--- product_id: 14995766 title: "Shaman" price: "€ 8.40" currency: EUR in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.fr/products/14995766-shaman store_origin: FR region: France --- # Shaman **Price:** € 8.40 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Shaman - **How much does it cost?** € 8.40 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.fr](https://www.desertcart.fr/products/14995766-shaman) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Kim Stanley Robinson, the New York Times bestselling author of science fiction masterworks such as the Mars trilogy and 2312, has, on many occasions, imagined our future. Now, in Shaman, he brings our past to life as never before. There is Thorn, a shaman himself. He lives to pass down his wisdom and his stories -- to teach those who would follow in his footsteps. There is Heather, the healer who, in many ways, holds the clan together. There is Elga, an outsider and the bringer of change. And then there is Loon, the next shaman, who is determined to find his own path. But in a world so treacherous, that journey is never simple -- and where it may lead is never certain. Shaman is a powerful, thrilling and heartbreaking story of one young man's journey into adulthood -- and an awe-inspiring vision of how we lived thirty thousand years ago. Review: Hauntingly beautiful and still very realistic and perfect in a KSR way - I used to consider myself a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson because of his science-fiction and climate-dystopia novels, but it turns out I am a very big fan indeed. Shaman is a work that contains all the positive qualities of an excellent adventure novel, while at the same time being woven through with historical and archaeological knowledge so solid that it could easily be used for teaching. (Because of a few restrained, symbolically erotic scenes, the novel is not for small children, but for teenagers and secondary-school students it would probably be just engaging enough to help them truly grasp what the world at the end of the Ice Age might have been like.) A few forgotten Neanderthals (“the Old Ones”) still linger in the depths of the forests; KSR portrays them as just as intelligent as the modern human protagonist, only unable to communicate verbally with him. The innovative thinking of modern humans, however, is illustrated through many examples—my personal favourite being the way map-making is described. The novel is set in Ice Age Europe (perhaps around 35,000 years ago), somewhere south of the ice sheets, where cave bears and cave lions are the most dangerous predators, but wolves are also present—and a distant group has even begun the process of domesticating them. Elk, bison, rhinoceros, deer, chamois, wild horses, wildcats, beavers, otters, and many other animals appear, all familiar from contemporary cave art. I will not spoil more than that; I recommend that readers draw on their best knowledge of Ice Age Eurasia, recall where the edge of the ice sheet lay, where the rivers flowed, what kinds of animals and plants could be encountered where, and so on. It is a highly entertaining mental exercise to try to decipher—by backward engineering—the real locations behind these settings, based on how Kim Stanley Robinson has woven them together in the story. The plot follows an orphaned adolescent boy as he becomes a shaman, an adult, and a family man. The novel’s greatest strength, however, is not the story itself, but everything the author builds around it—something very characteristic of KSR’s work. The narrative serves as a stable framework on which to present fascinating situations and compelling environments. Since cave art has already been mentioned: the cave marks important stages in the boy’s development, and the animals painted on the walls, the drawing that places a vulva beside a bison, or the silhouette of a hand can all be seen as directly identifiable with artworks found in real caves (the lions - see the image attached-, vulva, and bison of Chauvet, and the hand stencils of Altamira). The stories of the old shaman and of the travellers are beautifully lyrical, and at the same time they convey the cultural traditions of people of the period. Barter becomes an important element, as do the making of tools and everyday objects, and the realisation that, essentially, everyone speaks slightly different variants of the same language. Belief systems and spiritual development accompany the individual throughout life. One of the central folktale motifs, the Swan Maiden, places the story of a genuine ancient tale—still known across Eurasia today—into the belief world of this era. The novel is highly readable (like everything KSR has written), yet at the same time it conveys an enormous amount of cultural, historical, and geographical knowledge, offering a cathartic experience that very few novels can provide. It is exactly the kind of book one returns to again and again, because it has so many layers. Review: Some of Robinson's most memorable characterizations. - If I have any gripe about Robinson, it is that sometimes his characters seem to be props for his amazing illustrations of future technologies. Seldom do the characters in his books grab me in a deeply emotional way. This book was a pleasant surprise, because the people propel the story. Perhaps, as others have noted, Robinson could benefit from tighter plotlines, but I say the same thing about Charles Dickens. I think Kim Stanley Robinson belongs with some of the old school greats; Herbert, Niven, Asimov, P.K. Dick, Heinlein, etc... This is one of his most enjoyable books for a fairly fast read. