Stirling has hit an unexpectedly rich lode of creative ore, or perhaps finally plumbed a hidden reserve of talent: Either...
The splendid alternate universe Stirling invented in The Sky People (2006) has—quite justifiably—metamorphosed into a series.
Two hundred million years ago, mysterious aliens dropped by, terraformed Venus and Mars and stocked them with dinosaurs and other Mesozoic life forms from Earth. Two hundred thousand years ago, the Lords of Creation swung by again, this time conveying humans and other mammals to both planets. Now, in the year 2000, Mars’s ancient civilization—highly advanced in bioengineering, weak in physical science—is slowly dying, along with its emperor, Sajir sa-Tomond. Apparently without issue, the emperor is secretly preparing to declare his daughter, Teyud za-Zhalt, as his heir. Representing Earth’s Western powers, archaeologist Jeremy Wainman has come to Mars to locate and study the lost city Rema-Dza. His companion, intelligence agent Sally Yamashita, knows their real mission is to locate dangerously powerful ancient technology left by the Lords of Creation, one such device already having turned up on Venus, and keep it out of the hands of the Eastbloc competition. Jeremy’s guide will be Teyud, an expert and fearless warrior. But neither Teyud nor Sajir yet know that several political factions, among them ambitious Prince Heltaw, have figured out who Teyud really is and will stop at nothing to kill or control her. The pace soon heats up, while the wonders—magnificently wacky Martian biological machines; the planet’s antediluvian, fully developed and carefully crafted social system; alien technology so advanced it’s magic; the possibility that the aliens themselves are, somehow, still hanging around—never cease.
Stirling has hit an unexpectedly rich lode of creative ore, or perhaps finally plumbed a hidden reserve of talent: Either way, after years of happy somewhat-above-mediocrity, it’s a wonderful surprise.Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1489-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2007
Travel by spacewarp allowed humans to spread through the galaxy but also tore holes in the fabric of spacetime; as a result, warp travel was abandoned, leaving the far-flung colonies isolated. The Draconian system is run now by large commercial organizations, or ``bods,'' dominated by the Slavers Bod. Young assassin Magen was commissioned to kill Jewish zealot and reformer Adam Hirsch; but in the process of worming her way close to Hirsch, she not only rediscovered her Jewish roots but fell in love with Adam and married him. So after Adam is snatched by the Slavers, Magen contrives single-handedly to harass and attack the Slavers Bod in an attempt to force them to yield Adam up. Indeed, in freeing many slaves and attempting to take care of them, Magen accidentally hits upon a method of deprogramming them, a feat hitherto considered impossible. Injured after one such daring raid, she's sheltered by rich heiress Amelia Strados. Chev Carson, an assassin dispatched to deal with Amelia, ends up in her bed instead. Together, Magen, Amelia, and Chev, aided by powerful psychic Veil, think up a plan to force the Slavers to reveal Adam's whereabouts. After various adventures, they learn that Adam is being held on Abaddon, a planet so badly affected by spacewarps that it resembles a black hole—and one from which there is no escape. A swift-moving, imaginative debut, not too seriously damaged by its mad patchwork of themes, erratic plot, and unconvincing windup.
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-312-85903-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
In the far future, a power struggle between the unified Worlds and the Dominion has resulted in a stalemate. Some years ago, a ship captured by alien masuki slavers was intercepted by a Dominion warship; Darcie Dartmuth and her young son, Tristan, fled in a lifeboat, only to crash on planet Ganwold and live undetected among its natives. Later, when Darcie falls ill, Tristan and his alien blood-brother Pulou are forced to seek help at a Dominion base. But the pair are captured and taken to planet Issel, where Tristan is identified by Governor Mordan Renier, the bitter enemy of Unified Worlds leader Lujan Serege—Tristan's father. Renier makes certain that Lujan becomes aware of Tristan's reappearance, and orders Tristan to be trained as a space fighter pilot in order to raise his profile and increase his usefulness as a potential hostage- -meanwhile plotting treacherously with the masuki to launch a surprise attack against the Unified Worlds. Tristan survives torture and battle, while neither Lujan nor the also-captured Darcie yields to blackmail. After various battles and heroics, Renier is defeated. A solid scenario, fleshed out with often telling detail. But with a plot that's little more than a string of science-fiction clichÇs, Thornley's debut lacks ambition and originality. Promising? Maybe.
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-312-85843-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
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