A Woman of the Iron People is an anthropological science fiction novel by Eleanor Arnason, originally published in 1991. It is a first contact story between peoples from a future Earth and an intelligent, furred race of people who live on an unnamed planet far from Earth. Along with White Queen, A Woman of the Iron People won the inaugural James Tiptree, Jr. Award. An alternate release of the novel consisted of two chapbooks, In the Light of Sigm...
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A Woman of the Iron People is an anthropological science fiction novel by Eleanor Arnason, originally published in 1991. It is a first contact story between peoples from a future Earth and an intelligent, furred race of people who live on an unnamed planet far from Earth. Along with White Queen, A Woman of the Iron People won the inaugural James Tiptree, Jr. Award. An alternate release of the novel consisted of two chapbooks, In the Light of Sigma Draconis and Changing Women.
A Woman of the Iron People is divided into two parts. The first primarily deals with Lixia's growing understanding and involvement with life on the planet. Soon after arriving on the planet she meets Nia and starts to pick up the language of gifts, which is a sort of trade language, from her. They leave their current location and journey west, meeting Derek and the Voice of the Waterfall along the way.
The second part of the novel deals primarily with the question of intervention. The various factions of humans,...
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