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purrmaster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The basic premise of the book is that a rather weird society has developed on a harsh planet colonized (and forgotten) by humans. Almost nothing native to the planet is edible and only a handful of Earth crops can be cultivated, and not easily, on this new world. No earth animals except for bees made it on this world.
As a result food is always scarce and starvation common. The only meat on the world is human meat. Therefore cannibalism is common and accepted. It is not necessarily treated as something good or evil but simply a fact of everyday life.
The cannibalism isn't even that large a part of the book and may simply have been put in for shock value. This is primarily social science fiction which asks what kind of society would develop under these conditions.
It's a somewhat unique book. It's a good but not a great book.
As a result food is always scarce and starvation common. The only meat on the world is human meat. Therefore cannibalism is common and accepted. It is not necessarily treated as something good or evil but simply a fact of everyday life.
The cannibalism isn't even that large a part of the book and may simply have been put in for shock value. This is primarily social science fiction which asks what kind of society would develop under these conditions.
It's a somewhat unique book. It's a good but not a great book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cannibalism
yevolem's review against another edition
4.0
Courtship Rite is very much inspired by Dune. Kingsbury does especially well with that not being an issue by having so much else that's distinct to distract from it. If you're looking for a society with an entirely different system of morality and ethics, then you've found it. Its politics are decidedly libertarian, anarchic, and pragmatic. What's normal for them is transgressive to the norms and mores of almost any reader. Everything almost anyone does in this world is because of a singular concept: Kalothi. In a word it roughly means "survivability". Why polyamory? Because a small group has a better chance to survive. Why cannibalism? Because the survival of the individual is less important than the survival of all others. There's much else that's transgressive that's presented without defense. The transgression isn't really the focus, because it's normal. There's a lot of sex, which is often short and not explicit. Although cannibalism permeates everything and is constantly mentioned, there's surprisingly little of it on page. Mostly it's in the opening and one intentionally shocking scene.
Geta is a fascinating world, though not that much is shown of it. Their technology is extraordinarily uneven, which is understandable considering almost all of it comes from oral tradition and ancient remnants. Most resources seem scarce. There aren't any animals aside from what they call insects, which aren't viable, so their only food sources are plants and each other. If you want meat, leather, bone, or much else organic, it has to be human. A character claims there are around 200 million people, but it feels like there's maybe a million. Almost all of them see cannibalism as only being permissible during a funeral or starvation, except the two societies the book focuses on, which practice it at all times.
The characters are mostly there to have the story told through them and since this is written in third person omniscient it can jump from one character to another in consecutive paragraphs, sometimes back and forth. That may make it considerably more difficult for those whom characters are what matter most. I was indifferent to all of the characters, though there's a considerable amount to dislike about any one of them, so you may find yourself bothered by one or more of them.
The first half of the book is what the title says, courtship, which in this case means repeatedly trying to kill the wife candidate so that she can prove her Kalothi. That isn't the usual process, though I wouldn't call any of the courtship practices in this romantic, let alone kind. The latter half is intergroup conflict resolution and the troubles of knowledge. That's one one way to describe it anyway. This is something to read for its society and not much else other than that, but it's such a different experience that nothing else is needed.
Geta is a fascinating world, though not that much is shown of it. Their technology is extraordinarily uneven, which is understandable considering almost all of it comes from oral tradition and ancient remnants. Most resources seem scarce. There aren't any animals aside from what they call insects, which aren't viable, so their only food sources are plants and each other. If you want meat, leather, bone, or much else organic, it has to be human. A character claims there are around 200 million people, but it feels like there's maybe a million. Almost all of them see cannibalism as only being permissible during a funeral or starvation, except the two societies the book focuses on, which practice it at all times.
The characters are mostly there to have the story told through them and since this is written in third person omniscient it can jump from one character to another in consecutive paragraphs, sometimes back and forth. That may make it considerably more difficult for those whom characters are what matter most. I was indifferent to all of the characters, though there's a considerable amount to dislike about any one of them, so you may find yourself bothered by one or more of them.
