The Fifth Sacred Thing

Lore & Background

The novel describes a world set in the year 2048 after a catastrophe which has fractured the United States into several nations. The protagonists live in San Francisco, which has evolved into an Ecotopia with a sustainable economy, wind power, local agriculture, and streets replaced by gardens and streams. The city is presented as a mostly pagan city where no one starves or is homeless, and the defense council consists primarily of nine elderly women who 'listen and dream'. To the south, an overtly theocratic Christian fundamentalist nation plans to wage war against the San Franciscans. The story is primarily told from the points of view of 98-year-old Maya, her nominal granddaughter Madrone, and Maya's grandson Bird.

Reader's Guide

The Fifth Sacred Thing is significant as a work of ecofeminist and ecotopian fiction that won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Novel. It presents a vision of a society where food and resources are treated as a commons rather than a commodity, and where non-violent resistance is central to the conflict with an invading army. The novel's reception was mixed: Kirkus Reviews called it 'a big, shaggy, sloppy dog of a fantasy' with half-realized vision, while Publishers Weekly noted its 'sometimes clumsy but compelling' storytelling and memorable characters. The book has a prequel, Walking to Mercury (1997), and a sequel, City of Refuge (2016), the latter funded through a Kickstarter campaign. Its legacy lies in its exploration of utopian ideals and the practical challenges of non-violent defense.

Did You Know?

• The novel won 'Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Novel' at the 6th Lambda Literary Awards.
• The title refers to the classical elements plus a fifth element, spirit, accessible when one has balanced the other four.
• In the novel, San Francisco's streets have been dug up and replaced with gardens, streams, and narrow paths for walking, cycling, or rollerblading.
• The city's defense council consists primarily of nine elderly women who 'listen and dream'.

The Ecotopian City

Set in 2048, in a world where catastrophe has fractured the United States into several competing nations, Starhawk's San Francisco represents a radical break from industrial modernity. The city has been physically reshaped: old streets torn up and replaced with gardens, fruit trees, and streams that thread through every block. Each home carries its own small garden plot, while the larger farms supplying the community's produce are tucked behind residential blocks, nearly hidden. What remains of the old pavement is limited to narrow paths for walking, cycling, or rollerblading, accented with colorful stones and mosaics. Food and essential resources function as a commons rather than a commodity. No one starves, no one is homeless, and access to sustenance is never restricted by money, power, or ownership. The city runs on wind power and local agriculture, and its spiritual culture leans toward paganism. Governance is held by a defense council of nine elderly women whose stated role is to listen and dream. Starhawk presents this as a utopia in which women lead society while doing so with the full consent of men.

The Siege and the Invitation

To the south of this ecotopian city, an overtly theocratic Christian fundamentalist nation has risen and prepares to march its army against the San Franciscans. The novel traces the events leading up to and through this confrontation, pitting a vision of communal abundance against a dystopia of rigid control. When the threat of violent attack becomes real, the inhabitants of San Francisco turn to their non-violent philosophy, and food becomes the central symbol of their response. Rather than building walls or arming for battle, they extend an open invitation to the approaching soldiers: a seat at the communal table, should they choose to lay down their weapons and stay. This offer of never going hungry again is almost incomprehensible to the soldiers, who have been stripped of their given names and reduced to mere numbers, who survive on small portions of poor-quality rations, and many of whom have never seen running water. The contrast between the two societies is rendered through this single, radical gesture of welcome.

Narrative Voice and Ecofeminist Themes

The story is told primarily through three points of view: 98-year-old Maya, her nominal granddaughter Madrone, and Maya's grandson Bird. Through these characters and others—including a young midwife, a broken musician, and an old Witch-Woman—the novel weaves together threads of ecofeminism and ecotopian fiction. The title itself draws on the classical elements of fire, earth, air, and water, adding a fifth element: spirit, which becomes accessible only when the other four are held in balance. This spiritual framework undergirds the city's governance, where the defense council of nine elderly women embodies a form of leadership rooted in listening and dreaming rather than command. Starhawk explicitly frames the society as one in which women lead but do so with the consent of men, a nuance that distinguishes the vision from more separatist feminist fictions. The emotional core of the narrative comes through in gripping, sometimes harrowing scenes set against vivid backdrops of the transformed city.

Critical Reception and Extended Universe

The Fifth Sacred Thing was recognized at the 6th Lambda Literary Awards, where it took home the prize for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Novel. Critical responses were more mixed. Kirkus Reviews compared the novel to a sprawling, untidy fantasy, crediting Starhawk for her idealism while noting that her vision and characterizations felt only half-realized and that the narrative ran far too long. Publishers Weekly called it a sometimes clumsy but compelling first novel, acknowledging that Starhawk delivered her message with a heavy hand and leaned on familiar tropes—the besieged utopia echoing her own ecofeminist nonfiction, and the dystopia built around the well-worn science-fiction figure of Christian fanaticism. Yet the same review praised her for creating memorable characters and skillfully conveying their emotions in gripping scenes. The novel's life beyond its 1993 publication continued with a 1997 prequel, Walking to Mercury, and a 2016 sequel, City of Refuge, the latter brought to print following a Kickstarter campaign led by the author.

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