Call number
Genres
Publication
Spectra (1994), Reissue, Paperback
Pages
772
Description
Long ago, the Founding Mothers left old Earth and the Phylum Worlds, seeking a hidden place to reforge human destiny. Through genetic wizardry, they have altered human sexual patterns. For most of the year, any child born on the planet Stratos is a clone of her mother, identical to all the sisters in her veritable clan. Only in summer are 'vars' conceived - old-fashioned, gene-mixed girls, and even sometimes boys - each one garishly, ignobly unique. Maia, one lonely young var, grows up knowing she must summon all her skill to win a place in this world run by and for high-caste clanswomen, a world far gentler than those of the old Phylum . . . except for those rare seasons of change, when the planet seems to call its people forth to glory. Rich in texture, universal in theme, monumental in scope, GLORY SEASON is a saga of remarkable passion and drama, set in a faraway place and time but shining light upon issues vexing our own confused era.… (more)
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1994)
Otherwise Award (Long list — 1994)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1993-05-03
Physical description
772 p.; 6.9 inches
ISBN
0553567675 / 9780553567670
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Earth by David Brin
User reviews
LibraryThing member StormRaven
Set on Stratos, a planet ruled by women who have genetically altered themselves and the tiny minority of men in their society, this novel marks Brin's attempt to write in the science fiction subgenre of "feminist science fiction". Most of the time, this genre is also "utopian feminist science
There are certainly grounds to criticize the book - it is a little overbroad in painting gender sterotypes, but arguably that is becauss most of the women are clones (although the main character and her twin sister are not, they are second class "vars"). The book is also overlong, and somehow it feels rushed. A fair amount of time is spent with the characters noodling about with the game "Life", which is supposed to be the passion of the seafaring men of the planet, which to me, stretches credulity (since, for most people, Life gets tedious after a reasonably short time).
The novel focuses on the adventures of Maia - one of a pair of twin "vars", cast out of her comfortable clone-run family business with her twin to find their fortunes. The comfortable, semi-technological utopia that has been set up on the world has been disrupted by a visitor from the outside - a man from the starfaring culture that exists offworld. Maia travels for a bit, finding out that some people are tyrrng to upset the current society by eliminating the men of the world entirely. Maia is kidnapped, escapes with the help of Renna, the off-worlder, has a bunch of adventures in which she learns that everything about her world is not what she assumed. She discovers off-world technology that appears to have been suppressed by the ruling elite and becomes a political symbol (most especially to a crew of virtuous men who she had helped earlier), finally coming out against those in power to try to pull Stratos out of its enforced technological backwardness.
As I wrote before, this novel is not a great novel - it paints with a broad brush, the villains are a little too transparent, many characters seem to behave in irrational and nonsensical ways; however, it still does a good job at confronting and deflating the silly "feminist utopias" that many science fiction authors are fond of. It is also, at its core, a pretty good story without referencing the political and social commentary.
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fiction", and the fact that this book isn't seems to have ticked off a lot of a feminist science fiction writers.There are certainly grounds to criticize the book - it is a little overbroad in painting gender sterotypes, but arguably that is becauss most of the women are clones (although the main character and her twin sister are not, they are second class "vars"). The book is also overlong, and somehow it feels rushed. A fair amount of time is spent with the characters noodling about with the game "Life", which is supposed to be the passion of the seafaring men of the planet, which to me, stretches credulity (since, for most people, Life gets tedious after a reasonably short time).
The novel focuses on the adventures of Maia - one of a pair of twin "vars", cast out of her comfortable clone-run family business with her twin to find their fortunes. The comfortable, semi-technological utopia that has been set up on the world has been disrupted by a visitor from the outside - a man from the starfaring culture that exists offworld. Maia travels for a bit, finding out that some people are tyrrng to upset the current society by eliminating the men of the world entirely. Maia is kidnapped, escapes with the help of Renna, the off-worlder, has a bunch of adventures in which she learns that everything about her world is not what she assumed. She discovers off-world technology that appears to have been suppressed by the ruling elite and becomes a political symbol (most especially to a crew of virtuous men who she had helped earlier), finally coming out against those in power to try to pull Stratos out of its enforced technological backwardness.
As I wrote before, this novel is not a great novel - it paints with a broad brush, the villains are a little too transparent, many characters seem to behave in irrational and nonsensical ways; however, it still does a good job at confronting and deflating the silly "feminist utopias" that many science fiction authors are fond of. It is also, at its core, a pretty good story without referencing the political and social commentary.
