Chthon

This is a story with a complicated stucture, so complex that it causes a considerable amount of confusion on the part of the reader. Keeping track of what has happened, will happen and is happneing becomes burdensome, or as the author describes it, "intricate".

The story has some serious problems with male-femaile relationships and women's place in the various cultures described. As a reader I had a hard time wanting to feel positive aboutr the protagonist as he struggled with his dual nature and its concomitant misogyny.

The most compelling part of the story is the journey through the underground hell of Chthon, but even here the exposition has soime serious flaws. The caverns are bereft of food and water, leading to considerable hardship for would-be escapees, but at the same time there are numerous predators and fantastical beasts who feast regularly on the story's characters, but otherwise seem to live on rock or air in the lengthy intervals between meals. Capstone predators as described in this story need a complex web of prey to survive, none of which are apparent or available to the predators or captives of Chthon.

The story did keep my attention, but the more I paused to think about what I just read, the less happy I was with the exposition. One can, I suppose, turn of disbelief completely and be satisfied with the Oedipal plot, but any deeper examination leads inexorably to confusion and disappointment.