Six Moon Dance - Hardcover

Tepper, Sheri S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0380974797 ISBN 13: 9780380974795

Publisher: Avon Books, 1998

Synopsis

When the human settlements on the deserted world of Newholme are threatened by a rash of volcanic eruptions and bizarre events, the Great Questioner visits the planet to uncover the forces behind these catastrophic events and learns that Mouche, a beautiful and brilliant young man, is destined to save this planet.

About this title

Review:

In Six Moon Dance, veteran fantasy and science fiction writer Sheri S. Tepper tells the tale of the strange planet Newholme. An intriguing human society occupies the metal-poor planet, a society with gender values quite different from Earth, resulting from a virus that kills 50 percent of baby girls at birth. Newholmians use the best and the worst of dogma, religion and "patriarchy" to uphold a society where men manage the money but women hold the keys to power through church, reproductive control and their own short supply. "Family men" pay exorbitant dowries in order to gain a temporary wife, contracted for wifely duties and reproduction for a number of years. When their marriage contracts are finished, the women, relieved of duty, retire to enjoy the sexual services of male "Consorts".

The plot here involves an official Questioner who visits Newholme to investigate reports of human rights abuses, the strange native inhabitants whose biology may hold the key to human survival on the planet, and a disastrous lunar alignment. Although quite creative, Tepper's plot is simply not as gripping as the sociology and society she invents for Newholme. She uses her feminist instincts and knowledge about the sexes and religion to create a world worth taking a look at. --Bonnie Bouman

Review:

On The Family Tree: Locus: 'A work where wry humour mingles with the gravest of concerns about ecology and the fate of earth. Tepper has produced another work as witty, charming, deep-down serious and inventive as her classic Beauty, in this fable with an extra edge to it: a thorough-going relevance to our future' Science Fiction Age 'She is a compelling storyteller. Being able to weave in serious concerns and even actual morals, without interrupting the flow of the story, is a rare gift and one Tepper clearly has. The Family Tree continues this pattern, with wonderful characters, a compelling mystery and superb worldbuilding.' Kirkus Reviews: 'Beautifully realized, full of delightful surprises and sparkling wit, this out-and-out charmer is unquestionably Tepper's best work so far' Realms of Fantasy: 'A perfectly marvellous book. It's a pearl'

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0380974797
• ISBN 13: 9780380974795
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 454