her characters are complex and rich and tough and tender, and she manages to build entire worlds (in this case, literally) in which very real people experience the full gamut and complexity of human emotions and dramas - those traditionally assigned to men and those traditionally assigned to women.Īs a sci-fi author, griffith is up there with the best.

Dalloway is women's fiction (or lesbian fiction!). this is not 'women's fiction' or 'lesbian fiction' any more than Mrs. I also admire that she writes books about people who happen to be women who happen to love other women. i admire the precision and focus of her work. where another author might spend words explaining, griffith gestures deftly with a word or a sentence, and you are all set and, occasionally, blown away. it's an absolutely phenomenal first novel - the writing is perfect, the pacing is perfect, the characters are perfect. Let me start with saying that this is griffith's first novel. the only book of hers that left me cold was the third aud torvingen novel, Always, and the reason it left me cold is maybe similar to the reason why i found that this book, Ammonite, lost some steam 3/4 of the way through (it got it back before the end!). Nicola griffith is one of the best writers out there and if you haven't read her books you should.

As readers share in Marghe’s journey through an alien world, they too embark on a parallel journey of fascinating self-exploration. As she risks death to uncover the women’s biological secret, she finds that she, too, is changing–and realizes that not only has she found a home on Jeep, but that she alone carries the seeds of its destruction.Īmmonite is an unforgettable novel that questions the very meanings of gender and humanity. In the face of this crisis, anthropologist Marghe Taishan arrives to test a new vaccine.

Terrified of spreading the virus, the company abandons its employees, leaving them afraid and isolated from the natives. Now, generations after the colony has lost touch with the rest of humanity, a company arrives to exploit Jeep–and its forces find themselves fighting for their lives. Centuries earlier, a deadly virus shattered the original colony, killing the men and forever altering the few surviving women. These are the only options available on the planet Jeep.

Ammonite griffith