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| Cover by Eric Peterson |
| ISLE OF WOMAN Piers Anthony New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1993 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-812-53366-8 | ||||
| ISBN 0-812-53366-6 | 470p. | SC | $6.99 | |
In East Africa, at a place now called Laetoli, three pairs of feet set their imprints in the soft ash of a recent volcanic eruption. The time was a bit over three and a half million years ago. The ash hardened, preserving the footprints; but over time all but seventy-five feet of their path wore away and was lost. Those footprints head north. Today we call their makers Australopithecus afarensis — southern apeman of the Afar Triangle. They may have looked like apes, but they walked like men, and we know they were a male, female, and child: probably a family group. We can only guess at the purpose of their journey, but we know their greater, if unconscious, quest: to survive, to learn, to prosper and propagate themselves. To become human. To become us.
So begins Piers Anthony's remarkable saga of the ascent of man. Its structure and tone immediately reveal it to be another of his novels of enlightenment, in the tradition of Macroscope. He tells the story in episodes that illustrate a specific development, each at its proper site and time. For example, "Kingdom" is set in Lagash at 4250 B.P. (before present) and tells of the conquest of that city by Lugalzaggisi, king of the nearby city of Umma.1 Each episode has a prologue and an epilogue, describing the development and placing it in the larger historical context. Much of that context is dimly understood, a lack Piers Anthony acknowledges.
Evidence from assorted disciplines suggests that mankind diverged from the pygmy chimpanzee about five million years ago. These two species have a number of things in common, such as their association in groups, bands or tribes, their high intelligence compared to most other species, and their extreme sexuality. Both differ from other creatures in having females who come into heat only partially if at all, and whose time of fertility is concealed, making them constantly available for sexual activity. But the special rigors of the ground brought many changes leading eventually to our present condition. this book will sample that history, touching on aspects throughout the timeline. – Page 2 |
His intent is to convey the flavor of human life and thought during those pivotal periods, and to establish a sense of emotional continuity across time. He accomplishes the latter goal by portraying families, and by making the members of those families archetypical survivors with certain immutable characteristics that they somehow recognize in each other. (Green eyes are the symbol of this.) They have common names designating their principal activities: Blaze, the maker and tender of fire; Stone, the maker of knives and spearpoints; Seed, the maker of whoopee. Of course, as the tale enters historical times, character names become conventional; but there are enough hints to show the continuity. And certain men and women carry persistent dreams of a perfect mate, whom they may or may not meet, but always are fated to miss.
The author relates the Chinese legend of the Fox Woman. In the venerable Han Dynasty legend, a fox assumed the shape of a woman and ruled men by means of her insatiable desire, leaving them sexually exhausted and prone to do her bidding. There was a Han Dynasty woman who inspired the legend: Wei Tzu Fu, a servant of the emperor (the Son of Heaven). This meant she attended a concubine of the emperor: she was housemaid, not mistress. But it was said that when he beheld the shape of her body, he was instantly smitten — implying, by indirect language, that he forgot his intended concubine, for whom he had undressed.
Such legends are universal. From a mature perspective, they must be regarded as projection.2 Instant readiness for sex, rare in women, is a normal condition of human males in their prime. Any woman who happens to inspire lust strongly enough to overcome the male's (assumed) reluctance will get the blame for the outcome.
Women who exploit this male characteristic do exist, of course; but their motives vary. The novel shows us one, and also shows us that being seduced by a woman, even if it outrages local custom or if the breaking of vows results, is not always a bad thing. Not every seductress is a femme fatale out to conquer males. I believe Anthony shows us this to underscore how humans (and pygmy chimps) differ in sexual makeup from their anthropoid cousins: ape females are only receptive during estrus (called being "in heat"); but human females are always biologically receptive.
Fair warning: though this is an extended story, a number of its assumptions are controversial, and in some cases more recent discoveries may disprove those assumptions. The object is not just entertainment: this is also a "message" novel, and the message is not pleasant. – Page 2 |
Always, that is, until the very last episode. I suspect that the author puts them together as a spoonful of symbolic sugar to ease the metaphorical medicine of his message down the reader's throat. About that message, he does not exaggerate; it is profoundly unpleasant. But this novel is enjoyable enlightenment, making me look forward with considerable anticipation for the other volumes of the projected series he calls GEODYSSEY, which he describes in an Afterword. I hope they get written.
Four more of them did get written. All are available from Tor Books.
| 1. Isle of Woman | Sep. 1994 | 0812533666 | 978-0-812-53366-8 | Tor |
| 2. Shame of Man | Dec. 1995 | 0812550919 | 978-0-812-55091-7 | Tor |
| 3. Hope of Earth | Mar. 1998 | 0812571118 | 978-0-812-57111-0 | Tor |
| 4. Muse of Art | Apr. 2001 | 0812574710 | 978-0-812-57471-5 | Tor |
| 5. Climate of Change | May 2010 | 0765323532 | 978-0-76532353-8 | Tor |
To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.