The Shore of Women

Read The Shore of Women Storyline:

"A cautionary tale, well-written, with excellent character characterization, a fine love story, as well as much food for thought...an elegant science fiction novel." —Ann McCaffrey This classic work of feminist science fiction finds the world reordered. Following a nuclear holocaust, women have used advanced technology to expel men from their cities, bringing them back only for purposes of loveless reproduction under the guise of powerful goddesses. When one young woman, Birana, questions her society's deception, she finds herself exiled amongst the very men she has been taught to scorn. As Birana and her reluctant male protector Arvil grow closer, their feelings for each other just might mend their fractured world—if they somehow manage to survive. “Pamela Sargent gives meticulous attention to a believable scenario....a captivating tale both from the aspect of the lessons that the author tries to impart and from the skills she has used to tell it.” —The Rocky Mountain News “How many perfect science fiction novels have I read? Not many. There are at most three or four such works in a decade. Pamela Sargent’s THE SHORE OF WOMEN is one of the few perfect novels of the 1980s….Her story of a woman exiled from a safe high-tech city of women, the man ordered by the gods to kill her, and their search for a place of safety, is powerful, beautiful, and true.” —The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction From Publishers WeeklyThis unusual romance novel takes a fresh look at a familiar science fiction setting. In a post-nuclear future, women live in walled cities, controlling all technology. Men, considered incapable of complex intellectual functions, worship females as divine beings. Roaming the countryside in primitive bands, men approach cities only when summoned for purposes of procreation. At the story's center is a young woman, Birana, who is wrongly convicted of a crime and banished from her city. Birana's judges assume that her lack of strength and outdoor skills will condemn her to a quick death. She survives, however, and during her struggles meets a hunter, Arvil. Over time, Birana realizes Arvil is not a savage, and he discovers she is not a goddess. They fall in love, and together search for refuge from the all-powerful women, who fear the day when men no longer hold them in awe. Some science fiction purists may be surprised by the decidedly erotic nature of this story, but, with her luminous prose and vivid characters, Sargent (Venus of Dreams has written a compelling and emotionally involving novel. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review""With her luminous prose and vivid characters, Pamela Sargent has written a compellingly and emotionally involving novel." --Publishers Weekly