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knowledge of what happened to the original cultures and are desperate to reclaim them. Elli and Ethan manage to have the
Cetagandans seized by Kline Station security, just as they discover that a minor official at the station had, for petty personal reasons, "thrown out" the Bharaputran tissue cultures that contained Janine's genes and replaced them with the useless biological material. Elli attempts to recruit Terrence for the Dendarii; he refuses, but gives Elli a small genetic sample. Meanwhile, Ethan asks Elli for (and receives) one of her ovaries to create a new tissue culture. After her departure, the original Bharaputran shipment unexpectedly turns up intact and usable, not destroyed. Ethan buys a new set of ovarian cultures from Beta Colony anyway as a cover, uses their packaging to relabel the cultures with Janine's genes, and returns with them and Terrence to Athos.
349:. Called a "monastery" planet by Bujold, it had been settled some 200 years earlier as a sanctuary away from women, who had become mythologized as "demonic" due to the "madness" they cause in men. With the planetary religion and ideology supporting this single-sex structure, all incoming information is screened so that all references to — and images of — women are removed. Athos is remote, and physical contact with the rest of human civilization is limited to an annual interstellar census courier that brings information, supplies and the rare immigrant.
309:. The Population Council of Athos sends a reluctant Ethan to the planet Jackson's Whole, where the shipment originated, in search of a fresh batch of tissue cultures and (if possible) a refund from the supplier, House Bharaputra, one of the crime syndicates which rule Jackson's Whole. This already difficult assignment is made more so because it means dealing with women, whom Athosians are taught to view as demonic and terrifying.
333:. Terrance's female counterpart, Janine, had been killed in their escape, but he managed to preserve her body and transport it to Jackson's Whole, where he paid House Bharaputra to splice her genes into the ovarian cultures that were intended for Athos. Terrence had planned to also emigrate to Athos with the cultures, but had been delayed on his way to Kline Station, and is now horrified to learn that the cultures were stolen.
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from the evil, corrupting influence of women. Watching Ethan deal with the contrast between his indoctrinated beliefs and the reality of meeting actual women was fascinating, and I appreciated that Bujold left him not-quite-converted and still grappling with his prejudices at the end of the book, rather than taking the easier but less-realistic path of a complete epiphany.
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dialogue, which blends humor and "snarky wit" with "the action, the politics, and the emotional pathos that make up the rest of the story." Gerlach also praises Bujold's deftness at "introducing more serious topics in her fiction, without having the story become entirely about The Issues." She writes:
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The
Cetagandans had tracked Terrence to Jackson's Whole; arriving after his departure, they killed the Bharaputra researchers who had worked with him and destroyed their records. They then traced the tissue shipment to Kline Station, knowing Terrence would eventually come for it, though they have no
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In this case, the story on the surface is essentially a spy thriller, but there are deeper layers dealing with sexism, the rights of the individual vs. the society, and homophobia. The sexism angle is the most obvious; after all, Athos is a society founded for the express purpose of protecting men
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The population is sustained using uterine replicator technology, and by design only male offspring are conceived. Through military and community service, Athosians earn "Social Duty
Credits" towards reproduction. Regulations also allow for a "Designated Alternate Parent" who can earn Social Duty
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wrote, "Bujold's got an uncanny ability to create multidimensional, flawed, and loveable characters in a very short space. Even though Ethan is almost painfully naĂŻve throughout the book, it's hard not to sympathize with him and cheer for him right from the beginning." She also praises Bujold's
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The thing that makes this good is Ethan's unruffled innocence; the charming utopian Athos, where you have to earn social duty credits to be entitled to a son; the quiet acceptance of homosexuality as the norm on Athos (there is no actual onstage sex in the book); the ecologically obsessed Kline
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who are seeking a fugitive named
Terrence Cee, as well as their own lost tissue cultures. They refuse to believe that Ethan is not an opposing intelligence operative. Elli rescues Ethan from certain execution. They become reluctant allies; Elli explains that she has actually been hired by House
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Dr. Ethan
Urquhart, Chief of Biology at the Sevarin District Reproduction Centre on Athos, is upset to find that his long-awaited shipment of ovarian tissue cultures from off-planet consists of an unusable mixture of dead and animal tissues. An all-male planetary colony, Athos relies on uterine
264:, a standalone work that was purposely short "because the current cargo-cult rumor amongst the wanna-be-published back then was that editors would be more likely to read a short manuscript." All three novels were subsequently sold, and published in 1986.
218:. The title character is Dr. Ethan Urquhart, Chief of Biology at the Sevarin District Reproduction Centre on the planet Athos, who is sent to find out what happened to a shipment of vital ovarian tissue cultures. Set in the fictional universe of Bujold's
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Credits by coparenting a partner's sons. Homosexuality is generally the norm on Athos, and while partnerships are typically romantic and sexual, some are merely mutually beneficial arrangements based on finances and child-rearing.
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Ethan arrives at the interstellar hub of Kline
Station and immediately encounters his first woman, Commander Elli Quinn, a rather unorthodox intelligence officer with the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet (and a subordinate of
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Walton also writes that "I couldn't have imagined what a feminist notion a planet of men is, and how tied up with nurturing children Athos is, accounting for the costs in a way that doesn't dismiss it as 'women’s work.'"
