmatic young woman whom he suspects is an alien being, and an attractive, older woman "pop intellectual" - play out a deadly game of sex, politics and betrayal. The author's other science fiction novels include "Kairos".

Reviews

Alien to the bone, with character and plot to burn.

I've taken far too long (is it 20 years? Good grief!) to discover this gem - the cover is not one that attracts me, but it's the book that matters, and the cover does depict an early scene pretty well. I should have read the reviews on the sleeve - they sum it up succinctly. Iain Banks says: "Seductively weird....populated by characters that live on in the mind long after the book's been put back on the shelf." ... and: "A triumph of the depiction of otherness" (he hits the nail on the head with that) Time Out's Lisa Tuttle says: "One of those rare books that stretches the intellect while it engages the heart." Well, I cannot fault them for accuracy. Don't often read blurbs on the outside of books that relate so well to the text inside, but they have got it dead right. As have Paddy and Mishi in their reviews. Highly recommended to people who enjoy speculative fiction that is well written. (Like this author's excellent "Bold as Love"/"Castles made of Sand"/Band of Gipsys", this is a trilogy, the next two are "North Wind" and "Phoenix Cafe". I've just ordered them - can't wait!)
Huh?

I don't mind a complex, elusive, allusive novel but this is incomprehensible. I'm sure there's a tale in here somewhere but I don't care to unthread it. The characters are unlikable, and the setting is unlikely. I got through a hundred pages because it was recommended in "Science Fiction: the 101 best novels, 1985-2010"by Damien Broderick and Paul Di Filippo. Some of their other selections have been good but this one is just troublesome.
Great plot with a nice twist

a refreshingly new angle on alien invaders, a mix of acute social commentary and humour
Plain okay

It was okay as a book but I feel I was missing something. 3/5
A good bit of Cyberpunk

I read Ms Jones second in this trilogy, North Wind, back in the 90s and found it quite magical and haunting. While clearing out some old books I found it again and enjoyed it even more on re-reading so ordered White Queen to see how the story started and so far I am not disappointed. It compares in my opinion to William Gibson and Jack Womack in terms of sheer invention. Phoenix Cafe next stop.