From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jul 3 12:52:14 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!genius.dat.hk-r.se!news-peer-europe.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!netnews.com!eecs-usenet-02.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!not-for-mail From: Mysterious Galaxy Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: BROWN GIRL IN THE RING by Nalo Hopkinson Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 02 Jul 1998 11:06:01 -0400 Organization: Mysterious Galaxy Lines: 24 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: Reply-To: mgbooks@ax.com NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1968 BROWN GIRL IN THE RING by Nalo Hopkinson Review Copyright 1998 Maryelizabeth Hart Hopkinson's debut novel is the premier winner of the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. Future winners have a high standard to match. BROWN GIRL IN THE RING tells the story of Ti-Jeanne, a young woman of Caribbean heritage in a bleak near-future Toronto. Like the players in the game for which the novel is named, Ti-Jeanne must learn by observation of her grandmother's magic ritual in order to do battle for those she loves. Part of what makes this novel exceptional is the recognition of the often bitter and difficult nature of family relationships. Also, unlike many SF novels, it features both people of color (rather than peoples of exotic colors) and a main character actively immersed in her family. I very much enjoy genre-blending novels, as well as those which give me insights into other cultures, and BROWN GIRL IN THE RING does that and more. Part horror novel, part SF and part dark fantasy, it blends genres with a deftness which can escape more experienced hands. --Maryelizabeth Hart %A Nalo Hopkinson %T Brown Girl in the Ring %I Warner Aspect trade paperback %O $12.99.