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A Brother's Price
In a world where males are rarely born, they've become a commodity-traded and sold like property. Jerin Whistler has come of age for marriage and his handsome features have come to the attention of the royal princesses. But such attentions can be dangerous-especially as Jerin uncovers the dark mysteries the royal family is hiding.
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 5, 2005
93 people are currently reading
3163 people want to read
About the author
Wen Spencer
41 books893 followersJohn W. Campbell Award Winner Wen Spencer resides in paradise in Hilo, Hawaii with two volcanoes overlooking her home. Spencer says that she often wakes up and exclaims "Oh my god, I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific!" This, says Spencer, is a far cry from her twenty years of living in land-locked Pittsburgh.
The Elfhome series opener, Tinker, won the 2003 Sapphire Award for Best Science Fiction Romance and was a finalist for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Fantasy Novel. Wolf Who Rules, the sequel to Tinker, was chosen as a Top Pick by Romantic Times and given their top rating of four and a half stars. Other Baen books include space opera thriller Endless Blue and Eight Million Gods.
The Elfhome series opener, Tinker, won the 2003 Sapphire Award for Best Science Fiction Romance and was a finalist for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Fantasy Novel. Wolf Who Rules, the sequel to Tinker, was chosen as a Top Pick by Romantic Times and given their top rating of four and a half stars. Other Baen books include space opera thriller Endless Blue and Eight Million Gods.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 344 reviews
October 8, 2013
This stand-alone book had been tugging at my attention for years; I finally got around to loading it up on my Kindle in advance of an out-of-town trip.
The plot and set-up have been described adequately in other reviews, but briefly, a young man born into a world where the ratio of men to women is about 1:20 has adventures and romantic adventures. This is social science fiction rather than fantasy as such, as the world has no magic. (Though it does have an early 19th-Century tech level.)
What the prior reviews I'd read didn't indicate was how funny the book was. It was not written as a comedy as such -- the humor is mostly in the world-building and the, so to speak, genre-meta levels as it plays wittily with romantic melodrama tropes. (Which if one is a reader coming strictly from the SF side of things, I suppose one might miss.)
Also, you know that male fantasy where the guy finds himself vastly outnumbered by women...? They might want to rethink that -- happily, Spencer does that work for them.
It also does just exactly the thing I think SF-romance crossovers should do yet do so seldom -- use the SF elements to change and therefore examine the underlying parameters of the whole romantic negotiation and reproductive dance (while not losing the charm).
Recommended for SF readers, romance readers, and any guys who have ever entertained the aforesaid fantasy -- do allow it to entertain you back.
Ta, L.
February 10, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Spencer had a much more breezy voice than I expected from someone so critically acclaimed. It was easier jump into and read A Brother's Price than I thought it would be.
The story was fun. I liked the action scenes. The world-building was spot on. Perhaps the setting wasn’t hugely original (kind of alternate Old West) but I was absolutely riveted by the shifted social structure.
Would this have been a good book if the genders were reversed? No. It would have been one step removed from an early regency romance, only with less romance. But that’s not the point.
I've been know to waffle on about how much I dislike books that are nothing but allegory and a pointed prose, so I don’t quite understand why I forgave Brother’s Price so much. I guess I simply enjoyed reading it. I was fascinated by how Spencer approached her culture concepts. I loved her cheeky jabs on our own social structures and morays.
Did I think the love interests were well developed? Not at all. But this could be a factor of the main character’s youth. Or perhaps the casual way he falls in love is itself a comment on having to marry so many. Is Spencer shifting the very concept of romance given a sister-wife situation?
One of my favorite lines was this:
“The very nature of intercourse—an act to produce a pregnancy—and the risks to the woman’s health as such, I think will always make the choice of yes or no the woman’s.”
Spoken by an older woman to a younger man in a condescending, yet loving manner. It’s so perfectly pin pointed to eviscerate social darwinism, and eugenics, and claims of biological determinism that have been used throughout history to argue that biological differences mandate the social superiority of males.
These parts of the book made me happy in a “heh-heh, I see what you’re doing there, we are in on a mutual joke at the expense of the dominant paradigm” kind of way.
I think some would argue that Spencer is a little heavy handed with this kind of commentary. That she hits you over the head with it. But as the world is showing us (daily) how oblivious people continue to be, I forgive her this. We clearly need to be hit over the head.
Conclusions?
Was this a good book? Yes it was.
Did I enjoy reading it? Yes I did.
Will I reach for it in times of need for comfort? Probably not.
Should you read it? Yes.
More importantly, this is the kind of book that should be taught in schools. Because it manages to make its point with ease and still be fun to read. Because it would spark very interesting discussions. Because it is not work to read, but it is still rewarding. Because it is holding up a mirror and showing us all our own ugliness, but isn’t cruel about it, just makes the point that we might want to keep struggling to improve. That we might want to consider our own nature as people in a collected group, our definitions of what it means to be wife or husband, sister or brother in our own society, and how that balances against our understanding of human decency.
The story was fun. I liked the action scenes. The world-building was spot on. Perhaps the setting wasn’t hugely original (kind of alternate Old West) but I was absolutely riveted by the shifted social structure.
Would this have been a good book if the genders were reversed? No. It would have been one step removed from an early regency romance, only with less romance. But that’s not the point.
I've been know to waffle on about how much I dislike books that are nothing but allegory and a pointed prose, so I don’t quite understand why I forgave Brother’s Price so much. I guess I simply enjoyed reading it. I was fascinated by how Spencer approached her culture concepts. I loved her cheeky jabs on our own social structures and morays.
Did I think the love interests were well developed? Not at all. But this could be a factor of the main character’s youth. Or perhaps the casual way he falls in love is itself a comment on having to marry so many. Is Spencer shifting the very concept of romance given a sister-wife situation?
One of my favorite lines was this:
“The very nature of intercourse—an act to produce a pregnancy—and the risks to the woman’s health as such, I think will always make the choice of yes or no the woman’s.”
Spoken by an older woman to a younger man in a condescending, yet loving manner. It’s so perfectly pin pointed to eviscerate social darwinism, and eugenics, and claims of biological determinism that have been used throughout history to argue that biological differences mandate the social superiority of males.
These parts of the book made me happy in a “heh-heh, I see what you’re doing there, we are in on a mutual joke at the expense of the dominant paradigm” kind of way.
I think some would argue that Spencer is a little heavy handed with this kind of commentary. That she hits you over the head with it. But as the world is showing us (daily) how oblivious people continue to be, I forgive her this. We clearly need to be hit over the head.
Conclusions?
Was this a good book? Yes it was.
Did I enjoy reading it? Yes I did.
Will I reach for it in times of need for comfort? Probably not.
Should you read it? Yes.
More importantly, this is the kind of book that should be taught in schools. Because it manages to make its point with ease and still be fun to read. Because it would spark very interesting discussions. Because it is not work to read, but it is still rewarding. Because it is holding up a mirror and showing us all our own ugliness, but isn’t cruel about it, just makes the point that we might want to keep struggling to improve. That we might want to consider our own nature as people in a collected group, our definitions of what it means to be wife or husband, sister or brother in our own society, and how that balances against our understanding of human decency.
January 2, 2013
A virtuous, virginal protagonist -- pure and chaste, but plucky. From a decent and honorable family. But when they rescue a soldier attacked on their land, it turns out the soldier is royal! And the rogueish heir to the throne seduces the poor virginal protagonist! But they fall in love! Can the heir to the throne marry someone as lowborn as this -- barely even landed gentry, even if beautiful, kind, and plucky. And what of the stolen cannons? Is there a traitor somewhere planning revolution?
I admit it; I'm a sucker for romance novels. And I'm a sucker for Prisoner of Zenda - style swashbuckling. So I'm totally the target for this novel, even before you get to the alternate world aspect, that there are fifteen times as many women than men in the world, so men are chattel, our plucky and virtuous protagonist is male, the heir to the throne is female. A marriage is one man with a group of sisters, with the man staying home and caring for the house and children.
And, for that matter, the women pull on their Stetsons and strap on their six-guns before riding off, because a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.
