3.75. I really enjoyed Griffith's rich and textured worldbuilding and was deeply moved by Marghe's journey of self-discovery.

I loved reading a novel about women; I loved how the characters had room to breathe, room to define their own identities and their relationships with work, child-rearing, and each other. It was definitely a worthy successor to The Left Hand of Darkness (which, despite its genderqueer themes, reads as a rather masculine novel). Finally, I loved loved loved that men and masculinity were not the focus here (I'm giving you the side-eye, Y: The Last Man).

That said, this was a first novel, and the plotting reflected that. I was nonplussed by the last third; the resolution, and Marghe's abruptly cozy life, felt a bit too pat. ( )

I really liked this book, and the only reason I couldn't quite give it 5 stars is that I have a pet peeve around what I shorthand as "It's quantum." You know: weird thing needs explaining, a hole needs papering over, (unnecessary) explanation given, and an author (or self-help 'guru', or pseudoscience peddler) "explains" that "because quantum weirdness."

This book doesn't do that, but it does, right at the end, when it could have so easily avoided it, do a 30-year-old version of that where it's all because of life's electrical connection (to be fair, the character in the book even says this with doubt, acknowledging they are grasping at straws.)

Kudo's for leaving so much else unsaid (why does the virus invariably kill men? The author needs it to, but she leaves it at that. What/who *exactly* are the Goth? Left unsaid. How exactly does Company have this kind of unfettered power, and what are the government(s) of Earth doing? Not important.) But the "it's all connected electrically"... ehh, yeah, I'm old enough and that is just so 70's (??) to early 90's. Just far too "It's all energy, man," and it threw cold water on an otherwise great read.

I kind of want to give 5 stars, despite that (and hence, perhaps, this long explanation why not.) ( )

I’ve been meaning to read more by Nicola Griffith for a long while now. I loved Hild so much, and really enjoyed The Blue Place. This is Griffith’s first novel, a science fiction story set on a planet without men. And it is a really good book, the world building is great and the characters are so so good. Marghe, one of the main protagonists, is an anthropologist, out investigating the societies that have evolved on the planet Jeep.

But she is also uncovering a lot about herself and her personal demons and fears.

If you like character driven stories then I would highly recommend this book.

It is also brilliantly written, almost straight from the first page I was engrossed and wanted to know more. More about the characters, more about the places, and more about the cultures and societies of Jeep and of the soldiers now trapped there.

I also wish Griffith had written a sequel or some sort of a follow up to this book. It ends with a resolution, but there are also a lot of unanswered questions and details I’d love to find out more about.

But there is lots we do find out about, maybe not the exact details, but the broad strokes. And we certainly learn a lot about the current circumstances on Jeep. The realities of living a life that is not working, how change is utterly necessary, but also feared by many. And with good cause, because change brings about the unknown, and who knows where that will lead.

It is also a book that I think would stand up well to a reread. There is a lot going on in it, and a reread might bring some more details to the fore. But I’ll have to get through Griffith’s other books before going back for a reread, if only I had more time… ( )

Kept waiting and waiting... and waiting... for the story to kick in. Intrigued at the beginning, curious at p. 20, then gave up at page 45... wind up wind up wind up... give up. ( )