Wave Without a Shore

C. J. Cherryh
Wave Without a Shore Cover

Wave Without a Shore

Adele1967
10/29/2020
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3.5* I'm not really sure what to make of this 1981 novel. As all Cherryh's books are, it was well written, with an interesting and well crafted society. My only complaint is that the two main characters were both narcissistic sociopaths: one completely reprehensible and the other, for most of the book, also somewhat unlikeable. The story takes place on the isolated colony of Freedom where humans blindly co-exist with the native population, which formed the basis for exploring several questions. What is reality? What is art? What is legacy? If you don't acknowledge someone/thing, does that mean it doesn't exist? Are the natives a metaphor for truth? Are the ostracized "invisibles" a statement on how we treat the poor? How far will people will go in refusing to accept facts? Many of the themes seemed particularly relevant in today's age of misinformation. There is a lot to ponder in this one and worth picking up for any DAW SciFi fan.