The Fifth Sacred Thing
(Starhawk)
'The Fifth Sacred Thing' is an adept mixture of science fiction and fantasy, of utopian and distopian literature, and of political vision and literary merit. Set in the mid-twenty first century most of the United States has come under the rulership of an authoritarian regime based on religious fanaticism which has institutionalized racism, sexism, and the oppression of the lower classes in order to maintain its power base. However one small corner of the U.S. has managed to achieve independance, the pacific northwest, and there they have founded a society based on ecological sustainability, social justice, and mutual respect for the various races and cultural heritages of the people there. In this small utopian 'state' no one goes hungry or thirsty, and everyone shares in the work that must be done to maintain their society and to try to repair the damage that has been done to the environment. When it becomes evident that conflict between these two antithetical groups is imminent the question becomes on of how the peaceful and spiritual people of the pacific northwest can resist the violent power of 'the Custodians' (as the authoritarian regime is called) without betraying the ideals upon which there society is based.
The narrative of the story centers around the two main characters: a young man named Bird who has seen the southlands and the horrors of the prisons there and escaped to tell of it; and a young woman named Madrone who is an accomplished healer and midwife and who finds that she must go into the lands controlled by the custodians in order to help the resistance there. The actions of these two main characters becomes pivotal in the conflict which is to emerge, and the outcome of this conflict will determine the fate of humanity and the planet itself.
Resumos Relacionados
- Altneuland - The Old New Land
- Utopia
- The Battle Of Otok
- Future Of An Illusion
- A Brave New World
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