cmgiuliani@watrose.UUCP (cmgiuliani) (02/10/84)
I think someone has badly misunderstood the nature of the world in
Courtship Rite. This misunderstanding seems to parallel the
exceptionaly bad blurb on the back cover:
"On (insert planet here), the only food is man ..."
Wrong. The only *meat* is man. Human civalization on this very harsh
world is dependent on crops of a few imported plants. When these crops
fail in the variable climate, canibalism is practiced to maintain the
society. The whole point is the *institutionalization* of eating the
weaker and less useful members of the population during famine. I think
the society that Kingsbury presents is a facinating and believable
consequence of this idea. Also, *never* forget that canibalism (How the
hell is that spelt?) is used not only to feed people in famine, but to
cull defective genes. These are the ultimate stoic people.
For comparisons, consider the people of The Dosadai Experiment by Frank
Herbert and the fremen of Dune. Of course, the fremen only want the water
of their people.
As for trying to kill someone you plan to marry, that has already been
answered. And one more thing. You can't get anything from meat that
you cannot get from eating what your victim ate, but you can get things
in more concentrated form.
CMG
P.S. Does anyone know where (or if) there is more by Kingsbury?