Reindeer People

The Reindeer People is a prehistoric fiction series by American author Megan Lindholm, published in 1988 by Ace Books.[1]

Reindeer People
Omnibus edition
  • The Reindeer People
  • Wolf's Brother
AuthorMegan Lindholm
IllustratorVincent Segrelles, Tom Kidd
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenrePrehistoric fiction, fantasy
PublisherAce Books, SFBC
Published1988

Synopsis

The story centers on a female healer called Tillu who is kidnapped by reindeer herders and bears a son, Kerlew, who has disabilities. It follows their move to a different tribe in pursuit of freedom, Kerlew's apprenticeship to a shaman and the growth of Tillu's relationship with a herdsman.[2][3]

Reception and analysis

Reviewing the French edition in 2004, Le Monde described it as "a remarkable novel, fascinating, harsh" with a strong female protagonist, and lamented the delay in its release in France.[3] Scholar Nicholas Ruddick praised Lindholm's portrayal of "the flowering of Tillu’s selfhood" in a society where she does not fit in.[2] In 1989 Vector found the first novel well-characterized,[4] and Interzone praised the second book's depiction of prehistoric tribes as realistic.[5] A 1996 reference work was more critical, writing that Tillu was portrayed in "too modern" a fashion to fit within a historical setting.[1] In 1990 Vector stated that the depiction of magic in Wolf's Brother was "refreshingly subtle" but was overall critical of the book, finding the characters "sketchily drawn", the story unengaging and the ending anticlimactic.[6]

According to Ruddick, the Reindeer People is set in Bronze Age Lapland and features a Paleo-Lappish society. Describing the series as a prehistoric romance, he writes that it has thematic similarities to Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series, in particular her historical romance The Plains of Passage.[2] A theme explored in the story is the liberty of women in the prehistoric tribe.[1]

Editions
  • The Reindeer People. Ace Books. May 1988. ISBN 0-441-71233-9.[7]
  • Wolf's Brother. Ace Books. October 1988. ISBN 0-441-71234-7.[7]
  • A Saga of the Reindeer People (omnibus of The Reindeer People and Wolf's Brother). SFBC. May 1989.[7]

References
  1. Holliday, Liz; Morgan, Chris (1996). "Lindholm, Megan". In Pringle, David (ed.). St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. St. James Press. pp. 364–365. ISBN 978-1-55862-205-0.
  2. Ruddick, Nicholas (2012). Fire in the Stone: Prehistoric Fiction from Charles Darwin to Jean M. Auel. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 88, 150–151. ISBN 978-0-8195-6972-1. Project MUSE book 428.
  3. Baudou, Jacques (November 4, 2004). "Le Soudain Succès de Megan Lindholm" [The Sudden Success of Megan Lindholm]. Le Monde (in French). p. 6. ProQuest 2518409372. ... un roman remarquable, fascinant, âpre.
  4. McNabb, Helen (October–November 1989). "The Reindeer People. Megan Lindholm" (PDF). Vector. No. 152. p. 26 – via Fanac.
  5. McDonald, Phyllis (May 1990). "Fantasy, Etc". Interzone. No. 35. p. 65.
  6. Broome, Terry (February–March 1990). "Wolf's Brother. Megan Lindholm" (PDF). Vector. No. 154. pp. 20–21 – via Fanac.
  7. Brown, Charles N.; Contento, William G. (2010). "Books, Listed by Author: Lindholm, Megan". The Locus Index to Science Fiction: 1984-1998. Locus.
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