DAUGHTERS OF AN AMBER NOON

Sequel to the 1984 lesbian SF yarn Daughters of a Coral Dawn (not seen) from an author better known for the Kate Delafield mystery series (Sleeping Bones, 1999, etc.). In the first Daughters, a group of Earth's most brilliant women fled an increasingly repressive paternalistic government to found a colony on the distant planet Maternas. But more than two thousand of their sisters, the Unity, chose instead to remain on Earth. Now, after the advent of Premier Theo “Zed” Zedera's brutal and bloodthirsty regime, they fear discovery above all else. If Zed finds them, despite their longevity treatments and their ability to produce children by fusing two ova, they'll be turned over to Zed's chief torturer, the unspeakable Esten Bailin. So they conceal themselves in elaborate tunnels beneath Death Valley, using natural earth tremors, artificially induced volcanic eruptions, and advanced cloaking technology to mask their presence. Zed commands General Lucan Desmond—the latter favors the keep-’em-barefoot-and-pregnant approach—to search for the Unity. How does Zed know about them? Well, among the Unity's leading lights is synthesist Africa Contrera; a lifelong friend and companion before Zed turned to the dark side, Africa unwittingly told him many of the Unity's secrets—including, crucially, the fact that they exist. Poor Africa, tortured by guilt, eventually decides to sacrifice herself—although things don't turn out quite as she or the Unity anticipate.

Plot? Little. Ideas? Few. Discussion? None. Novelistic ambitions? Minimal. Your move.