The Judas Rose

By Suzette Haden Elgin

Originally published in the 1980s, the Native Tongue trilogy is a classic dystopian tale: a testament to the power of language and women's collective action. In the second book of the series, a covert female agent is sent to break up the resistance. 

In the second volume of the Native Tongue trilogy, the time has come for Láadan—the secret language created to resist an oppressive patriarchy—to empower womankind worldwide. To expand the language’s reach, female linguists translate the Bible into Láadan, and a group of Roman Catholic nuns are tasked to spread the language. But when outraged priests detect their sabotage, they send a double agent to infiltrate and destroy the movement from the inside.

“This angry feminist text is also an exemplary experiment in speculative fiction, deftly and implacably pursuing both a scientific hypothesis and an ideological hypothesis through all their social, moral, and emotional implications.” —Ursula K. Le Guin

“A pioneering feminist experiment.” —Literary Hub

"A welcome reminder of the feminist legacies of science fiction. . . . Explores the power of speech, agency, and subversion in a work that is as gripping, troubling, and meaningful today as it has ever been." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY
• Release date: Jul 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781936932658

Reviews for The Judas Rose

[annbury_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[aerrin99 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[aulsmith · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Neither of the sequels to Native Tongue are among my favorite books. In fact I have trouble remembering what happened in each one. The thing I do remember, which I think will appeal to a certain audience, is the portrait of women working together in secret and in their spare time to try and save the world. Perhaps one of the reasons these books don't grab me is because they're so close to what real life is like for me that they just don't provide the kind of escape I look for in reading. But, boy, do they tell about real women's lives. -- Billie