Grass (S.F. MASTERWORKS Book 45)

"Grass" is kind of the anti-"Dune". Like Herbert’s epic, it features an exotic, distant titular planet with an ecology that makes human life a massive struggle, but which has something the rest of the galaxy desperately needs, and a cast involving arrogant but essentially useless aristocrats, devious religious cults and a strong matriarchal figure at the heart of the narrative. Unlike "Dune", though, it’s elegantly written, avoids melodrama and features, for SF, an unusually well-characterised cast – and a very wide cast, at that. Also, whilst "Dune"’s subtext is all over the place, "Grass" has a much more focused moral and ethical compass which, in its avoidance of quasi-fascistic Messianic figures and its focus on active, individual responsibility in the face of the ethically unacceptable, is very, very far from Herbert’s muddled agenda.All of which might make this sound like Really Heavy Going, but as a “Time Out” review noted, Tepper avoids polemic and her highly serious agenda is implicit. So if you just want to read “Grass” as a gripping and pacy adventure yarn, you can do so very easily, and you’ll have a great time. And as SF adventure yarns go, it’s one of the very best, being exciting, digestible and a real page-turner. It avoids the silliness to which adventure SF is prone, and it’s also hugely inventive. The complex ecology of the planet Grass is unique in my 40+ years of reading SF, and the very gradual pace at which its mysteries are revealed is utterly compelling. The monstrous Hippae creatures (imagine scary horses created by H.R. Giger and you might be onto something) are among the most genuinely frightening alien life-forms you’ll ever encounter in SF. A one-star review elsewhere on Amazon calls the plot predictable. I can only assume that reviewer didn’t actually read it, or if they did read it, they completely failed to understand it, because this is one of the most inventive SF adventure stories you’ll ever encounter, and one in which multiple plot threads weave together with great elegance and a logic that is at once totally surprising and completely inevitable.And of course there’s our protagonist, Marjorie Westriding, whose shift from a strong but relatively passive Lady Bountiful to a purposeful, active and engaged protagonist both drives the plot and is the ethical heart of the book. You can’t see the join between these two elements.It’s very rare for “serious” SF and adventure SF (modest spoiler alert: there’s even a happy ending) to sit so well together, and rarer still for an SF novel to succeed on either count - let alone both - to the extent “Grass” does. This is science fiction of the highest order.

Synopsis:Humankind has spread out across the galaxy and is largely under the control of a religious organisation called Sanctity (a version of Christianity). However a plague is killing them off except on one planet: Grass.The story follows Marjorie and her family sent to Grass to try and determine why they have no plague. The inhabitants are divided between the 'commoners' and the Dons. The latter are reminiscent of English nobility and regularly go hunting using (or being used by) local species as mounts and hounds.Pros:I first read this book when I was around 12 and then again several times as a teenager and it always stayed with me. Going back and reading it again now I wasn't disappointed. The story carries you along and just when you think the secrets have been revealed, you realise you are only half way and there is more to come. You can see the development here of many themes which go on to become common in Sheri. S. Tepper's work.Cons:It would have been interesting to know more about the background to the universe she has created, then again not knowing that possibly adds to the whole effect.Other:If you enjoyed this then I would suggest reading Sideshow and Raising the Stones by the same author which relate to Grass.

My advice to you would be to stop reading these reviews and instead read this book.It’s very much unlike anything else. It’s very much like a waking dream.

I chose this book after reading the sample pages for Kindle, which I found intriguing. The setting is a collision of colonial space empire and turn of the century aristocracy, which certainly made for an interesting mix. In terms of plot, several themes are brought together which include viral pandemic, theocratic oppression, and an ecological mystery.Tepper very capably fleshes out the principal characters, but one weakness I found was that far too many of the secondary characters seem hurriedly thrown-together, even one-dimensional and desperately shallow. I have to admit though that this didn't detract terribly from the story, which although in some respects was quite predictable, in others kept me guessing right up until the end.Overall this was a worthwhile read. While in my experience it didn't explore any new territory, it was entertaining and sufficiently compelling to hold my attention.

The initial couple of chapters build slowly, but once you're firmly on Grass it explodes into mystery after mystery... If i had to compare this to other science fiction it would be a mixture of, 'Hothouse', by Brian Aldiss and, 'The many coloured land', by Julien May. It is similar in the colourful, imaginative characters and races of those novels. The utterly​ mad and strange planet created by Sheri Tepper is a plunge into another world, without any inhibitions. What is fascinating is the presence of an abrahamic religion, absent in so many science fiction novels; it suppresses and controls the emotional dialogue of the protagonist. The inner battles fought by the heroin, Marjorie, tormented by her faith, her husband and even her daughter. What could make you support a character more than one who strives towards emancipation from this backward, self chastisement? This emotional wrangling accompanies a fast paced, rich and intriguing plot, with aspects of fantasy, science fiction, battle, coercion..I could go on.. I would thoroughly recommend :)