The first half of the book is what the title says, courtship, which in this case means repeatedly trying to kill the wife candidate so that she can prove her Kalothi. That isn't the usual process, though I wouldn't call any of the courtship practices in this romantic, let alone kind. The latter half is intergroup conflict resolution and the troubles of knowledge. That's one one way to describe it anyway. This is something to read for its society and not much else other than that, but it's such a different experience that nothing else is needed.
aoc's review against another edition
4.0
Occasionally I aim to ambush myself and start reading a book as ignorant of what it's about as I possibly can be. Courtship Rite is one such case and I honestly don't know how to even makes the sales pitch.
Think civilization building within alien society where polyamory is default. Not to say latter is the primary focus of the novel, but when have you have a family with three husbands and two wives to start off, where they genuinely work as a unit to further their goals, it's a big part of the novel. Weirdest thing? That's the most normal aspect to come from this setting. Geta is a strange world without domesticated livestock with humans and Eight Sacred Plants serving as only familiar ties to good old Earth we know and love. Novel goes to great lengths to convey just how inhospitable Geta is to human life, in large part because there's, well, other life on it and all of it will kill you unless you know the tricks around it. What this has resulted in is perpetual food scarcity and cannibalism is not only NOT taboo, but also normal and expected at times. Bad harvest? Old will volunteer and everyone joins the Funereal Feast where the VIP prepared with plenty of meat strips to go around, bones to turn into broth and skin to be worn when tanned properly. You see, society on Geta isn't really familiar with concepts like countries and is more or less divided and ruled by priest clans. These sit on top of the food pyramid and govern in their own fashion. Two of such clans novel concerns itself with are Kaiel and Mnankrei as they inevitably come to blows in a world that does not know the meaning of war. Or even weapons.
Our aforementioned family belongs to the former clan, who cull their children all year long and do not reserve cannibalism for famine which has earned them a certain sort of reputation, and they get a specific mandate from up top - they must forsake the current woman they were pursuing to be third-wife and instead marry an unknown, so-called Gentle Heretic, in a prelude move to the upcoming clan struggle as Kaiel leadership suspects Mnanekrei leadership may be causing a famine to up the food prices or extort higher "flesh tithe" from weaker clans. It's all part of the great global picture dealing with the fact Mnankrei have big ships and Kaiel are land-bound which limits trade capacity in comparison. If that sounds kinda dull that's probably because it starts off that way and takes a backseat before you get some basic know-how regarding how this madhouse operates. Let's just say that Gentle Heretic, herself opposing cannibalism and who may have an artifact concerning God in the Sky, a star denizens of Geta can see shinning bright, has a role to play. Only for Courtship Rite to backhand you across the room dropping a rather impressive revelation, one that seems to have been spoiled in most summaries I've read after the fact. Three brothers send their loudest and wanton to test the waters with their bride to be as well as expand Kaiel influence. One of the wives is sent with him to temper his fiery nature as they masquerade to hide overt meddling.
I realize I haven't exactly told you much about the book. That's because A) can't get into it without spoilers and B) it really IS more about the world itself and reader becoming accustomed to it. There are brief pieces of fiction opening every chapter that set the mood just right for my taste. People here adore their skin with decorative scars and tattoos, and as rare form of leather it is seldom abandoned. For a technologically agnostic nature of Geta important clans seem to have access to chemistry and genetics to a mental level of proficiency. What we would procure technologically they achieve through genetic tampering. Kaiel leader, for example, is called Prime Predictor and is chosen based on how accurate his "prophecies" were when observed years later. Of course, no good leader just waits for things to happen and always nudges with just enough force to set things in motion.
Entire thing is extremely bizarre and my only complaint is that romance probably takes a good 20% of the book. I lost count how many times everyone has sex almost like saying hello to one another or just sheer dynamics of a marriage five people can have and all the drama that entails when it goes wrong. Strong recommendation despite that, though. I was taken aback by how Kaiel clan interprets discoveries that could shake their entire belief system and seemingly temper it with wisdom. Then again out of all priest clans their shtick is bargaining.
