The opening line to this marvellous novel is Grass! Millions of square miles of it; numberless wind-whipped tsunamis of grass, a thousand sun-lulled caribbeans of grass, a hundred rippling oceans, every ripple a gleam of scarlet or amber, emerald or turquoise, multicolored as rainbows. This planet is an unspoilt grassland that shields many dark secrets and forgotten histories. Sheri S. Tepper introduces us to a bucolic planet where mankind is not the only intelligence. This pristine environment is brutal, unforgiving and those who wander too far from the towns do not live to see the morn. Humanity is poised on the edge of a precipice. A plague has afflicted all the known planets bar Grass and a diplomatic expedition is sent to uncover the truth behind the planet's immunity. Tepper's writing though beautifully presented is as subtle as a train wreck. The ongoing relationship difficulties between Rigo, (Ambassador to Grass) and his betrayed wife are one of the central and pivotal points of this novel. It is a course in human (mis)understanding lovingly and tenderly told. The Hippae and Foxen are tantalizingly exposed as the more than just beasts indigenous to this planet but are creatures I felt would have been more suited to a fantasy novel. The tempo of this novel is very slow. In the beginning as a multitude of various and somewhat ephemeral characters are introduced, the novel proceeds having them exterminated by the planet's aborigines. Grass is a story of a woman who tries to find peace with her self. Combined with some pseudo religion, and fantastically portrayed sentient beings makes reading Grass a voyage of discovery and science fiction one you would be churlish to miss.

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