I'm on a trip to the USA and therefore spent much time in planes and awake at 3am, both of which provide ample opportunities to read books. Of the books I brought along two were Lois M Bujold's "Hallowed Hunt" and Wen Spencer's "A Brother's Price". Subsequently I also bought Catherine Asaro's new fantasy and I expect I'll review that after I've read it on the plane home. Anyway back to Lois and Wen.
In some ways there are a number of similarities between the two authors beyond their sex, neither is exactly prolific, but what they write is good, both seem able to write books in different genres and both spend time at Baen's bar, even though the books reviewed (and their most recent books published) are not Baen imprints, discussing the writing process and their progress to the next book. [BTW their presence at Baen's bar may seem like they are taking advantage of Jim Baen, but I don't believe that to be the case, Wen just handed a book in to Jim for publishing and Lois' Vorkosigan series is one of Baen's bigger sellers]. Indeed I would say that both share the strength that they write books that make the reader think. A part of me wants more facile pap about my favourite heroes and heroines but that is probably my impatient bit - the part that for us poor males provides a direct wiring between eyeball and penis. The rest of me is willing to wait until the story is fully cooked and not whine too much thst it isn't about the characters I enjoyed last time because really it is those stories which you reread over the years.
The Hallowed Hunt
The Hallowed Hunt is set in the same universe as "The Curse of Chalion" and "Paladin of Souls" but, while the other two shared characters and had the latter follow immediately after the former as a direct sequel, the Hallowed Hunt is somewhere and somewhen else. The background is the same but there isn't really much else in common. The main difference between the universe of these three books and our universe is that firstly the gods are undeniably present and secondly the theology behind them is unlike any that I know of in this universe. Much of Lois' work is about the conflicts inherent in how flawed people behave when their duty leads them one way and other influences lead them another. The Hallowed Hunt is no different with the hero facing the problem of how to lessen the punishment expected due to a woman who killed a prince when he tried to use her in a black magic ceremony. The question becomes more complex when one of his relatives turns out to be possibly threatening the kingdom, but possibly is actually doing his best to save it. The Hallowed Hunt is fascinating but I feel it suffers in comparison with its predecessors. I enjoyed it and I will reread it but somehow it left me unsatisfied. Perhaps the problem is that my expectations have been set too high by earlier works.
A Brother's Price
A Brother's Price is somewhere between science fiction and fabntasy. A Brother's Price is set in a world which is similar to this one with a technology level of approximately the mid 19th century. Yet this is real hard Science Fiction because there is one big difference, there are about 9 girls born to every boy. The result is that boy children are treausred by their families and a role reversal of sexes compared to our world with women doing most of the work and men left in the home to look after the children. However the reader is immediately transported into the action and the differences between this world and ou world do not intrude in the tale. It's a great adventure and whodunnit with believable characters and it is, in many ways, a remarkable romance too. The joy of this story is that the romance is entrhalling and helps to highlight the skews and impacts of the sex imbalance, because compared to our world the expectation about which sex does the hard work and which is the fainting hero(ine) is reversed. All in all part of the shock of this book is that it makes the male reader think about the probelms faced by women down history in cultures where for one reason or another women are effectively posessions. A Brother's Price isn't a political book in any way but I couldn't help think about how the culture described reverses the ugliness of Saudia Arabian or Iranian culture today. There are a few oddities in the technology permitted and there are a couple of other things that annoy such as some problems I had reconciling the ages of certain characters but on the whole this is a story that appeals at multiple levels.
Neither book is perfect but both are highly enjoyable and thought provoking so to put it simply I strongly recommend both books. However if you had to buy just one then I'm going to give the nod to Wen.