Walk to the End of the World

After a nuclear holocaust humanity survives in isolated enclaves of feudalism, scratching a meagre existence among the ruins of their world. One such community, the Holdfast, has evolved a mythology which holds women responsible, for the cataclysm, and they are now treated as an inferior caste -"Fems"- dominated and degraded by men and valued only as breeding animals and slaves. Holdfast society is rigidly structured with the older men, the Seniors, having absolute authority over the younger juniors. When Eykar Bek flouts that authority by deserting his post two other men, Captain Kelmz and the renegade Servan d Layo, are sent out to find and capture him. Instead, all three elect to go in search of Bek's half-legendary father Maggomas. Now pursued by the forces of the Seniors, the trio fall in with Alldera, a female slave with a mission of her own -to find and enlist the aid of the Free Fems rumoured to exist beyond the Holdfast. Their travels take them the length and breadth of the Holdfast, reaching an unexpected and shocking conclusion in the distant town of 'Troi. Walk to the End of the World is both an engrossing adventure story and a penetrating (but never strident) examination of human gender relationships. The imaginative background detail and convincing character development recall the novels of Ursula K Le Guin - but Suzy McKee Charnas is a new, original and welcome addition to the ranks of sf novelists.


Genre: Science Fiction