Give women the vote, suffragists said, and we’ll have a kinder, gentler, more peaceful government. Women got the vote, and the country went to war with a fury never before seen. What if an entire planet were populated by women, with the male of the species being an enfeebled post-menopausal evolution of the female, existing only for procreation purposes? Would it be a planet free of war? Would it be more peaceful? Sarah Zettel, in her third novel and hardcover debut, takes a biological approach to these questions, sharing her perspective through a tightly-woven, fast-paced plot filled with alien worlds, creatures, cultures, space travel, and ecological reconstruction.Zettel’s books represent the best characteristics of the science fiction genre. They contain extrapolated science, memorable characters, action-filled story lines, and a deep philosophical probing into social issues that society faces. Playing God lives up to these criteria.Extrapolated ScienceIn Playing God, the planet All-Cradle has been beset by plagues as the result of fierce biological warfare among tribes of Dedelphi. The leaders of the planet managed to form a temporary truce—long enough to call in an Earth corporation to help them redevelop their planet. Bioverse, an Earth corporation, responds and they develop plans to move the entire population off the planet into ships so that the planet can be “regrown.”Zettel is detailed and consistent in the science she “creates” to allow space travel, bio-reconstruction, and inter-stellar communication. More interesting in this novel, though, is the exploration into biological issues. The Dedelphi are a race of nearly all women. Eventually it is discovered that the “men” in their society are really evolved versions of the women. It is what women become when their uteruses drop. But don’t think that this is an anti-male or ultra-feminist book. It’s not. Instead, Zettel masterfully explores the ramifications of biology and its effects on a society. In this case, sisters become tightly bound, even more so than mothers and daughters. Memorable CharactersOne of my favorite aspects of Zettel’s books are the characters she creates. So expert is her painting that I feel as though I have met Praeis Shin t’Theria, and while I am reading the book, her problems become mine. She is passionate about everything in her life: her sisters, her daughters, her planet, her mission. She makes sacrifices for the good of others and is a determined and intelligent protagonist. Zettel is also able to make her emotions, fears, and anxiety come to life.Lynn Nussbaumer, the Earth corporation’s representative, puts a human face on the otherwise cold face of Bioverse. She is diplomatic and must make difficult choices—it is she who must decide whether she is going to play God.Arron Hagopian is also a fascinating character. An academic conducting research on the planet, he has formed close relationships with the enemies of Praeis’ tribe, the Getesaph. He is the closest the novel has to the traditional swashbuckler of many modern science fiction films. He is compassionate, clever, quick to action, and rash in speech and deed.Action-Filled Story LineWhile the novel does begin rather slowly, intricately knitting a universe where money and capitalism have made political governments irrelevant, it speeds up once the story reaches All-Cradle. From there, plot after twisted plot is revealed and the bitter results of the wars between the Dedelphi are demonstrated. Once action moves to the planet, the reader discovers that there are forces that would sabotage the move. So deeply ingrained is the suspicion among races that each believes it is a plot by the other. The intrigue thickens until the reader is left uncertain whether a resolution is even possible. That Zettel is able to craft a believable, appropriate solution is a tribute to her skill and plotting.Philosophical ProbingWhile I enjoy bubble gum reading as much as the next person, I also love a book that will keep me thinking long after I’ve closed the cover. Playing God succeeds at this. While one of the main themes of the book dealt with the interference of a technologically superior race with another for the purpose of “saving” them, I found the secondary theme of biological hatred the more interesting one.The Dedelphi’s hatreds are expressed physically. They have bio-chemical reactions to the warfare that has gone on for generations. So great is their need to protect their sisters and their daughters, that no sacrifice becomes too great—not even the sacrifice of the planet on which they live. Does passionate love make us more violent in its protectiveness?The evolution of woman to man and the loss of memories and coherency is also an interesting one. The different Dedelphi races treat their men differently. Some keep them hidden out of view and others allow them to wander the streets. All of them treat the men with a certain degree of protective respect.If You Like Playing God…If you like this novel, be sure to pick up her earlier two novels. Her first, Reclamation, won a Locus Award for best first novel, and her second (my personal favorite so far), Fool’s War, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 1997.
Four and a half stars, being a touch slow at the beginning. A human corporation signs a contract to clean the entire ecology of a planet whose alien residents have been at constant war (sometimes biological and nuclear) for centuries, and are currently being wiped out by a manufactured plague. Once again the author does something that I love/hate--which is to make me emotionally invested in characters with radically conflicting agendas, so that no matter who comes out on top people I care about are going to lose (though, to be fair, here most of the central cast at least survives). Good stuff! A to A-
What do You think about Playing God (1999)?
This book had a good mix of agency on different levels. You've got the corporation the aliens hired to come in and clean up the planet. The different clans of aliens. The individual characters from the corporation and the alien clans. The friendships that had formed between the two. The desires of the royal family of Mars clear off in the distance and the wider human network. I never felt close to any of the characters and that may be because I was listening to this book at work and work needed more of my attention this week than usual so I had less for the book.Still. Good read. Enjoyable. Interesting ending. What may have been missing is that the aliens existed mostly on one culture and somehow so did the humans even though I know the humans at least would have had more variety in beliefs.
—Lisa
This story really grabbed my attention. The Dedelphi are a passionate race of aliens: mothers, sisters, and daughters. We don't find out much about the fathers until the story has progressed quite a bit. They are tall, with sail-like ears, and have their daughters in twos, in their pouches. They are also inclined to fight out their differences, and after more or less ruining their planet, and leasing a catastrophic virus, they call on the humans for help to restore their planet. Amidst the clash of cultures, distrust, and warfare, Lynn, the human who gets the job of managing the project, must find her way between the fine line of providing aid, or taking it upon herself to decide what she thinks is the way things should be.
—Laura Gilfillan
