Review of Sign of the Labrys

Spoiler: Not worth the trouble

So I mostly skimmed Margaret St. Clair’s novel Sign of the Labrys. As others have noted, the idea of levels, sub-levels, secret passages, weird guardians, and tricks/traps are all found within. This is a apocalyptic world with a pandemic on the brink of the restoration of some government order. I never got the impression that the protagonist (a man) was actually a man. In some ways it seemed like a dream-like novel written by lesbians for lesbians (if you know the history of the symbology of the Labrys you can understand why this interpretation makes more sense than the tenuous link with the ancient Greeks). There was, however, one bright spot for me. That was the confirmation that idea of a Casino in a dungeon probably originated here and made its way to Gygax who then referenced this work in Appendix N.

I have a blurb about underground Casinos in Midwest Fantasy Wargame: The Primeval RPG. Now I feel vindicated.

Originally published on Substack on December 7, 2025.