#114. THE GATE TO WOMEN’S COUNTRY By Sheri S Tepper

Published : 1988
Pages : 315
Overall Mark : 8/10

Women rule in Women’s Country. Males are segregated at an early age and live in garrisons, plotting futilely for the battles that must never be fought again. Inside the women’s towns, protected from marauding males, education, arts and science flourish. But for some, there is more to see. Stavia’s sojourn with the man she is forbidden to love brings into sharp focus the contradictions that define their lives. Soon, Stavia will face a decision – one that will change her world for ever...

SHERI S TEPPER (1929-)
Sheri S Tepper is the prolific author of many SF, fantasy and horror novels, and is particularly respected for her works of feminist science fiction. Her many acclaimed books include The Margarets and Gibbon’s Decline And Fall, both shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award, and Beauty, which was voted Best Fantasy Novel Of The year by readers of Locus magazine. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

VERDICT
As usual Tepper’s view of a female utopia has some interesting points, and the reveal at the end of the book makes what has come before seem even more unusual, but by creating a future society that models itself on ancient times she manages to convey a real feeling of history while simultaneously providing a look at a world that hasn’t yet come into being.