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LibraryThing member antiquary
I am very fond of some of Brin's books, notably the The Postman, but this one strikes me as rather heavy-handed. It is about a world in which the first (women) settlers chose to reproduce primarily without men, but they do allow the existence of some men, chiefly sailors, who father children who do
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not fit the identical mold of the standard girls. These non-standard girls are called vars (variants). The heroine Maia and her sister Leia are vars, who are discriminated against in their society, so they go away to sea with the men. The book concludes with an interesting critique of the conventional hierarchical medieval setting of many fantasies and some sf. Show Less
LibraryThing member leld
Regardless of gender, people are people. We are cruel, we love, we war and oppress, we find joy. We want to know our purpose and to find a place to be happy.
LibraryThing member dishdasha
An engaging adventure story in an interesting social background. There are many unique points in this novel:
* What if human can self-clone in addition to mating as means to replicate?
* "Traditional" underdog adventure story in which the main character is treated unfairly.
* The game of Life as a
David Brin somehow blends these ingredients to result in a really interesting story.
My complaint is the rushed feel to parts 3 & 4 of the novel. And the ending does not feel satisfying to me. Overall a great read.
* What if human can self-clone in addition to mating as means to replicate?
* "Traditional" underdog adventure story in which the main character is treated unfairly.
* The game of Life as a
Show More
universal computing machine.David Brin somehow blends these ingredients to result in a really interesting story.
My complaint is the rushed feel to parts 3 & 4 of the novel. And the ending does not feel satisfying to me. Overall a great read.
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LibraryThing member rudyleon
I really hated this book. I picked it up because Brin and Suzy Charnas got into a heated discussion about the book on a discussion list I was on, and I was intrigued. Brin wanted to write a feminist utopian novel and got all irate and obnxious when folks who write and read feminist spec fic found
But points for trying, right?
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it offensive and declared that it missed its mark. I have to agree. This book reads very much as a male view of what a woman would find to be utopian -- and as such reflects perhaps a bit too much of his limited understanding of 'what women want' and how we sees women in the world.But points for trying, right?
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LibraryThing member ewalrath
It bothers me so much that there will never be a sequel to this book. And the developments in cloning since this book were written have rendered it's premise unlikely. But the story of a clone society with men and conventionally-born women as oppressed minorities on a far-away planet was very
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thought provoking to me when I was 16 and had held up well to multiple readings. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
I really enjoyed this novel, even as the premise was disturbing. On the planet Stratos, men are few and are genetically altered to only be interested in women during very few months, keeping them docile. They are also severely restricted in what jobs they can have. There are no marriages. Most
While the premise was disturbing, I though Brin treated it well. The ending was a little weak, it almost felt like another book was intended.
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women procreate by cloning, 'sparked' with the assistance of men, but that's all. The book is about exploring the ramifications of such a society, and particularly about the few non-clone women who have almost as few rights as the men. While the premise was disturbing, I though Brin treated it well. The ending was a little weak, it almost felt like another book was intended.
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LibraryThing member brainshades
A forgettable book stuck in between the first and second Uplift Trilogies.
Brin's typical world building prowess shines brightly, but the characters are weak and in the end I didn't care what happened to them as long as the book finally ended.
Brin's typical world building prowess shines brightly, but the characters are weak and in the end I didn't care what happened to them as long as the book finally ended.
LibraryThing member knownever
I got 200 pages in before getting too bored to finish.
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Okay Brin, though not my favorite. Nice sci-fi with a matriarchal society but with a not all that cohesive of a plot...
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Entertaining, but not quite Ursula K. LeGuin (who also deals with similar experimental gender issues in lots of her work).
LibraryThing member ragwaine
My wife an I made it 100 pages into this and though it was interesting, it didn't grab either of us enough to make us want put the effort of reading 464 more pages to find out what happens in the end.
I really hope we're not passing up some life-changing epic here, but we've just got too many books
I really hope we're not passing up some life-changing epic here, but we've just got too many books
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on our shelves we haven't read yet to spend that much time on something that seemed like it would be a solid 3 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
2020 reread:
I really like this look at gender roles and the conflict between adaptability & stability. While the ending is realistic (given the world of Stratoin), it is somewhat depressing...
I really like this look at gender roles and the conflict between adaptability & stability. While the ending is realistic (given the world of Stratoin), it is somewhat depressing...