Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collections
Publication
Del Rey (1989), Mass Market Paperback
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. If you ask, she must answer. A steerswoman's knowledge is shared with any who request it; no steerswoman may refuse a question, and no steerswoman may answer with anything but the truth. And if she asks, you must answer. It is the other side of tradition's contract � and if you refuse the question, or lie, no steerswoman will ever again answer even your most casual question. And so, the steerswomen � always seeking, always investigating � have gathered more and more knowledge about the world they traveled, and they share that knowledge freely. Until the day that the steerswoman Rowan begins asking innocent questions about one small, lovely, inexplicable object... Her discoveries grow stranger and deeper, and more dangerous, until suddenly she finds she must flee or fight for her life. Or worse � lie. Because one kind of knowledge has always been denied the steerswomen: Magic.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member cissa
Other reviews have discussed the steerswoman principle; I will focus more on the world.
As an sf reader, it's really clear that these humans are colonizing and gradually terraforming a new planet. They have also lost a lot of tech, including electricity; the few humans able to work with that are the
This makes these books a really delightful combination of science fiction and fantasy, with intelligent protagonists who are beginning to put all this together.
Occasionally the heroes fall into the Sherlock Holmes trap, where they come up with accurate insights based on what seem like fairly specious clues. Mostly, though, it makes sense, and we learn things as they do... though a wider grasp of sf does give one a broader context in which to look at the world.
Fascinating! and very well-written, with persuasive and engaging characters and a compelling plot, as well as an intriguing world.
As an sf reader, it's really clear that these humans are colonizing and gradually terraforming a new planet. They have also lost a lot of tech, including electricity; the few humans able to work with that are the
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"wizards", which is apparently a closely inbred and secretive clan.This makes these books a really delightful combination of science fiction and fantasy, with intelligent protagonists who are beginning to put all this together.
Occasionally the heroes fall into the Sherlock Holmes trap, where they come up with accurate insights based on what seem like fairly specious clues. Mostly, though, it makes sense, and we learn things as they do... though a wider grasp of sf does give one a broader context in which to look at the world.
Fascinating! and very well-written, with persuasive and engaging characters and a compelling plot, as well as an intriguing world.
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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Excellent ideas, gracefully presented. If I were a fan of sword&sorcery, I'd be willing to bet I'd give it five stars. If I had the patience for series, I'd continue. If you're a fan of smart strong women in fantasy, don't miss these wonderful books. I have the first two and would like to keep them
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together and share them with someone (in the US) who asks nicely. (bookcrossed mm pb) Show Less
LibraryThing member JenneB
So this was pretty awesome.
Steerswomen, apparently, are kind of like traveling librarians. They know about all kinds of things (especially maps, which I guess is where the steering comes in).
They are sworn to answer truthfully any question they are asked, EXCEPT that you also have to answer their
Oh, and also there are wizards, who(we know, but the people in the book don't) are not really magical people but they just know about science. And they're kind of evil. Ish.
There's a sort of plot about stuff, but mostly I just liked reading about the world and how they do things there.
Steerswomen, apparently, are kind of like traveling librarians. They know about all kinds of things (especially maps, which I guess is where the steering comes in).
They are sworn to answer truthfully any question they are asked, EXCEPT that you also have to answer their
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questions! And if you refuse, NO STEERSWOMAN WILL EVER ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AGAIN.Oh, and also there are wizards, who(we know, but the people in the book don't) are not really magical people but they just know about science. And they're kind of evil. Ish.
There's a sort of plot about stuff, but mostly I just liked reading about the world and how they do things there.
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LibraryThing member bunwat
The characterization is excellent and the world building is quite wonderful. When I look back on the story, things did in fact happen. But my actual experience of reading it was that nothing happened for long stretches, people just thought about stuff or sat at tables and talked to one other about
That said, there is a lot here that is really good. As I say, the characterization is terrific, the world building is outstanding. The plotting and pacing are not great but they aren't all that bad. Its good enough that I decided to read on to the sequel.
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backstory or explained what they were going to do next. It really does read a little bit like the novelization of a truly outstanding game of Dungeons and Dragons or some equivalent fantasy role play.That said, there is a lot here that is really good. As I say, the characterization is terrific, the world building is outstanding. The plotting and pacing are not great but they aren't all that bad. Its good enough that I decided to read on to the sequel.
