Kirstein, Rosemary - The Steerswoman

[oyceter]

I grew interested in this series when I read coffee_and_ink's review, particularly the slightly premise-spoilery parts, because her description of the book as a book concerned not with nifty science, but with the actual scientific method was interesting and not standard sci-fi. Even though the book seems to be marketed as fantasy -- the mass market I borrowed from the library is published by Del Rey, with some badly drawn yet arcane looking things on the cover -- to me it feels much more like sci-fi because of how it treats information.

Rowan is a Steerswoman; the Steerswoman are repositories of information. The only rules are that Steerswomen (and the very occasional Steersman) always speak the truth, that they may not refuse to answer a question, and that they may ask questions of anyone. If anyone gives a Steerswoman a false answer or refuses to answer, they are then under a ban so that no Steerswoman will answer their questions again. It's a very interesting premise, especially as a means to transmit information in a pre-technological society. Also, as a side note, squee!! I have found my perfect profession! Unfortunately, it doesn't exist outside of this book! But can you imagine? Going about just finding the answers to things and investigating whatever you found curious! I guess it is rather like being a professor, except I don't like the pressure to publish. I don't care so much about publishing (my thesis has absolved me of that), but I like explaining things to people and figuring things out.

Ahem, anyway. Rowan has been investigating some strange jewels that she's found, but for some reason, the wizards don't want her looking into this. The wizards are the only people who refuse to answer the Steerswomen's questions, and like Rowan and the rest of the Steerswomen, just reading about this irritates me because of the impediment of the dispersement of knowledge.

The writing is a bit clunky in this book, but the characters and the mindset of the book are so interesting that I don't particularly mind. Rowan thinks like a scientist; she questions, and then she questions her questions, and in one of the central problems of the books, where theory seems to contradict fact, her mindset about it is what allows for a crucial breakthrough. I just can't say how exciting it was, reading about these things! And while the reader often knows more about what's going on than Rowan does, just watching her methodology is fascinating and really really neat! I think this is why I am an amateur at everything; I just like knowing random things about a ton of different stuff.

Rowan teams up with Bel, an Outskirter, and I particularly like the friendship between the two and how they respect their differences.

Anyway, as you can tell, I was quite excited about the premise, and as the book kept going, I just got more excited! I like information. It is my friend.

The book doesn't really go into the implications of the Steerswomen's way of life; Rowan is deeply troubled when she has to go undercover to figure out the mystery of the jewels because she has never lied in her life, but I don't think Kirstein really addresses the harmful nature of the truth in this book. She does have someone theorize that the wizards may keep secrets because their magic is so potentially harmful, but in general, the book is in favor of the open dissemination of knowledge. So am I, in almost all cases, but it makes me wonder... do the Steerswomen avoid asking personal questions? In the book, everything Rowan wants to know is mostly theoretical and the like, but I can see cases in which a Steerswomen gains medical knowledge about people but can't necessarily preserve confidentiality if someone asks a question about a specific person, or more personal things, like affairs and whatnot.

I mean, the Steerswomen don't do that, but they also don't say that they don't as a rule, because they have to answer all questions asked of them truthfully.

I am looking forward to reading the other books and knowing more about Rowan and Bel's world now, yay!

Links:
- rilina's review (on both this and The Outskirter's Secret, no spoilers)

Comments

[oyceter]

I think I'm getting very hooked! I just finished the second one and made my sister run to the library for me while I was at work to get me the third one. Haha!