Kerri thought the author was trying too hard to be William Gibson.
If she'd wanted to know that much about the background, she'd have
read a textbook.

She liked the fairy Ray.

Got confused by the different species.

She doesn't like London, either, though she's never been there ;-)

Gibson doesn't go into long explanations of tech, one sentence and
goes on.

In the last third, Kerri liked / identified with Mrs. Powell. Loved
the scene where she slapped the fey in the face.

Loved Leroy. (*not* Alex's father).

Another cool scene: mercenaries and lake ....

//////

Peter K

Also "Magic Kingdom" to push the allegory. He thought the
fairies were selfish and perhaps too ruthless.

As at the end of _Stations of the Tide_, the created free
had no gratitude or responsibility.

Agrees with GJER: That if the book stayed in London, it would
have been better. Switch to Morag was a bad dramatic fumble;
Morag is not very interesting.

Liked Alex Sharkey because he was overweight, made his humble
and slowed him down. Also liked him because he was smarter than
people gave him credit for, he outsmarted some vicious
lowlifes.

With Morag, it seemed like a ripoff of _Aliens_. Silly movie-esque
motivation for Morag that was dropped. And Armand was dropped!
(Kerri: Or he became the king at the end?)

Liked London, hated Albania. (Kerri was opposite.)

//////

John G

Found it to be a very distressful portrait of the future.

He thought _Neuromancer_ was the only other book he's read that
was as bitter as the future.

Very nihilistic book. But Alex Sharkey cares about his mother.

//////

Raja (and others) point out that actually it's set in the
near future, 20 - 30 years from now. There's no major single
disaster, only global warming and civil wars.

Author is obviously sad and angry about what has been happening
to London and England, and venting.

//////

The only think GJER liked was the term "fembots".
Also the last line, which was reminiscent of 
Bureaucrat and briefcase.

GJER thinks it's a goulash of undigested ideas. If
the author'd stayed in London, it would have been
better.

Author has too many axes to grind. Deterioration of
London, 

Attitude about humans here is as in _Neuro_, _StOtTide_,
and GJER himself: Humans do what they do, the universe just
goes on. But WGibson and MSwanwick did it much better.

Too Gibsonesque. (Kerri again: He was trying too hard.)

Overall, it was a decent book, but didn't like it too much.

Another thing he liked: Armand and Mr. Mike. Good SF idea,
scary / horror.


Hated the fact that the rock groups, etc. were remembered 40 years
later ....

This is *not* a book about the future; it's a book about today.

//////

Dedaimia liked the love bombing, both because it seemed plausible
and because it gave the author a chance to express his view of
human nature.

die-ASP-or-a

////// _Gate to Women's Country_, by Sheri S. Tepper November 19 1998

============

Canticle
Left Hand
Ender's Game
Wild Seed
Neuromancer

======

War of the Worlds
Stars My Destination
Fire Upon the Deep

Peace War?
Speaker for the Dead?

/////
