Customer Reviews

Ritual of Proof

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

Welcome the typical romance world, only it's a mirror image. Women are in charge, men are virginal, and it's a futuristic regency place.

So original, great as a satire, steamy, erotic, interesting. I found myself in love with Jorlan and Green who are really well rounded.

It was interesting to read of a world where women are in charge and end up subjegating men just as men did us. Fascinating, but probably realistic. We would be just as petty as men.

A few things at the end don't make sense, but the entire novel is beautifully written. The scenery and imagination is lush, the characters fascinating, and the plot slow but you don't really notice.

Jorlan is about to be sold to Claudine, the mortal enemy of Green, the woman Jorlan secretly lusts after. To save him Green puts aside her kept pleasurer (um, Mister?) and marries him, introducing him to the world of sensual arts and land management.

Jorlan has surprises. He's a skilled intuitive lover because he's a sensitive- he's tied to the planet and has an affinity with all living things. He's aslo a deadly martial arts master posessing knowledge denied men on the planet.

Caludine tries to posion Green's people and destroy her, but only with Jorlan's help can Green win.

This introduced me to Dara Joy and most of her books have been worthy reads. This was the first I read and I'm still convinced the best.

I was sad to visit her site and see River (Green's pleasurer) was going to be the hero in the next novel. I guess we're going back to the viriginal woman, experienced man type romance.

Bummer.

This book is just amazing! I was initially sorry that this wasn't Traed's story in her other series,BUT, then I read it. It takes place on another planet (seem to be earth decendents tho) in a time not unlike Regency England. However the Women are in charge and it's the men who are sold off into marriage and must be virgins. The story is wonderful. The world it is set in amazingly complex and complete. The charachters are fun and new. Actually the whole book has you looking at so very much in a new way. I highly recommend it for its uniqueness, fun, style, but for those who have never read any Dara Joy before it is erotic as are her others but in a lovely way that is actually a part of the plot/story and not just plunked here and there just because it will help sell the book. Enjoy- a guilty pleasure

_Ritual of Proof_ intrigued me, based on the cover blurb and a brief thumbing-through in the store. "Ah," I thought, "here is a good concept; it's bound to be a good book."

The concept is this: women travelers from Earth settled, centuries ago, on the moon of Forus, where they set up a society where women ruled, and then used genetic engineering to create men for pleasure and reproduction. Set in this world, long after its founding, is the love story of Green Tamryn, a titled lady, and her chosen name-bearer (husband, except that in this world the man takes the woman's name), Jorlan. Jorlan is a rebel, convinced that males should be allowed an equal place in society. He marries Green, both because he has no real choice and because he secretly desires her. Yet he remains committed to changing the world. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Unfortunately, _Ritual of Proof_ falls down on two levels, and given its flaws I found it impossible to finish. First, the society the author sets up doesn't make much sense. Dara Joy seems to have set up a society that was the exact mirror image of Regency society, rather than pondering what a woman-ruled world really would be like. I'm not referring to any maudlin notions that women are the gentler sex, and wouldn't be so oppressive. I'm talking pragmatic stuff here. There is a reason why patriarchal culture became so obsessed with the chastity of brides. It wasn't because they consciously decided "Hey, let's oppress some women." It was because they wanted to make sure their heirs were really their children, that they weren't passing on their names and their fortunes to someone else's kids. When a child is born, it's pretty obvious who its mother is. Its father, in the days before genetic testing, would be less clear. Thus, women were expected to be virgins at their marriage and faithful ever after. But in Joy's world, males have been genetically engineered to grow a hymen over their genitalia, and must display it before witnesses to prove their virginity at the time of marriage. This is said to ensure the purity of the man's wife's bloodline. Huh? First of all, this society is more concerned with the maternity of a child than the paternity. The man just provides the sperm. Any child born of a certain woman's body is hers, by common sense. And if they're so concerned about paternity, they can do paternity testing. This is a world where everything is based on genetic engineering! Is it plausible that they don't know how to do a paternity test? The foundation of the plot, the "Ritual of Proof" of virginity, is utterly pointless. Joy was clearly more interested in turning sexism upside down than in designing a world that made sense.

