Published some fifteen years after Motherlines, The Furies recounts the triumphant return of the now middleaged Alldera to the Holdfast at the head of a small army of women, all of them former slaves. Although she began work on The Furies soon after Motherlines was published, Charnas has said that she found herself unable to finish the book until recently because it was first necessary for her to gain perspective on the earlier books in the series, on the world in general, and on her own anger. Alldera ran in fear from a civilization that was clearly near to collapse. She now returns to the Holdfast, in part out of curiosity, in part to seek revenge, and in part out of a burning desire to free the female slaves she had left behind many years ago. What she discovers is a surprise.

The horrific society of...