Awards
Winner of the 1987 Nebula Award.
Synopses & Reviews
Elizabeth Butler is an archeologist with a special gift, one that has made her a popular success and has drawn the disapproval of other scientists who suspect her of being less than serious. Elizabeth Butler can see the past. She can see it everywhere around her, present-day vision overlain by the apparitions of long ago. The ghosts Elizabeth sees never speak to her, never appear to see her at all. But one morning in the Yucatan, as Elizabeth watches ghostly Mayan women drawing water from a long-vanished well, one of them turns and speaks to her. For among the ancient Maya, there is one who can see the future.
Now the two women are bound together across time and as a Mayan Great Cycle draws to a close in both eras, the ancient priestess draws the modern woman closer and closer to madness and tragedy.
Review
"Murphy's sharp behavioral observation, her rich Mayan background, and the revolving door of fantasy and reality honorably recall the novels of Margaret Atwood." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A lovely and literate exploration of the dark moment where myth and science meet." Samuel R. Delany
Review
"Murphy's convincing modern setting is a marvelous foil for her frighteningly alien Mayan ghost, and the archeological material, besides being fascinating in its own right, is put to excellent use in the plot." NY Newsday
Review
"The Falling Woman is a wonderful, subtle, and thoughtful book. Its understated yet precise prose, its nuances of structure and theme, exemplify what is best in the New Fantasy, and with this book, Pat Murphy establishes herself as one of the field's most accomplished practitioners." Lucius Shepard
Review
"I loved Pat Murphy's novel The Falling Woman. It's a good story with a beautifully realized background and strong characters. What more can anyone want?" Kate Wilhelm