Second, the prose is awkward. When the writing is a pain to read, it becomes hard to care about the characters. They can never seem more than words on a page, when the style is as messy as this. Ever heard of "As you already know" dialogue? That's where the characters sit around talking about stuff they all know already, just because the author can't think of any other way to impart that info to the reader. Heard of info-dumping? In historical fiction, it's what happens when the author decided to show off her research by launching into dry historical detail at the expense of plot; in this case, the author is launching into dry made-up detail about her invented world. The world of Forus is bigger than this book; if she wants to tell us all about it, she should have written more than one book about it rathet than trying to cram the history of a planet into a romance novel. And, of course, we have the tried-and-true telling-not-showing. Joy wants us to think of Green as a strong and intelligent woman. How does she indicate this? By saying that Green is a strong and intelligent woman. Ditto for the descriptions of Jorlan as rebellious, willful, and psychically gifted. Instead of showing us the characters through the story, we're just told what they're like and that's that.

Like I said, I couldn't finish this. The sex is pretty steamy; it might be worth reading for that. Don't approach it looking for insightful world-building, or much in the way of feminism.

I am a giant Dara Joy fan. I bought her first book shortly after it was published and was totally captivated. I wait eagerly for each new publication. All I need is to see her name on the cover and I know I will love what's inside. So, I ordered Ritual of Proof long before it was even published and waited impatiently for it. I was hoping this book was Traed's story, so at first I was a tad disappointed. Then I started reading and couldn't stop.

Green is a strong woman in a female dominated society, but her strength is such that she can bend without breaking. I really liked this character because of that fact. She showed the best of what I feel are true female characteristics; strength of will, unwavering loyalty, and the ability to handle every crisis that comes her way. She puts on a show of following society's dictates in the treatment of her name-bearer, but she secretly prizes his strong spirit that urges him to break with the strict rules of how he is supposed to behave. Jorlan is the perfect mate for Green, innocent of the ways of the world, but eager to learn and determined to become more than just a pretty plaything. He wants to be a full partner to his name-giver instead of just the good little "wife" who raises the children and attends parties and other frivolous pursuits that society deems "proper" behavior for males. As the females in Regency and Historical novels, Jorlan comes to his fastening bed a virgin, but quickly learns to explore and revel in his sensuality. An utterly perfect rendition of role reversal in my opinion.

Dara Joy has done it once again. She has to be the most creative writer I have ever read. She has created a world and society that is completely unique with characters that are utterly out of the norm. A story where gender roles are completely reversed? I don't know of any other writer who could do it so creatively and without making it seem the idea is too outrageous to be believable. She does not write the same old tired stories over and over again. Read several books by some of the other popular writers one right after the other sometime and you will see that they seem to only change the names of the characters as they write the same plot over again and again. Dara Joy leads you into her fascinating new world and society slowly until you are so enthralled you can't seem to get enough. Her worlds are like deep and unknown waters. You don't just dive in headfirst. You wade in slowly, testing the waters and getting the feel for the terrain.

I have read the other reviews with complaints of unfinished plots and unanswered questions. If you have read all of Dara Joy's books, you will notice that is a pattern with her. Instead of overwhelming (and possibly boring) you with page after page of tedious explanations, she intrigues you with hints and innuendo and keeps you reading and using your imagination to fill in the details. This is one of the reasons I prize my collection of Dara Joy books so much. Each book is capable of standing on its own, but they also intertwine perfectly together, deepening the characters and society with each new book. Just look at the Matrix of Destiny series everyone is praising so highly. In Knight of a Trillion Stars, I was left asking so many questions about the relationships between the lead characters, the secondary characters, and how they fit into the plot, and the customs of the unique worlds. These questions are gradually being answered, book by book. I'm hoping it will be the same with Ritual of Proof. I see hints of many characters to be developed and deepened (River needs a story to explain the depth of his character that was hinted at, and maybe even one about Claudine's daughter to help us understand the rivalry between Green and the She-Lord, or how about a prequel about Jorlan's parents to explain how and why he is a sensitive). I can't wait for the sequel(s)!

From the reviews, you can tell this is a book you either love or hate - for many reasons. I usually read Historical or Regency novels so this fantasy was outside my normal realm of experience. I loved the storyline - it was so different and intriguing. Even if you appreciate Alpha males, this was not a let down. Jorlan Reynard had enough spirit that sometimes he took the lead, even against [his] society's conventions. And Green was a wonderfully honorable woman. Both main characters had many superb qualities that I enjoyed discovering. The love scenes were sensual.

In an effort not to spoil the story for you, I will just say Dara Joy paints an amazing portrait of a different world and different way of life. It was topsy-turvy from the way life is today, but did not portray the women as "Amazon" which is the way many fantasy novels portray matriarchal societies.

