Grass

by Sheri S. Tepper

Paperback, 1990

Status

Available

Publication

Spectra (1990), 480 pages

Description

What could be more commonplace than grass, or a world covered over all its surface with a wind-whipped ocean of grass? But the planet Grass conceals horrifying secrets within its endless pastures. And as an incurable plague attacks all inhabited planets but this one, the prairie-like Grass begins to reveal these secrets - and nothing will ever be the same again ...

Rating

½ (566 ratings; 4)

Media reviews

When I first read Grass, I realised that Tepper is a genuine wild talent, taking SF in new and unexpected directions.
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Publishers Weekly
Tepper (The Gate to Women's Country) delves into the nature of truth and religion, creating some strong characters in her compelling story.
Tepper's Grass is, with hindsight, one of the most significant works of 1980s SF: a spacious, well-plotted, wise and thought-provoking book with an exceptionally well-drawn central character and a beautiful twist on the 'beauty and the beast' mythos at its heart. ... Those who have not read this
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powerful masterpiece should be herded with cattle-prods out to the bookshops until that situation is remedied; those who have read it should take this opportunity to re-read the work. Like all great literature, it repays re-reading and close attention. ... It is one of the genuine, and one of the most genuine, classics of twentieth-century SF.
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User reviews

LibraryThing member Strider66
Pros: several complex plot lines that all get resolved satisfactorily, interesting characters that develop over the course of the book, detailed world building - for the planet Grass as well as Earth and the rest of the universe (even though the rest of the universe isn't mentioned much)

Cons: can't
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think of any

Grass is a planet with no reports of plague victims in a universe of worlds dying of the plague.

Lady Marjorie Westriding Yarier and her family are sent by Sanctity, the dominant religion in the universe (though they are old catholics), to see if it really is free of plague, and/or if there is a cure for the plague on the planet. They are chosen because the nobles on Grass ride the hunt, and the Yarier family is good with horses.

Unknown to them, the bons ride Hippae, and the Hippae are not horses. They are malevolent creatures with unknown motivations.

The green brothers live on Grass, digging up the ruins of a civilization that died out centuries before. A race that may have died of the plague.

There are a lot of politics and a lot of revelations you won't be prepared for. It's a creepy novel at some parts, a tragic one at others. It is well worth the read.
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LibraryThing member nwhyte
Brilliant book of aliens and family dynamics. Hooked me on the rest of Tepper's works (not that all of them live up to this one...)
LibraryThing member isabelx
And they were there. Three of them, just as there had been three horses when she and Tony and Rigo had ridden here. Three Hippae doing dressage exercises, walking, trotting, cantering, changing feet to cross the arena on long diagonals. They did everything she had done with Octavo, did it casually,
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offhandedly, with a practiced ease, concluding with the three animals side by side, facing away from her, the saber tips of their neck barbs pointing at her like a glittering abatis, as threatening as drawn blades. Then they turned and looked up at the place where she was hidden, their dark eyes gleaming red in the light of dawn, soundless.
Amusement, she thought at first. A kind of mime. These Hippae had seen the humans and their horses and were amused at what these little off-world beasts had been doing with their human riders. She held the thought only fleetingly, only for a moment, trying to cling to it but unable to do so. They knew she was there. They knew she was watching. Perhaps they had timed this little exercise to coincide with her arrival . . .
It wasn’t amusement. Nothing in that red-eyed glare was amused.

I first read this book about eleven years ago and have just re-read it for my book club I had forgotten how early in the book you begin to see hints that the mounts and hounds used in the hunts are not just local horse and dog analogues, and become aware that something ominous looms over the lives of the aristocrats of Grass. "In fact, never say anything where the mounts can hear you." I loved the descriptions of the grassland that covers the world; so beautiful, but marred by the dangers that lurk in the long grass.

The characterisation isn't the strongest part of the book. I didn't believe in ether Marjorie or Rigo as a character, which is a big flaw as the story revolves around them, especially Marjorie. They are a ridiculously badly matched couple, although they might have had a better relationship if they hadn't had the constant presence of the Old Catholic priests counselling Marjorie to resignation and good works. It's a pity we never saw what they said to Rigo as I wanted to know if they were equally hard on him.

I know there was a good plot-related reason why the most of the bons didn't have distinctive characters, but the story seemed to come to life every time it focussed on what was happening in the Commons, with its vibrant, forthright and above all proactive inhabitants.