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #2,627,339 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3,674 in Science Fiction Adventures #4,951 in Literary Fiction (Books) #12,457 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,242 Reviews | ## Images ![Shaman - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/412szMByrgL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hauntingly beautiful and still very realistic and perfect in a KSR way *by M***R on December 17, 2025* I used to consider myself a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson because of his science-fiction and climate-dystopia novels, but it turns out I am a very big fan indeed. Shaman is a work that contains all the positive qualities of an excellent adventure novel, while at the same time being woven through with historical and archaeological knowledge so solid that it could easily be used for teaching. (Because of a few restrained, symbolically erotic scenes, the novel is not for small children, but for teenagers and secondary-school students it would probably be just engaging enough to help them truly grasp what the world at the end of the Ice Age might have been like.) A few forgotten Neanderthals (“the Old Ones”) still linger in the depths of the forests; KSR portrays them as just as intelligent as the modern human protagonist, only unable to communicate verbally with him. The innovative thinking of modern humans, however, is illustrated through many examples—my personal favourite being the way map-making is described. The novel is set in Ice Age Europe (perhaps around 35,000 years ago), somewhere south of the ice sheets, where cave bears and cave lions are the most dangerous predators, but wolves are also present—and a distant group has even begun the process of domesticating them. Elk, bison, rhinoceros, deer, chamois, wild horses, wildcats, beavers, otters, and many other animals appear, all familiar from contemporary cave art. I will not spoil more than that; I recommend that readers draw on their best knowledge of Ice Age Eurasia, recall where the edge of the ice sheet lay, where the rivers flowed, what kinds of animals and plants could be encountered where, and so on. It is a highly entertaining mental exercise to try to decipher—by backward engineering—the real locations behind these settings, based on how Kim Stanley Robinson has woven them together in the story. The plot follows an orphaned adolescent boy as he becomes a shaman, an adult, and a family man. The novel’s greatest strength, however, is not the story itself, but everything the author builds around it—something very characteristic of KSR’s work. The narrative serves as a stable framework on which to present fascinating situations and compelling environments. Since cave art has already been mentioned: the cave marks important stages in the boy’s development, and the animals painted on the walls, the drawing that places a vulva beside a bison, or the silhouette of a hand can all be seen as directly identifiable with artworks found in real caves (the lions - see the image attached-, vulva, and bison of Chauvet, and the hand stencils of Altamira). The stories of the old shaman and of the travellers are beautifully lyrical, and at the same time they convey the cultural traditions of people of the period. Barter becomes an important element, as do the making of tools and everyday objects, and the realisation that, essentially, everyone speaks slightly different variants of the same language. Belief systems and spiritual development accompany the individual throughout life. One of the central folktale motifs, the Swan Maiden, places the story of a genuine ancient tale—still known across Eurasia today—into the belief world of this era. The novel is highly readable (like everything KSR has written), yet at the same time it conveys an enormous amount of cultural, historical, and geographical knowledge, offering a cathartic experience that very few novels can provide. It is exactly the kind of book one returns to again and again, because it has so many layers. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Some of Robinson's most memorable characterizations. *by L***O on February 25, 2020* If I have any gripe about Robinson, it is that sometimes his characters seem to be props for his amazing illustrations of future technologies. Seldom do the characters in his books grab me in a deeply emotional way. This book was a pleasant surprise, because the people propel the story. Perhaps, as others have noted, Robinson could benefit from tighter plotlines, but I say the same thing about Charles Dickens. I think Kim Stanley Robinson belongs with some of the old school greats; Herbert, Niven, Asimov, P.K. Dick, Heinlein, etc... This is one of his most enjoyable books for a fairly fast read. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Unique and Excellent Story *by D***S on September 29, 2025* I've been a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson's science fiction for a long time. So I was interested to see this look into the science fiction of our pre-history. I found it compelling and very likely to be an excellent rendering of the lives of our oldest ancestors. I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters with their challenges and triumphs in a profoundly difficult environment. Superb storytelling in a fascinating primal world. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.fr/products/14995766-shaman](https://www.desertcart.fr/products/14995766-shaman) --- *Product available on Desertcart France* *Store origin: FR* *Last updated: 2026-05-24*