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LibraryThing member superant
On page 60 so far. I have gone back and look at others' reviews. One secret revealed by another reviewer makes me want to continue the book. I started the book because a reviewer had compared the steerswomen to librarians. I would not have used that analogy. I would have compared a steerswoman to a
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high level analysis. She always considers all the facts she has access to in making decisions. I find the book slow going, but I am going to keep at it. Show Less
LibraryThing member kenzen
Delightful, fast read and a great entry to an interesting world. I saw the series (which is apparently not finished yet) being mentioned in /r/fantasy and decided that the blurb sounded interesting enough. And I am really glad I did. Looking at the genres assigned to this book my suspicions about
I also learned that the author is fighting breast cancer at the moment which just further encouraged me to purchase her books. It helps that they're good!
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the wizards seem confirmed. I just can't wait to learn more!I also learned that the author is fighting breast cancer at the moment which just further encouraged me to purchase her books. It helps that they're good!
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LibraryThing member imyril
The Steerswoman is full of things to like: a very egalitarian society, an intriguingly small world (I enjoyed the slow reveal of why this was the case), and the interesting set up of knowledge and conflict between the steerswomen/steersmen and the wizards.
I realised early on that this was not
I didn't particularly enjoy the prose style, finding the writing quite sparse and sometimes choppy, so didn't suck me in on its own merits. However, I enjoyed the characters (although I found the POV swap to Willam very jarring) and the overall tale. I'm in no rush to continue the series, but I do think this is one that's going to grow on me over time and I will pick up the next installment in due course.
I realised early on that this was not
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traditional fantasy, in spite of the dragons, as upheld by Rowan's increasing reliance on physical and mathematical principles to understand her world (not to mention Willam's 'magic' and its more obvious interpretation). But I'm happy to read a fantasy that embraces the question of whether sufficiently advanced science is distinguishable from magic and explores the evolution of magic into science, and I think Kirstein handles it well here - along with finer touches that still feel magical (it took me far longer than it should have to figure out why Rowan would be immune to guard charms).I didn't particularly enjoy the prose style, finding the writing quite sparse and sometimes choppy, so didn't suck me in on its own merits. However, I enjoyed the characters (although I found the POV swap to Willam very jarring) and the overall tale. I'm in no rush to continue the series, but I do think this is one that's going to grow on me over time and I will pick up the next installment in due course.
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LibraryThing member quiBee
This was a fantasy novel with a well constructed world.
The steerswomen wander the world looking for information and trying to make connections between things, constructing knowledge bases. They are obliged to answer any questions a person asks, but everyome, in turn, must answer any questions they
Rowan is investigating the appearance of some beautiful crystals and meets up with a barbarian soldier named Bel. They meet with apparent misadventures a couple of times, but then it seems to be obvious that someone doesn't want them involved in their investigation.
This should be an interesting series to follow. Strong female characters.
The steerswomen wander the world looking for information and trying to make connections between things, constructing knowledge bases. They are obliged to answer any questions a person asks, but everyome, in turn, must answer any questions they
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ask.Rowan is investigating the appearance of some beautiful crystals and meets up with a barbarian soldier named Bel. They meet with apparent misadventures a couple of times, but then it seems to be obvious that someone doesn't want them involved in their investigation.
This should be an interesting series to follow. Strong female characters.
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LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Kirstein's 'Steerswoman' series had been highly recommended to me - and did not disappoint in the slightest. It's fun, well-crafted, well-characterized adventure with an original set-up and believable culture(s). Rowan is a Steerswoman. As the title might indicate, she is adept at nautical
Although the book is styled as a fantasy, it is obvious to the reader that this is a colony world, and that many of the things that these people consider to be magic are actually vestiges of high technology. Watching Bel and Rowan discover truths about their world is fascinating - but equally of interest is watching two culturally different people become fast friends.
