Set in the near future and inspired by the captivating myth of the warrior queen Califia, this brilliantly inventive novel tells the story of a sma...
read full description
reviews
Jan 24, 2008
Stephanie / seenonflickr
rated it: 
Leigh Richards is also known as Laurie R. King, author of the Mary Russell books, so when I saw this on the shelf I decided to give it a shot.
I read it on the plane home from Vegas, and it held my attention throughout the flight. Set in the "near future", after the devastating near-destruction of world (or at least, the known world to the characters involved), the world-building - with a female majority - is good and the characters are generally interesting, but as I finis More...
I read it on the plane home from Vegas, and it held my attention throughout the flight. Set in the "near future", after the devastating near-destruction of world (or at least, the known world to the characters involved), the world-building - with a female majority - is good and the characters are generally interesting, but as I finis More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 11, 2010
Jan
rated it:
I listened to this book instead of read it. As an audiobook, Califia's Daughters lilted and meandered along very enjoyably. While the post-apocalyptic All-the-Men-Are-Dead scenario is not new, here it is well-execution and detailed (in comparison to others of this mini-genre). Alas, if I had been reading instead of listening, I believe the occasionally long-winded narration, style, and various plot holes would have driven me quite bonkers.
In Califia's Daughters, disease, war and civi More...
In Califia's Daughters, disease, war and civi More...
Aug 07, 2011
Matt
rated it: 
I found this at a use book store for half price, and was intrigued by the rather interesting concept. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic America, where the population has been severely decreased and rendered the number of men to almost nil. Thus, the women are in charge of the remains of society and men are a protected and valued resource. This, unfortunately, is where the interesting aspects of this book end. It has a lot of potential to be a good story, but the author seems to ramble rather
More...
Aug 24, 2010
Lhizz
rated it: 
Wow. Just. Wow. I really loved this book, and I feel so sad that there isn't a sequel (although it works well on its own, I would have loved to have some "further adventures of...") Part dystopia, part agrarian idyll, post-pandemic California has descended into isolated frontier communities with limited technology. Males has been decimated by the disease and now have protected (and commodity) status due to their rarity. Dian and her village are alarmed when travellers from a far-flung
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 25, 2009
Andrew
rated it:
I wasn't really all that excited about this one, but it was for a book club, so I figured I'd make an attempt. It's a pseudonymous effort by the mystery author Laurie R. King, and I've been told that she's very good in her usual guise. That may be so, but I saw none of the promise I've been told is there in her mystery fiction in "Califia's Daughters." Honestly, my main problem was with how slow the pace of the book was. I read almost 300 of its 500 pages and still felt like the plot h
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 13, 2009
martha
rated it:
Intriguing worldbuilding, gripping story, mediocre writing. The premise: technophobic riots unleashed viruses which destroyed most of the world's population, and rendered the birthrate of healthy males very very low. So you've got a female-run, post-apocalyptic society where men are a rare, sheltered commodity. Commendably, the book doesn't get into whether a basically Amazonian society would be better or worse, just uses it as a backdrop for a really interesting story. Definitely a page-turne
More...
Jul 20, 2008
WK
rated it:
This book set in a remarkably different future (on Earth)tells the story of a new type of community and its challenges, including surrounding (not always compatible) communities. I loved this story and when I finished the book - I WANTED MORE!
May 17, 2011
Yarrow
rated it: 
I enjoyed this more than i usually enjoy post-apocalyptic feminist fiction. Excellent character development, strong plotting, good ideas. I like the world she has created, and would love to read more in it. My only real problem with the book was the idea that monogamy would mean anything at all in a world where the gender ratios were 10:1. I suspect the author was unable to question her own monogamist bias, or didn't realize it needed questioning. That was the only note of jarring unreality
More...
Sep 16, 2008
Valerie
rated it:
I only read this because it is actually written by Laurie King and she gave me a copy when I worked at a bookstore. It was ok. She's a good writer, with great ideas, but I didn't like it as well as her other books.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 05, 2010
Erica
rated it:
This book is set in post-apocalyptic California in a society where a deadly virus kills a significant portion of the male population of each generation. Men have become valuable assets to be cosseted and protected by women like Dian, who is responsible for providing security for everyone in her small farming community.
I admit that I am predisposed to like this book, as much for the strong relationship the main character has with her dogs as for the portrayal of women-run societies. More...
I admit that I am predisposed to like this book, as much for the strong relationship the main character has with her dogs as for the portrayal of women-run societies. More...
