Name: Ammonite.
ISBN: 0345452380

Nicola Griffith

Ammonite.

The James Tiptree Jr Award-winning novel. Change or die. These are the only options available on the planet Jeep. Centuries earlier, a deadly virus shattered the original colony, killing the men and forever altering the few surviving women. Now, generations after the colony has lost touch with the rest of humanity, a company arrives to exploit Jeep - and its forces find themselves fighting for their lives. Terrified of spreading the virus, the company abandons its employees, leaving them afraid and isolated from the natives. In the face of this crisis, anthropologist Marghe Taishan arrives to test a new vaccine. As she risks death to uncover the women's biological secret, she finds that she, too, is changing - and realizes that not only has she found a home on Jeep, but that she alone carries the seeds of its destruction ...

Ammonite

Pavonini

Very atmospheric. Reminiscent of [b:The Left Hand of Darkness|18423|The Left Hand of Darkness|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388229638s/18423.jpg|817527] in many ways - the anthropologist's perspective, the different biology of sexes (and thus politics), the travelling, and even the strange sort of aimless feel to the story at points.

I thought there might be more political content somehow, but it went in a different direction that I really enjoyed. This is a civilisation that was affected by this male-killing virus generations ago, so they don't dwell on it, and Marghe the off-worlder anthropologist doesn't either. It's not about that. It's only one aspect of the strangeness of this world. 

The exploration of different cultures on this world was interesting, though it only felt like a snapshot. I could see this being the start of something bigger.

I felt attached to Marghe and I liked her personal journey. The relationships felt real to me, if not quite all of the characters.

My main criticism would be that I had no real sense of time in the book. It seemed to jump slightly awkwardly instead of giving the feeling that time had passed.

a lot of interesting concepts, but the author doesn’t dig deep enough into any of them for it to be satisfying. 