Wraeththu

Rating:
Summary: Frustrating
Review: It took me a while to figure out why I disliked this book. The most obvious reason I could find is that I hated the idea of a race like the Wraeththu displace mankind. It seemed like even though the characters were hermaphroditic, they were portrayed more like men than anything. The homosexual themes threw me off, but I adapted. The lack of major female players was a constant source of irritation. Also annoying was how the various tribes were presented in an index, but we never got to see them in action.
Then it hit me how frustrating the plot was. The author would build up a conflict, and then let it slip away. For instance, a major villain was defeated in the second book through sex, essentially. The few scenes that do contain conflict tend to be confusing.
I realize that most of the conflict took place within the characters, but this just lended a wishy-washy, whiny quality to them. I couldn't identify with their angst.
To top it all off, there were the New Age tones to it - mankind was scourged for its disrespect to females, sex and crystal magic that almost made me want to vomit, the aformentioned lack of overt conflict, and the sudden superiority of the female side of the universe.
I gave the book three stars because in the end, the writing had a nice dreamlike quality and there were a few intriguing ideas. However, the inspiration was never followed up on.