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Bujold named Athos, a planet founded and maintained as an exclusively male-populated colony with a planetary religion and ideology supporting this single-sex structure, after the Greek
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386:"Bujold's third remarkable novel in a year" with "a compellingly attractive protagonist", going on to declare the novel "highly recommended for all SF collections." Noting that
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Bharaputra to track the
Cetagandans, and for her own reasons determine what their interest is in the tissue cultures and how it relates to a secret Cetagandan research project.
296:". The novel was released on audio cassette in September 1999 narrated by Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan, and as a digital audiobook in March 2009 narrated by Grover Gardner.
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replicator technology for reproduction, but the centuries-old cultures introduced by the original colonists have recently begun deteriorating into
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Terrence approaches Ethan with a request for asylum, revealing himself to be the last survivor of a
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still exists elsewhere in the universe and is sometimes casually directed at the population of Athos. Athos is named after the Greek
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Saying that "it would be hard to imagine a more unlikely hero for an SF adventure novel than a homosexual obstetrician,"
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In the novel, the planet Athos is an all-male colony with a self-sustaining economy that is virtually independent of
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noted that "the plot-driven story moves swiftly and will engage SF fans of all subgenres". Nicki
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Station; and the fast-paced plot that doesn’t give you time to think.
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monastery where no females, including female animals, are allowed.
565:"Luck is something you make for yourself: Lois McMaster Bujold's
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7:
260:— both unpublished — when she wrote
245:Bujold had written her first novel
1076:"The Assassins of Thasalon" (2021)
431:LGBT themes in speculative fiction
356:As much as Athosians are innately
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1073:"The Physicians of Vilnoc" (2020)
1187:LGBTQ speculative fiction novels
867:Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
1182:American science fiction novels
1067:"The Prisoner of Limnos" (2017)
532:Schwimmer, Walter (June 2012).
1192:Novels by Lois McMaster Bujold
1085:"Penric and the Bandit" (2024)
1070:"The Orphans of Raspay" (2019)
1052:"Penric and the Shaman" (2016)
635:"The SF Site Featured Review:
1:
563:Walton, Jo (April 10, 2009).
506:Walton, Jo (April 20, 2009).
859:Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
1177:1986 science fiction novels
1058:"Masquerade in Lodi" (2020)
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1064:"Mira's Last Dance" (2017)
1061:"Penric's Mission" (2016)
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286:Miles, Mystery and Mayhem
214:novel by American author
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1079:"Knot of Shadows" (2021)
755:The Warrior's Apprentice
257:The Warrior's Apprentice
183:The Warrior's Apprentice
18:Athos (fictional planet)
1082:"Demon Daughter" (2024)
1049:"Penric's Demon" (2015)
886:The Borders of Infinity
633:Gerlach, Nicki (2011).
58:Audio read by
1197:Novels with gay themes
1017:World of the Five Gods
928:The Flowers of Vashnoi
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276:Constantine Monomachos
1227:American LGBTQ novels
1055:"Penric's Fox" (2018)
914:Dreamweaver's Dilemma
670:title listing at the
1202:Single-gender worlds
1172:1986 American novels
1027:The Curse of Chalion
708:Lois McMaster Bujold
611:on September 8, 2014
394:wrote of the novel:
216:Lois McMaster Bujold
52:Lois McMaster Bujold
843:Diplomatic Immunity
233:Borders of Infinity
42:First edition cover
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372:Critical reception
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1105:Beguilement
366:Mount Athos
269:Mount Athos
236:(1989) and
1166:Categories
1000:Standalone
943:Characters
907:Weatherman
597:"Reviews:
469:Walton, Jo
447:References
362:homophobia
307:senescence
288:alongside
210:is a 1986
110:Baen Books
900:Labyrinth
811:Cetaganda
567:Cetaganda
392:Jo Walton
327:telepaths
319:Cetaganda
294:Labyrinth
290:Cetaganda
278:in 1046.
239:Cetaganda
139:Audiobook
106:Publisher
923:" (2004)
916:" (1995)
909:" (1990)
902:" (1989)
895:" (1989)
888:" (1987)
878:Novellas
851:Cryoburn
795:Barrayar
425:See also
379:Booklist
331:tyramine
251:and its
242:(1995).
172:14949527
78:Language
1129:Horizon
1121:Passage
983:Fantasy
643:SF Site
573:Tor.com
512:Tor.com
481:Tor.com
412:SF Site
382:called
81:English
1140:(2019)
1132:(2009)
1124:(2008)
1116:(2007)
1113:Legacy
1108:(2006)
1046:(2005)
1038:(2003)
1030:(2001)
1009:(1992)
931:(2018)
870:(2016)
862:(2012)
854:(2010)
846:(2002)
838:(1999)
830:(1998)
827:Komarr
822:(1996)
819:Memory
814:(1995)
806:(1994)
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782:(1989)
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739:Novels
253:sequel
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86:Series
48:Author
993:Works
732:Works
341:Athos
144:Pages
137:Print
96:Genre
650:2014
617:2014
580:2014
550:2014
519:2014
493:2014
166:OCLC
153:ISBN
147:237
1168::
641:.
625:^
603:.
588:^
571:.
536:.
510:.
479:.
454:^
360:,
919:"
912:"
905:"
898:"
891:"
884:"
700:e
693:t
686:v
652:.
639:"
619:.
601:"
582:.
569:"
552:.
521:.
495:.
477:"
20:)
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