near-future California where women outnumber men by a dozen or more to one and technology levels are sliding backward is the setting for Califia's Daughters. A post-apocalyptic novel by Leigh Richards, it is the story of one remarkable woman, Dian, and a journey she undertakes to discover information that may be vital to the well-being of her home, a 300-soul community known simply as the Valley. Dian is something of an oddity, equipped with keen intuition and an uncanny ability to bond with dogs. She is also an extremely competent fighter, officially in charge of defending her people against any and all threats.
The Valley is a comparatively large village of farmers as things are reckoned in this grim new order, hardworking and peaceful, whose greatest concern is usually whether a given year's harvest will see the population through the winter. It is also a place in need of a fierce, defense-minded protector like Dian. Home to almost 30 males—men and boys who are protected from dangerous work and even mildly risky recreation—the Valley is unbelievably wealthy. Other towns and even roving bands of armed outsiders would be only too happy to carry off the men ... especially if its defenses displayed any weakness.
When a pair of covered wagons is seen heading straight for the Valley, then, it is no small event. Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, the village makes plans to host a feast if the visitors prove friendly and to fight them to the death if they are hostile. To everyone's surprise—and Dian's relief—the lightly armed newcomers arrive with an adult man and a young boy carefully hidden in their wagons ... and they promptly offer to give them both to the Valley!
A dangerous world for love
Califia's Daughters is pure sociological SF. Technology is a vital consideration in the book, certainly—each little group of humans is somewhat defined by how much knowledge it has preserved. But Richards is more interested in how societies form and people get along. In Dian she creates a perfect guide to tour readers through her fragmented world, a heroine who is perfectly adapted to her uncertain times and circumstances.
In terms of its basic setup, Califia's Daughters is very much like Ursula Le Guin's novella "The Matter of Seggri." Both feature a high female-to-male ratio, and both cast women as the agents of civilization while men are prized primarily for their reproductive value. The chief difference is that Le Guin's Seggri is a unified society with one set of clearly understood rules. In the war-ravaged California of Leigh Richards, a man who leaves (or is carried away from) home must fear that change. One group of women might allow him a reasonable degree of freedom; another might pump him full of fertility drugs and set him to making babies. It is this uncertainty that drives Dian to investigate the people who offer the Valley two precious men.
Within the tribes and proto-nations covering California, there is a mix of good and bad. Richards is clearly saying that surviving a disaster, in every instance, means sacrifices and tough decisions. Even the wealthy, techno-savvy haven of Meijing has to make some hard, even brutal choices. However, it is the people living in Ashtown who suffer most. Why? Their response to disaster is to hand their freedom over to a brutal dictator who promises safety. As a result, they live the most fear-ridden and unstable lives of anyone Dian encounters.
Complex and satisfying, Califia's Daughters delivers both as an action-adventure novel and a triumph of world-building.
