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A review by notesurfer
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
The Steerswoman has all the hallmarks of great Feminist Fantasy but lacks the narrative force to execute properly. The female characters of import are intelligent, strong, wise, and have a dangerous lack of character flaws. The titular Steerswoman is constantly surprising the people around her with her almost supernatural ability to know everything and figure out everything else.
I love the idea of a humanist religion that is devoted to the collection and free dissemination of information, but this book feels like a manifesto that is trying to cover all its bases at once. The good guys all get together and very reasonably pursue the most obviously reasonable course of action, which is of course both obvious and reasonable. There's no drama or intrigue, no conflicting interpretations or personal stakes. The protagonist immediately gives up her vow of reasonability because it is the most reasonable course of action at the time.
Weirdly this book reminded me of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, but that at least has a good amount of swords and sorcery. This book feels like it's trying to suck the magic out of fantasy and make me like it.
I love the idea of a humanist religion that is devoted to the collection and free dissemination of information, but this book feels like a manifesto that is trying to cover all its bases at once. The good guys all get together and very reasonably pursue the most obviously reasonable course of action, which is of course both obvious and reasonable. There's no drama or intrigue, no conflicting interpretations or personal stakes. The protagonist immediately gives up her vow of reasonability because it is the most reasonable course of action at the time.
Weirdly this book reminded me of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, but that at least has a good amount of swords and sorcery. This book feels like it's trying to suck the magic out of fantasy and make me like it.