Leigh Richards is, according to the About the Author bit on the back cover of Califia’s Daughters, better known as New York Times bestselling mystery writer Laurie R. King. Now, what’s the point of the pseudonym again?
Anyway, I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I was skeptical; there wasn’t any particular reason to believe that Ms. King knew one end of speculative fiction from another, and although I enjoyed her series mysteries, I hadn’t much enjoyed the one of her stand-alone books I read. The blurb wasn’t much help, but then blurbs aren’t, much. I was ready to cringe at lots of played-out ideas presented as new by an author who for all intents and purposes was specfic illiterate. Not so.
Ms. King said that she wrote the book, initially, to refute The Handmaid’s Tale; I had guessed David Brin. There is much of The Postman in this book, and enough of Glory Season to make me wonder. Essentially, the world is first generation post-apocalyptic. The Event that has driven most of the countryside to village level has also released some sort of genetic bug that destroys the immune systems of men (I think that’s how it works) which makes men (a) rare and (2) pampered. The interactions between men and women and between women and women are seen in the context of a culture that has different gender stereotypes. And so on.
It isn’t the most original book in the world, but neither is it pretending to be original while actually being trite. There are touches of originality, but mostly it’s just a well-written post-apocalyptic specfic novel, with lots of nice touches and some really suspenseful suspense. Weak ending, though. Not horrible, not Sherri Tepper bad, but abrupt. It was as if she had a word limit, and having stretched out in the first bit of narrative, wasn’t willing to waste any at the end. Still, worth reading.
How about this: If telling you that it is feminist post-apocalyptic rural action adventure doesn’t turn you off the idea entirely, then it’s a good bet that it’s worth your time.
,
-Vardibidian.
not Sherri Tepper bad
I chuckle, in part b/c I just re-read Gibbon’s Decline and Fall again this weekend. Once I wrote to Ms. Tepper and said something like “why do all your books have outside (nonhumn, generally mystical) elements stepping in and solving things for us? You really think we can’t do it?” and she more or less responded, “Yes.”
*sigh*
I should probably add that I think she’s a heck of a writer, and I usually enjoy the first 5/6 or so of her books. Well, lately the fact that I know I’ll hate the ending does detract from my enjoyment of the rest, but “Sherri Tepper bad” as a phrase should only refer to bad endings of otherwise good books, not bad books generally.
,
-V.
On that theme, Le Guin’s “The Matter of Seggri” is my gold standard — does “Richards”/King do half as well with it?
Some of the language and framing in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice rubbed me the wrong way (for no clear reason), so my initial reaction to King being the mainstream popularizer for this particular what-if is not particularly positive. This despite the fact that I pronounce ‘feminist post-apocalyptic rural action adventure’ as /my kind of book/.
I should probably add that I think she’s [Tepper] a heck of a writer
I find her very satisfying, but repetitive, now. Which puts her in the category of comfort reading, rather like a long, ranty, grouchy and happy chat with your best friends or sisters over some spiked coffee.
I still find the Mavin Manyshaped trilogy (“preTrueGame” more or less) my favorites, although I think Gibbon, Grass, and After Long Silence might be the best of the lot. I have most of ’em, so there’s clearly something there for me! *merrygrin*