Elgin was determined to get her message across - oppression of women is bad for everyone, men and women alike. Okay, we got it. I was hoping for more interesting world building and I don't believe that the women's clever plot would have worked. Also, I got really tired of the unrelenting negative portrayal of all the male characters. ( )

The sequel to [b:Native Tongue|13065|Native Tongue|Carl Hiaasen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166535999s/13065.jpg|923380], which I loved. It is quite good, and I can't wait to read the last part in the trilogy, but Native Tongue was definitely better. I really liked and empathized with the main characters in Native Tongue, whereas I can't even remember a character from The Judas Rose. And the men seem to have gotten dumber--it's much easier to trick them. In Native Tongue, I was always convinced that disaster lay only two pages ahead. The linguist women are so well-organized and enlightened (free of all the pesky jealousies and behavioral quirks that nearly led to their destruction in the last book) in the Judas Rose that I never doubted their success.
( )

This middle book in the Native Tongue trilogy is the weakest by far. The characters are drier, the plot more muddled, the goals less clear. The only real thing of worth here is the persistence of Nazareth, who I enjoy as a character. Additionally, the book suffers from the fact that the main plan behind the spread of Laadan just-- doesn't make that much sense.

There are bits and pieces that still delve into Elgin's ideas on the power of language and how it can form self-image and society and thought, but for the most part this angle fades and what we're left with is something of a mess. ( )

The first sequel to Elgin's "Native Tongue", and an enjoyable sci-fi read in that context. It's interesting to see what happened to the situation that developed in the first novel, but this book doesn't really add that much on its own. The problems with the first novel (some weakness in characterization, reflecting perhaps the very strongly feminist orientation of all of the books in this series) are still there, only more so. And the thrill of seeing linguistics used as a key to the story fades a bit the second time around. ( )

An excellent followup to the preceding volume, Native Tongue. Primarily set decades after the first novel, we see the results of various factions plans. The surprise ending is truly enjoyable, both for its tone and for what it reveals.

Like its predecessor, the characters don't feel fully real to me, a drawback in an otherwise good read. Only Nazareth can we see full dimension of character, but still from far away.

If you've read the first novel and found it interesting, I recommend you follow up with this one. Especially for the additional information at the end...if you didn't enjoy the first, I'd stay away from the second. ( )