Rating: 
Summary: Enthralling and inspiring
Review: As much as I love the fantasy genre, I am the first to admit that most works in this form are terribly written. It is a rare thing to discover a novel that combines the imaginative spirit of fantasy with a well-written and compelling narrative. Steerswoman's Road accomplishes just that. It took me a few chapters to get into the story of the steerswoman, but the fine writing kept me going and I am so glad. By the end of the second book, Outlander's Secret, I was on the edge of my seat and breathless with Kirstein's attention to detail. The world she has created and the characters she portrays are very moving. I was disappointed that the novel ends with a real cliff-hanger, but I guess I am better off than those poor folks who have been waiting for twenty years to read the conclusion. I hope Ms. Kirstein keeps writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Roman Clare - the exact opposite of "Noir"
Review: First, I'm not sure I've cited the version I'm reviewing - the one I read had the first two steerswoman books combined in one cover.
This was almost one of the rare books I couldn't finish. I nearly put it down in the first two chapters because I couldn't accept the suspension of disbelief. It would have been a pity, because I like the protagonist, I find the world interesting, if a bit transparent, I like the language and the cultures.
It is just her view of humanity I can't stomach. I like noir - books which focus on the fraility in the human psyche, books and novels which begin with the presumption that the protagonist is no more noble or deserving of admiration than we know we are. This book is a violation of everything in the roman noir. It is a roman clare. The author assumes that truth has a virtue which transcends all the virtue claimed by your local fundamentalist.
In one of the early scenes, the protagonist boards a ship and proceeds to tell the sailors how to coil rope. In any universe populated by humans I recognize this would earn her a very quick swimming lesson, if not a slit throat. But the author assumes that truth is such a virtue that it dominates ego, and that all the sailors recognize this. If I had had any other book or reading material as an alternative to this book, I would have never read another page. I can't suspend belief that far. And the author's presumption that this arrogant woman was a sympathetic or protagonist still makes me angry.
Fortunately, the protagonist is fairly quickly thrust into situations where her arrogance is innappropriate, and forced to rely on another. At that point the story gets more interesting. In the first book, I confess that the main protagonist still leaves me cold. The secondary protagonist is the far more interesting of the two. The tertiary, a boy named William who has some very mistaken ideas about wizardry, is interesting because of his erroneous conclusions.
Essentially what we have is are some interesting people in an interesting physical environment which is unfortunately inhabited by ego-less creatures unrecognizeable as human. Predictably the heroes triumph over opposition which is so slight as to be unwittingly humourous. The author has decided that the heroes will win, and therefore they will win. The antagonists, knowing that they are doomed to be defeated, mount only a cursory opposition.
The book reminds me of old tabletop roleplaying, or Mercedes Lackey.
I'm being more harsh than I should. There is much to love about this book, and I'll probably read the third in the series if I find it. I'd definitely give other books by the author a chance. But like most folks, when something is almost right, I'm harsher than when it is completely wrong.
I keep trying to rewrite this review to tell you more of what I liked about the book, or what I didn't like, to make it constructive criticism. Unfortunately I can't get past my visceral reaction.
Rating:
Summary: Ecellent Read
Review: I don't often come across a book that is this well-written, fast-paced, with real characters and a great setting. Kirstein is both creative and talented. This is a great series of novels all around, with nothing "genre" about it.
Rating:
Summary: Original, VERY well-written, highly recommended
Review: I love finding new authors and series, particularly when a long-anticipated sequel is on the printing press! The Steerswoman's Road is an excellent blend of fantasy and science fiction, dropping all sorts of clues for the reader to pick up alongside the characters. The characters are really well-drawn; they're interesting, believeable, and varied. Ditto for the cultures. One measure I use in evaluating fantasy books is: "would I want to live there?" And in this case, I would! I can't think of another book I've read recently that would compare to this one, although for some reason David Gemmell's 'Jersusalem Man' series (not the proper title) springs to mind -- possibly because of the bits and pieces of his fictional world that overlaps with our world, just as they do in Kirstein's book.
