Ethan of Athos
Ethan of Athos was first published in 1985, which means it's probably not fair to draw comparisons to the Mens' Rights Activists. That wasn't even a movement when this story was written. Bujold was simply considering one possible outcome of divorcing childbirth from womb through the invention of a uterine replicator. She was flipping the old "world of women" trope on it's head and digging into prejudices. But a planet full of men who are terrified of women, convinced that they're the root of all sin, becomes hilarious in the context of current politics. It was probably unintentional. I still laughed my way through the first two chapters of this book.
The story follows Ethan, an obstetrician on Athos, a peaceful society of men. It was founded some 200 years previously by some men who wanted to leave women behind, bringing with them ovaries for use in creating future generations through in vitro fertilization and uterine replicators. But now the ovaries are dying, the shipment of new ones was tampered with, and an ambassador must be sent out into the wider galaxy to procure some new ovaries before panic sets in.
Ethan is a beautifully naive man who is terrified of women. Upon discovering that they are literally everywhere, working in every imaginable job, he becomes nearly paralyzed. He's convinced that a single conversation with a woman will irrevocably taint him in some unknown way. Women are, after all, the enemy. Though the more he gets to know Commander Elli Quinn, the more his prejudices get called into question. He eventually realizes that she's only a person, just like him. Though prejudices tend to be rooted deep, and he's all too eager to return to his male-only homeworld at the end of the book. With broader horizons, perhaps, but not broad enough.
This book is that rare Vorkosigan story without Miles or any other Vorkosigan. Miles is mentioned in passing, but the focus is elsewhere, looking at other consequences of technology and genetic meddling. It's a lot of fun to watch Ethan's world be forcibly expanded, and to see him try to navigate a world he could not possibly be prepared for.
The story follows Ethan, an obstetrician on Athos, a peaceful society of men. It was founded some 200 years previously by some men who wanted to leave women behind, bringing with them ovaries for use in creating future generations through in vitro fertilization and uterine replicators. But now the ovaries are dying, the shipment of new ones was tampered with, and an ambassador must be sent out into the wider galaxy to procure some new ovaries before panic sets in.
Ethan is a beautifully naive man who is terrified of women. Upon discovering that they are literally everywhere, working in every imaginable job, he becomes nearly paralyzed. He's convinced that a single conversation with a woman will irrevocably taint him in some unknown way. Women are, after all, the enemy. Though the more he gets to know Commander Elli Quinn, the more his prejudices get called into question. He eventually realizes that she's only a person, just like him. Though prejudices tend to be rooted deep, and he's all too eager to return to his male-only homeworld at the end of the book. With broader horizons, perhaps, but not broad enough.
This book is that rare Vorkosigan story without Miles or any other Vorkosigan. Miles is mentioned in passing, but the focus is elsewhere, looking at other consequences of technology and genetic meddling. It's a lot of fun to watch Ethan's world be forcibly expanded, and to see him try to navigate a world he could not possibly be prepared for.
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