“THE FORETELLING,” BY ALICE HOFFMAN.

Inspired by the ancient Amazon culture where women rule, “The Foretelling,” by Alice Hoffman is another wonderful, creative novel by this superb author.

“Rain,” the queen-to be, is the daughter of the Queen of a large tribe of warrior women. The Queen, who was raped by fifty men, is impregnated and so Rain is the daughter of fifty men.

The warriors live in an area, which is never mentioned by name, but its landscape resembles that of Ukraine and Russia. They move their tent cities according to the seasons, they call their horses that they ride into battle against invading tribes of men, sisters. The men they kill are discarded, except for a couple who are drugged for a night and used to beget further generations of women. Afterwards, these men are allowed to go back to their tribes.

Rain is the narrator of the story and it is seen in her future by, priestess Deborah, that the future queen will face difficult decisions and those obstacles and challenges is what carries this story, at an amazing speed, to its finish.

This book is relatively short, but its questions, have befuddled the world since the beginning of time, such as the relationship between the animal world and humans, between nature and humans, between men and women, and if the world would be a more peaceful place if more women were in charged?

Simply put, a fast paced, exciting novel, by this amazingly prolific writer.