This book is usually chosen by Tepper fans as their favorite of her works. I am still going to stick by Beauty being my favorite, but this one was definitely very good. Not only was the plot and characterization excellent, but it offered a number of theories and ideas, especially on the nature of God, that I thought were very intriguing. It did take me a while to get into the book, but I pushed through it and was glad that I did.

From the back cover:
Here is a novel as original as the breathtaking, unspoiled world for which it is named, a place where all appears to be in idyllic balance.

Generations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. Over time, they evolved a new and intricate society. But before humanity arrived another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It, too, had developed a culture....

Now a deadly plague is spreading across the stars. No world save Grass has been left untouched. Marjorie Westriding Yrarier has been sent from Earth to discover the secret of the planet's immunity. Amid the alien social structure and strange life-forms of Grass, Lady Westriding unravels the planet's mysteries to find a truth so shattering it could mean the end of life itself.

The bookray has finished. Thank you!

Participants:
1. mellion108 - Michigan
2. daidy - Michigan
3. janaqq - Texas
4. vicki9170 - Florida

jamieh2003 received a second copy of the book and will share it with Fire-Dragon.

Release planned for Monday, January 26, 2004 at Mailed to a fellow Bookcrosser in n/a, n/a Controlled Releases.

The book is starting on its journey.

I got this book yesterday, and I've already read 300 pages! :) To state the obvious: I'm enjoying it so far and will probably finish it in the next day or so. If all works out and Daidy and I both attend next week's Meetup, I'll pass it along to her then. If not, I'll mail it to her the next day.

Thanks so much for sharing, karendawn!

Loved it! I'd say that it took me about 150 pages to really warm up to the story. Until that point, I kept letting myself get bogged down on pronuncing characters' names, etc. I'm glad I kept going though because this turns out to be such a wonderful story.

I think that Marjorie Westriding Yrarier is one of the best heroines I've read in a long time. I really like the metaphor of moral evolution, and the story does a great job of revealing a parable of environmental balance, inter-species dependency, and personal growth. Ok, so I'm oversimplifying the story :) but it really is quite good, and this is another Tepper novel I can add to my list of favorites (I think Gate to Women's Country is my favorite so far though).

I wasn't able to put this book down after a while, and that is always a sign of a good read for me. Thanks again for sharing, karendawn. I'll be passing this on to daidy this week.

Thanks mellion108 and karendawn. This one is next up on the TBR list, after I finish the book I'm reading right now. I'm not reading the previous entries until after I finish it so that they don't influence what I think about the book.

I really enjoyed reading this one. The story can hit you pretty hard at times, thinking about the ideas offered. I found the concept of people as Very Small Beings intriguing, as well as the idea of God knowing who we are even if He doesn't call us by the name we call ourselves.

I will begin this book this week. I am looking forward to it. thanks

I just can't seem it get into this book! I will try it again at a later date if I can get it from the library. I will pass this onto the next one in line.

received today

RELEASE NOTES:

Didn't get a chance to read this so decided to release to our OBCZ.