''Brightness Falls from the Air'' is a 1985

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel by American writer James Tiptree Jr., set in the same fictional universe as the stories in her 1986 collection '' The Starry Rift''.

Synopsis

In a setup which has been compared to a country house murder mystery, the novel tells the story of sixteen humans who gather on the isolated planet Damiem to witness the passage of a nova front from the Murdered Star; over the course of the book, the truth about the motives of these tourists, the destruction of the star, and the reason for Damiem's isolation are revealed.

Reception

Tiptree's two novels have received less attention than her short fiction: one publication claiming that Tiptree had less control over her intense vision at novel length is ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

'', which criticises "moments of overt sentimentality" and "excesses of subplotting" in ''Brightness Falls from the Air''. Tiptree's biographer,

Julie Phillips Julie Phillips (born Seattle, Washington) is an American writer who writes about books, film, and culture. In early adulthood she became interested in feminism. Her articles have appeared in ''Newsday'', '' Mademoiselle'', ''The Village Voice'', an ...

, felt that the greater conventionality of this novel was a response to

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), Jo ...

's criticism of her plots, which Phillips thinks she took too much to heart.

Graham Sleight Graham Sleight (born 1972) is a British writer, editor and critic, specialising in healthcare and science fiction. He is Head of Governance and Contracts at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and editor of the science fiction p ...

, writing for ''

Locus Magazine ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...

'', disagrees with aspects of Phillips's and Clute's assessment of the novel, arguing that Tiptree's work from after the revelation of her identity has not received appropriate consideration. While he calls ''Brightness Falls from the Air'' a melodrama, he argues that it possesses "extraordinary power" and that Tiptree "has an attentiveness in this book to other issues, most obviously the visual, that she doesn't have elsewhere."

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

reviewed ''Brightness Falls from the Air'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

'' #85, and stated that "Few survive the meagre scatter of happy endings. In retrospect I don't believe a word of it, but Tiptree pours so much energy into her narrative that against all reason it sweeps you away. Phew, what a scorcher..." A

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

translation issued by Hayakawa Publishing won the 2008

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Japan Science Fiction Convention. ...

for best foreign novel.

References

1985 novels 1985 science fiction novels Tor Books books Works by James Tiptree Jr. {{1980s-sf-novel-stub