So, yeah. A swashbuckling romance Western in a genderswpped alternate world with group marriage. And it is as absolutely perfect swashbuckling romance Western in a genderswapped alternate world with group marriage as you could imagine. I honestly think that Wen Spencer wrote the definitive swashbuckling romance Western in a genderswapped alternate world with group marriage, and that nobody will ever write one that tops it. Which is why I give it five stars.
But I admit that I can see that such a novel might not be to everybody's taste, so I get why other people might not love it as I do. Will you enjoy it? That all depends on whether this particular, and peculiar, collision of genres is appealing to you.
I admit it; I'm a sucker for romance novels. And I'm a sucker for Prisoner of Zenda - style swashbuckling. So I'm totally the target for this novel, even before you get to the alternate world aspect, that there are fifteen times as many women than men in the world, so men are chattel, our plucky and virtuous protagonist is male, the heir to the throne is female. A marriage is one man with a group of sisters, with the man staying home and caring for the house and children.
And, for that matter, the women pull on their Stetsons and strap on their six-guns before riding off, because a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.
So, yeah. A swashbuckling romance Western in a genderswpped alternate world with group marriage. And it is as absolutely perfect swashbuckling romance Western in a genderswapped alternate world with group marriage as you could imagine. I honestly think that Wen Spencer wrote the definitive swashbuckling romance Western in a genderswapped alternate world with group marriage, and that nobody will ever write one that tops it. Which is why I give it five stars.
But I admit that I can see that such a novel might not be to everybody's taste, so I get why other people might not love it as I do. Will you enjoy it? That all depends on whether this particular, and peculiar, collision of genres is appealing to you.
December 21, 2009
Reread this recently. I'd enjoyed it before, but on this reread I realized what a nifty little satire of gender roles and gendered literature -- in this case, Regency romances -- it is. It goes a bit deeper than role reversal because of the worldbuilding premise: there's a legitimate reason that women run this world, and men are treated as chattel. (That worldbuilding premise is so intriguing that I keep checking Spencer's site, hoping she'll decide to revisit this world in the future. I can't help wondering what'll happen when this world hits its industrial era, and also how other cultures have handled the shortage of men. Alas, it's a standalone.) But beyond that it's actually an entertaining story too. I cared about the protagonist and his messy poly-romance troubles. Was sad when the book ended.
February 16, 2010
Kind of like if The Handmaid's Tale were a romantic comedy.
asj;dfaskdjf;jjkllkjlklll
Sorry, I had to whack myself in the face with the keyboard several times to reset my noggin after typing that.
Right, so, it's basically "what if The Patriarchy(tm) was The Matriarchy!?" which veers wildly between "See, see how gender oppression is unfair?" and "Lol, schadenfreude!" which works as comedy only on the assumption that the oppression depicted against men is totally implausible in any real world.
Spencer imagines a world in which men are so rare that women (usually sisters) must band together and save up to afford a husband, and then to defend him against husband raiders. The two great dangers to men are being kidnapped, and STDs: since husbands are shared, families share a keen interest in everyone's sexual continence.
Jerin, our protagonist, gets embroiled in politics, and is wooed by the royal princesses, who are in the market for a husband. It's not giving anything away to tell you eventually he falls for all the sisters, and vice versa; this is pretty strongly signalled from the beginning.
Jerin is not a revolutionary, trying to overthrow gender oppression in his world. He occasionally finds some of the restrictions placed on him unfair, but in general is only trying to find happiness within the system; so, a lot like the other 99% of romance novels, really.
This is the book where I eventually realized (very, very belatedly) that one of Spencer's keen interests is how families organize themselves for reproduction. Off the top of my head, she has written families that are polygynous, a girl raised by her grandfather, but conceived by her dead father's sperm donation, a lesbian family which made use of technology to have children without a sperm donor, and a family made up of a clone, his son-self, and an adopted genetically engineered brother.
asj;dfaskdjf;jjkllkjlklll
Sorry, I had to whack myself in the face with the keyboard several times to reset my noggin after typing that.
Right, so, it's basically "what if The Patriarchy(tm) was The Matriarchy!?" which veers wildly between "See, see how gender oppression is unfair?" and "Lol, schadenfreude!" which works as comedy only on the assumption that the oppression depicted against men is totally implausible in any real world.
Spencer imagines a world in which men are so rare that women (usually sisters) must band together and save up to afford a husband, and then to defend him against husband raiders. The two great dangers to men are being kidnapped, and STDs: since husbands are shared, families share a keen interest in everyone's sexual continence.
Jerin, our protagonist, gets embroiled in politics, and is wooed by the royal princesses, who are in the market for a husband. It's not giving anything away to tell you eventually he falls for all the sisters, and vice versa; this is pretty strongly signalled from the beginning.
Jerin is not a revolutionary, trying to overthrow gender oppression in his world. He occasionally finds some of the restrictions placed on him unfair, but in general is only trying to find happiness within the system; so, a lot like the other 99% of romance novels, really.
This is the book where I eventually realized (very, very belatedly) that one of Spencer's keen interests is how families organize themselves for reproduction. Off the top of my head, she has written families that are polygynous, a girl raised by her grandfather, but conceived by her dead father's sperm donation, a lesbian family which made use of technology to have children without a sperm donor, and a family made up of a clone, his son-self, and an adopted genetically engineered brother.
October 22, 2019
Okay, I tried plodding through, and I see what she's done, taken a historical gender population imbalance and turned it on its head in regards to a patriarchal system too, but I can't stand the way its done. I'd appreciate a matriarchal society so much, and gender parity certainly, but this sends societal power careening the other way and still leaving someone powerless. That lack of free will bothers me immensely. The way the shortage of males results in like a gross inverse-harem feeling has me squicked out. One dude for all these sisters? I can't. DNFing at 121 pgs.
October 16, 2011
(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)
Do you know what I hate? When you’re recommending a book to someone, or maybe you’re just telling them what the book you’re currently reading is about, and as soon as you say it’s science fiction or fantasy you get the look. The ‘oh, you like reading that stuff? Mine is a more refined taste.’ Seriously, I hate it. Half the time these people who disregard speculative fiction so readily barely read at all, or they only read what their favourite famous person tells them to, and I’d bet they’d never really tried to read a fantasy novel before.
Yeah, I sure do hate those people. Ignoring that fact that, well, I am one of them. ‘What are you reading?” I might ask. (But I promise I won’t interrupt your reading to ask you because I hate that as well). “Oh,” you’ll reply, “it’s this really good romance-” Whoops, and now I’m giving you the look. Romance? Really? I don’t read that stuff myself…
So you’ll imagine my surprise when a quarter of the way through A Brother’s Price I realised that what I had thought was going to be a light science fiction story was actually a romance novel. I couldn't even justify it and say it was science fiction with a romantic subplot, it was definitely a romance with a science fiction sub plot. It was trashy romance with a thin, wavering science fiction subplot.
If I’m being really honest I would say that apple flavoured bubble gum has more in common with fresh apples than A Brother’s Price does with actual science fiction. Its concept- what if one man was born for every ten woman- doesn’t seem to be more than an excuse to pepper the novel with some of the worst examples of the helpless woman stereotype I have ever seen, except the helpless woman are actually men, so that makes it ok apparently.
The women ride about tending to the land and keeping the law and drinking beer straight from the bottle, while the few men in the book stand about wringing their hands and getting rescued by the women. The female characters are strong and independent, while the males either passively accept what the women say is best (and are thus marked as good), or are prone to tantrums and sulking, (and so we know they are bad). What I’m trying to say is, if Price hadn’t done a gender switch this book would probably offend anyone with half a brain, or else not got published at all.
Even with the gender switch, I’m troubled. Spencer is a decent writer, nothing overly impressive but her words are clear and the plot (what there is of it) cracks along. Her female characters have depth, believable and unique motivations, flaws and scars. So really there’s no excuse for her male characters being such shallow caricatures that always seem to be one shock away from a fit of the vapours. Possibly Spencer was trying to make some kind of cutting social comment that I didn’t catch, but I have a nasty suspicion that she wasn’t doing it intentionally, that it was more of a ‘oh, look, the women are acting like good strong men and the men are wringing their hands like silly woman!’ kind of deal. Which bugs me, actually.
