Master of None [Paperback]

N. Lee Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

- N. Lee Wood is the author of "Looking for the Mahdi (Ace, 1996), "Faraday's Orphans (Ace, 1997), and "Bloodrights (Ace, 1999). "Looking for the Mahdi was selected as a "New York Times Notable Book and was also short listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.- The author's blend of sociology, feminism, and science fiction is reminiscent of such classics as Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale (Houghton Mifflin, 1986), Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness (Ace, 1969), and Sheri S. Tepper's "The Gate to Women's Country (Doubleday, 1988).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vanar, newcomer Wood's intricately imagined closed matriarchal world where men have no legal rights, dominates this far-future exploration of gender, linguistics, justice, greed and malice. Vanar's nine High Families control all intersystem travel between 300 Hengeli-settled worlds through their mysterious female-only Pilots. Marooned after attempting to steal botanical specimens from Vanar, Hengeli Nathan Crewe finds himself totally at the mercy of Yaenida, ancient matriarch of the Nga'esha clan, perhaps the most powerful woman in the known worlds. As he agonizes with Vanar's ferociously difficult language and its alien culture (the individual's welfare always loses to the good of the community), Crewe is caught in a power struggle between the Nga'esha and their Changriti rivals. Against all odds he maintains his identity, uncovers ancient wrongs and forces essential 4changes in Vanar's social structure, created when its original female settlers reshaped their language as they reshaped themselves. Brilliantly executed conflicts with intensely powerful characterizations and sensitive handling of controversial issues of sexuality flesh out disturbing challenges to conventional male-female relations as well as to accepted governmental structures. Like her literary ancestors Cherryh and Le Guin, Wood employs linguistic expertise to produce uncanny verisimilitude in a society that turns accepted behavioral norms inside out in a stunning bravura portrayal of human adaptability.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446693049
• ISBN-13: 978-0446693042
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,447,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars in a women's world, August 29, 2004

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Master of None (Paperback)

Rebeccasreads recommends MASTER OF NONE as an adventure in space-cum-soap opera role reversal, heavy on the socio-economics. Imagine what life might be like if you were male & you'd landed in a nation where your gender is not only despised, it is proscribed: from the way you look, what you eat, where you go, how you walk & talk. N. Lee Wood has created such a world & we watch as Nathan must learn his place in the scheme of things, or meet a fate worse than death.

Underneath this seemingly perfect female-friendly society on the planet Vanar, something is brewing & Nathan's skill in botany turns out to be the reason why he was enticed there ... if he can make anyone listen to him. & that's the problem: this is a society who distrust anything males have to say. How can he make them listen to the news of their impending doom?

MASTER OF NONE is all about relationships, power plays & saving the world. You will have to learn another language & another world view.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars masterful science fiction, August 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Master of None (Paperback)

In the distant future, mankind has colonized many planets, but it is the Nine Families of Vanar that control the worms, artifacts made and abandoned by an ancient race that enables female pilots to fly to three hundred systems reducing interstellar distances. The Vanar take other ships with them as they traverse the universe with their monopoly. On the planet itself the women citizens are the ruling class while the men are slaves needed to help produce the next generation females.

Ambitious botanist Nathan Crewe convinces a space pilot to take him to Vanar where he plans to pick specimens to prove his theory. The authorities catch him within an hour of landing and inform him he will never leave. Nathan is adopted by one of the powerful Nine Families and is forced to marry into one of the Nine Families. Although he is less than chattel, Nathan feels Vanar is home and begins a legal fight to make changes to the social caste system.

MASTER OF NONE is an in depth look at a society in which women hold all power while men need permission to simply leave the house, are unable to attend university, or hold a job beyond breeder. Nathan coming from the outside thinks initially the planet is backwoods, but begins to change his mind as he gets to know people. Could he be suffering from the Stockholm syndrome or just believe that Vanar is home? He wants to make change so that his gender has rights paralleling much of the civil rights movement. Women on Varna are not evil or deliberately cruel; instead they have been raised to believe they are superior. This is a masterful science fiction tale that cleverly spotlights social inequities.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Fluff!, September 22, 2004

By 

A. Albers (Northwoods of Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Master of None (Paperback)

This is the first book by N. Lee Wood that I've read and I was impressed. The main character is a man who finds himself trapped in a society where men are vehemently regulated to second-class citizens. There is great commentary here on gender roles in society, misinformation, oppression and the elite. Wood used this engaging story about politics and relationships, with angst, vivid imagery and unexpected plot turns, to drag me from chapter to chapter to a satisfying ending. In times like these, when we've had our consciousness raised about oppressive cultures and groups like the Taliban, this book is especially poignant.

If you're familiar with them, the story, writing, and social commentary was on par with Sherri S. Tepper's "Gate To Women's Country", Valerie Freireich's "Testament", C. J. Cherryh's "Foreigner" series and Joan Vinge's "Catspaw". If you're not familiar with them, I recommend them as well as Master Of None.