It is the world-building, the unusual zoology and the exciting adventure story that made this book for me, and unsurprisingly those are the things I had remembered from the first time I read it. I remembered about the reason for the hunt, the effect of the hippae on the bons, the relationship between the bons and the people of Commoner Town ()the bons certainly got a shock at the end of the book), the misunderstanding about the mounts that led to Marjorie & Rigo coming to Grass, the revelation about the native lifeforms, and the final flight on horseback. I had forgotten about the plague and all the religious parts, whether concerning the Sanctity hierarchy, the Green Brothers or the Old Catholic priests.
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LibraryThing member SanyaWeathers
A dark story that started simply with the merest of hints as to underlying depth, and rapidly gained momentum. The central character is flawed and complex, and will feel familiar to many women. This was my first exposure to Sheri Tepper, and my first exposure to feminist fiction that didn't club me
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with THE MESSAGE as if I were a baby seal. I consider myself to be a well-read feminist with my consciousness raised as high as it can go, but after digesting this novel, I found myself reexamining a number of assumptions I hadn't even known I'd made.
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
When a plague sweeps humanity, a diplomatic mission is sent to Grass, the only human-settled planet without signs of the sickness. Grass is nominally run by the bons, a patriarchal society modeled after old European nobility. But the bons are far more interested in the Hunt than in the running of
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the planet, or even the certain extinction of humanity. The ambassadors are as ill-suited to saving humanity as the bons are. Lady Marjorie Westriding Yrarier is consumed with guilt, and her husband Roderigo is too busy trying to get his wife's adoration and the bon's respect to concentrate on the plague. But at last, personal tragedies spur Marjorie on to first finding the source of the plague, and then confronting those who stood by and did nothing while it spread. In so doing, the interconnectedness of sentient beings, the oddities of evolution, and the morality of genocide are all examined.

Tepper has very little sympathy for most of her characters, and it shows. She's also rather heavy-handed when presenting ethical choices; it's very clear what side the narrative is on at all times. Although in the beginning this book looked like it was going to be a space-faring take on culture-clash, the middle section was entirely about how selfish and self-involved Roderigo and their teenaged daughter Stella are. And then the end is basically one scene after another of all the characters talking about how stupid and useless (worse than useless--actually harmful, in this book) pacifism is, and how one needs to take moral stands and just commit genocide now and then. It skeeved me out. Plus, there's this whole subplot about Rillibee Chime being a Nice Guy and getting to take care of (and eventually have babies with) a trio of brain-damaged girls. I couldn't get over the sketchiness of it. I liked Lady Marjorie a lot, but even she couldn't save this book.

Overall: ambitious, but not particularly successful book. Too heavy-handed, and the plot is too poorly paced and disjointed.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
I've had this book forever but a lukewarm reaction to some of Tepper's other books kept me from it. Finally I decided it was time. I don't totally regret it. I almost gave up after the first 100 pages because it really wasn't doing anything for me. It got better slowly and eventually I started
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routing for the characters. I know this book is kind of a classic but its inventiveness really didn't blow me away the way some other sci-fi authors have. So I'm not sure where I'm at with Tepper, I do have a couple other books by her so I may try those eventually but it would probably take a recommendation from a trusted friend.
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LibraryThing member CeeRose
Dude - the plague descriptions in this book made me feel ill. Vivid, certainly, but maybe a bit too intense.
LibraryThing member ropie
For such a long novel Tepper's 'Grass' kept me reading at a rate that meant I had finished it within one week. It was a truly fascinating set up - the mysterious and beautifully portrayed planet of Grass, the eccentric and demonized ruling classes, the enigmatic and dangerous local fauna, all
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wrapped up in a plot involving an interstellar virus and religious extremism.

Really this book has everything going for it and in the way that LeGuin manages in 'The Left Hand of Darkness', Tepper effortlessly combines the cerebral with high action and drama. I can't think of any other writers who manage this as well as these two.

But, and depending on your point of view it's potentially a deal-breaker, the ending is just utterly banal. Not the *final* ending (as there is a sort of epilogue) but the *first* ending. After chapter upon chapter of stunning writing, the wrapping up and conclusion of these important affairs is quickly attained within a couple of shoddily written pages involving some equations and a bit of luck. I wasn't impressed at all. As I have mentioned though, the 'epilogue' helps to appease things somewhat and leaves things wide open for our heroine to continue her adventures (this is the first book of a loose trilogy after all).

Not counting the miserable ending, a fine, fine read and definitely a writer I will be looking up again in the future.
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LibraryThing member xuebi
Grass is a special kind of sci-fi novel: not only does Tepper create a remarkably intricate futuristic world but she also addresses religious, anthropological, and social elements alongside the scientific ones present in sci-fi generally.

