A mature alien woman judge sees an amphibious human woman, obviously a slave, displayed in a tank in front of a sex palace. And so, an interstellar plot of murderous proportions involving many races and planets, galactic corporations, exploitive sex and horrible slavery is revealed.
"The best SF novel I have read in years, reminiscent of the very finest work of James Tiptree, Jr., or Ursula K. LeGuin--superbly plotted, ingeniously imaginative, complex yet acessible, compellingly readable, and decorated with evocative poetry, both human and alien."
The Globe and Mail, One of the Hundred Best Titles of 1998
"Flesh and Gold reminded me a bit of several other authors--including Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe--but only in the best of ways. Gotlieb knows how to do it right. Highly recommended."
Analog
"As the sprawling story grinds toward and agreeably neat conclusion, much of the pleasure comes from Gotlieb's ability to suggest an exotic if all too recognizable future in which vast technological resources are mobilized to satisfy age-old urges."