A review by mkat303
City of Refuge by Starhawk
4.0
City of Refuge is the sequel to The Fifth Sacred Thing, Starhawk's utopian/dystopian novel set in a future California. I'd say it makes the most sense to read these books in the order they were written, starting with The Fifth Sacred Thing, then the prequel, Walking to Mercury, and then ending with City of Refuge. Out of the three, I liked The Fifth Sacred Thing the best, but am very glad there was a sequel. (Alas, no mainstream publisher wanted to publish it, so it was funded via Kickstarter.)
While The Fifth Sacred Thing focused a lot on the power of non-violence and non-violent direct action, in City of Refuge Starhawk explores more of a diversity of tactics - non-violence and invitations to "take a seat at our table" with the creation of an alternate "City of Refuge" within the heart of the dystopian LA along with the parallel use of guns and a ragtag army and navy in order to help liberate the debt slaves of the Southlands. Also, the theme of how to make a revolution among people who've been damaged by capitalism, patriarchy, etc. was explored.
Lots of food for thought here.
Occasionally I felt like the main characters were a bit too heroic, and I wish Bird could've forgiven himself (not that I think he needed forgiveness) sooner, but those are minor quibbles.
While The Fifth Sacred Thing focused a lot on the power of non-violence and non-violent direct action, in City of Refuge Starhawk explores more of a diversity of tactics - non-violence and invitations to "take a seat at our table" with the creation of an alternate "City of Refuge" within the heart of the dystopian LA along with the parallel use of guns and a ragtag army and navy in order to help liberate the debt slaves of the Southlands. Also, the theme of how to make a revolution among people who've been damaged by capitalism, patriarchy, etc. was explored.
Lots of food for thought here.
Occasionally I felt like the main characters were a bit too heroic, and I wish Bird could've forgiven himself (not that I think he needed forgiveness) sooner, but those are minor quibbles.