Return to Isis

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read that Deserves a Wide Audience
Review: Jean Stewart has set her novel in a future where a virulent virus has decimated America's population, and, as a consequence, divided the country into three distinct zones - one is a wilderness where no one can live, another is Elysia and is run by white right-wing Christian men bent on cleansing the race and who use women as breeding stock, and the third is Freeland ruled by women. This is the story of Whit, a Freeland warrior, and Amelia, a Farmer from Elysia. Together they unlock Amelia's past and solve the mystery of who betrayed Freeland ten years earlier. This is a well-written combination of science fiction and lesbian romance. The characters are well drawn, the societies are clearly defined without bogging the reader down in detail, and the writer has down all this in 173 pages. This is definitely not your formulaic output of either genre. It deserves a wide audience because it talks about a future that is possible as well as tells a story along the way.

Rating:
Summary: Must read if you like the combos of amazons and sci-fi
Review: Jean Stewart wrote a three book series staged in a post nuclear war, all female society separated (by choice) from men. A great blend of science fiction, romance and strong female characters that will entice you to read all three books in one sitting. It is a simple, quick read that goes well with a hot bath and chocolate.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for the laughs.
Review: The best I could say for this book (and the others in the series) is that I can get a good chuckle out of the deplorable writing. I am really quite amazed that these were published at all, as the writing is reminiscent of poor fan fiction sites, but in the interests of nothing more than lesbian solidarity and a good laugh, you should buy them.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing special.
Review: The writing is bad, the plot is old, and the whole idea of a little utopian community in the post-Apocalyptic US has been done so many times, it has to at least have an interesting twist to hold my attention.

I could have ignored all that if I cared about the characters at all. But each of them was a walking stereotype, from the wise older woman to the warrior to the innocent outsider. The only character who showed even the slightest spark of life was the healer who kept hitting on every woman who walked by.

The secrets from the past that kept coming up weren't at all believable for the characters. I was reminded of the end to Scooby-Doo cartoons, or Hardy Boys books. ("Ha ha, I was the traitor all along! And you never suspected anything! Now let me tell you all about my plan while I lower you into a vat of acid!")

I like mindless entertainment as much as the next person, but it has to actually be entertaining, and this isn't.

Rating:
Summary: Amazon Sci-Fi
Review: What a delightful novel. I found this book to be both entertaining and thought provoking. In 'Return To Isis' Jean Stewart has given the reader a stirring tale of love found in a world where women have carved out a splendid society for themselves. Called Freeland it is a land of modern amazons. They live, they love, they work together to create the kind of civilization that we can only dream about here in the real world. It is a society built on love and freedom. It is idyllic. And yet it does have its problems for right next door to Freeland can be found Elysium, a land still ruled by men. Elysium is the hell to Freeland's heaven. 'Return To Isis' tells the story of one woman's escape from Elysium and her struggle to find a home in Freeland where she is thought to be a spy at best and at worst a traitor. Unaccustomed to the freedom of her new home Amelia must look deep into her self and her soul, she must dig through long buried memories, she must find allies and defeat enemies, and she must come to grips with the truth of who she really is on her quest to find peace. Guiding her on this quest is the hardened warrior woman Whit whose own troubled soul paradoxically gives Amelia just the foundation she needs to succeed in this new land she has come to. Toss in to the mix a jilted ex-lover, a wise and motherly matriarch, and a plotting and suspicious captain and 'Return To Isis' becomes a fully rounded and well thought out novel of a future that very well may be better than any we can realistically hope for. I for one would love to live in such a world.

Rating:
Summary: Amazon Sci-Fi
Review: What a delightful novel. I found this book to be both entertaining and thought provoking. In �Return To Isis� Jean Stewart has given the reader a stirring tale of love found in a world where women have carved out a splendid society for themselves. Called Freeland it is a land of modern amazons. They live, they love, they work together to create the kind of civilization that we can only dream about here in the real world. It is a society built on love and freedom. It is idyllic. And yet it does have its problems for right next door to Freeland can be found Elysium, a land still ruled by men. Elysium is the hell to Freeland�s heaven. �Return To Isis� tells the story of one woman�s escape from Elysium and her struggle to find a home in Freeland where she is thought to be a spy at best and at worst a traitor. Unaccustomed to the freedom of her new home Amelia must look deep into her self and her soul, she must dig through long buried memories, she must find allies and defeat enemies, and she must come to grips with the truth of who she really is on her quest to find peace. Guiding her on this quest is the hardened warrior woman Whit whose own troubled soul paradoxically gives Amelia just the foundation she needs to succeed in this new land she has come to. Toss in to the mix a jilted ex-lover, a wise and motherly matriarch, and a plotting and suspicious captain and �Return To Isis� becomes a fully rounded and well thought out novel of a future that very well may be better than any we can realistically hope for. I for one would love to live in such a world.