And even if we forgive this, there’s just so much potential here that gets wasted. The base concept is sound, and Spencer does touch upon some interesting implications of a society were men are a scarcity. The world has a sense of real history, with a major civil war that ended only a generation before still effecting the land. The problem is Spencer wastes much of this potential, discarding everything that does not serve the romance between a farmboy and the royal family. I think if the novel had of focused on the farmboy's grandmothers, who we learn were spies in the civil war and kidnapped a prince to be their husband, I suspect this would have been a far better book. Or if we focused on the royal sister Hayley who is AWOL on a mission of revenge for much of the book, or even if the plot between Farmboy and the sisters had have involved more than loving gazes and walks in the gardens, it would have been a better book.
Which I guess is like saying if it were a wholly different book, then I probably would have liked it. If romance is your thing give this one a shot, but just don't tell me because I might give you the look...
Do you know what I hate? When you’re recommending a book to someone, or maybe you’re just telling them what the book you’re currently reading is about, and as soon as you say it’s science fiction or fantasy you get the look. The ‘oh, you like reading that stuff? Mine is a more refined taste.’ Seriously, I hate it. Half the time these people who disregard speculative fiction so readily barely read at all, or they only read what their favourite famous person tells them to, and I’d bet they’d never really tried to read a fantasy novel before.
Yeah, I sure do hate those people. Ignoring that fact that, well, I am one of them. ‘What are you reading?” I might ask. (But I promise I won’t interrupt your reading to ask you because I hate that as well). “Oh,” you’ll reply, “it’s this really good romance-” Whoops, and now I’m giving you the look. Romance? Really? I don’t read that stuff myself…
So you’ll imagine my surprise when a quarter of the way through A Brother’s Price I realised that what I had thought was going to be a light science fiction story was actually a romance novel. I couldn't even justify it and say it was science fiction with a romantic subplot, it was definitely a romance with a science fiction sub plot. It was trashy romance with a thin, wavering science fiction subplot.
If I’m being really honest I would say that apple flavoured bubble gum has more in common with fresh apples than A Brother’s Price does with actual science fiction. Its concept- what if one man was born for every ten woman- doesn’t seem to be more than an excuse to pepper the novel with some of the worst examples of the helpless woman stereotype I have ever seen, except the helpless woman are actually men, so that makes it ok apparently.
The women ride about tending to the land and keeping the law and drinking beer straight from the bottle, while the few men in the book stand about wringing their hands and getting rescued by the women. The female characters are strong and independent, while the males either passively accept what the women say is best (and are thus marked as good), or are prone to tantrums and sulking, (and so we know they are bad). What I’m trying to say is, if Price hadn’t done a gender switch this book would probably offend anyone with half a brain, or else not got published at all.
Even with the gender switch, I’m troubled. Spencer is a decent writer, nothing overly impressive but her words are clear and the plot (what there is of it) cracks along. Her female characters have depth, believable and unique motivations, flaws and scars. So really there’s no excuse for her male characters being such shallow caricatures that always seem to be one shock away from a fit of the vapours. Possibly Spencer was trying to make some kind of cutting social comment that I didn’t catch, but I have a nasty suspicion that she wasn’t doing it intentionally, that it was more of a ‘oh, look, the women are acting like good strong men and the men are wringing their hands like silly woman!’ kind of deal. Which bugs me, actually.
And even if we forgive this, there’s just so much potential here that gets wasted. The base concept is sound, and Spencer does touch upon some interesting implications of a society were men are a scarcity. The world has a sense of real history, with a major civil war that ended only a generation before still effecting the land. The problem is Spencer wastes much of this potential, discarding everything that does not serve the romance between a farmboy and the royal family. I think if the novel had of focused on the farmboy's grandmothers, who we learn were spies in the civil war and kidnapped a prince to be their husband, I suspect this would have been a far better book. Or if we focused on the royal sister Hayley who is AWOL on a mission of revenge for much of the book, or even if the plot between Farmboy and the sisters had have involved more than loving gazes and walks in the gardens, it would have been a better book.
Which I guess is like saying if it were a wholly different book, then I probably would have liked it. If romance is your thing give this one a shot, but just don't tell me because I might give you the look...
September 24, 2007
A fantasy whose only interesting feature is the bit of gender reversal it's got going on. Jerin lives in a world where men are extremely rare, and thus regarded as very precious, sold for high prices, and generally married off to an entire family of sisters. They're also not really allowed to do anything, lest it upset their delicate sensibilities; it's the women who get to go out there and perform acts of daring-do and have fun storming the castle and whatnot. It's an interesting set-up.
Unfortunately, what Spencer does with that premise is not especially interesting. I enjoyed it well enough while I was reading—the plot moves along at a nice clip. But ultimately I'm not really sure what Spencer was trying to say about the relationship between the sexes, either in her world or in ours; the characters in the book are actually fighting to maintain the status quo, but isn't (part of) the point that the status quo—this unequal treatment of men and women, no matter who is on top—is pretty shitty? If I were betaing this, I would have sent it back and asked her to think it through a bit more.
Unfortunately, what Spencer does with that premise is not especially interesting. I enjoyed it well enough while I was reading—the plot moves along at a nice clip. But ultimately I'm not really sure what Spencer was trying to say about the relationship between the sexes, either in her world or in ours; the characters in the book are actually fighting to maintain the status quo, but isn't (part of) the point that the status quo—this unequal treatment of men and women, no matter who is on top—is pretty shitty? If I were betaing this, I would have sent it back and asked her to think it through a bit more.
December 28, 2008
The conceit of this book, as many reviewers have mentioned, is that male children are rare in this world, which is a blend of a fantasy kingdom and the American wild west. If our kind-hearted, sweet-natured hero were female, I'd no doubt have left this one on the shelf.
But the conceit works, and Spencer's worldbuilding is wonderful. There are so many intriguing, half-explored ideas here that I do hope this is only the first book in this universe. (What becomes of sisters ejected from their families? They can't all turn outlaw. What are the reforms Princess Lylia wants to institute? What of the cribs? Wouldn't trading husbands to improve the bloodlines be a better solution, especially as inheritance is matrilineal, anyway? With their science capable of distinguishing sperm carrying Y chromosomes from X's, how long will it take before they selectively sort for males to improve the gender ratio? Or at least turn to artificial insemination to prevent the spread of disease via the cribs?)
Yes, several of the characters could benefit from the added depth and development of a sequel. But any flaws aside, this was such an entertaining (rollicking!) read that I was sorry to reach the end.
But the conceit works, and Spencer's worldbuilding is wonderful. There are so many intriguing, half-explored ideas here that I do hope this is only the first book in this universe. (What becomes of sisters ejected from their families? They can't all turn outlaw. What are the reforms Princess Lylia wants to institute? What of the cribs? Wouldn't trading husbands to improve the bloodlines be a better solution, especially as inheritance is matrilineal, anyway? With their science capable of distinguishing sperm carrying Y chromosomes from X's, how long will it take before they selectively sort for males to improve the gender ratio? Or at least turn to artificial insemination to prevent the spread of disease via the cribs?)
Yes, several of the characters could benefit from the added depth and development of a sequel. But any flaws aside, this was such an entertaining (rollicking!) read that I was sorry to reach the end.
November 6, 2020
A person's favorite books can be - are - intensely personal. A favorite book may not have the most amazing writing or worldbuilding or plot or characters, and yet be just the right book for certain readers. For such a book and such a reader, a review is rather pointless. Which is why I haven't gotten around to writing a review of this book until now, even though I usually re-read it a couple of times a year.
Consider, for example, the worldbuilding here: it's muddy. Is this another planet? A post-apocalyptic former United States? An alternate history of some kind? There's no way to know. I'm inclined toward the post-apocalyptic US, because of some of the names ("Renssellaer" just shouts familiarity with New York state to me, though it's spelled a bit wrong) and because the uneven tech and science levels suggest that someone, somewhere, has access to a smattering of "ancient texts." A date in the 1500s is mentioned at some point, suggesting that it's been a very long time since a new calendar was started, based (I suspect) on the teachings of seven prophets of a pantheon headed by Hera. But there's absolutely no way to be sure; it's completely irrelevant to the narrative, and none of it's actually explained. This is the kind of thing that's guaranteed to drive a certain segment of the f&sf reading public absolutely nuts, so if you're one of them, I wouldn't suggest trying to read it.