The "special language" was not hard to follow but it was annoying in some instances. Sometimes I lost the trail of the story with all the nature/meaning of life references but all in all this was a wonderful journey of love. I enjoyed taking the journey and highly recommend it.

Quite possibly Dara Joy's most imaginative work to date, Ritual of Proof reverses the social role of men and women in the planet Forus. In the surreal realm of the book, it describes how Marquelle Tamryn Green as the formidable She-Lord meets her fated soul-mate Jorlan Reynard who is against the convention of the submission of males. When Anya Reynard is threatened by Claudine, a powerful and possessive She-Lord who is jealous of Green to submit Jorlan over to her, Green has no choice but to marry Jorlan to save him from her clutches. Yet Jorlan has no wish to be bonded but when their passion rises with the differences in their social role, they are forced to compromise or let the evil plots of Claudine ruin their tenuous relationhip.

Dara Joy has outdone herself with the complexity of the novel to examine social status and gender roles. The drama unfurls imaginatively with strange elements; of meteor blades, of Septibunal which is the governing council, of aristocracy, of pleasurer and of the planet Forus. It is a fascinating platform to dissect our human civilization - and as an erotic novel, the passion between Jorlan and Green sizzles with their unorthodox coupling. Ritual of Proof no doubt engages with Jorlan's triumph to do away with social convention - and his search for freedom and equality.

Ritual of Proof is part fantasy and part romance which is exceptionally well crafted by Joy - and with this book she has proven herself a talent who shows uncompromising dimensions.

In all of my 37 years of reading romance, I have never read anything like this. I applaud Dara Joy for writing it. It's about time we had a story like this. I have read the reviews on here it and it seems that there are people like me who are raving about this book and others who didn't seem to want to give it a chance. I think that is a real shame. Some people reviewed it solely on the basis that it was not a Matrix book! Unbelievable. Never mind the brilliant work she did here or the incredible creativity involved. One person claimed she had to keep checking the glossary just because it was there and it interrupted her reading! Give me a break. The words were fun and snappy. They really added to the texture of the world. Believe me, they didn't need looking up unless you wanted to as they were so easy to understand. When someone calls a person a "dim bit", c'mon, like you can't figure that out? From what I've read on other boards, most of us want something, anything different. This was a fantastic book with wonderful characters and a do not put down til your finished storyline. I would give it six stars if I could. Even if you don't like it as much as I did, it's worth the price just to see how she did it.

DARA JOY, You owe me one sleepless night. I stayed up late reading Ritual of Proof cause once i started reading, i couldn't put it down. I admit i was a bit apprehensive about reading a book where the men are submissive and the women are the aggressive ones but Dara Joy has created another world where the characters come alive and a world you'll want to read about again and again (hint-sequel?). Green Tamryn is the perfect heroine, strong and passionate. Jorlan is everything but submissive. When Green found out that the evil Claudine wanted to fasten Jorlan to her, she knew she had to save him from her. Green and Jorlan ended up with each other and started to have a passionate relationship. But Claudine won't rest until she has Jorlan for herself specially after she found out about Jorlan's secret. I think i better stop here before i divulge too much of the plot. ROP is highly recommended. I guarantee you won't be dissapointed. The love scenes are very sensual and erotic. And who can forget the ending? It will blow you away, who would have guessed that our fearless heroine Green is actually the ..................(sorry, you just have to find out for yourself)!

I finished this book today, 6/7/01. I was dissapointed to say the least. It is a different spin on the male/female relationship. The females have all the power and money and lands, and the men take their names and sire their children and then raise the children and pleasure their masters when it pleases the master. Not a bad idea, however with all the "words" she made up, that you are constantly referring the the dictionary in the back of the book to make sense of certain phrases, enough already. It has shades of Knight of a Trillion Stars in it. I could not wait for this book, but after reading it I could have waited forever and not missed much. I have learned some creative new "swear" words that nobody will be aware that I'm cussing them out. That is why I gave this book a 2 star rating instead of a 1 star rating. P.S. The art on the front of the book does not tie into the story!

I really enjoyed this book. I was surprised and pleased by the setting of the story. I hadn't read anything by Dara Joy before, though I'd picked up a couple of her books and scanned them before, because they seemed to have a rather chauvanistic theme. It looks like Dara heard a lot of those comments and wrote this book as her response :)

Jorlan is quite the rebel ;) - and he and Green are likely to change their society. Green is a fascinating character - a product of her society but certainly a great deal open minded than most. The end will leave you wanting more, that's for sure... Dara really needs to write another story with Green and Jorlan playing major parts.