Rating:
Summary: Original, VERY well-written, highly recommended
Review: I love finding new authors and series, particularly when a long-anticipated sequel is on the printing press! The Steerswoman's Road is an excellent blend of fantasy and science fiction, dropping all sorts of clues for the reader to pick up alongside the characters. The characters are really well-drawn; they're interesting, believeable, and varied. Ditto for the cultures. One measure I use in evaluating fantasy books is: "would I want to live there?" And in this case, I would! I can't think of another book I've read recently that would compare to this one, although for some reason David Gemmell's 'Jersusalem Man' series (not the proper title) springs to mind -- possibly because of the bits and pieces of his fictional world that overlaps with our world, just as they do in Kirstein's book.
Rating:
Summary: Glad to see this back in print
Review: I read the second novel in this volume, The Outskirter's Secret, when it came out back in the early 90s. When The Steerswoman's Road came out, I finally got the chance to read the first book in this series. I knew what Rowan discovers at the end of the first book, which took some of the mystery out if The Steerswoman. Despite the fact that the second book makes reference to events in the first one, it turned out that what really happened was different than the way I had imagined it, so if, like me, you somehow missed the first book and caught the second the last time around, it is still worthwhile reading. Rosemary Kirstein is the kind of speculative fiction author that I like. She has the background of her world worked out, but doesn't need to include all the details in the story. There are some things that might feel contrived if Kirstein stopped to spend three paragraphs explaining them, but since she is willing to just present the world the way it is, I didn't have to look too closely at my willing suspension of disbelief. If there are a few pieces in the first book that seem a little out-of-place, keep going. Things are not quite what they seem. If you are a regular reader of speculative fiction, by the end of the first book, you should have a few more pieces to the puzzle than Rowan does, and things will make sense to you in a way that they do not to her. I read a lot of SF, and I have remembered The Outskirter's Secret all these years. I was very excited to see that there was finally a third volume - I had given up on it ever coming out, and this book clearly demands a sequel. Although The Lost Steersman wasn't quite what I was hoping for, I enjoyed returning to this world in this book and spending time again with Rowan and Bel.
Rating:
Summary: Living for Knowledge
Review: Rowan is a Steerswoman. If you ask her a question, she has to answer with the truth; if she asks you a question, you, too, have to answer. If you don't, no steerswoman anywhere will answer your questions. Under these simple rules, steerswomen have become the navigators, cartographers, explorers and researchers of their world. Knowledge is a steerswoman's life. There is another group that holds knowledge on this world: the wizards. They can work magic. But they don't share their knowledge, they won't answer any questions, and they are under the steerwomen's ban. Early on, a reader will recognize the wizards' "magic" as simply technology, a technology that the wizards deny to the rest of the world. "The Steerwoman's Road" is a compendium of two earlier books set in this world, "The Steerswoman" and "The Outskirter's Secret." In "The Steerswoman," Rowan is investigating bluish-black jewels that she has found in odd places along a long line across the Inner Lands of her world. For some reason, this simple investigation causes the wizards to attempt to kill her. Allied with Bel, a barbarian from the "Outskirts," the primitive part of the world, she narrowly escapes repeated attempts on her life. Finally, with the help of her sister steerswomen, Bel and an unlikely, even unwanted ally, she tries to solve the mystery of the wizards and their magic. In "The Outskirter's Secret," Rowan and Bel journey beyond the edge of the known world, to and beyond the Outskirts in their quest to solve the mystery of the blue-black jewels and a possible fallen guidestar. But it is the journey that is important, because in the course of that journey Rowan learns more about her world; she begins to understand the truth about the world she and her sister steerwomen have taken for granted. And she begins to understand just how serious a threat the wizards, and one wizard in particular, may be. These are brilliant stories. Exceptional plotting, vivid characters, a well-imagined, consistent world and important themes. Because the reader understands technology, Rowan's struggles to come to grips with wizards and their "magic" are particularly delightful. A reader will recognize the "blue-black jewels" at once as integrated circuits, and the "fallen guidestar" as a fallen geosynchronous satellite. Watching Rowan use principles of logic to comprehend technology is simply delightful. And in the Outskirters and the Outskirts Kirstein has created a beautifully realized culture and environment. It's wonderful to have these stories back in print; it's even better to have a sequel, "The Lost Steersman," after eleven years of waiting. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Ecellent Read