On the social plane is, of course, the conceit emphasized in the book: that for some reason, at some point in the past (and continuing to the present), live births of males cratered. As a result, 95% or more of the population is female, and they have line marriages - one man marries a family of sisters, and also takes on what we would consider a female role. Males are also considered property, and the "brother's price" of the title refers to the money a batch of sisters can get for their (usually one, if they're lucky) brother, if they don't swap for another family's brother so they can have a husband. This, a topic of great relevance to all the characters, gets quite a bit of attention in the narrative.
The plot is actually a rather simple one of problematic romance between Jerin Whistler, a farmers' son, and the princesses of the boringly named "Queensland," with a side order of high-level intrigue, treason, and murder. (Plus steamboats, for those who are interested.)
What I like about the book is, I think, actually two things. First, most of the characters have thoughts and opinions about their own society, not all of them positive or happy; the inherent problems of such a society are out in the open and sometimes discussed, just like the inherent problems in our own society. Second, the themes of love for and responsibility toward one's family that run through the book. Jerin doesn't like the risk of being married into a family he won't like, but he also knows that his sisters really need a husband and the money his marriage can bring.
And there's a third thing: the way the Whistlers see some of the things that happen as what they call "a shining coin": a chance for brilliant success or even just survival that they can have if they only reach out and catch it - and are lucky. I see it as the thing that ties the whole book together, and for intensely personal reasons, is probably the real reason why I love this book.
Your mileage will probably vary. But that's okay. Wen Spencer obviously wrote this book specifically for me.
Consider, for example, the worldbuilding here: it's muddy. Is this another planet? A post-apocalyptic former United States? An alternate history of some kind? There's no way to know. I'm inclined toward the post-apocalyptic US, because of some of the names ("Renssellaer" just shouts familiarity with New York state to me, though it's spelled a bit wrong) and because the uneven tech and science levels suggest that someone, somewhere, has access to a smattering of "ancient texts." A date in the 1500s is mentioned at some point, suggesting that it's been a very long time since a new calendar was started, based (I suspect) on the teachings of seven prophets of a pantheon headed by Hera. But there's absolutely no way to be sure; it's completely irrelevant to the narrative, and none of it's actually explained. This is the kind of thing that's guaranteed to drive a certain segment of the f&sf reading public absolutely nuts, so if you're one of them, I wouldn't suggest trying to read it.
On the social plane is, of course, the conceit emphasized in the book: that for some reason, at some point in the past (and continuing to the present), live births of males cratered. As a result, 95% or more of the population is female, and they have line marriages - one man marries a family of sisters, and also takes on what we would consider a female role. Males are also considered property, and the "brother's price" of the title refers to the money a batch of sisters can get for their (usually one, if they're lucky) brother, if they don't swap for another family's brother so they can have a husband. This, a topic of great relevance to all the characters, gets quite a bit of attention in the narrative.
The plot is actually a rather simple one of problematic romance between Jerin Whistler, a farmers' son, and the princesses of the boringly named "Queensland," with a side order of high-level intrigue, treason, and murder. (Plus steamboats, for those who are interested.)
What I like about the book is, I think, actually two things. First, most of the characters have thoughts and opinions about their own society, not all of them positive or happy; the inherent problems of such a society are out in the open and sometimes discussed, just like the inherent problems in our own society. Second, the themes of love for and responsibility toward one's family that run through the book. Jerin doesn't like the risk of being married into a family he won't like, but he also knows that his sisters really need a husband and the money his marriage can bring.
And there's a third thing: the way the Whistlers see some of the things that happen as what they call "a shining coin": a chance for brilliant success or even just survival that they can have if they only reach out and catch it - and are lucky. I see it as the thing that ties the whole book together, and for intensely personal reasons, is probably the real reason why I love this book.
Your mileage will probably vary. But that's okay. Wen Spencer obviously wrote this book specifically for me.
September 7, 2022
Rating 4.0 stars
An interesting story. A good thought experiment. The world. 1900 technology. Guns and steam engines are the most advanced technology. A microscope was just invented. In this world boys are very rare. 95% of all boys that are conceived either end up with a miscarriage or stillborn. The MC in this book is a 17 year old who had 27 sisters. He also has 3 brothers. This is very rare. One boy with 30 sisters is more the norm. The roles are completely reversed in this world. The men are precious commodities but they are also expected to raise and take care of all the kids and do the cooking, cleaning etc. The sisters are there to protect the man. The MC is about to be 18 and will likely be "sold" to another family. He will go to another family and be the husband to all the sisters of that family. He will either be sold to another family or he will be swapped with another family that has a boy so that his sisters can finally have a husband. The MC is terrified of being the husband to the neighbors. They are hideous looking, not well cultured and he knows his life will be miserable if that happens. The sisters find and help a woman but they are not strong enough to carry her back so he has to go out and carry her back. Turns out she is the crown princess who was saved from assassination. When another princess shows up to help her sister, she falls in love with him. And him her. Is it possible that he can be saved from the fate of marrying the neighbors. Is there any hope.
Being a guy reading this it gives me an inkling of what girls went through in the past. I was interested in the way the MC acted. I wondered if that is how men would act in this world. How much of a man's actions are because of society versus biology. The MC was shown to be somewhat meek. Scared of being hurt, blushing when women look at him. Yet he was still a normal man. Should he be stronger than most women just from biology? Wouldn't that change the way he acted regardless of what society wanted? It also was a much bigger thing for the MC to be pure. Paternity wouldn't be an issue like it would for women. What was an issue was disease. If he slept with someone who had a disease he could pass that disease to the entire family since he would be husband to all the sisters in that family. So it was arguably more important for a man to stay chaste in this world than a woman would need to stay virtuous in our history. Overall a good read.
An interesting story. A good thought experiment. The world. 1900 technology. Guns and steam engines are the most advanced technology. A microscope was just invented. In this world boys are very rare. 95% of all boys that are conceived either end up with a miscarriage or stillborn. The MC in this book is a 17 year old who had 27 sisters. He also has 3 brothers. This is very rare. One boy with 30 sisters is more the norm. The roles are completely reversed in this world. The men are precious commodities but they are also expected to raise and take care of all the kids and do the cooking, cleaning etc. The sisters are there to protect the man. The MC is about to be 18 and will likely be "sold" to another family. He will go to another family and be the husband to all the sisters of that family. He will either be sold to another family or he will be swapped with another family that has a boy so that his sisters can finally have a husband. The MC is terrified of being the husband to the neighbors. They are hideous looking, not well cultured and he knows his life will be miserable if that happens. The sisters find and help a woman but they are not strong enough to carry her back so he has to go out and carry her back. Turns out she is the crown princess who was saved from assassination. When another princess shows up to help her sister, she falls in love with him. And him her. Is it possible that he can be saved from the fate of marrying the neighbors. Is there any hope.
Being a guy reading this it gives me an inkling of what girls went through in the past. I was interested in the way the MC acted. I wondered if that is how men would act in this world. How much of a man's actions are because of society versus biology. The MC was shown to be somewhat meek. Scared of being hurt, blushing when women look at him. Yet he was still a normal man. Should he be stronger than most women just from biology? Wouldn't that change the way he acted regardless of what society wanted? It also was a much bigger thing for the MC to be pure. Paternity wouldn't be an issue like it would for women. What was an issue was disease. If he slept with someone who had a disease he could pass that disease to the entire family since he would be husband to all the sisters in that family. So it was arguably more important for a man to stay chaste in this world than a woman would need to stay virtuous in our history. Overall a good read.
January 24, 2019
This book was really good, it turned everything you knew upside down, and I did go all weird at one point, then I righted myself. No, not weird. We are just learned to think such in our male society.
If this had been reversed it would have been a 80s romance. With dubious content and everything. But it is not.
For every 20 women there is one male. SO yes they are the price in this world.
They are owned by their mothers, their sisters, their wives and can be sold and bartered. (nothing new there, that is the fate of women still.)
Since there are so few men sisters share a husband and guard him well. Even if it is outlawed there are still men taken captive by women who need a husband. Raped to get them with child or sold to a Crib so they can service woman after woman, hour after hour.
