The Falling Woman
The Falling Woman is a 1986 contemporary psychological fantasy novel by Pat Murphy. The book won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1987.[1]
Plot summary
Elizabeth Butler is an archaeologist, and the author of several popular books that challenge her colleagues' ideas about Maya civilization. Elizabeth has a strange gift, connected to a suicide attempt as a young woman, which allows her to see the spirits of ancient people while she walks at dusk and dawn. The story opens with Elizabeth in the middle of an eight-week field study at Dzibilchaltún. Her team hopes to find dramatic artifacts that will spark interest and increased funding for future field studies at the site.
In the middle of the field study, Elizabeth's estranged adult daughter Diane arrives unannounced. After the death of her father, Elizabeth's ex-husband, Diane suddenly abandoned her life in the United States, and flew to Mexico to see her mother. It is revealed that Diane has seen Elizabeth for only a few brief visits since Elizabeth left her as a young child to be raised by her father. Neither is sure what Diane wants from Elizabeth.
As the two struggle to connect, Elizabeth has a new experience: one of her spirit visions, a Mayan priestess named Zuhuy-kak, can see and speak with Elizabeth. Zuhuy-kak provides unprecedented knowledge about the Mayans' departure from Dzibilchaltún, and leads Elizabeth to the major archaeological find her team needs, but demands a sacrifice to the goddess Ix Chebel Yax. As the dig progresses, haunted by bad luck and tragedy, Zuhuy-kak makes it clear that Elizabeth must sacrifice her daughter.
References
- ^ "The Nebula Awards". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- v
- t
- e
- Dune by Frank Herbert (1966)
- Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1967)
- The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany (1968)
- Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin (1969)
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1970)
- Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971)
- A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg (1972)
- The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973)
- Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1974)
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975)
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976)
- Man Plus by Frederik Pohl (1977)
- Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)
- Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1979)
- The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (1980)
- Timescape by Gregory Benford (1981)
- The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982)
- No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop (1983)
- Startide Rising by David Brin (1984)
- Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985)
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1986)
- Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987)
- The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy (1988)
- Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1989)
- The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1990)
- Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1991)
- Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick (1992)
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993)
- Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994)
- Moving Mars by Greg Bear (1995)
- The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer (1996)
- Slow River by Nicola Griffith (1997)
- The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre (1998)
- Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1999)
- Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler (2000)
- Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear (2001)
- The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro (2002)
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2003)
- Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2004)
- Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2005)
- Camouflage by Joe Haldeman (2006)
- Seeker by Jack McDevitt (2007)
- The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
- Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin (2009)
- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
- Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (2011)
- Among Others by Jo Walton (2012)
- 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (2013)
- Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2014)
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2015)
- Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2016)
- All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (2017)
- The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2019)
- A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker (2020)
- Network Effect by Martha Wells (2021)
- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (2022)
- Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang (2023)
This article about a 1980s science fiction novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |
- v
- t
- e