The Madronians conquered the R'tan and
now force them to live by Madronian customs. In the Madronian
culture, first born females are considered worthless garbage. The
only way a first born R'tan girl can survive is if her father
declares her male. Tiadone is a first born girl, declared male at
birth. She has been raised as a male and now must face the male
initiation: bonding with her Rapion, a large bird, and becoming a
boarder patroller.
Although successfully passing her
tests, Tiadone has female feelings that she struggles to hide
including sexual feeling for her best friend and partner, Ratho. The
only one who seems to understand her and accept her completely is her
Rapion, Mirko.
The book is a fascinating presentation
of gender identity issues. Set in an ancient culture, it raises
issues of how women find their identity and accept their unique
qualities in a male dominated culture.
I thought the author created a very
believable world quite different from the present day. It's
fascinating to read about the rites performed by this
primitive
people. My favorite was the twining that takes place between the
human and the Rapion.
Unfortunately, the book is rather slow.
Tiadone goes on patrol with Rathko and has adventures, but it has a
sameness that gets rather boring. The characters are interesting, but
didn't really draw me. While I like the book and found the topic
interesting, I had trouble staying interested. I recommend this book
if you enjoy reading about unusual worlds.
I reviewed this book for Book Look
Bloggers.
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