Kirkus Reviews directed praise at Griffith's setting, writing that her 'grim near-future' was convincing. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1997, and the Lambda Literary Award in 1996. In the final thread, Lore separates from Spanner and works in a sewage treatment plant, before eventually confronting her family. After an escape attempt, she turns to making a living from sex shows and scamming the wealthy, in the company of a woman, Spanner, who gives her shelter. In the second, Lore is kidnapped, and her family refuses to ransom her. Lore has to contend with her abusive family members at the same time. The first in the internal chronology tells of Lore Van Oesterling, the scion of a rich and powerful family, being trained for a high-ranking position in its industry of genetically modified bacteria. The novel features three narrative strands. The novel received critical praise for its writing and setting, while its use of multiple narrative modes was criticised. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Lambda Literary Award. Slow River is more than good enough to transcend genre and appeal to both science fiction fans and a broader audience looking for an excellent, character-driven sci-fi story.Slow River is a science fiction novel by British writer Nicola Griffith, first published in 1995. Lore herself seems so personal that Griffith's note about the story's disturbing aspects not being autobiographical was probably wise. The van de Oest family, Spanner, even characters who appear only briefly, are all distinct and consistent-not to mention very human.

This novel's real strength is its characters, though. Griffith's biotech-science details are accurate, and she fits them smoothly into the story in the manner of a cyberpunk master. To learn to trust, though, Lore must face her demons, one by one, until she can begin again. Naked, alone, and wounded, she is saved by the brutally street-smart Spanner, who teaches Lore to survive by exploiting the Net's (and human beings') weaknesses. Lore is kidnapped, but escapes from her captors when she realizes her family isn't going to pay the ransom. Riches don't bring happiness, though, and the van de Oest family hides its share of dark secrets. Born into a bioengineering family made wealthy by cleaning up after humanity, Lore leads a life of privilege and power. Griffith's skill at weaving temporal threads through the plot bring protagonist Lore van de Oest tragically to life, and you will genuinely care about her in the end. But make no mistake, Slow River is no subgenre throwaway. The book's near-future setting and devices place it firmly on the science fiction shelves, and the characters' matter-of-fact sexuality further label it as lesbian SF. Slow River won both the Nebula Award and the Lambda Literary Award for author Nicola Griffith.

Slow River by Nicola Griffith