LGBTQ Annotation: Ammonite by Nicola Griffith

Ammonite

Nicola Griffith

Genre: Science fiction, LGBTQ, Adventure

Publication date: 2002

Number of pages: 360

Geographical setting: A planet known as "Jeep"

Time period: An unspecified time in the distant future

Plot summary: Humanity has attempted to colonize a distant planet called Jeep, but encountered a virus that wiped out a large percentage of the population and killed all men who set foot on the planet. The surviving members of the colony have dispersed across the planet except for a few that stay behind to maintain a military outpost. Marghe, a linguistic anthropologist, volunteers to travel to Jeep and study its inhabitants, but quickly leaves the protection of the outpost to join the planet's native inhabitants who have developed a mysterious symbiosis with the world's virus. This is a story of love, exploration, and hardship as Marghe travels the planet and faces a transformation that leaves her changed forever.

Subject headings: Sociology, Viruses, Gender roles, Extraterrestrial anthropology


Appeal:

• Pacing: Leisurely with bursts of speed
• Tone: Mysterious, though-provoking, adventurous
• Writing Style: Poetic, descriptive, compelling
  

Read-a-likes:

• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin - this novel explores similar issues to Ammonite, exploring gender on a hostile, icy planet. LeGuin's novel is more interested in social and political situations that arise as a result of gender fluidity and an alien planet, and less focused on adventure than Ammonite is.
• China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh - a story exploring a futuristic American society in which China has become the dominant world power. This novel focuses on characterization against a science fiction setting, and features queer relationships.
• Daughters of a Coral Dawn by Katherine V. Forrest - the story of a group of women who escape an oppressive patriarchal society to begin a new life in a matriarchal society of their own design on a distant planet.

Related authors:

• Ursula K. Le Guin
• Elizabeth Bear
• Mary Doria Russell