The men take care of the babies and cook. Women take care of the farm, the businesses or fight wars. Men are soft creatures. They are not thought to read or write. What could would a man have with such silly ideas in their heads.
They are the ones that needs to show of their assets and wear pretty clothes to catch a good family.
A man must be a virgin on his wedding night. Else he is ruined.
A man will marry at 16. His brides might be much elder (like that is anything new, girls have married older men for ages). But that is weird some of you say. Why? Then it should be weird for women to marry anyone older.
Yes see, I liked how it played with all those things. The 16 marrying someone 28 was the one thing that I found strange, before I realised that the only reason I thought that was strange was cos he was a man. If this had been a historical fic book and the bride 16 then I would not have blinked.
This was a marvelous world! And a dangerous world where I would not have wanted to be male. It was a scary world for men filled with rape threats and scary women lusting after you.
I have talked on and on about the world! Ok SO Jerin meets a princess who takes liberties and he is all in love. His family guards him like hawks and they are all trained to fight. Jerin has a great home actually, he was thought to read and write and got to play outside with the girls. But he is to marry soon. And the elder sisters wants a husband so Jerin needs to fetch a price.
There is adventure, and Jerin falling in love at every turn. Dangerous plots at the capital and scary woman wanting the pretty young debutante.
I could not fall back asleep so I listened for like 4 hours one morning to find out how it worked out for poor Jerin, and you know what, like the romance it would have been if he had been female, everyone gets HEAs
Interesting listen
Narrator
I did feel he made Jerin a bit too old, but on the other hand it worked for the life he led. Since there is like one other male present then he sure does a lot of female voices ;) Men are like I said scarce in this world.
If this had been reversed it would have been a 80s romance. With dubious content and everything. But it is not.
For every 20 women there is one male. SO yes they are the price in this world.
They are owned by their mothers, their sisters, their wives and can be sold and bartered. (nothing new there, that is the fate of women still.)
Since there are so few men sisters share a husband and guard him well. Even if it is outlawed there are still men taken captive by women who need a husband. Raped to get them with child or sold to a Crib so they can service woman after woman, hour after hour.
The men take care of the babies and cook. Women take care of the farm, the businesses or fight wars. Men are soft creatures. They are not thought to read or write. What could would a man have with such silly ideas in their heads.
They are the ones that needs to show of their assets and wear pretty clothes to catch a good family.
A man must be a virgin on his wedding night. Else he is ruined.
A man will marry at 16. His brides might be much elder (like that is anything new, girls have married older men for ages). But that is weird some of you say. Why? Then it should be weird for women to marry anyone older.
Yes see, I liked how it played with all those things. The 16 marrying someone 28 was the one thing that I found strange, before I realised that the only reason I thought that was strange was cos he was a man. If this had been a historical fic book and the bride 16 then I would not have blinked.
This was a marvelous world! And a dangerous world where I would not have wanted to be male. It was a scary world for men filled with rape threats and scary women lusting after you.
I have talked on and on about the world! Ok SO Jerin meets a princess who takes liberties and he is all in love. His family guards him like hawks and they are all trained to fight. Jerin has a great home actually, he was thought to read and write and got to play outside with the girls. But he is to marry soon. And the elder sisters wants a husband so Jerin needs to fetch a price.
There is adventure, and Jerin falling in love at every turn. Dangerous plots at the capital and scary woman wanting the pretty young debutante.
I could not fall back asleep so I listened for like 4 hours one morning to find out how it worked out for poor Jerin, and you know what, like the romance it would have been if he had been female, everyone gets HEAs
Interesting listen
Narrator
I did feel he made Jerin a bit too old, but on the other hand it worked for the life he led. Since there is like one other male present then he sure does a lot of female voices ;) Men are like I said scarce in this world.
March 8, 2010
This book is the most awesome book ever! Seriously. It was written just for me. I don't know how I missed not reading it sooner. LibraryThing suggested it as a 'read alike' based on the limited amount of data I've put in there. I am not a big fan of LibraryThing's read-alike feature, even if it does want me to read every CLAMP manga volume ever. (I don't even object to doing that.)
And I see this book was on the Tiptree list. But it didn't win! If I was on the jury that year, it would've totally won. Even if I had to drug or bribe all the other jurists.
It's a world in which men are rare. Society's organized by groups of mothers and sisters. And the main character is boy almost old enough to marry. His sister's are trying to arrange a good match for him, so they can either swap with another family for a husband of their own, or afford to buy one with the money he fetches.
At the heart of everything, it's a love story. But it's about gender. And I loved the characters. And of course since the world is mostly women, the women are all out there doing everything. It's kind of weird to hear about a gang of bandits, and then to realize.. oh yea, they're all women! A little mind warpy. In a very good way.
And it's just totally freaking awesome!
I've borrowed some other books by her, but I'm afraid they won't be quite as awesome. Since this was a stand-alone, and presumably the only book set in this world. But maybe the other books will be awesome in other ways.
In short. Squeeeee!
And I see this book was on the Tiptree list. But it didn't win! If I was on the jury that year, it would've totally won. Even if I had to drug or bribe all the other jurists.
It's a world in which men are rare. Society's organized by groups of mothers and sisters. And the main character is boy almost old enough to marry. His sister's are trying to arrange a good match for him, so they can either swap with another family for a husband of their own, or afford to buy one with the money he fetches.
At the heart of everything, it's a love story. But it's about gender. And I loved the characters. And of course since the world is mostly women, the women are all out there doing everything. It's kind of weird to hear about a gang of bandits, and then to realize.. oh yea, they're all women! A little mind warpy. In a very good way.
And it's just totally freaking awesome!
I've borrowed some other books by her, but I'm afraid they won't be quite as awesome. Since this was a stand-alone, and presumably the only book set in this world. But maybe the other books will be awesome in other ways.
In short. Squeeeee!
October 16, 2012
Going solely on the blurb, one could be forgiven for suspecting Wen Spencer's A Brother's Price to be a badly written romance. This is far from the case. In fact, while it features a bethrothal and a wedding, it is barely a romance at all. This is a tale of society and manners - tipped upside down, turned inside out and shaken firmly just for good measure.
Spencer has taken a relatively simple idea - what if, in a society just becoming industrialised, women seriously outnumbered men? What kind of society would develop? How would men be considered and treated? Would things be any better or any worse with women running everything. And while it does, I suspect purposefully, follow a number of romance clichés, each is used to make the reader think about the things we've come to take for granted in such a novel.
Her men are kept in seclusion, jealously guarded, although the hero, Jerin, has had a more liberal upbringing than some. When he rescues an injured princess, he is suddenly thrown into high society and struggles to find his way. The many characters - a necessary number when a brother might have as many as twenty or thirty sisters (to one father and a number of mothers) - are still well drawn and engage the reader's interest and sympathy. I've read books lately where the author has struggled to interest me in her hero and/or heroine as much as Spencer does with her minor characters. Jerin is lovely; a mixture of innocence, brains and courage. The royal sisters are all individuals, fiercely loyal to each other and the past tragedies in their lives have truly shaped them, rather than just being thrown out to the reader without any strength or emotion behind them.
Don't be put off by the blurb or the concept. Spencer isn't writing a specific social commentary here, but she explores her society with a deft hand, making it work in all its complexity, its positives and its negatives. Go along for the ride and enjoy.
I can't quite see how she could write a sequel, but if she ever does, it'll be on my auto-buy list.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 16 October 2012]
Spencer has taken a relatively simple idea - what if, in a society just becoming industrialised, women seriously outnumbered men? What kind of society would develop? How would men be considered and treated? Would things be any better or any worse with women running everything. And while it does, I suspect purposefully, follow a number of romance clichés, each is used to make the reader think about the things we've come to take for granted in such a novel.
Her men are kept in seclusion, jealously guarded, although the hero, Jerin, has had a more liberal upbringing than some. When he rescues an injured princess, he is suddenly thrown into high society and struggles to find his way. The many characters - a necessary number when a brother might have as many as twenty or thirty sisters (to one father and a number of mothers) - are still well drawn and engage the reader's interest and sympathy. I've read books lately where the author has struggled to interest me in her hero and/or heroine as much as Spencer does with her minor characters. Jerin is lovely; a mixture of innocence, brains and courage. The royal sisters are all individuals, fiercely loyal to each other and the past tragedies in their lives have truly shaped them, rather than just being thrown out to the reader without any strength or emotion behind them.
