Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden is set in a distant future filled with polyamorous familial structures but... with very little sex. Seske is destined to be Matriarch (queen) of her people whose families are made up of 6 women, 3 men, and 1 child shared between them. Do to the lingering amount of space left on the ship, one can see why only 1 child is allowed, but to have family units made of 9 adults while achieving that takes more planning than must now would be able to muster. The society is built on a hierarchy with women of all castes being on top. These hierarchies are even observed within the family structures with certain husbands being unable to be intimate only with certain wives. Even male to male or female to female relationships can be forbidden within the familial unit if the castes don't match up. Why is this important? Seske is in love with her best friend, another girl by the name of Adalla but is forbidden to marry her due to her low caste. Add a young man by the name of Wheyett and another named Doka and it would seem that with Adalla in a place, a nice little family unit could start to form. But when the sister Seske should have never had begins to connive against, things get hairy. Not to mention the ship is alive and looking for vengeance of it's own... lovers of Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood will love this book as well. *** This review is based on an arc copy received for free via Netgalley ***
