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I enjoyed this rather quirky book that deals with first contact between humans and insects. Very intelligent insects mind you, and goes on to show the complex relationship that develops between the insects and the humans they encounter.
It was a well-thought out future-world story full of intriguing characters, mostly termite, I wasn’t too keen on the human characters, they didn’t seem as well defined as the insect ones. That aside, this is an unusual and overall satisfying book that deals philosophically with power struggles, romance, coming to terms with death and so much more.
The most satisfying parts of the book for me are when we are in the termite mound Lo'ro'ra, and witnessing the inner turmoil and complex power play between the high ranking termites. There are also moments of tenderness too when a dying termite finds solace in the comforting arms of a linguistics expert and main protagonist, Kaitrin Oliva. I also loved the moment when Kaitrin finally manages to understand their language. A real fun Eureka moment in what is sometimes a little dry, narrative wise.
There was plenty of real science too, which gave a sense of authenticity to what could have been just another Sci-fi alien contact story. The first books ends with the humans landing on the termite planet so, lots to discover and explore in the next book.
Although the cover, which I really like, made me think this book was for children, it most definitely is not. Well, not younger children, as the phonetic language and wonderfully quirky names would not be suitable for the younger reader. Neither would the length. It is quite wordy. I however, thoroughly enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read quality science fiction with a quirky edge.
It was a well-thought out future-world story full of intriguing characters, mostly termite, I wasn’t too keen on the human characters, they didn’t seem as well defined as the insect ones. That aside, this is an unusual and overall satisfying book that deals philosophically with power struggles, romance, coming to terms with death and so much more.
The most satisfying parts of the book for me are when we are in the termite mound Lo'ro'ra, and witnessing the inner turmoil and complex power play between the high ranking termites. There are also moments of tenderness too when a dying termite finds solace in the comforting arms of a linguistics expert and main protagonist, Kaitrin Oliva. I also loved the moment when Kaitrin finally manages to understand their language. A real fun Eureka moment in what is sometimes a little dry, narrative wise.
There was plenty of real science too, which gave a sense of authenticity to what could have been just another Sci-fi alien contact story. The first books ends with the humans landing on the termite planet so, lots to discover and explore in the next book.
Although the cover, which I really like, made me think this book was for children, it most definitely is not. Well, not younger children, as the phonetic language and wonderfully quirky names would not be suitable for the younger reader. Neither would the length. It is quite wordy. I however, thoroughly enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read quality science fiction with a quirky edge.
[This review was written by Nicola McDonagh. You can find all her books here on Amazon, also.]
Good job on getting a **** review!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bun! And thanks for stopping by!
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