One of the most useful tools for a healer is the snake, ranging from average sand vipers, to albino cobras that can catalyze medicines and vaccinations, to alien hallucinogenic dreamsnakes.

But really, if you have Ophidiophobia, don’t read Dreamsnake unless you’re serious about confronting your fear.Ī young woman named Snake sets out through the treacherous landscape of post-apocalyptic Earth to develop and utilize her skills as a healer. I would recommend it to high schoolers and adults prepared for strong liberal sexual undertones, focused on values of consent, equality, and safety. However, the book fell out of favor and has not been in print for over a decade.Īnyone with a healthy sense of adventure, a fondness for reptiles, or an interest in the medical field would find Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre enthralling. Dreamsnake was only the third book featuring a female protagonist to earn the Hugo. McIntyre was recognized for her efforts, as Dreamsnake won the Hugo in 1978, and the Nebula in 1979. To write a story with a dynamic heroine, systematic gender equality, nonexistent rape culture, uninhibited casual sex, homosexuality, and polygamy, was and still is an incredible feat.

In the 70s, McIntyre witnessed both the women’s liberation movement and the rapid development of genetic knowledge and technology. McIntyre based the novel on her novelette, “Of Mist, Grass, and Sand,” for which she received the Nebula in 1973, and a Hugo nomination in 1974. McIntyre, was published in 1978 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Dreamsnake by vonda n mcintyre