Nicola Griffith Ammonite
Most of the stories that have societies made up only of women are explicitly contrasting them to societies made up entirely of awful rough men (Shore of Women, The Gate to Women's Country) or of our historical societies made up of both men and women (Venus Plus X, Whileaway). Ammonite is in a class of its own in being set a planet where a virus
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I liked it well enough but I like her other books that I've read much better. Aside from not being very engaged by it, I find all-woman SF to be depressing in direct proportion to how exciting and appealing it is--it's because I always feel like it's like it's saying, hey girls, check it out, you can be full humans and have adventures with other fully human women and never give men a thought...BUT ONLY IN THE LAND OF IMAGINATION. --I think Griffith was deliberately trying for a step beyond Whileaway (which I love), no furious anger or insistent revelation, just taking it for granted--matter of fact acceptance, as you say. But I don't want a world where women are central to be just another what-if SF wish-fulfillment gimmick: telepathic magic horses, FTL drives, time travel, women mattering.
So, I much prefer those of her books set in a more-or-less real world, present or future (like Slow River) where men exist, but they just don't matter. There's the same disinterest in men but ( ... )
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