Don't be put off by the blurb or the concept. Spencer isn't writing a specific social commentary here, but she explores her society with a deft hand, making it work in all its complexity, its positives and its negatives. Go along for the ride and enjoy.
I can't quite see how she could write a sequel, but if she ever does, it'll be on my auto-buy list.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 16 October 2012]
January 29, 2011
I love most of Wen Spencer's sci-fi books. They're brilliant and unique. That's why I am not sure what to make of this book of hers.
It's clearly... an attempt to turn gender on its head. But what her goal in doing so is highly questionable. If she couldn't be clear as to what the goal was, perhaps filling the book with as many sexist stereo-types as possible, than attributing them to *women*-as-oppressors rather than the oppressed class, was something she should have re-thought. Normally I appreciate something that calls into question gender classes as they exist today. But this attempt actually made me a little sick. Turning women into the oppressors, and then making them just as bad if not worse than men in the role, and not even bothering to come up with unique METHODS of oppression, but using the same ol', same ol' methods, with just a slight twist to try to make them fit to women instead. But they don't. You look at the society created, and you simply don't believe it. Sorry, but pumping an unwilling guy who's been socialized into being a 'damsel in distress' full of viagra does not make him a helpless, whimpering thing that can then be gleefully raped to *death* by ravenous women. To death, seriously. By a band of roving, bandit bitches. (Can you hear me laughing? -_-;;)
She did such a good job portraying these women-as-oppressors that, rather than calling into question the practice of these gender-classed oppression, it puts the message out there that if women were 'in power', not only would things not look different, but they would possibly be quite a bit worse. On top of that disingenuous and harmful conclusion, the anger and resentment toward those 'women in power' it engendered, even in a feminist such as I, felt truly, truly wrong to me. I put it down less than half-way through the book.
If Wen Spencer was trying to question gender stereotypes from a women-friendly viewpoint, she failed completely. None of her other books convince me that this was probably her goal. I was really disappointed.
It's clearly... an attempt to turn gender on its head. But what her goal in doing so is highly questionable. If she couldn't be clear as to what the goal was, perhaps filling the book with as many sexist stereo-types as possible, than attributing them to *women*-as-oppressors rather than the oppressed class, was something she should have re-thought. Normally I appreciate something that calls into question gender classes as they exist today. But this attempt actually made me a little sick. Turning women into the oppressors, and then making them just as bad if not worse than men in the role, and not even bothering to come up with unique METHODS of oppression, but using the same ol', same ol' methods, with just a slight twist to try to make them fit to women instead. But they don't. You look at the society created, and you simply don't believe it. Sorry, but pumping an unwilling guy who's been socialized into being a 'damsel in distress' full of viagra does not make him a helpless, whimpering thing that can then be gleefully raped to *death* by ravenous women. To death, seriously. By a band of roving, bandit bitches. (Can you hear me laughing? -_-;;)
She did such a good job portraying these women-as-oppressors that, rather than calling into question the practice of these gender-classed oppression, it puts the message out there that if women were 'in power', not only would things not look different, but they would possibly be quite a bit worse. On top of that disingenuous and harmful conclusion, the anger and resentment toward those 'women in power' it engendered, even in a feminist such as I, felt truly, truly wrong to me. I put it down less than half-way through the book.
If Wen Spencer was trying to question gender stereotypes from a women-friendly viewpoint, she failed completely. None of her other books convince me that this was probably her goal. I was really disappointed.
January 3, 2016
A curious book. On the one hand, a light and fluffy romance in a world whose gender reversals had me giggling. On the other hand . . . wow, this world is a dark place. Because the hero lives a charmed life and the story is determined to be the happily-ever-after kind, that darkness is always pushed off the edges, but it accumulates nonetheless. I'm left a little confused as to what I'm supposed to take away here. This is a book that's begging for a deconstructing sequel.
Or maybe I'm overthinking things. Even for someone who doesn't read light, fluffy romance, this was a fun romp. So take it as such, and try not to worry too much about the shadows in the background.
I would complain about the science--the way the book handles STDs is, uhh, a little odd, and I'm at loss as to how a civilization this advanced has failed to invent the condom--but I understand it's a necessary bit of handwavium if you want to make male virginity as much of a concern as female virginity is in our world.
I will complain about the lack of homosexuality. Although a very brief reference did finally show up at the end, that was too little, too late for me. Our viewpoint character is sheltered, but not that sheltered. In a world with a 9:1 gender ratio, it should be pretty damn common--as, apparently, it is, so why hold off on mentioning it? Odd.
Or maybe I'm overthinking things. Even for someone who doesn't read light, fluffy romance, this was a fun romp. So take it as such, and try not to worry too much about the shadows in the background.
I would complain about the science--the way the book handles STDs is, uhh, a little odd, and I'm at loss as to how a civilization this advanced has failed to invent the condom--but I understand it's a necessary bit of handwavium if you want to make male virginity as much of a concern as female virginity is in our world.
I will complain about the lack of homosexuality. Although a very brief reference did finally show up at the end, that was too little, too late for me. Our viewpoint character is sheltered, but not that sheltered. In a world with a 9:1 gender ratio, it should be pretty damn common--as, apparently, it is, so why hold off on mentioning it? Odd.
January 7, 2025
─•~❉ DNF ❉~•─
I don't understand how a book with depiction of a matriarchal society - where men are seen as the lowest of the low while women are in power, could mess up so bad that it reads half like a man's fantasy and half like no-self-respect but there you have it.
I don't understand how a book with depiction of a matriarchal society - where men are seen as the lowest of the low while women are in power, could mess up so bad that it reads half like a man's fantasy and half like no-self-respect but there you have it.
July 8, 2021
Wanted: sperm donors. Imagine a provincial Western-Victorian world where the ratio of women to men is at least 20 to 1, with a reversal of traditional gender roles. Women run the government, military, homestead and commerce, they bring home the bacon, while men and their virtues are safeguarded at home, where they’re reared in the softer skills of cooking, cleaning, caring for children and procreating. Impure men are kept separately in The Crib to service women seeking to be impregnated, and if one can manage, pleasured too. There is a satire buried somewhere in the story, but it’s much better read as skin-deep romance or light drama.
To my delight, A Brother’s Price is genuinely funnier and the world-building more layered than I could have ever anticipated. Men aren’t just greatly outnumbered, they are also communal property of their sisters and wives with no individual rights whatsoever, are sold for a “brother’s price” or traded for marriage to families of sisters for utility of the husband’s anatomical attributes. Lucky is the man who married with mutual desires, as such a man is cherished and granted sexual exclusivity by his wives (no single woman can hoard such a precious commodity all to herself!). He may even rule the roost with a roster of rotating nightly favors in the spirit of fairness.
One’s imagination can run rampant with such a backdrop, tempered only by a more conventional plot of political assassinations, adventures and escapades. All of it - the preposterous, the culture shock - integrates so organically and so earnestly, there’s nothing to judge as morally right or wrong. Much is borderline incredulous here, yet it is never cynical. Sweet, beautiful Jerin, the central character, questions the choices but never his family duties, which he wholeheartedly embraces as his wont. He knows he can’t fight, but damn, he will cook the perfect goose, save a damsel and love like a man.
All in, an entertaining read except for the age of conjugal sex. In this world, within its context, it makes sense, but the ickiness dropped a star-rating for me. As such, recommended with reservations. Excerpts, if they can be helpful:
”It’s not like I don’t want to marry. I just want to be picky! … I want a family of clean breeding, one that doesn’t fight, … and ten to fifteen wives at the most. None of these thirty wives or more! Mothers above, I’d feel like a whore! I’d have a different woman every night for a month mounting me.”
(Observing a huge steamboat docking smoothly) ”Jerin stood in awe, though he had seen it many times before. What great works women could create!”
”The very nature of intercourse - an act to produce pregnancy - and the risks to the women’s health as such, I think will always make the choice of yes or no the woman’s.”
“So the man can never say no”.
“Actually,” she said as she gathered up his hair into a ponytail, “you can always say no. ...you have the right to choose who does what to your body.”
