As hard and mean and fine as Flannery O'Connor. I wish that everyone would read Joanna Russ' books. -Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina "Joanna Russ offers a gallery of some of the most interesting female protagonists in current fiction, women who are rarely victims and sometimes even victors, but always engaged sharply and perceptively with their fate." -Marge Piercy "A stunning book, a work to be read with great respect. It's also screamingly funny." -Elizabeth Lynn, San Francisco Review of Books "A work of frightening power, but it is also a work of great fictional subtlety. It should appeal to all intelligent people who look for exciting ideation, crackling dialogue, provocative fictional games-playing in their reading." -Douglas Barbour, Toronto Star.