Think civilization building within alien society where polyamory is default. Not to say latter is the primary focus of the novel, but when have you have a family with three husbands and two wives to start off, where they genuinely work as a unit to further their goals, it's a big part of the novel. Weirdest thing? That's the most normal aspect to come from this setting. Geta is a strange world without domesticated livestock with humans and Eight Sacred Plants serving as only familiar ties to good old Earth we know and love. Novel goes to great lengths to convey just how inhospitable Geta is to human life, in large part because there's, well, other life on it and all of it will kill you unless you know the tricks around it. What this has resulted in is perpetual food scarcity and cannibalism is not only NOT taboo, but also normal and expected at times. Bad harvest? Old will volunteer and everyone joins the Funereal Feast where the VIP prepared with plenty of meat strips to go around, bones to turn into broth and skin to be worn when tanned properly. You see, society on Geta isn't really familiar with concepts like countries and is more or less divided and ruled by priest clans. These sit on top of the food pyramid and govern in their own fashion. Two of such clans novel concerns itself with are Kaiel and Mnankrei as they inevitably come to blows in a world that does not know the meaning of war. Or even weapons.
Our aforementioned family belongs to the former clan, who cull their children all year long and do not reserve cannibalism for famine which has earned them a certain sort of reputation, and they get a specific mandate from up top - they must forsake the current woman they were pursuing to be third-wife and instead marry an unknown, so-called Gentle Heretic, in a prelude move to the upcoming clan struggle as Kaiel leadership suspects Mnanekrei leadership may be causing a famine to up the food prices or extort higher "flesh tithe" from weaker clans. It's all part of the great global picture dealing with the fact Mnankrei have big ships and Kaiel are land-bound which limits trade capacity in comparison. If that sounds kinda dull that's probably because it starts off that way and takes a backseat before you get some basic know-how regarding how this madhouse operates. Let's just say that Gentle Heretic, herself opposing cannibalism and who may have an artifact concerning God in the Sky, a star denizens of Geta can see shinning bright, has a role to play. Only for Courtship Rite to backhand you across the room dropping a rather impressive revelation, one that seems to have been spoiled in most summaries I've read after the fact. Three brothers send their loudest and wanton to test the waters with their bride to be as well as expand Kaiel influence. One of the wives is sent with him to temper his fiery nature as they masquerade to hide overt meddling.
I realize I haven't exactly told you much about the book. That's because A) can't get into it without spoilers and B) it really IS more about the world itself and reader becoming accustomed to it. There are brief pieces of fiction opening every chapter that set the mood just right for my taste. People here adore their skin with decorative scars and tattoos, and as rare form of leather it is seldom abandoned. For a technologically agnostic nature of Geta important clans seem to have access to chemistry and genetics to a mental level of proficiency. What we would procure technologically they achieve through genetic tampering. Kaiel leader, for example, is called Prime Predictor and is chosen based on how accurate his "prophecies" were when observed years later. Of course, no good leader just waits for things to happen and always nudges with just enough force to set things in motion.
Entire thing is extremely bizarre and my only complaint is that romance probably takes a good 20% of the book. I lost count how many times everyone has sex almost like saying hello to one another or just sheer dynamics of a marriage five people can have and all the drama that entails when it goes wrong. Strong recommendation despite that, though. I was taken aback by how Kaiel clan interprets discoveries that could shake their entire belief system and seemingly temper it with wisdom. Then again out of all priest clans their shtick is bargaining.
srturner's review against another edition
5.0
A little known classic of the genre that blew me away when I read it 25 years ago. The author does an incredible job of world building in the first part of the novel. The characters are all well-drawn and complex.
laci's review against another edition
5.0
Me, about a quarter of the book in: o_O
There will be no plot spoilers here, just some thoughts on the world building, etc. If you like figuring it out by yourself, or enjoying a slower reveal, don't read on. :)
In summary, the name might as well be Cargo Cult: The Book. That is an idea I'd always liked - the original cargo cults were interesting enough. The first time I'd read something like this in a sci-fi, it was in Asimov's Foundation. But here, it's the central tenet the world is built upon.