To my delight, A Brother’s Price is genuinely funnier and the world-building more layered than I could have ever anticipated. Men aren’t just greatly outnumbered, they are also communal property of their sisters and wives with no individual rights whatsoever, are sold for a “brother’s price” or traded for marriage to families of sisters for utility of the husband’s anatomical attributes. Lucky is the man who married with mutual desires, as such a man is cherished and granted sexual exclusivity by his wives (no single woman can hoard such a precious commodity all to herself!). He may even rule the roost with a roster of rotating nightly favors in the spirit of fairness.
One’s imagination can run rampant with such a backdrop, tempered only by a more conventional plot of political assassinations, adventures and escapades. All of it - the preposterous, the culture shock - integrates so organically and so earnestly, there’s nothing to judge as morally right or wrong. Much is borderline incredulous here, yet it is never cynical. Sweet, beautiful Jerin, the central character, questions the choices but never his family duties, which he wholeheartedly embraces as his wont. He knows he can’t fight, but damn, he will cook the perfect goose, save a damsel and love like a man.
All in, an entertaining read except for the age of conjugal sex. In this world, within its context, it makes sense, but the ickiness dropped a star-rating for me. As such, recommended with reservations. Excerpts, if they can be helpful:
”It’s not like I don’t want to marry. I just want to be picky! … I want a family of clean breeding, one that doesn’t fight, … and ten to fifteen wives at the most. None of these thirty wives or more! Mothers above, I’d feel like a whore! I’d have a different woman every night for a month mounting me.”
(Observing a huge steamboat docking smoothly) ”Jerin stood in awe, though he had seen it many times before. What great works women could create!”
”The very nature of intercourse - an act to produce pregnancy - and the risks to the women’s health as such, I think will always make the choice of yes or no the woman’s.”
“So the man can never say no”.
“Actually,” she said as she gathered up his hair into a ponytail, “you can always say no. ...you have the right to choose who does what to your body.”
January 1, 2017
4.75 stars
Wow. What a great way to close out the reading year! A Brother's Price was very unique and entertaining; too bad it's a standalone. In a world where women vastly outnumber men, boys are coddled and protected. They are the wealth for the large, extended generations of women who live together, traded or sold for a husband for the many daughters in the household. Jerin is from a the Whistler family, and they have been gifted with four sons. His sixteenth birthday is fast approaching, and he frets about being sold to the lazy and brutish Brindles.
His life changes forever when he saves a young princess from attackers and nurses her back to health. The Queen Mothers offer to sponsor his season in Mayfair as a reward for his bravery. What Jerin doesn't know is that the princesses have fallen in love with him, but due to his lower status, all five sisters have to agree to marry him before the eldest queen will allow the union. His season in Mayfair is rife with danger and adventure, as Princess Ren, the Elder sister, searches for traitors in the ranks.
This was like a regency on speed. I don't know how else to describe it. Jerin takes the role of the innocent youth in search of a favorable match. Due to his unique upbringing, he is far from helpless, though, and he plays a crucial part in helping bring the traitors to justice. I couldn't put this down, and I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters.
Wow. What a great way to close out the reading year! A Brother's Price was very unique and entertaining; too bad it's a standalone. In a world where women vastly outnumber men, boys are coddled and protected. They are the wealth for the large, extended generations of women who live together, traded or sold for a husband for the many daughters in the household. Jerin is from a the Whistler family, and they have been gifted with four sons. His sixteenth birthday is fast approaching, and he frets about being sold to the lazy and brutish Brindles.
His life changes forever when he saves a young princess from attackers and nurses her back to health. The Queen Mothers offer to sponsor his season in Mayfair as a reward for his bravery. What Jerin doesn't know is that the princesses have fallen in love with him, but due to his lower status, all five sisters have to agree to marry him before the eldest queen will allow the union. His season in Mayfair is rife with danger and adventure, as Princess Ren, the Elder sister, searches for traitors in the ranks.
This was like a regency on speed. I don't know how else to describe it. Jerin takes the role of the innocent youth in search of a favorable match. Due to his unique upbringing, he is far from helpless, though, and he plays a crucial part in helping bring the traitors to justice. I couldn't put this down, and I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters.
October 5, 2017
Ok, that book was mega different from what I read before, it was weird! The gender were switched and the women are so manly, I loved it. I couldn't put it down. Jerin and his brides were tied by love and friendship. But I couldn't help but pity the men in the story...
November 18, 2019
It was so odd and so good. I liked the world building (f**ked as it is). I was skeptical at first; 99 cent kindle books are always a gamble. Adventure on point, narration decent, although character's "voices" ran together at points. It didn't feel disjointed, though. Worth it.
Edit Jan 2018: I may actually never get tired of this book.
Edit Jan 2018: I may actually never get tired of this book.
March 23, 2022
A slow but not badly written hard fantasy Western. My favorite thing about this book (besides the fact that Spencer pulled off a fantasy Western, which is something you don't see everyday) is how Spencer handles the gender roles swap. If you are going to do a gender roles swap then you might as well do it all the way, and Spencer luckily does. Instead of just doing a matriarchal society where everyone still behaves like they do in every other society, Spencer makes her Women dress and act like men and her men dress and act like women.
January 5, 2016
A lot of this book was a VERY good read. The story is interesting, paced well, and the dialogue is mostly solid. Where it really stands out is that it has the best alternate gender-role society I've read so far (certainly more consistently handled and believable than Ancillary Justice, The Player of Games, or The Left Hand of Darkness). The society is one in which males are rarely born, so they're kept at home to be protected and consequently end up performing most of the domestic work. Officially, males are the property of their mothers / sisters / wives. The world is kind of a Victorian-era almost-steam fantasy equivalent with no magic, basic firearms and steam riverboats. The characterization of the women in such a situation feels right to me, and even the characterization of the men, given the broad feminizing influence on society and swapping of gender roles. That's what I find so impressive. The story is engaging and I enjoyed the pacing, which is why I was willing to forgive a few jabs the author was clearly looking to get in, such as the main character (a boy) wondering after being kissed and enjoying it, "Does that make me a slut?" For the most part, these are woven into the story skillfully enough, certainly better than in Barrayar.
What makes it such a shame to give this book three stars ("was worth my time, but not great") instead of four ("I really enjoyed it and freely recommend it") is that it's at least partly a romance novel. Ugh. Maybe I just don't know what a romance novel really is, since I haven't read one before, but a few parts were too focused on the physical relationships and the main characters had "I love her/him, but does she/he really love me back and can it ever work out?" regularly going through their thoughts. It might not be worse than the Twilight series, particularly book four (Breaking Dawn) which I have never read but heard about. Nevertheless, the main character is of course stunningly beautiful, skilled at all kinds of surprising things (especially for a society where boys tend not to be educated beyond domestic skills), and of course the central issue (can the low-born marry a princess?) turns out not to have any substantial problems. My impression is that those are all hallmarks of romance novels.
There's a tidy little "Science Fiction" label on the spine of my library copy of this book, which is amusing since Science Fiction is definitely one of the things it's not. I would definitely label it fantasy / romance. It breaks my heart; there was so much potential here and so much done well!
What makes it such a shame to give this book three stars ("was worth my time, but not great") instead of four ("I really enjoyed it and freely recommend it") is that it's at least partly a romance novel. Ugh. Maybe I just don't know what a romance novel really is, since I haven't read one before, but a few parts were too focused on the physical relationships and the main characters had "I love her/him, but does she/he really love me back and can it ever work out?" regularly going through their thoughts. It might not be worse than the Twilight series, particularly book four (Breaking Dawn) which I have never read but heard about. Nevertheless, the main character is of course stunningly beautiful, skilled at all kinds of surprising things (especially for a society where boys tend not to be educated beyond domestic skills), and of course the central issue (can the low-born marry a princess?) turns out not to have any substantial problems. My impression is that those are all hallmarks of romance novels.
There's a tidy little "Science Fiction" label on the spine of my library copy of this book, which is amusing since Science Fiction is definitely one of the things it's not. I would definitely label it fantasy / romance. It breaks my heart; there was so much potential here and so much done well!
