Moonstar

Jobe

Nebula Award nominee for Best Novel: In the distant future, a woman struggles to find her identity and her destiny . . .

She was born in the moonstar’s shadow, when the storms of Satlik raged their worst. Because of this, Jobe was different. The family never spoke of it, but everyone knew Jobe was special. So Jobe came to know of it, too. She had a destiny beyond that of Choice, beyond that moment when she would finally have to decide for Reethe, Mother of the World, or for Dakka, Father, Son, and Lover. For the others it was easy, but not for her, not for Jobe.

So she was sent to Option, the island of learning, to decide her gender and become who she must be. And slowly, ever so slowly, Jobe retreated from the world, from the time of decision. Then the ultimate cataclysm wracked the planet, threatening all her people had struggled to create—and Jobe came forth at last to fulfill her destiny and begin the quest that the moonstar had set for her so many years ago . . .

“Reminds me of the work of Ursula K. LeGuin [sic], in its exploration of gender and sexuality, and of the work of Theodore Sturgeon, in its lyrical style and endless pondering over the mystery of love. There’s also a touch of a ‘hard’ science fiction writer such as Larry Niven, in a section which describes the terraforming of the planet in a detailed, realistic style.” —SFF Chronicles

Previously published as Moonstar Odyssey