Ethan of Athos

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

Dr. Ethan Urquhart is chief of biology at a District Reproduction Center. He delivers babies from uterine replicators. You see, on Athos there are no women. In fact, the planet is forbidden to them.

Isolated from the galactic community by distance and a lack of exploitable resources, the Athosians have peacefully lived their peculiar social experiment for two hundred years. But now, the ovarian cultures dating back to the original settlement of the planet are giving out.

With the future of Athos at stake, Ethan is chosen on behalf of his cloistered fellows for a unique mission: to brave the wider universe in quest of new ovarian tissue cultures to replenish Athos' dwindling stocks. Along the way, he must tangle with covert operatives, killers, telepathy, interplanetary politics, and - perhaps most disturbingly - an indomitable female mercenary named Elli Quinn.

©1986 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

No Miles- but still great!

I have read all of the Vorkosigan series and I almost let this one go becasue there was no Miles; that would have been a huge mistake. This story is great!

Set in Buold's universe, Ethan comes from the male only world of Athos where woman are stricly forbidden. Having no woman on the planet they must replensih the population by two methods: recruits and uterine replicators. Since not many males are willing to come to Athos they rely heavily on the former method. Ethan's job is to bring heathty new baby boys into the world and when the good supply of ovarian tissue becomes nearly depleted, it becomes his assignment to go out into the universe and procure more.

Once off world he comes face to face with the first woman he had ever seen; Elli Quinn.

Louis bujold writes with her usuall mastery and I can't imagine anyone reading her books other than Grover Garner.

17 of 18 people found this review helpful

Interesting concept, great series

The absence of Miles Vorkosigan in this installment of the Vorkosigan series was not as ruinous as I had at first feared. On the contrary, the story was just as intriguing and witty as the others in the series.

In a previous review an audible listener seemed to take offense at the word "peculiar" being used to describe the lifestyle on the planet Athos, even going as far as to accuse the writer of being homophobic. Completely ridiculous - an entire planet of men that are scared to death of women (forcing them to have to procreate using 200 yr old uterine cultures) is a bit peculiar no matter what your view on homosexuality is. Being forced to be homosexual (like all the men of Athos) is quite peculiar indeed. Nevertheless, great concept and great writing. Bujold never fails to amaze me with her creativity and wit. The entire series is worth your next few month's worth of audible credits.

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

Miles-less but still wonderful

Ethan fits very nicely into the Vorkosigan series though not at the beginning, even though this was the first of the books to be published. If you delight in the wit, wisdom and tight plotting of Bujold's masterful Vorkosigan stories, you will be pleased with this piece despite the fact that Miles never appears directly in the narrative.

LMB is entirely original, consistently surprising the reader with her inventiveness while remaining unerringly consistent in her rendering of a very complex and fascinating world and a marvelous cast of characters. In addition, her stories are always deeply human, based on problems which rise naturally and honestly from the motivations, confusions, fears and aspirations which we all share. Happily she does this without wallowing in turgid inner monologues, maintaining instead a light and entertaining style which is never far from a smile or a chuckle. As a result, there is always a lot more wisdom present in her writing than we notice at first blush.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

EXCELLENT Book

This is one of TWO books of Lois Bujold that I think are her very best work. The other being "Falling Free". (note that I really enjoy all of her books) I noted that one reviewer objected to the phrase "strange perversion" or something which pertained to the All Male Colony of Athos. this is like objecting to and wishing to eliminate the n-word from the works of Mark Twain in the theory that it is not politically correct. and like Twain, Ms. Bujold gives her characters life and meaning BEYOND the stereotypical. Making such stereotypes nonsensical. Ethan is a sympathetic character who is trying to help his home cope with serious problems. To do this, he travels into the unimaginable and terrifying Galaxy where not only is he a stranger in a strange land, but he has to deal with those difficult and dangerous FEMALES! Of whom he is terrified because of the militant evangelical fervor with which his home world denounces them as creatures with unimaginable powers and hidden abilities to destroy a man! they may be right! I would Be FASCINATED to hear the back story about Athos! Why are they so repulsed by Women? What happened to their founders to cause them to create a planet where women are forbidden? And how is this so very different from the world of Barrayar and it's nearly pathological anti Female military? And how much of our OWN prejudices does this reveal!

