Helliconia Summer

World-building is a term that gets tossed around a lot. I think Patrick Rothufuss, N.K. Jemisin, and lots of others are magnificent world-builders. That said, I know of relatively few authors who are both excellent world-builders and planet-builders, which is wha makes Helliconia Spring (and I assume the following two books) such an impressive achievement. The amount of research Aldiss put into the science of his world must have been intense. And yet, the book does not end up as dry science fiction, but a vivid, fantastical tone grounded in hard science. Not an easy marriage.


I was also impressed by how un-dated the book feels. The characters are all interesting and could have been written about at any point. The idea of women founding a scientific academy and working through the scientific method while being repressed by a pre-enlightenment society is an interesting twist on what usually happens to women in traditional SFF. Vry stands out as unique in her independence and thought process, even among her cohorts.

It's an acclaimed series that I'm glad I finally had motivation to read, and I'd highly recommend it to people who like sweeping but still sciency sagas.