J.T. Stoll's Reviews > Shivering World

Shivering World was an utterly fascinating read.

My favorite best part was the conflict at the center of the book. Graysha is dying of a genetic disorder, and her only hope is to get someone to fix her genes, which is outlawed. She goes to the Lwuites, who are rumored to have a genetic clinic. However, Graysha’s mom is the one in charge of prosecuting genetic engineers. So, even if Graysha can gain their trust, her mom will find out via genetic testing, and the Lwuites will lose everything. They want her dead, she wants their help, her mom wants to take down their whole society.

I also really enjoyed the in-depth terraforming. I’ve always had a soft spot for colonizing new worlds, so this book was fun for me.

Oh yeah, and the characters. Each have their own semi-selfish, conflicting motives for what they do. Even people on the same “side” of the conflict end up at odds with each other. I loved that.

The only part I didn’t like was that the story moved a little slow. It’s hard SF, so I get that the science is part of the action. And I enjoyed the science. But it took me a bit of time and energy to get through this book.

That said, I still loved it. I loved the imagination involved in creating this world. The characters were great. The world was a fascinating one to live in. Five stars from me.