The world-building in Grass is excellent: she creates a
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fully-formed and believable alien world, a futuristic Earth and beyond that, creates a society to populate it and the rest of space too. Her main strength though is creating such well-rounded characters: Marjorie Yrarier is one of the most interesting and developed sci-fi protagonists I have seen and certainly one of most developed heroines. Alongside Marjorie there are her family: her tempestuous and proud husband Rigo, her rebellious daughter Stella and sensitive son Tony. Though these three sometimes edge towards one-dimensional portrayals it is offset by their earlier development. The native inhabitants of Grass too are unique: descendants of European lesser nobility, the collected noble families are portrayed as isolated, proud, vain, but above all enslaved to their traditional yet alien hunt. Human characters are not alone in Grass, for the horses that Marjorie brings with her and the alien Hippae, foxen, and hounds also figure greatly in the story.

Thus, not only is there ample discussion of the society and way of life of Grass, Tepper also builds a growing sense of unease at the depiction of the Grassian nobles' Hunt that figures so strongly in the plot. The plot itself is layered with a universe-wide plague threatening humanity except on Grass, hence why the Yrarier family arrived serving as only the beginning of the novel.

This has been one of my favourite sci-fi novels I have read and Tepper has expertly created such an interesting and believable alien world that I am sad to have reached the book's conclusion.
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LibraryThing member hrissliss
Beautiful prose - I see now, after reading this book, why Sheri S. Tepper is popular. I've only read "Beauty" by her previously, and thought she was a bit too preachy for my tastes. While "Grass" still has elements of the overtly moral to it, she manages to smoothly integrate it into plotlines and
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characterizations, instead of wandering into digressive internal monologues in order to prove a point. She creates rather interesting characters - my only objection was the unnatural frequency with which people became enamored of the main character, Marjorie. But even these were kept to the background, and so weren't very distracting or irritating. Tepper's also a very good hand at world building. The worlds she creates are believable and unique, without relying too much on fantasy cliches and misunderstandings. I especially liked what she did with religion. 9/10
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LibraryThing member dchamp
Too many strange concepts and terms thrown at the reader in the beginning. I learned more about this book from the reviews posted here. Hard to follow.
LibraryThing member the1butterfly
This is part of Tepper's only miniseries- in fact, it's the beginning. What I think is fascinating in this book is the idea that the best part of the mythical race, the foxen, are the adult form, and the worst are the adolescent form. The adolescent form attempts to destroy the adults and all of
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humanity. The foxen are a wonderful race, but the only hope for humanity seems to be to destroy the adolescent form. It is a sad happening.
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LibraryThing member storming
I really enjoyed this book but the first 150 pages or so were really slow!
LibraryThing member AnnaOok
IIRC, I totally hated this while reading it, and came away from the experience feeling somewhat dirty and feeling that this author's mind is not a place where I want to be. I read it a while ago so I don't remember the details: take this with a lot of salt.
LibraryThing member TadAD
I found this a dark and disturbing book without, however, the strong dose of social messaging found in many of Ms. Tepper's books. It's there, just toned way down.

Despite the darkness, I found the book hard to put down. Outside of her True Game series, this is probably her best book to date.
LibraryThing member fishoutoforder
One of my favourite books of all time. The plot and characters are unforgettable.
LibraryThing member PhoebeReading
In her Pern novels, Anne McCaffrey introduced readers to telepathic dragons who bond psychically with humans. In her Valdemar series, Mercedes Lackey introduced readers to telepathic horses who bond psychically with humans. In Grass Sherri S. Tepper plays on the same theme, introducing telepathic
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fox . . . things who have . . . psychic sex (I think?) with humans.Okay, so it's not quite the same. But Tepper is dabbling with a well-known science fiction and fantasy trope here. The Grassian nobility participate in the hunt, a version of the English fox hunt where all the animals are both alien and slightly horrific. During the hunt, strangely sexual things happen and young girls often disappear. Yet because of their bonds with their mounts the Hippae, the Grassians turn a blind eye until they are forced to pay attention when the daughter of a Terran ambassador disappears.The development of the details of the hunt is slow and suspenseful. They're paired with gorgeous prose and strong character development. Majorie Westriding is a wonderful feminist heroine and the supporting characters are just as finely rendered. Several exiled monks who round out the cast stand out in my mind as terrifically, realistically, and subtly written.Unfortunately, though, Grass is otherwise an uneven experience. The plot moves painfully slowly through the first two hundred pages; it was only the mystery of the hunt that kept me reading. And, even more unfortunately, the truth of the hunt never quite congealed for me into something satisfying or even particularly believable. The relationship between the Hippae and the Foxen or even these species and humans is unclear (okay, so they're the same species, but what exactly do the Hippae need the humans for?), the evolutionary science dubious, and the connection between this mystery and a plague subplot really poorly done. Too bad. Tepper's prose is fine enough that I'll probably pick up the next novel in the series, but I have a limited tolerance for science fiction that isn't believable even within its own framework, so hopefully I won't find the same there.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
It is a trope in science fiction to have far-future humans colonize alien worlds and then cut ties with Earth. This enables the story to be told on an alien planet but with familiar, human characters. Here, the planet is Grass, which is covered entirely with grass and peopled by two groups of
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humans: the aristocracy, who live on estancias out in the grass and do little but participate in mysterious, dangerous Hunts; and the working classes, who live in the planet’s only town and spaceport, where they are protected by the swamp forest that surrounds the town. To this world come an ambassador family from Earth, on a secret mission to find the cure to a plague that threatens all of humanity, which sets the plot in motion.

