A review by tessisreading2
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein

4.0

I kind of wish I'd found this book when I was a kid back in the nineties, because it's the kind of thing I would have loved - a fantasy novel with strong and interesting female protagonists and complex world-building that seems like it will get more rewarding with re-reads - but on the other hand, the long gaps between sequels and the fact that the series isn't done yet would probably have been incredibly frustrating. That said, I'm glad I found it now. The pacing is slow and methodical, and the writing is very descriptive, but there are a lot of Chekhov's guns - if you see it on the mantel in the first act you know it will be fired by the second. Some of the solutions to the mysteries introduced are apparent to the reader (albeit not the characters) by the end of the book, but others (like, you know, what the heck is going on) are not.