The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre
Pocket Books, $23.00.
I don't use the word "compelling" often or lightly, but I
found The Moon and the Sun compelling reading. Set in the
court of Louis XIV, the Sun King, in a history which may or
may not have been our own, McIntyre spins a tale of a king's
quest for immortality and the "sea monsters" he looks to for
the answers. A voyage to capture a sea monster yields both a
deceased male and a live female, which are brought back to
the court and the subject of studies to find a mystical
organ granting immortality, directed by a young Jesuit
priest. Admiring the "beasts" is all the rage, but no one
but the priest's sister understands that these are sentient
creatures, and that killing and eating them is tantamount to
cannibalism. What drives this story is Marie's struggle to
save her king from himself, in a court where perhaps the
only creature with less power and position is the sea
monster herself. McIntyre's vivid descriptions of court life
and its excesses give the book both a fairy tale quality and
a firm grounding in reality. Signed bookplates available
while supplies last.
--MeH
The Misconceiver by Lucy Ferriss
Simon & Schuster, $22.95.
Comparisons to Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale are
inevitable, but this work stands on its own, not as an
imitation. In the not-too-distant future, when the pendulum
of reproductive rights has swung far back in the other
direction from our current status, there is still a
profession of women who bill themselves as "misconceivers."
In a world without contraceptives, sexual harrassment laws,
or protaction from incestuous abuse, these women continue
their work in defiance of the law. What made this book work
for me was that the main character, Phoebe, was not driven
by politics, saving this from being a polemic. Instead,
Phoebe is a misconceiver because her sister and her mother
both were, and Phoebe saw the relief in the eyes of the
women who came to them. A frightening and important book.
--MeH
Maryelizabeth
Mysterious Galaxy 619-268-4747
3904 Convoy St, #107 800-811-4747
San Diego, CA 92111 619-268-4775 FAX
http://www.mystgalaxy.com
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