The few ratings on Goodreads could have set a precedent for this to not be an enjoyable read and I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised! I found the concept gripping and a novel idea, and other reviewers are not too far off the mark when this is hailed as a reverse Handmaid's Tale. Is this Margaret Atwood level? No, it's not, but it holds its own.
Set in a dystopian future after a virus culls most of the male gender and a few world nuclear wars later, the reader finds themselves following the stories of Arthur Alden, gentleman, and Victoria Bain, pop star cum Minister in the new all female government. In this world, the Quickening is the Bible and women rule all. Men are relegated to being "gentlemen" (little more than spouses used for breeding), working on Infrastructure towns erasing all male built buildings, sent to die in wars abroad or forced to go through castration and become eunuchs to better serve the females in power.
Arthur is and has always been in love with Dana Mayer, the mastermind of this changed new world, and the Prime Minister. When he starts to wonder if there is a better life he walks a dangerous line, seeking the elusive "Strife".
There were positives and negatives about this. The concept is sound and refreshing, albeit extremist and a warped perception of what feminine power can do. The characters for the most part are completely unlikeable, and that's one of the drawbacks for me keeping this at an average 3/5 score.
Set in a dystopian future after a virus culls most of the male gender and a few world nuclear wars later, the reader finds themselves following the stories of Arthur Alden, gentleman, and Victoria Bain, pop star cum Minister in the new all female government. In this world, the Quickening is the Bible and women rule all. Men are relegated to being "gentlemen" (little more than spouses used for breeding), working on Infrastructure towns erasing all male built buildings, sent to die in wars abroad or forced to go through castration and become eunuchs to better serve the females in power.
Arthur is and has always been in love with Dana Mayer, the mastermind of this changed new world, and the Prime Minister. When he starts to wonder if there is a better life he walks a dangerous line, seeking the elusive "Strife".
There were positives and negatives about this. The concept is sound and refreshing, albeit extremist and a warped perception of what feminine power can do. The characters for the most part are completely unlikeable, and that's one of the drawbacks for me keeping this at an average 3/5 score.