I was about to ask you whether you planned to read the sequel, Joan's husband Vernor Vinge's World's End, after your year of women-writers-only was over. Then I looked it up to be sure of the title, and realized the whole series was written by Joan.

Kinda boggled at myself for thinking they'd written the series together.

I did read these books very long ago, and my memory is that World's End felt more like a man's book. Gritty story of engineers seeking a downed spaceship in a desert, sort of a counterpart to lush Tiamat. A weird surprise, nonetheless.