Science Fiction & Fantasy A Brother’s Price by Wen Spencer
Science F Spencer, W.
Imagine a slightly medieval world where noble families arm themselves to protect their property and serve their rulers, wives are property with no rights and no responsibilities other than raising children, keeping house and pleasing their husbands. Now turn that image on its head a bit. In A Brother’s Price, male babies are rare. They are valuable, protected by their family, veiled when in public, and considered not worth educating (they will only be raising children and keeping house, after all). A band of sisters will sell their brother, if they are lucky enough to have one, to another band of sisters for cash or trade him for another husband. The women fight in the armies, serve as the rulers, and generally work in all the jobs we might consider "male-dominated." The few men are raised to be submissive to their sisters and wives. It’s an interesting premise and Spencer carries it off well. The characters are well-developed and the plot moves along at a brisk pace. I read it in one day. A Brother’s Price is not a book you will be ambivalent about. You will either hate how she portrays men and women or be intrigued with your own reaction to her world. I like to think I am very broadminded about gender stereotypes, that men and women are raised to be "masculine" or "feminine," rather than being born that way. Still there were moments when a character did or said something so outside of my own gender expectations that it made me uncomfortable. If you like to poke and prod your own expectation and beliefs, just to test them and make sure how you really feel, give A Brother’s Price a try. - Jennifer Lohmann
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