People were brought to a hostile planet by a spaceship still orbiting in the sky. They still have and very much use equipment for genetic manipulation and other bio/chemical processes - but they have almost no knowledge of the *rest* of physics. Only some rudimentary stuff about "electron demons" running through copper. And there are no real animals on this planet. And the people now think the orbiting spaceship is their god.
The plot in this book is quite good, and the setting made it excellent.
There will be no plot spoilers here, just some thoughts on the world building, etc. If you like figuring it out by yourself, or enjoying a slower reveal, don't read on. :)
In summary, the name might as well be Cargo Cult: The Book. That is an idea I'd always liked - the original cargo cults were interesting enough. The first time I'd read something like this in a sci-fi, it was in Asimov's Foundation. But here, it's the central tenet the world is built upon.
People were brought to a hostile planet by a spaceship still orbiting in the sky. They still have and very much use equipment for genetic manipulation and other bio/chemical processes - but they have almost no knowledge of the *rest* of physics. Only some rudimentary stuff about "electron demons" running through copper. And there are no real animals on this planet. And the people now think the orbiting spaceship is their god.
The plot in this book is quite good, and the setting made it excellent.
riduidel's review
5.0
Mon avis
Parade nuptiale est un roman étrange, issu d’une ligne de Hard-science qu’on peut sans problème faire remonter à [book:Dune], tant par l’hostilité du milieu que par la forme du récit, et d’autres postures d’écriture.
Cependant, il serait réellement réducteur de le positionner comme une simple copie du roman de [author:Herbert], car Parade nuptiale est un récit beaucoup plus riche, plus fort, et plus difficile d’accès que [book:Dune]. Ce récit se situe sur une planète autre que la Terre, où des humains luttent pour survivre dans un monde à l’hostilité avérée. En effet, loin de monstres géants, la biosphère de cette planète est naturellement toxique pour l’être humain, et les aliments dits profanes, c’est-à-dire ceux issus de cette biosphère, sont potentiellement mortels, à la manière du plomb, pour les humains. Il existe bien sûr quelques aliments dits sacrés, pour lesquels le lecteur devine qu’ils ont été importés avec ces humains, comme le blé ou les patates. Partant de cette hypothèse très simple, Kingsburry se place d’entrée de jeu dans ce qu’on pourait appeler un régime stable, c’est-à-dire longtemps après la colonisation. Et son postulat d’environnement toxique a des répercussions incroyables sur la culture et la société de cette planète, retombée dans ce que je considère comme une espèce de moyenâge, où existerait pourtant la génétique moderne.
Parmi les conséquences les plus évidentes, on peut citer le cannibalisme culturel. C’est-à-dire que les plus faibles sont éliminées en cas de famine, pour nourir de leurs protéines les plus forts, et ainsi participer à l’amélioration de la race, concept clé de cette planète. De la même manière, les anciens qui meurent de vieillesse, les difformes et les bébés non désirés sont tous mangés, et on conserve les parties de leur corps non dévorées lors du buffet funéraire dans de délicieuses conserves. Tout cela n’est qu’un des milliers d’aspects où l’environnement a eu son impact sur la culture et la civilisation de ce monde. Tout cela n’est qu’un environnement dont j’ai essayé de donner un aperçu des pratiques les plus marquantes. Et dans cet environnement, ce roman nous raconte l’ascencion d’une famille (un mariage polygame visant la complétude à sept) qui va essayer de prendre le pouvoir, de manière "civilisée", c’est-à-dire sans verser le sang et en respectant les coutumes politiques. Et toute cette lutte politique présente, pour le joueur de nomic que je suis, certains aspects très intéressants comme une réflexion approfondie sur le pouvoir, son exercice et sa fonction sociale. Ainsi, la mise en oeuvre d’un électorat sur la base du clientélisme, qu’on considère usuellement comme une mauvaise forme de gouvernement, est ici utilisé d’une manière extrêmement intéressante, qui en sublime les potentialités politiques. En fait, il est difficile de bien parler d’une oeuvre aussi radicalement différente. Car la différence, ici, n’est pas seulement dans les vêtements ou les pratiques religieuses de gens, elle est dans le coeur de leur culture, qui se base entièrement sur la cannibalisme. Et ce cannibalisme, à son tour, ne peut pas être vu comme un acte dégradant. Ou du moins, il n’est vu comme tel que par une gentille hérétique, qui souhaite y mettre fin, et dont le rôle dans le bouquin est assez important. Au final, c’est effectivement une lecture très étrange, mais assez fascinante. Je ne saurais trop conseiller aux fans de fictions éllaborées de se précipiter sur cet ouvrage où l’action laisse bien volontiers la place à de puissantes réflexions sur la société, la politique, le pouvoir, ce genre de choses.
