The Shore of Women The Classic Work of Feminist Science Fiction

About this book

This classic work of feminist science fiction finds the world reordered. Following a nuclear holocaust, women have used advanced technology to expel men from their cities, bringing them back only for purposes of loveless reproduction under the guise of powerful goddesses. When one young woman, Birana, questions her society's deception, she finds herself exiled amongst the very men she has been taught to scorn. As Birana and her reluctant male protector Arvil grow closer, their feelings for each other just might mend their fractured world-if they somehow manage to survive. "A cautionary tale, well-written, with excellent character characterization, a fine love story, as well as much food for thought . . . An elegant science fiction novel." -Ann McCaffrey "Pamela Sargent gives meticulous attention to a believable scenario. . . . a captivating tale both from the aspect of the lessons that the author tries to impart and from the skills she has used to tell it." -The Rocky Mountain News "How many perfect science fiction novels have I read? Not many. There are at most three or four such works in a decade. Pamela Sargent's The Shore of Women is one of the few perfect novels of the 1980s. . . . Her story of a woman exiled from a safe high-tech city of women, the man ordered by the gods to kill her, and their search for a place of safety, is powerful, beautiful, and true." -The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Pamela Sargent has won the Nebula and Locus Awards and was honored in 2012 with the Pilgrim Award, given by the Science Fiction Research Association for lifetime contributions to science fiction and fantasy scholarship. Her many science fiction novels include Venus of Dreams, The Shore of Women, The Golden Space, The Sudden Star, and The Alien Upstairs. About her historical novel Ruler of the Sky, a novel about Genghis Khan told largely from the points of view of women, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas commented: "Scholarly without ever seeming pedantic, the book is fascinating from cover to cover and does admirable justice to a man who might very well be called history's single most important character." Sargent's alternative history novel Climb the Wind, set in the United States after the Civil War, was a finalist for the Sidewise Award. She is also editor of the Women of Wonder anthologies, the first collections of science fiction by women. The Washington Post calls her "one of the genre's best writers" and Michael Moorcock has said about her writing: "If you have not read Pamela Sargent, then you should make it your business to do so at once. She is in many ways a pioneer, both as a novelist and as a short story writer. . . . She is one of the best." Her novel Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all five Twilight films, set to write and produce it through her Tall Girls Productions.