Tepper has built an intriguing, complex and sinister world in Grass, and a lot of the suspense of the novel is in learning about the planet’s native species and discovering the true nature of the Hunts. But some of the secrets, when revealed, strained my disbelief. All in all, this is an entertaining (if long) story, a worthwhile reading that could probably have used a little more editing and focus.
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LibraryThing member gabarito
Did not finish, couldn't get past the first two chapter and the jeweled-name daughters.
LibraryThing member dictator555
I didn't love this book when I first read it. I find Tepper to be a little to dark. It's hard to identify with her heroines, and Marjorie is no exception. I felt very frustrated with Marjorie most of the time, wishing she would take a more active role in her life and the world. I guess that's my
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complain with most of Tepper's heroines. They take forever to take action.

But this is a book I've come back to. It's hard to forget. The world is so well thought out, and terribly intriguing. Dark, yes. But it's also full of hope. I love the whole lifecycle on Grass. It's fascinating.

This book is definately worth the read, and the struggle through the dark parts. The imaginative elements are deeply memorable.
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LibraryThing member Snukes
The world Sheri Tepper creates in Grass is deeply layered, fascinating and a little bit frightening. She populates her worlds with several different races of sentient creatures. Learning who they are, what motivates them, and how they interact is at the heart of the book's draw. I love that her
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characters to move out of the usual spectrum of motivations and allows them to act in ways that are sometimes horrifying and sometimes simply baffling. It gives their alieness a very believable quality that I think is frequently lacking in science fiction. The focus on the place of religion and morality usually serves to highlight these differences, but does get a little tedious in the thick of the climax. All in all, a very good read.

Recommended by: Dawnsisers
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LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon
Reminiscent of “Dune” in its scope and detail, Sherri S. Tepper’s “Grass” tells the story of a prominent Earth family sent to a remote planet to determine the truth behind rumors that could literally save the human race.

Humanity is dying – stricken down by a plague without known cure,
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spreading among all the inhabited planets. Except for the planet of Grass. And rumor has it that plague victims have actually recovered while visiting there. Responding to a request from his uncle, the head of a strict fundamentalist cult which essentially rules the known human universe, Roderigo Yrarier, his wife Marjorie Westriding, their two adolescent children, and Roderigo’s mistress, set off on a diplomatic mission whose true purpose cannot be revealed for various political reasons.

From that basic set-up, Tepper thrusts her characters into a society putatively directed by the local aristocrats, who have removed themselves from the day-to-day lives of the planetary port city, establishing vast estancias on the grasslands. There they devote huge amounts of time and energy to a bizarre hunting tradition – riding great beasts (think carnivorous horses the size of elephants) accompanied by “hounds” the size of Terran horses, in pursuit of another native species they have christened foxen.

Things, of course, are not as they seem, and as Marjorie and her family try without much success to fulfill their mission, they find themselves involved with missing aristocrat daughters, a cold reception from the upper class, splinter factions from within the ruling Sanctity cult, and family conflicts arising from two people in a loveless marriage who nevertheless try to observe the tenets of a weakened Catholic church, to which they belong.

None of this, it turns out, is window-dressing. Tepper’s characters struggle with ethical and moral questions in ways that have far-reaching impacts on the native inhabitants of Grass, who are themselves much more complex and nuanced than it first seems.

The novel does drag a bit toward the end, when a major conflict has been resolved but survivors continue to struggle to do what is right, both for themselves and for the species with whom their lives have become inextricably entwined.
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LibraryThing member mykl-s
Good sci-fi about the ecology of an Earth-like planet.
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Excellent. Political intrigue, religious plots, inimical and enigmatic aliens, plague, and dysfunctional personal relationships...
LibraryThing member drardavis
This is an exciting and interesting novel. Other critics have pointed out its similarity to Herbert’s Dune. As far as details of the setting and the cast of characters the parallels are there, but can be ignored. The book is not a copy. The underlying philosophical themes are different. But, the
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head hopping point of view of the omniscient narrator was the flaw, in my opinion. With the numerous supporting characters and the fast moving plot, the head hopping was confusing at times.
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Awards

Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1990)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1989-09

ISBN

0553285653 / 9780553285659
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