I want BACK STORY! I want MORE INFORMATION DAMMIT!

I really love this book. It is fascinating and fun. Bujold at her very best. Only Falling Free may be better!

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Engaging comedy and unique storyline

I adore Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan space operas...but I put off reading this one since he doesn't appear and I just didn't think I would be as captivated. I have now listened to the Audible recording three times and find the exciting plotline completely enthralling. What charms me the most are the comedic elements. The unique storyline is equaling compelling. The narration is superb! Highly recommended...I look forward to my fourth listen in a few months time.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A world (but not a book) without women

How would that work? Ethan of Athos, follows naturally on Cetaganda because both stories are a meditation on the nature of reproduction without sex, and the role that men, women, and sex could have in the process; what might happen if the unscrupulous get hold of the process, and so on. Of course, all Bujold's books are also liberally drenched in nail biting action, wicked plot twists, great humor, and excellent characters. We meet Ellie Quinn (sic?) again, for example. I think Bujold is incapable of producing a bad book or character, and Grover Gardner is incapable of interpreting her work with anything less than perfect pitch.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Nice surprise!

What a pleasant surprise this book was. I now wish I'd read it in order (before Brothers in Arms), but at the time I wasn't sure whether I'd enjoy it or not since it didn't have Miles or any of the 'usual' characters involved. I liked Ethan and all the rest and found myself wishing the book were longer.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Serpents and Women outside of Eden

I recently finished listening to Ethan of Athos written by Lois McMaster Bujold and narrated by Grover Gardner.

This book is considered to be book seven in Vorkosigan series. When reviewing a book in a series I do my best to avoid spoilers when possible, however, such seem inevitable. If this is an issue for you I suggest you skip to the conclusion. In addition to that this book has some unusual themes that while I don't find distasteful, don't quite match my own. To do this book justice, however, I will have to adopt a way of thought that is a slightly different perspective than mine.

Ethan, a famed reproduction doctor on Athos, is horrified to find the shipment of human female ovaries to Athos are anything but what was promised. They are waste material and even cow ovaries.

This is a massive issue as Athos is male dominated planet. I don't mean that women are subservient, I mean that women are literally not on the planet. Athos has found the presence of women too disturbing and has long since freed themselves from men's normal slavery to women. Life goes on as normal, in fact Athos is an Eden where law and love rule, just without women.

Reproduction is handled by reproduction doctors, like Ethan, who use cells from female ovaries to produce the sons they need. Ethan is sent off Athos to find an alternative supplier, one they can trust, for the continued future of Athos. All, however, is not as it seems and outside the garden of Athos serpents and women await.

Conclusion: This is another great entry into the Vorkosigan saga. Some of the characters in this book are from previous novels, however, the story is mostly off in its own fictional cul-de-sac in the overall storyline. I look forward to seeing how these characters are developed in the future. Overall it is a great Sci-fi adventure novel that is well worth a read.

An adventure in a far corner of the vor universe

An adventure in a far corner of the vor universe, with only little of the known characters, but still riveting

A pleasant oddity.

The author is sidestepping the main Vorkosigan saga a bit here. Again creating an interesting and unusual society. This time a society of men, only men! Even if reproduction is a main theme and even sex is skirted upon slightly, the writing is so skillful and light, that even a prudish homophobe should be able to read this and enjoy it. OK, most of the story takes place away from Athos, but still...

Action, humor, Sci-Fi'ish genetics, a bit of mystery and generally (apart from the obvious baddies) likable characters makes this a worthwhile listen.

As usual great narration from Grover Gardner.

Interesting!

I had my doubts about this book but decided to take the plunge and was very happy I did. More Sci-Fi than Fantasy the narators voice has a wonderful twilight zone feeling to it which after a few minutes I was hooked on. The story line is interesting though it does need half an hour to get going, and the characters well-rouded. It does have hints of M/M but on a world without women what do you expect really? And most surprising of all there is actually a female character I DONT want to hit over the head! How wonderful! Try it, you'll love it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A novel without miles.

This is a spin off and, for those who follow Miles, maybe one you can afford to miss. A sweet story but lacking punch.