Customer Reviews

Return to Isis

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jean Stewart wrote a three book series staged in a post nuclear war, all female society separated (by choice) from men. A great blend of science fiction, romance and strong female characters that will entice you to read all three books in one sitting. It is a simple, quick read that goes well with a hot bath and chocolate.

Jean Stewart has set her novel in a future where a virulent virus has decimated America's population, and, as a consequence, divided the country into three distinct zones - one is a wilderness where no one can live, another is Elysia and is run by white right-wing Christian men bent on cleansing the race and who use women as breeding stock, and the third is Freeland ruled by women. This is the story of Whit, a Freeland warrior, and Amelia, a Farmer from Elysia. Together they unlock Amelia's past and solve the mystery of who betrayed Freeland ten years earlier. This is a well-written combination of science fiction and lesbian romance. The characters are well drawn, the societies are clearly defined without bogging the reader down in detail, and the writer has down all this in 173 pages. This is definitely not your formulaic output of either genre. It deserves a wide audience because it talks about a future that is possible as well as tells a story along the way.

I took a segue from my usual fare to try this sci-fi series of books and am glad I did. From the first page of 'Return to Isis' I was hooked. Freeland is a mixture of all races, but mainly homosexuals, women in particular. They live by the good ole US Constitution, have protogenesis (in this case, reproduction without sperm), and a cure for a mutated form of AIDS called AGH. Elysia is what is left of the white, Christian, heterosexual society of America. The region is dominated by men, women are kept as breeders or drones, and they are over-run by AGH.

Whit is a warrior from Freeland who is doing an undercover operation in Elysia. When trying to return home, she accidentally saves Amelia from from her horrible life in Elysia. This book is about their struggle to gain acceptance for Amelia and about Amelia regaining lost memories. It is well-written and edited, and kept this reader's attention. Although the setting is in the future, the science fiction theme only enhanced the story.

I'm glad I took the time to read this story and am looking forward to the remaining four books in the series.

I was pleasantly surprised by Jean Stewart's riveting science fiction adventure, "Return to Isis." To label this wonderful book merely "lesbian science fiction" is denigrating both to the author and the material. Albeit this is the story of a futuristic lesbian society, I found it thoroughly enjoyable, and as well written as any number of "straight" distopian novels. The world Stewart creates is a frightening one, not because it is far from our own, but rather a bit too close! It envisons a time when AIDS has mutated and blended with genital herpes to create a more deadly strain, AGH, which devastated most of the world. In the United States, a war broke out between conservative Christians, who blamed the victims of AGH for its spread. This split the country into Freeland, where women, minorities, homosexuals, Jews and others blamed for AGH live without fear, and Elysium, basically the US from Chicago east of the Mississippi, where "New Order Christians" run a repressive, facist regime, hiding behind a "Star Wars" type laser barrier that keeps undesirables out and slaves in. Enter Whit, a Freeland Warrior, and Amelia, a simple farm girl who harbors an ancient secret. I won't spoil the plot for those who haven't read "Return to Isis," except to say that it contains may twists and unexpected turns. It's a supremely well crafted and well written book which deserves a much wider audience. I found it a delight, and literally couldn't put it down. I am now reading the sequel, "Isis Rising" with equal enthusiasm.

Setting of an estranged land with it's major nemesis just across the continient is good basic fare. A mystery-like approach allows for outlining of how Freeland came about and how it functions. A little unhappy with all men being seen as 'bad' and some of the sugary 'lets all get along' stuff is excessive, in my opinion. All in all a good view of Lesbian possibilities in the future with a nice story of two very different women slowly falling in love.

For a long time, I avoided reading Jean Stewart's Isis series. I was under the misconception that they were the stories of Amazon women in some past or alien society. Only recently did I learn that they are post-apocalyptic stories...and I LOVE post-apocalyptic stories. So, I started the series a couple of days ago.

Wow! When I finished "Return to Isis" I could say nothing but "wow!" It's so rare that a book catches me by surprise. It's difficult to explain without giving away spoilers, but I never saw that coming. Up to a sentence before I got "the name," I kept yelling inside my head "who is it? who's doing this?" Once I got "the name," almost at the end of the story, it all made perfect sense. All the clues were there, but I had missed them.

My partner and I discussed this after I finished the first book. Of all the many books I've read in the past few years, this is only the second or third time someone fooled me. I've been reading so long that generally halfway through a book I've figured out the entire storyline and all or almost all of the secrets. In many books, I've figured it out after the first couple of chapters.

Many kudos to Jean. My hat is off to anyone who can provide me with the clues and yet keep the story mysterious enough that I am surprised.

What a delightful novel. I found this book to be both entertaining and thought provoking. In Return To Isis Jean Stewart has given the reader a stirring tale of love found in a world where women have carved out a splendid society for themselves. Called Freeland it is a land of modern amazons. They live, they love, they work together to create the kind of civilization that we can only dream about here in the real world. It is a society built on love and freedom. It is idyllic. And yet it does have its problems for right next door to Freeland can be found Elysium, a land still ruled by men. Elysium is the hell to Freelands heaven. Return To Isis tells the story of one womans escape from Elysium and her struggle to find a home in Freeland where she is thought to be a spy at best and at worst a traitor. Unaccustomed to the freedom of her new home Amelia must look deep into her self and her soul, she must dig through long buried memories, she must find allies and defeat enemies, and she must come to grips with the truth of who she really is on her quest to find peace. Guiding her on this quest is the hardened warrior woman Whit whose own troubled soul paradoxically gives Amelia just the foundation she needs to succeed in this new land she has come to. Toss in to the mix a jilted ex-lover, a wise and motherly matriarch, and a plotting and suspicious captain and Return To Isis becomes a fully rounded and well thought out novel of a future that very well may be better than any we can realistically hope for. I for one would love to live in such a world.

The writing is bad, the plot is old, and the whole idea of a little utopian community in the post-Apocalyptic US has been done so many times, it has to at least have an interesting twist to hold my attention.

I could have ignored all that if I cared about the characters at all. But each of them was a walking stereotype, from the wise older woman to the warrior to the innocent outsider. The only character who showed even the slightest spark of life was the healer who kept hitting on every woman who walked by.

The secrets from the past that kept coming up weren't at all believable for the characters. I was reminded of the end to Scooby-Doo cartoons, or Hardy Boys books. ("Ha ha, I was the traitor all along! And you never suspected anything! Now let me tell you all about my plan while I lower you into a vat of acid!")

I like mindless entertainment as much as the next person, but it has to actually be entertaining, and this isn't.

The best I could say for this book (and the others in the series) is that I can get a good chuckle out of the deplorable writing. I am really quite amazed that these were published at all, as the writing is reminiscent of poor fan fiction sites, but in the interests of nothing more than lesbian solidarity and a good laugh, you should buy them.