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navigation, but the main goal of Steerswomen is to collect (and dissemintate) knowledge and information, write it down, and deliver it to Archives. As a valuable source of information, Steerswomen are greatly respected and deferred to. People think there is little they do not know. But Rowan has come across a mystery - some strange 'jewels,' the source of which is unknown, and about which strange rumors have collected. At a tavern, she meets Bel, a woman of the dangerous, barbarian Outskirts, who owns a whole belt fashioned of these jewels. Bel tells Rowan that her father crafted the belt, but that she could guide Rowan to the place where he found them, if she is up for a challenging journey. However, then the two women are attacked - and wizards seem to be behind it. Wizards are the traditional rivals of Steerswomen - but usually they keep out of each other's way, avoiding violence. What is it about these jewels that the wizards want kept secret?Although the book is styled as a fantasy, it is obvious to the reader that this is a colony world, and that many of the things that these people consider to be magic are actually vestiges of high technology. Watching Bel and Rowan discover truths about their world is fascinating - but equally of interest is watching two culturally different people become fast friends.
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LibraryThing member adamwolf
This is really, really good. It's kinda short, so it's been combined into an omnibus with the sequel in some forms.
This is a book that is actually *about* science, with pretty great world-building at that!
This is a book that is actually *about* science, with pretty great world-building at that!
LibraryThing member meriamon
I liked the world and many of the ideas - the concept of the Steerswomen who live for gathering knowledge and have to answer truthfully to anyone who asks is just great.
But I never really got to like Rowan and the other characters. It didn't help that in the end they were happily murdering and
As a whole the book wasn't that bad, but I won't buy the sequels.
But I never really got to like Rowan and the other characters. It didn't help that in the end they were happily murdering and
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torturing to achieve their aims ("we don't like it and we are really really sorry, but we have to do it"). And it wasn't even to save the world or something - just to satisfy their curiosity.As a whole the book wasn't that bad, but I won't buy the sequels.
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LibraryThing member haloedrain
This book has many trappings of fantasy (starts in a tavern, people with swords, wizards and dragons) but really, it is a love note to science. Hard scifi often focuses on the outcome of the scientific process, often with long infodumps on how exactly that FTL drive works, but in this book the
Take this example: at some point, Rowan is explaining to Bel how things fall in an arc, with diagrams. They start wondering what happens if you throw something so far that you have to take into account the curvature of the earth, and the diagrams make it look like if you throw something hard enough it will never come back down--as a reader, we know that's true, but Rowan thinks that can't be right, but the math all checks out. Some time later she shows her diagrams to a collegue, who also says that can't be right, check your assumptions, but they don't get anywhere that way either. So they think, is there anything that can be explained if this is true that was previously inexplicable? YES! And together everyone comes to have a more complete understanding of the world. Yay, science.
And now I've made it sound really dry, but it isn't. All of the characters are wonderful, complex, well-rounded people, and there's some truly amazing world building (though more so in books 2 and 3).
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outcomes are all things the reader might take for granted and the focus is on how a group of people with a roughly medieval understanding of science might come to understand those things--I gather that understanding what's going on so far ahead of the protagonist drives some people reviewing this book crazy, so if you're not interested in the process of coming to understand this book may not be for you.Take this example: at some point, Rowan is explaining to Bel how things fall in an arc, with diagrams. They start wondering what happens if you throw something so far that you have to take into account the curvature of the earth, and the diagrams make it look like if you throw something hard enough it will never come back down--as a reader, we know that's true, but Rowan thinks that can't be right, but the math all checks out. Some time later she shows her diagrams to a collegue, who also says that can't be right, check your assumptions, but they don't get anywhere that way either. So they think, is there anything that can be explained if this is true that was previously inexplicable? YES! And together everyone comes to have a more complete understanding of the world. Yay, science.
And now I've made it sound really dry, but it isn't. All of the characters are wonderful, complex, well-rounded people, and there's some truly amazing world building (though more so in books 2 and 3).
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LibraryThing member sarcher
A solid work that really does little to expose the world-building of the later novels.
LibraryThing member Fence
This was such an enjoyable read. Rowan, the main character, is entertaining, engaging, and believable. She is the Steerswoman of the title, and her curiosity is piqued when she encounters blue jewels unlike any others she has come across in a variety of places. She wonders where they came from, and
And knowledge, the gaining and the sharing, is of utmost importance to Rowan and the other Steerswomen and Steersmen. That, and truth, are at the heart of who they are. To have people seek to hide knowledge goes against everything they believe in.