October 1, 2014
I’m a sucker for world-building and can be enticed to read almost anything if the culture intrigues me. So when I first heard about A Brother’s Price, the “what-ifs” had me interested enough to get my hands on it asap. It’s a bit different than my normal type – secular adult fiction that is not mystery or SciFi/fantasy. And I was a bit worried the romantic aspects of the story would stray into romance novel territory. Instead I found myself hooked on a unique alternate-universe set in a western turn-of-the-century time period. The women are tough and carry pistols! Children are taught from a young age how to handle a rifle and do their part – not just with running the farm or ranch but also protecting the menfolk from raiders! And the men are sheltered and precious – raised to be good husbands and fathers, traded with another family when they are of age. (This aspect I found fairly realistic. I remember reading once about India having similar problems with not enough women to go around and many families only allowing their daughters to marry if their son can wed the other family’s daughter.)
As already mentioned, I really enjoyed the culture in this world. While a bit of a ridiculous idea, I felt like the author took the premise and made it have solid potential. I also enjoyed the intrigue – I dislike political intrigue with a lot of doublespeak but this was more like spy/assassin intrigue and had me champing at the bit for the characters to figure it out. And the climactic ending was so action-packed I was wishing I could see it in a movie. It was the perfect cap on a nail-biting situation.
I did find the “he loved each girl with all his heart” bit to be total bunk. Maybe I could have bought it if we didn’t have the Bible detailing over and over again how marriages with multiple spouses never fail to suffer from jealousy and unhappiness. And while not a porny romance novel, you can’t have a story that revolves around marriage/breeding without constant references to the subject, although handled tactfully. There is also a sex scene or two, though handled without many details.
All in all, I found A Brother’s Price well written and engaging. I also learned the author, Wen Spencer, writes popular science fiction and fantasy. My library only has book two for one of her series so I’ll have to order the books or just buy them myself. Either way, if they are anywhere near as good as this book was, I know I’ll enjoy them a lot!
As already mentioned, I really enjoyed the culture in this world. While a bit of a ridiculous idea, I felt like the author took the premise and made it have solid potential. I also enjoyed the intrigue – I dislike political intrigue with a lot of doublespeak but this was more like spy/assassin intrigue and had me champing at the bit for the characters to figure it out. And the climactic ending was so action-packed I was wishing I could see it in a movie. It was the perfect cap on a nail-biting situation.
I did find the “he loved each girl with all his heart” bit to be total bunk. Maybe I could have bought it if we didn’t have the Bible detailing over and over again how marriages with multiple spouses never fail to suffer from jealousy and unhappiness. And while not a porny romance novel, you can’t have a story that revolves around marriage/breeding without constant references to the subject, although handled tactfully. There is also a sex scene or two, though handled without many details.
All in all, I found A Brother’s Price well written and engaging. I also learned the author, Wen Spencer, writes popular science fiction and fantasy. My library only has book two for one of her series so I’ll have to order the books or just buy them myself. Either way, if they are anywhere near as good as this book was, I know I’ll enjoy them a lot!
February 5, 2013
You know those awful fantasy stories you run into from time to time where the men are weapon-happy he-men, and the women are fainting and beribboned (except for 15 minutes where they're plucky and resourceful instead), and villains are seething with pointless evil, and non-nobles/royalty are all yucky dirty ignorant poor people with no redeeming qualities? Evil Incarnate does awful things because, hey, it's what evil guys do, and Real Man saves his true love, Damsel in Distress, and is rewarded by finding out she's Secret Royalty instead of a Filthy Commoner (thank god!) and even though lots of Unimportant People die horrible deaths, everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end with lots of singing and dancing at the Obligatory Fantasy Wedding?
Yeah, this is that book, except the men are women and the women are men.
I know, I know. You read the blurb, and it looks like maybe this is going to be one of those clever books that turns the genre stereotypes on their heads and does something really interesting. I thought that, too. And I got about halfway through before I realized it was never coming. This author took a potentially interesting premise and did literally nothing with it except swap out which sex is veiled and cloistered and chaste and which one is out drinking and shooting people.
Even that could perhaps have been forgiven if there were any depth here at all, but there's not. Nobody in this story has any complex motivations. There are no plot twists or unexpected surprises. People are nice for no reason when it is convenient to the plot, and bad for precisely the same reason. The characters are nearly all interchangeable cardboard cutout representations of fantasy archetypes. There's not any kind of real world-building, just vague allusions to only-there-when-convenient government institutions and a confusingly inconsistent level of technology, overlaid with some tepid romance-novel intrigue, and even that last bit can't manage to bring any suspense into the plot.
I had initially given this two stars because the writing at least flowed well enough to be readable, but there's so little else here that I can't give it more than one and a half. This book is simply not worth your time.
Yeah, this is that book, except the men are women and the women are men.
I know, I know. You read the blurb, and it looks like maybe this is going to be one of those clever books that turns the genre stereotypes on their heads and does something really interesting. I thought that, too. And I got about halfway through before I realized it was never coming. This author took a potentially interesting premise and did literally nothing with it except swap out which sex is veiled and cloistered and chaste and which one is out drinking and shooting people.
Even that could perhaps have been forgiven if there were any depth here at all, but there's not. Nobody in this story has any complex motivations. There are no plot twists or unexpected surprises. People are nice for no reason when it is convenient to the plot, and bad for precisely the same reason. The characters are nearly all interchangeable cardboard cutout representations of fantasy archetypes. There's not any kind of real world-building, just vague allusions to only-there-when-convenient government institutions and a confusingly inconsistent level of technology, overlaid with some tepid romance-novel intrigue, and even that last bit can't manage to bring any suspense into the plot.
I had initially given this two stars because the writing at least flowed well enough to be readable, but there's so little else here that I can't give it more than one and a half. This book is simply not worth your time.
February 26, 2013
As someone who rarely reads, I very much enjoyed this book. It's a real breath of fresh air to see a book with a male damsel in distress rescued by a dashing and strong woman. The story was very easy to follow, and the romance was nice and not overly gratuitous. My only problem with this book was that it was much too short. This is a book with quite a large cast of interesting characters and a world that's very easy to get sucked into, but not enough time to savor it all. The ending is just too abrupt and I would've loved to have been emerged into the characters. I very much wish Wen Spencer writes more novels in this universe or possibly more including the characters involved in this book.
January 23, 2020
I really can't tell you what it is about this book that draws me to it time and time again. I was just sitting around trying to figure out what to read when this book popped up in my memory. It really does make an impression. Enough of one that i have reread it multiple times. And like i said i don't honestly understand why.
Matters not in the end though.. I highly enjoyed the story and would recommend it to most people.
P.s. Note to Author.
Sorry about not writing a review before now. It is frankly unexcusable considering how many times i have read this.
Matters not in the end though.. I highly enjoyed the story and would recommend it to most people.
P.s. Note to Author.
Sorry about not writing a review before now. It is frankly unexcusable considering how many times i have read this.
July 8, 2016
An enjoyable read, though there were a lot of aspects of it that required me to suspend logic, and just enjoy the story.
December 7, 2020
A superb yarn!!!
Loved it. Read it in one long sitting. GREAT story, well written, fast paced with interesting characters, a twisted plot and a few surprises.
Loved it. Read it in one long sitting. GREAT story, well written, fast paced with interesting characters, a twisted plot and a few surprises.
March 29, 2021
I can't tell if it's just a silly dumb fun AU book or if it's the most brilliant thing I've ever read.
I will settle on it being a brilliant genderswapped AU parody of silly dumb fun historical romance novels. I wish it wasn't so heteronormative but otherwise, I really don't have any criticisms that couldn't be answered by "but that's a commentary on this very prevalent trope in romance"
Also, must not lie. Teeny bit of schadenfreude happening here. I had a bigger problem with the incest-adjacent idea of sharing a partner with your sisters than I had with the idea of subjugating men.
I will settle on it being a brilliant genderswapped AU parody of silly dumb fun historical romance novels. I wish it wasn't so heteronormative but otherwise, I really don't have any criticisms that couldn't be answered by "but that's a commentary on this very prevalent trope in romance"
Also, must not lie. Teeny bit of schadenfreude happening here. I had a bigger problem with the incest-adjacent idea of sharing a partner with your sisters than I had with the idea of subjugating men.
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