Mar 15, 2008
Michael
rated it:
Leigh Richards (Pseudonym for Laurie R. King) has done a fairly good job of engaging the topics of gender role reversals and feminist views in this book. She is balanced, by avoiding the feminist "Social Darwinism" of Sherri S. Tepper's 'Gate to Women's Country',and completely avoiding the fantastical, never explained, and adolescently female domination of Wen Spencer's 'A Brother's Price'. While Richards does not go into heavy explanation of the why and how of male exploitation (Rich
More...
Jul 08, 2010
Jessi
rated it:
Leigh Richards is actually the well known Laurie R. King. Like many of King's novels, Califia's Daughters addresses many feminist issues, although from an interesting stand point. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which most of the male species has died off and those remaining are locked away and protected by the now dominate females. The story is very interesting, although it has many slow stretches that often feel as though they go on way too long.
May 02, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I'm a sucker for a story like this- the world as we know it has been reshaped by war/famine/disease/disaster.
When I started it, I was more desperate to read something, but honestly, I really liked it. Sometimes the author forget that she was writing a book and fell into script writing- and to be honset, it's not literature.
But it's a really enjoyable book.
When I started it, I was more desperate to read something, but honestly, I really liked it. Sometimes the author forget that she was writing a book and fell into script writing- and to be honset, it's not literature.
But it's a really enjoyable book.
Apr 01, 2009
Tam
rated it:
Very readable and captivating. The beauty of this book was not necessarily the creation of an alternate reality/future, though that was done very well, but rather in the complex character development. Unfortunately, I was left wanting at the end-- how did the final series of events change Dian, who was she post-Ashtown? How did the new community integrate? What of Sonja and Laine and the power struggle? Perhaps it was written to have a sequel, which would be nice (though I am loathe to encou
More...
Jan 24, 2012
Diane
rated it:
Mystery author Laurie R. King took a pen name to write this dystopian science fiction/fantasy work, set in California in a future when men are the protected gender as a virus kills most in infancy. Interesting look at gender and roles....
Nov 19, 2008
Kate
rated it:
I loved this book! The concept was facinating. End of civilization - planet's countries had finally blown each other up and the characters are the 2nd generation survivors. The gender roles are completely switched.
Mar 12, 2010
April
rated it:
I thought this was a great fantasy book. The author also writes mysteries under the name Laurie R. King and they are good as well. She is a very talented writer.
Aug 12, 2010
Laura
rated it:
Written by one of my favorite authors, Laurie R. King, this post-apocaliptic tale is a good one that ends too quickly and with unresolved story lines.
Oct 19, 2010
Ed
rated it:
Liked the post-apocalyptic world and the stories of the main characters. However they are just afterthoughts in the rest of the book.
Feb 06, 2012
Fran
rated it:
I enjoyed this book, and I would have even if I hadn't know that "Leigh Richards" is a pseudonym for Laurie R. King.
Feb 22, 2010
Lauraileen
rated it:
Laurie R. King writing science fiction as Leigh Richards. Really enjoyed this book!
Dec 01, 2008
This was written by me under the indicated pseudonym.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 04, 2011
Jess
rated it:
Of all the things this book might have been to me, in the end it was a story about dogs. The relationship Dian and her dogs share created an axis around which the rest of this novel spun. Al dog lovers should give the book a go.
Aug 19, 2011
Danyel
rated it:
I had a really good time reading this book for the most part. I was very disappointed by the ending. I don't feel that the author wrapped things up in a succesful manor. I felt like the ending was sort of empty especially since the book reads like a saga. Still worth the read.
Nov 10, 2009
Becky
rated it:
This was a pretty good book. I think it would make for an interesting movie!
Sep 03, 2007
Cindy
rated it:
This book had been discussed on the FSFFU listserv so I thought I'd check it out. It had the post-apocalypse thing going for it. The writing was a bit stiff but the story was interesting - a future world where a virus had decimated the population of males. The heroine lives in a farm/village outpost, but the real center of the region is what's left of San Francisco. I enjoyed much of her journey, but the ending seemed tacked on or lopped off, I'm not sure which. Oh well. (January 17, 2005)
Jan 01, 2010
2bnallegory
rated it:
This is a rather adventurous book set into a rather grim future where males have been nearly wiped out and are to be kept safe while the females take on the work of holding together their own special communities, protecting the weak and harvesting the crops. Dian is our heroine that must embark into a now hostile world from her own semi-utopia and encounters much that is different and sometimes dangerous. I read this book with much enthusiasm and finished it quickly.
