![]() ()Īs Stavia grows she becomes more curious about the boys in the garrison, and she develops a friendship with a boy who lives there. Not even though her older sister, Myra, was already standing in the doorway, impatiently brushing the five-year-old’s hair to get him ready. If she learned the whole Iphigenia play, word for word, and if she cleaned up her room and did the dishes by herself and then dressed perfectly, without one dangling button or wrinkled bootlace, then they wouldn’t have to give Jerby away. It was a bargain that she made with the Lady. She remembered kneeling in the kitchen, picking at her bootlace to make it lie absolutely flat. When the boys of the town reach a certain age they must go to live in the garrison. It is a story of a girl named Stavia who is raised inside a town of women, while the men live separately in a garrison outside the gates. But when you get a closer look at what’s really going on, you see that it is far from perfect, and that there is a high cost exacted for the secrets that are being kept from the majority of the citizens. What I appreciate about this story is that it examines the idea of a society controlled by women, which at first seems like it might have a lot going for it. My absolute favorite book of Sheri Tepper’s is The Gate to Women’s Country, a dystopian story published in 1988 – far preceding the current inundation of dystopian fiction. I love that when I read her books I’m not delving into something that’s been done a million times before. ![]() It’s pretty much a guarantee when I pick up one of her books, that I’m going to read something strange, perhaps astonishing, maybe even offensive – but the originality the uniqueness, is the true pay off. ![]() Throw in a lot of science fiction and fantasy elements (strange animals, aliens, special powers, etc.) and voilà – mind-bending stories! Her books are a cross between fantasy and science fiction, yet they deal with timeless issues of the struggle for equality, the balance of power between genders, and the effects of religious control on society. Sheri Tepper’s books have some bizarre story lines, but the excellent writing and the originality make them entirely worthwhile. Tepper, whose works are so varied and unusual, so unique that each reader is going to have a different visceral reaction than another person? Nevertheless, I am taking on the challenge to tell you my personal best and worst, in hopes that you will give at least one of her books a try. When I sat down to write this post I had to pause for a moment, had I bitten off more than I could chew? How in the world could I pick a best and worst from Sheri S. I’m kicking off the new season with this post featuring my opinion about the Best & Worst of the novels of Sheri S. Visit the series page for more information about the guest bloggers, the featured authors, and the sign-up form. Each Wednesday I am featuring a guest post by a book blogger detailing which books they think are the “best” and “worst” by the author of their choice.
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