Brief Review of Linda Nagata's novella, Goddesses

Goddesses calibrates at 300 on the Hawkins scale according to my self-calibration. This puts it in the high four to five percent of science fiction with genuine inspirational power, which is remarkable.

The tale of Rajban, an abused woman whose gardening creates the solution to a toxic waste problem; the story of Cody, the brilliant microbiologist whose company Green Stomp degrates unbiodegradeable toxins for a living; and the story of Muthaye, whose story of rags-to-riches inspires a man, Michael, to courage and greatness. And finally, it is also the story of Karen, the corporate CEO whose attempts to revive an Indian economy result in unintended consequences...

These are not spoilers, but hints that there's richness here.

I particularly liked the bit where Cody folds the laptop up in three and chucks it in her briefcase...

This rates at the level of 'Stranger In A Strange Land', Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, and not much else. Excellent stuff in a genre bereft of high calibrating works! I shall definitely be borrowing from this book in my ideas on central asia in the Gaia project.

A masterful piece of writing! Read it here:

http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/nagata/nagata1.html