House of Moons 1<br> The Seeding

Hana is the sister of the current Queen of the House of Moons, and as such, she is required to participate in a Seeding with the House of Lore. Theirs is a matriarchal society. In fact, men are not allowed anywhere near their lands, and are only captured in order to breed. In this Seeding, several women will take the seed of the captured Cross-Worlder man – Kiel – after which he will be killed. Most in their society would see nothing wrong with this, but Hana is well read in the forbidden books, and knows that it is wrong to treat anyone, even a man, in this fashion. Hana makes up her mind to assist this man in escaping ... but will she succeed, or be captured in the attempt and executed?

The Seeding is what I think of as “woman on top” adventure science fiction. I’ve always found it interesting that when science fiction writers envision a matriarchal or female-dominated society, that society is exactly the reverse of a male-dominated society. The females cruelly dominate the males with beatings and drugs, and the men are treated like animals. There seem to be no shades of gray between the two extremes. It is as if the author is saying that men and women are so far apart in all ways that they can never be reconciled to living in harmony with each other.

This story is definitely written in this black-and-white style -- with the women cast as the villains and the men as the good guys – a style also used by fables and allegories with a moral. The two protagonists, Hana and Kiel, reverse that viewpoint – Hana appears to be the “good guy” and Kiel seems to be the “bad guy.” This is a fascinating juxtaposition, and makes these two characters interestingly multi-dimensional. Essentially, in this story Hana and Kiel are the actors against the background of their separate cultures, and demonstrate that individuals can overcome cultural influences on their behavior.

Enough of all that theory! Let’s get down to the details. – Don’t let my philosophizing scare you – you will enjoy the light writing style and adventurous plot in this book. The story moves along at a fast and even pace, which makes for a good read. I quite enjoyed it. There is a lot of sex in this short story. Some of it is fairly rough sex, including bondage in some scenes. The initial scene of sexual torture will make some people uncomfortable. However, this rocky beginning is the catalyst for a deeper emotional connection between the two protagonists, and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. This is the beginning of a series, so we will be able to see whether the global story of reforming a society gone wrong ends with its redemption or its destruction.

Reviewed by: Jean