White Mare's Daughter

An interesting read, reminiscent of Jean Auel's Earth Children series, Valley of the Horses and The Mammoth Hunters in particular. This book is set somewhere between 6,000-10,000 years ago and shows the clash of matriarchal and patriarchal cultures. It focuses on a handful of characters, though the main characters are a twin brother and sister who are the last of the matriarchal line in their culture. The sister, Sarama, goes west to seek cultures that still treat women with respect. She finds these people and tries to build a life for herself. Her brother finds himself excommunicated from his people and decides to follow his sister to these lands where women rule, goods are plentiful and there is no war.This book starts out quite slowly and it's not a quick read. I've seen a review that says that action doesn't start until about page 200 or so; I think it depends on how you look at "action". I enjoyed the slow start to the book because it set the scene quite nicely.

This is quite honestly one of the best books I have ever read. I have been reading Tarr for awhile now, and had dicovered that most of her novels are exactly the same, just in different time periods. But I read this one, and was blown away by it. Not only is it masterfully written, but it is completely unlike anything she has done. The power conveyef in her words is astonishing, and I grew to love the characters. Read this book, you will not regret it!!

I loved this book - adventure, philosophy, humor, prehistory fantasy, romance, humor - I thought this book was great, and would definitely recommend it. Compares to Valley of Horses, but I think this book is 100x better.

Judith Tarr never fails to deliver the best in historical and/or fantasy fiction. WHITE MARE'S DAUGHTER is her most ambitious book to date, and exemplifies Tarr's dedication to accuracy as well as topnotch storytelling. If you like Jean Auel's books, you'll love this one . . . if you enjoy excellent historical adventure ala Mary Renault, this one will go on that special shelf that's all too short. Complex and realistic characters, and truly wondrous horses written by someone who really KNOWS horses!