A Horsewoman in Godsland by Claudia J. Edwards. 219 pagesGodsland is a country completely under the control of its priesthood in every way. Peasants, especially women, are kept ignorant and subservient. So when bishop An Shai, in an attempt to improve productivity, sends to another continent for horses and people to teach his folk how to care for them, he is appalled at their free-thinking attitudes and most of all that they are led by a woman, Adelinda. There follows a battle of wills and magic.
I thought there was a good story in this book but also that something was lacking in it. I've read a lot of books that could have benefited from being edited down to remove excess blather, but this one seems as though it needs expanding - it was just that bit too concise. Emotional changes seemed to happen too quickly to be entirely convincing and long journeys passed in a matter of pages. There seemed to be a bit too much telling rather than showing too.
The characters were engaging, and the two social systems interesting, but they could all have been fleshed out far more than they were, I think.
