Playing God Book

It's the future, and an alien planet needs our help. The Dedelphi are a maternal/sister-based family race who live on a planet of islands and archipelagos. It's in their very nature to war with other family groups, and as a result they have devastated their planet. Bioverse, Inc. has signed a deal to help the Dedelphi completely clean and renew their planet. Unfortunately Dedelphi are deathly allergic to humans, so while their planet is being restored, the aliens have to be relocated to giant ships and separated by family. But will the tenuous peace and agreements for relocation work?

I read this book as part of my "gender-bending sci-fi" monthly theme. I read it after The Left Hand of Darkness, which probably isn't fair. It's a bit like trying to perform in a talent show, only you're following Lady Gaga or something. (Wait, did I just compare Ursula LeGuin to Lady Gaga?)

The thing is that the gender issues aren't really central to the book. They are a curious characteristic to the aliens Zettel has imagined, but their unique sexual characteristics and the sociological implications aren't really explored. That's fine by me, but then you need to at least make the book a rip-roaring tale. I just wasn't that into it.

This is a very long story with tons of named characters. I think it's trying to be an epic tale, but it doesn't quite succeed. Sadly, I kept falling asleep while reading, only waking when the light on my eReader would turn off. Not really a good sign, is it?

That said, the writing is fine - better than most sci-fi. As a matter of fact, it kind of reminded me of Asimov. Nothing to write home about, but not cringe inducing either.

The best part of the story is the aliens. It's a non-technical matriarchial society who need constant companionship from their sisters. Zettel describes their physicality really well, which makes them the vivid image I'll probably always remember. They come in shades from blue to gray to pink and have giant emotive ears! Unfortunately their actions are pretty human - humans with big families. My Big Fat Alien Relocation.

At any rate, check out the cover! It's one of those awesome cheese-tastic sci-fi covers, but really illustrates the story.