Grass (S.F.Masterworks) [Paperback]

Sheri S Tepper (Author)

Book Description

Series: S.F.Masterworks | Publication Date: February 14, 2002

What could be more commonplace than grass, or a world covered over all its surface with a wind-whipped ocean of grass? But the planet Grass conceals horrifying secrets within its endless pastures. And as an incurable plague attacks all inhabited planets but this one, the prairie-like Grass begins to reveal these secrets -- and nothing will ever be the same again ...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Generations in the future, when humanity has spread to other planets and Earth is ruled by Sanctity, a dour, coercive religion that looks to resurrection of the body by storing cell samples of its communicants, a plague is threatening to wipe out mankind. The only planet that seems to be spared is Grass, so-called because that is virtually all that grows there. It was settled by families of European nobility who live on vast estancias and indulge in the ancient sport of fox hunting--although the horses, hounds and foxes aren't what they what they appear to be. Rigo and Marjorie Westriding Yrarier and family are sent to Grass as ambassadors and unofficial investigators because the ruling families--the bons--have refused to allow scientists to authenticate the planet's immunity from the plague. The egotistical Rigo sets out to prove himself to the bons while Marjorie remains wary about the relationship between the hunters and the hunted. She gains allies in her search, but invasion strikes from an unexpected quarter before the truth about an alien species comes to light. Tepper ( The Gate to Women's Country ) delves into the nature of truth and religion, creating some strong characters in her compelling story.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Sheri S. Tepper is the author of several resoundingly acclaimed novels, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated GIBBON'S DECLINE AND FALL, SIX MOON DANCE, THE FAMILY TREE, A PLAGUE OF ANGELS, SIDESHOW and BEAUTY, which was voted Best Fantasy Novel of the Year by readers of LOCUS.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz Paperbacks (February 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857987985
• ISBN-13: 978-1857987980
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.3 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #636,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 30, 2002

By 

C. Baker "cbaker" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grass (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not a big Tepper fan but I read Grass anyway and I'm glad I did. The plot is rather intricate but a brief synopsis: Humans are scattered over several planets, one being Grass which is a backwater planet with an odd collection of so called "elites" living in a cultural milieu copied from English manors. The "commoners" are gathered in a large town and make a living mostly through trade with other planets. But rather bizarre things are happening in the universe. The catholic church as undergone a schism and the dominant branch is a rather bizarre organization called "sanctity." Meanwhile, a deadly plague threatens to wipe out humanity. But the plague has not touched Grass, so enter Lady Marjorie Westriding and her family, sent by the hierarch of the church to find a cure for the plague, believed to exist on Grass. But on Grass they also find bizarre goings on, mainly the strange aliens that seem to have some kind of hold over the populace.

Tepper has done an excellent job here of weaving an intricate plot together. There are numerous subtext to novels from relationships between men and women, alien contact, religious philosophy, and ethical decisions on how to react in the face of violence and potential genocide of the human race. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and depth of the novel. And unlike The Gate to Women's Country, the political and moral lessons are obvious but the reader is not bludgeoned over the head with them. This is one of the best science fiction novels I've read in a while.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Moral Responsibilities of Aliens, May 19, 2002

By 

Patrick Shepherd "hyperpat" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grass (Mass Market Paperback)

Grass presents a very interesting alien world, one where the entire planet is covered by grasses of various kinds except for small treed areas, with a very original set of aliens. The Hippae and their associated Hounds are the type of thing that can give you nightmares, an enlarged, horrific parody of horses, capable of mentally controlling those around them, with a totally egocentric and blood-thirsty attitude. And the human society that has formed around the Hippae is also intriguing, somewhat modeled on the South American estancias, but with a strong English manor element, as the humans use the Hippae as mounts for the Hunt, a direct parody of the sport of fox hunting, with the object of the Hunt being the Foxen, a creature never really seen in its entirety, but only glimpsed from the corners of the eyes. The ecology and relationships of the various species of the planet form the major scientific underpinnings of this novel, relationships that are somewhat surprising and very interesting.

Into this world come Marjorie Westriding, her husband Rigo, her children Stella and Tony, Rigo's mistress Eugenie, and the family Catholic priests, sent as ambassadors from Sanctity, the controlling religious body on Earth, to investigate why Grass is the only known planet that does not seem to be infected with a fatal plague that is slowly wiping out humanity. The novel's action is driven by the consequences of the family learning about the strange social structures and alien life forms of the planet.

While Marjorie, the main character, is fairly well drawn with a fair amount of depth, most of the other characters are very much stick figures that are supporting spear carriers only. This is a pity, as Rigo, Stella, and the dom Sylvan show intimations of being intriguing people, but they are never portrayed in enough depth to make them come alive. The total cast of characters is fairly large, and at later stages in the book it becomes difficult to remember just who each one is due to their limited portrayal.

Grass is at least partially an investigation of religion, faith, and original sin for both humans and for two different alien races. As such, it invites some comparison with other science fiction works that have dealt with these themes - Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz, Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead, and the one closest in theme to this, James Blish's A Case of Conscience. Unfortunately, Grass does not meet the high level shown by these other books, as the crisis of faith experienced by Marjorie and the Foxen is dealt with somewhat shallowly. There is little deep explication of the problems, ambiguities, and paradoxes that entail from the concept of original sin applying to an alien race that were so well investigated by Blish's work. Marjorie's own changing concept of God from the traditional Catholic picture to one where humans are mere instruments of God's will, a virus that He unleashed to perform a specific action, where individual humans are not known by name to God, is a better formed and portrayed concept, but still not at the depth and emotional level that Canticle for Leibowitz achieved.

This is an ambitious work, with many sub-themes twined around the main one, each of which is deserving of in-depth portrayal. As written, this book is just too short to do justice to either the sub-themes or the main theme, not to mention the need for greater character development. It probably should have been twice its current length to fully develop all of the richness of ideas that Tepper presents here. Still, a very original work, more focused on anthropology and with difficult thematic material than is common in science fiction, items which make this a worthwhile reading experience.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic that should sit next to your beat up copy of Dune, September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Grass (Mass Market Paperback)

Tepper has created one of the most interesting novels of the genre to come along in quite some time. It isn't a "Space Opera" in the trashy "Star Wars" way--with laser blasters and gigantic monolithic space cruisers that pepper the pages of most sci-fi novels today--which I consider absolute garbage. And it isn't a virtual reality novel which is also an overdone genre--cloning every idea William Gibson started with his cult novels. I would classify it as anthropological science fiction in that it studies the cultures and people/aliens of a different planet in the universe. Tepper weaves a story which grabs you and doesn't let you go until the end--not being afraid to make you care for her characters and play with your emotions. I also love the way she blasts puritain based religions; showing they too can be corrupt and dispicable as the beings who use it for their own personal gains. I wish there was more science fiction like this instead of the garbage trying to pass itself off as important works in the field when they are no better than the tripe novels with the "Stars Wars", "Star Trek", "Babylon 5" trademarks gracing the covers and bestseller lists of today. We need more of this kind of fiction which is amazingly thought provoking and sparks debate among friends who love to discuss excellent science fiction.