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Remnant Population

Elizabeth Moon
Hugo Nomination 1997

Gray Power! Step aside you young swash-buckling macho men, beautiful brilliant and heroic young women. You're being left in the dust of an old and wrinkled, mainly uneducated grandmother housewife.

Refreshing shift in hero/heroine role but somewhat strained plot without much suspense. Great as an effort at reinvigorating respect and appreciation for older folks but frequently plodding and a little dull. The overall impression though is good.

Interspersed with insightful reflections on parenting, education, gender and age. "Never distract someone on the path of a new idea; it is like distracting a hunter on the trail of game, and means missing a feast." "The world does not shape itself to your wish any more than dough mixes itself when you're hungry." "...all that curiosity and eagerness settling into a mold of passive obedience, more or less sullen depending on how much the child had to abandon."

Don't look for intense excitement but this story engenders a timely and important shift in values and priorities from which we could all greatly benefit.

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