Ill Met In The Arena
Dave Duncan
Tor, Aug 2008, $24.95
ISBN: 9780765316875
On Aureity, the female aristocracy breeds men for their brawn including teleportation and women for their brains including mind reading and psychic control. As a side consequence of all this extrasensory breeding, murder and rape are extremely rare.
Thus when Mandragora was killed by unknown adversary, her loyal male gladiator Mudar took the affront personalyl as he should have kept her safe. Humiliated by his failure Mudar vows to avenge her death; by exposing the Enemy once he learns who he is. However, clues lead the amateur sleuth to his father, Piese, who murdered Mandragora to silence her as she named him a rapist. Meanwhile Mudar’s half-brother Humate, who is successful in the arena, refuses to believe their sire is a rapist killer; instead he plans to wed Mudar's beloved Tendence once he defeats the ancient unknown upstart Quirt in the arena; but he will be stunned by his opponent's identity.
The feminist preeminence makes for an intriguing world in which an aging antihero looks out at the testosterone warrior segment of the culture with disdain though he is a product of it. The culture comes across as a rigid caste system (India meets Rome), which is why Mudar is in a form of exile unless he can find the culprit and bring the person to justice. One must wonder who sweeps up the messes left behind by the aristocracy. Although the climax seems obvious, fans will appreciate this engaging investigative fantasy as Dave Duncan proves quite a world-builder
Harriet Klausner
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