Grass is a 1989 science fiction novel by Sheri S. Tepper. It is part of the Arbai trilogy.
My first impression is that the landscape reminds me of the steppes or the savannahs with overgrown grass but with a beauty that would astound the reader with the riot of colours as seen in the book cover below:
It starts off with a hunt where the aristocrats of the planet Grass are engaged in what seems like a time-honoured ritual of the hunt. The quarry is a fox flushed out by hounds with humans on mounts. No one is excused except on extenuating circumstances, it seems. This happens in the backdrop of a galaxy-wide pandemic. Most of the human-inhabited sectors are under the control of the Sanctity while Grass is seen as a breakaway due to religious differences. (16 June 2021)
Quite a sweeping narrative arc in that the writer introduces quite a few significant characters from the aristocratic Dimiti, the do-gooder, Majorie who seeks meaning in life even if it means makng sacrifices that would go unnotices to Rillibe Charm, a acolyte at Sanctity's cathedral where his terms of service is 12 years. The world that has been created for the reader is one based on religious, structured world with Terra or Earth is the preeminent power. However, there are planets such as Breedertown where abortion and contreception are enforced.
In Sanctity, no women are allowed into the cathedral.
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