And I have to say I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. That it was all about sharing knowledge and wisdom, working together to solve problems. And that it didn't focus on rivalries and competition as a way of succeeding. That more than anything is why I enjoyed this book so much, it seems somehow a hopeful and positive view of the world. Even if it is threatened in the story.
I also really enjoyed the world building and how little things are revealed about the possible history of this world.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Bel and Rowan, they start out as strangers, but both have a similar desire to learn about the world and that is the key foundation of their friendship. They have their differences, and certainly see the world in different terms, but what they share is enough to cement their friendship.
Overall a really great read, although this is one off Mount TBR that gets instantly replaced with the followup, The Outskirter's Secret.
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how the came to be so scattered across the world. She can't quite work it out, but as she investigates she realises that someone really doesn't want her to know.And knowledge, the gaining and the sharing, is of utmost importance to Rowan and the other Steerswomen and Steersmen. That, and truth, are at the heart of who they are. To have people seek to hide knowledge goes against everything they believe in.
And I have to say I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. That it was all about sharing knowledge and wisdom, working together to solve problems. And that it didn't focus on rivalries and competition as a way of succeeding. That more than anything is why I enjoyed this book so much, it seems somehow a hopeful and positive view of the world. Even if it is threatened in the story.
I also really enjoyed the world building and how little things are revealed about the possible history of this world.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Bel and Rowan, they start out as strangers, but both have a similar desire to learn about the world and that is the key foundation of their friendship. They have their differences, and certainly see the world in different terms, but what they share is enough to cement their friendship.
Overall a really great read, although this is one off Mount TBR that gets instantly replaced with the followup, The Outskirter's Secret.
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LibraryThing member Andorion
More like 3.5 to be honest. I really wish the book was longer and resolved a few more things.
LibraryThing member kcollett
Scientists (aka steerswomen) in a medieval-type world, figuring out physics, etc., being threatened by wizards.
LibraryThing member kevn57
The Steerswoman was not what I expected, from the old paperback cover, I thought it'd be a D&D type adventure. I also didn't expect a 1989 Fantasy to have such a capable cast of women, at a time when most D&D parties had at most one woman usually cast as a healer.
I love the relationship between Bel at first Rowan doesn't quite trust Bel but as the adventure continue she finds that she can and that she is just as capable as Rowan in her own way. Someone mentioned to me that this was SF so I wasn't that surprised when Will's magic turned out to be gunpowder.
The worldbuilding and the inclusion of a map really added to the overall reading experience.
I'm really glad that I joined the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group as I'd never heard of this series before and now I can't wait to continue with the next book.
I love the relationship between Bel
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and Rowan,The worldbuilding and the inclusion of a map really added to the overall reading experience.
I'm really glad that I joined the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group as I'd never heard of this series before and now I can't wait to continue with the next book.
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LibraryThing member Tikimoof
This is a strange book. Simultaneously very speculative, and very uncaring of human life.
I started the book and wasn't very interested. I came back and found myself more compelled. I dropped it for a week, but then picked it up and desperately needed to know how it ended.
I still have very little
I started the book and wasn't very interested. I came back and found myself more compelled. I dropped it for a week, but then picked it up and desperately needed to know how it ended.
I still have very little
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idea of how the magic works. This is frustrating, considering it's core to much of the plot. Kirstein would explicitly point out dialogue with social issues, but magic is still very vague. Show Less
LibraryThing member 73pctGeek
This was a re-read to get me ready for the sequels. In 2016 I rather enjoyed it, liking the world building, the Steerswoman conceit and the writing, even if I found the plot a little lacking and the "villains" too reasonable.
This time it just didn't work for me, finding it tedious and meandering.
This time it just didn't work for me, finding it tedious and meandering.
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Just goes to show how much my mood influences how I feel about a book. Not sure I like that about me. Show Less
Awards
Compton Crook Award (Nominee — 1990)
Language
Original publication date
1989
Physical description
279 p.; 6.7 inches
ISBN
0345357620 / 9780345357625