Review: The review that follows is for the sequel to The Steerswoman's Road-- a book entitled "The Lost Steersman." All books in this series are highly recommended! This book had very real-seeming characters, and it showed a great efficiency in exposition that seemed to take me to the center of the story in very few pages. I'm going to try to convey my excitement with this book while avoiding a "spoiler" plot summary. So here goes . . . . As the book begins, there's a great peril facing the small, seaside town. Rowan, the steerswoman, turns her considerable experience and skills to both combating the threat with her sword, and analyzing the origins and nature of the threat. A steerswoman is a kind of wandering combination of a warrior for good, while at the same time a researcher and scientist. Thus her defense of the town involves both her sword and her scholarly analysis. The book is an excellent mystery. Rowan seems to unfold "theory #1," but then it gives way to "theory #2," and so on. As she gets more information, her analysis shifts and changes. The reader is brought along, gripped and fascinated. Each hypothesis seems to drastically rewrite the sense of what is happening. As the book nears its conclusion, there is a kind of epiphany of beauty and good on one hand, and an almost diabolical evil on the other. This goes beyond some glib surprise ending. It is woven deep into the structure of the novel. It appears no further titles will appear in this series, since these "steerswoman" books are back into print after an initial release a decade ago. It is a pity, since much of the larger story is yet to be revealed, and the ending seemed to prepare for a sequel. Some developments of the book just STOP, with no explanation. A really extraordinary read. I have already ordered more of Ms. Kirstein's "steerswoman" fiction from Amazon, and am counting the hours until my order arrives.
Rating:
Summary: Not What They Seem . . .
Review: The review that follows is for the sequel to The Steerswoman's Road-- a book entitled "The Lost Steersman." All books in this series are highly recommended! This book had very real-seeming characters, and it showed a great efficiency in exposition that seemed to take me to the center of the story in very few pages. I'm going to try to convey my excitement with this book while avoiding a "spoiler" plot summary. So here goes . . . . As the book begins, there's a great peril facing the small, seaside town. Rowan, the steerswoman, turns her considerable experience and skills to both combating the threat with her sword, and analyzing the origins and nature of the threat. A steerswoman is a kind of wandering combination of a warrior for good, while at the same time a researcher and scientist. Thus her defense of the town involves both her sword and her scholarly analysis. The book is an excellent mystery. Rowan seems to unfold "theory #1," but then it gives way to "theory #2," and so on. As she gets more information, her analysis shifts and changes. The reader is brought along, gripped and fascinated. Each hypothesis seems to drastically rewrite the sense of what is happening. As the book nears its conclusion, there is a kind of epiphany of beauty and good on one hand, and an almost diabolical evil on the other. This goes beyond some glib surprise ending. It is woven deep into the structure of the novel. It appears no further titles will appear in this series, since these "steerswoman" books are back into print after an initial release a decade ago. It is a pity, since much of the larger story is yet to be revealed, and the ending seemed to prepare for a sequel. Some developments of the book just STOP, with no explanation. A really extraordinary read. I have already ordered more of Ms. Kirstein's "steerswoman" fiction from Amazon, and am counting the hours until my order arrives.
Rating: 
Summary: The Steerswoman's Road
Review: The Steerswoman's Road consists of two complete novels, The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret. In book one we are introduced to Rowan who is on a journey of discovery; discovery of the how and why of just about everything, a steerswoman. The steerswomen travel the land asking questions of those they meet, in return they must always answer truly to all questions posed to them.
Rowan's curiosity has led her to search for the origin of magical blue gems that have been found in a seemingly distinct pattern across the land. In her travels she befriends the seemingly barbaric outskirter Bel. Contrary to Rowan's perceptions of the outskirters in general, Bel turns out to be an extremely intelligent and educated ally.
Before you know it, Rowan and Bel are on the run from hostile wizards who don't want the gems powers to be discovered.
Book two finds the duo in Bel's home territory, the outskirts, searching for more clues to the gems and what they will mean to the world. The outskirts and its people bear a strong resemblance to steppe nomads in customs and geography. A harsh people and even harsher land, yet Rowan finds them to be quite well educated. Sounds straightforward so far? Heh, guess again, things aren't always what they seem and something's not right within the clan our heroines are traveling with.
I found the Steerswoman's Road to be an absorbing pair of stories, so absorbing in fact I read right through it. It brings into question what is magic after all? Is it really something made of spells and the like or is it simply knowledge? Could be it's a bit of both, you'll have to read to find out, as the resident Faery person in charge, I'm not telling!
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