A few weeks ago I read Sheri S. Tepper's newest novel, The Fresco. I don't think Tepper is the world's greatest science fiction novelist, but I like the ideas that she plays with in her novels. I don't necessarily think that those ideas are correct, feasible, or even desirable, but after all, that's what thought experiments are about.
The Fresco's big what if
question is the same as Arthur C. Clarke's in Childhood's End. What would it be like if aliens landed on earth, took over, and solved all our problems?
Tepper's scenario is full of deliciously poetic justice. An ugly plague
in Afghanistan transforms all the women into monsters (to all eyes but their own) until their freedoms are returned. Wealthy conservative male pro-lifers are used as hosts for the children of aliens who rationalize that these men have publicly expressed their views on the sanctity of life above all other concerns of career, health, etc. It's fabulous to imagine all my political enemies getting exactly what they deserve.
On the other hand, the plot is in some respect merely a string of poetic justices, unrelated except that most of them pertain to women's rights, without a strong guiding current of its own. But if Tepper's story is lacking, her characters are warm, believable, and real. I find it incredibly easy to identify with Benita, Tepper's heroine with two college-age children and an abusive husband. Benita could hardly be less like me, but I identify with her anyway.
So if you're like me (fed up with war-mongering, tax- and benefits-cutting, and disregard for human rights), this is the book for you. Women are the heroes and Republicans the villains; what could be more satisfying?
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