The falling woman
The falling womanPat Murphy
Buy on Amazon

The falling woman (1986)

Pat Murphy

Others: Positive

Elizabeth Waters is an archeologist who can see 'shadows' of the past, something she keeps a secret and that's both a blessing in that it points her towards archeological discoveries, and a curse that has her sometimes doubting her sanity. On an archeological dig in an ancient Maya site in the Yucatan, the 'ghost' of an Maya priestess communicates with Elizabeth. When Elizabeth's estranged daughter arrives on the scene, both are pulled into the supernatural world of ancient Maya magic. 1988 Nebula Award winning novel.

ISBN:
9780575133143
Length:
287 pages

Genres: fantasy, science fiction

Lists: …

Similar books

1 of 6
  • The Stone Sky

    N.K. Jemisin

    2017 · 464 pages · 10 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    Humanity will finally be saved or destroyed in the shattering conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed NYT bestselling trilogy that won the Hugo Award three years in a row. The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe. For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also fantasy and science fiction
    80%
    Kalanadi loved both
    13%
    Similar descriptions
    7%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • The Steerswoman

    Rosemary Kirstein

    1989 · 279 pages · 2 reviews

    Others: Positive

    If you ask, she must answer. A steerswoman's knowledge is shared with any who request it; no steerswoman may refuse a question, and no steerswoman may answer with anything but the truth. And if she asks, you must answer. It is the other side of tradition's contract -- and if you refuse the question, or lie, no steerswoman will ever again answer even your most casual question. And so, the steerswomen — always seeking, always investigating — have gathered more and more knowledge about the world they traveled, and they share that knowledge freely. Until the day that the steerswoman Rowan begins asking innocent questions about one small, lovely, inexplicable object… Her discoveries grow stranger and deeper, and more dangerous, until suddenly she finds she must flee or fight for her life. Or worse -- lie. Because one kind of knowledge has always been denied the steerswomen: Magic. The first book in the series and a great start. These books are ones that I read when I want to renew my love for science and discovery.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also fantasy and science fiction
    81%
    Kalanadi loved both
    13%
    Similar descriptions
    6%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Stardust Grail

    Yume Kitasei

    2024 · 320 pages · 1 review

    Others: Mixed

    Save one world. Doom her own. From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky comes a thrilling anti-colonial space heist to save an alien civilization. Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations—until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she’s haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future. Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can’t refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it. Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself. -- Content warnings are available at the author's website (see author bio).

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also fantasy and science fiction
    82%
    Similar descriptions
    18%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • A Psalm for the Wild-Built

    Becky Chambers

    2021 · 160 pages · 30 reviews

    Others: Mostly positive

    It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot. Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also fantasy and science fiction
    86%
    Kalanadi loved both
    14%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Doomsday book

    Connie Willis

    1992 · 578 pages · 2 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    Somewhere in the future, ordinary history students must travel back in time as part of their university degree. An award-winning best-seller in the United States, this is the first of Connie Willis' brilliant Oxford trilogy.Kivrin knows everything about the Middle Ages - she's read all the books. She knows it's dangerous: cutthroats in the woods, witch hunts, cholera, and millions dying in the plague. For a young historian, it's fascinating.When Kivrin's tutors in Oxford's history lab finally agree to send her on an on-site study trip, she jumps at the chance to observe medieval life first-hand. But a crisis that strangely links the past and future leaves her stranded in the most deadly and terrifying era in human history, face to face with the heart-rending reality behind the statistics. And while she fights for her own life, Kivrin finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope in this dark time.Five years in the writing, Doomsday Book is a storytelling triumph. Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the timeless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also fantasy and science fiction
    86%
    Kalanadi loved both
    14%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Downbelow station

    C.J. Cherryh

    1981 · 436 pages · 7 reviews

    Others: Mostly positive

    From back cover Daw paperback February 1981: Pell's Star occupied the central spot in the coming conflict between Earth's tired stellar empire and the tough onslaught of its rebellious colonies. Whoever controlled Pell's Downbelow station held the key to Earth's defensive perimeter -- or the jumping off point for a Terrestrial offensive to regain the lost empire. But Pell had always been neutral and was determined to remain so. This is a powerful, complex, and enthralling novel of interstellar conflict and ambitions. In its pages you will meet and strive with many vivid persons, human and non-human, who futures would hang on the outcome of that titanic struggle.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also fantasy and science fiction
    86%
    Kalanadi loved both
    14%
    Personalize your recommendations

Reviews1