Caroline's Reviews > Restoree

I read this mostly as a historical analysis of science-fiction as it was the first book published by Anne McCaffrey in 1967. (She has said that she wrote it in response to the misogynistic tropes of 1960s science-fiction where women were helpless addendums to the male-driven plot.) Reading it almost 50 years later), the actions of the female protagonist are still completely dictated by the alien men in the story. Yes, the protagonist is head-strong and capable (she can sail a ship and saves the life of one man".) However, the alien society is entirely male dominated and women are "claimed" by men with little female self-will being evident. Women are expected to bear children and men are ridiculed for being virgins (seems pretty close to a 1960s mentality.) So while the female protagonist has a personality, she still faints at various times and isn't free within this half feudal/half technological society. It was a disappointment - the dialogue was weak and unbelievable and the main plot lacked suspense or interest.

Anne McCaffrey was later able to fashion more nuanced and believable female characters in less ridiculously derivative settings in her later Pern novels.

I would skip this book unless you want to see how even when an author attempts to write a new novel with female achievement in a different society, she still cannot break free of the gender biases and prejudices of her own time.