Une discussion sur ce roman
Peu de temps après, j’ai eu l’occasion de discuter de ce roman avec un interlocuteur d’Usenet, qu’on appelera ici XH.
ND
Parce que des cannibales qui se lancent dans une guerre tribale pour étendre leur empire, ça fait sf, comme thème ?
XH
Non ; mais la question de savoir si une société fonctionnelle issue d’un peuplement originellement humain mais qui a dérivé à tel point que tout les critères sociaux habituellement admis ont volé en éclat est encore composée d’humains, n’est-ce pas SF, comme thème ?
ND
Si, complètement. il n’en reste pas moins que, dans ce roman, certains éléments (les combats tribaux, l’espèce de médiévalisme que j’ai pu y ressentir) me font penser que le classement en SF est quelque part un peu artificiel. Pour ma part, si j’avais dû placer ce roman quelque part, je l’aurais mis dans une nouvelle catégorie : la hard-”sciences humaines”. Car si, dans les bouquins d’[author:Egan], par exemple, les éléments qui sont très largement extrapolés sont des éléments de sciences dures, [author:Kingsburry], lui, choisit d’extrapoler de la même manière des éléments purement humains : comment survivre et adapter la civilsation à un environnement dont l’hostilité est on ne peut plus hostile. Il en tire ainsi des conséquences politiques, sociales, psychologiques, qui ne peuvent que laisser le lecteur sans voix.
XH
C’est parce que tu es trop conditionné par l’association entre SF et technologie. Alors que la SF est un état d’esprit que tu évoques fort bien dans la suite [... cf paragraphe du dessus …] Le tout ficelé dans une histoire intéressante. Voilà une bonne recette pour un bon bouquin de SF, je dirais. L’important, ce n’est pas la technique, c’est la remise en cause des certitudes et la rationnalité (même basée sur des bases qui peuvent être complètement farfelues scientifiquement, l’important étant que cet a priori soit relativement clair). Bref, la SF cherche à explorer et découvrir le réel, le plus souvent au travers de virtualités savamment élaborées, tandis que la fantasy joue plus sur comment faire revivre les structures narratives ancestrales et leurs émotions associées dans un contexte littéraire modernisé. Cela dit, c’est mon point de vue et je le partage (du moins jusqu’à ceje le relise demain), mais sans doute manqué-je de biscuits (comme disait mon prof de philo de terminale), i.e je n’ai pas mon diplôme de pipologie appliquée, euh pardon, de critique littéraire avancée. Notons au passage que Kingsburry a obtenu l’an dernier une distinction en tant qu’auteur de SF libertaire, ce qui cadre bien avec cet esprit de remise en question.
ND
En fait, il n’y a pas non plus de doute pour moi, mais ça reste un bouquin tellement étrange que le placer en sf me pose de nombreux problèmes d’organisation de mon catalogue mental.
XH
Franchement, je trouve que c’est un des bouquins que je conseillerais pour quelqu’un qui voudrait découvrir la SF autrement que sous la forme de batailles dans l’espace avec des robots. Le seul truc queje regrette, c’est la concession qu’il fait en faisant trop directement référence à l’histoire du XXe siècle, je trouve que cela affaiblit l’effet de dépaysement. Mais en même temps cela sert aussi l’histoire,et la référence est immédiatement compréhensible, voire même ressentie par lecteur, bien plus que le seraient des inventions de l’auteur.
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