Sunday, March 22, 2020

My Review of Vokhtah, by ac flory

VOKHTAH (The Suns of Vokhtah Book 1)
https://www.amazon.com/VOKHTAH-Suns-Vokhtah-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00B14OF2I/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=vokhtah&qid=1584895243&s=books&sr=1-1


“They were now just two frail iVokh pitting themselves against the might of the wild.”


Vokhtah is a difficult but rewarding book.  If you like unusual conceptions of extraterrestrials, this is for you.  Once you’ve read about half of it, the complexities begin to clarify themselves, but two readings are needed for complete understanding.  For example, it took me quite a while to grasp that the Blue and the Messenger were the same individual, and I also didn’t realize that there were two traders’ caravans wending their way to Needlepoint – I thought the Junior and the Messenger were in the same caravan and I got confused.  Part of the problem is that the characters don’t have names, only titles.  In her end matter, the author addresses this – it seems there is a taboo in this culture about enunciating your real name. 
Vokhtah is a grim and forbidding planet; it has two suns, one a hot white star and the other a red dwarf.  Sometimes they both shine at once, creating a climate of extremes.  The planet is populated with an assortment of mostly vicious and predatory lifeforms and that includes the intelligent ones, who prefer to consume their food animals live.  It’s a tribute to the author that she can take these basically repulsive intelligent lifeforms and make them sympathetic.  And I would recommend that any human ship of exploration steer clear of the planet Vokhtah – humans would probably be seen as prey animals!
My guess would be that the Vokh evolved from bat-like creatures – their ability to echo-locate is mentioned briefly.  They have wings (which contain their lungs), so most of them can fly.  They have two hearts.  And they are telepathic hermaphrodites with seemingly magical inner powers, like mind-healing and also mind-killing (their Healers are also trained as assassins).  There are two variant species – the Vokh (large and dominant) and the iVokh (meaning literally “small Vokh”).   The Vokh have a serious flaw – breeding is consummated by means of violent rape; nobody wants to bear an offspring because the “female” always dies in childbirth (this doesn’t occur with the iVokh). 
However, the people have a strong sense of honor and obligation – if you accept help from someone, you incur an obligation and if you don’t fulfill it, you are ostracized. In the second half of the book, after the episode at the Little Blue River, the main characters – the Messenger and the Apprentice – are shown developing a sense rare in these people – empathy, an ability to relate to and care about others with whom one has a relationship, beyond the obligations of the code of honor.
All this just scratches the surface of the author’s astonishing creation.  I should also mention that the book is a cliff hanger, and no second volume has yet appeared.
I must say a few words about the language.  Unfortunately, the Kindle version has no Table of Contents and so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the author provided a brief treatment of the language in the end matter.  It seems to have no pronouns, and verbs are consistently rendered only with the present participle form, all of which helps to create the alien language effect.  Certain words used in the text are self-explanatory, like “ki” for “no” and “s’so” for “yes.” 
There is one etymological gaffe that I can’t help commenting on – the explanation of the word “boot” (a foot-covering).  The character doesn’t know what the word “boot” means and it’s explained as a contraction of “bucket for foot.”  And yet that derivation would be impossible since the iVokh aren’t speaking English.  You have to assume that the Vokhtah words reflect a similar construction, which the author could have fabricated.
But that’s only a quibble – don’t be deterred!  This really is an amazing book and while the culture may not be palatable to everyone (you need a strong stomach sometimes), I definitely recommend it to any serious reader of science fiction.


Wednesday, March 18, 2020

First Review of Man Who Found Birds, Part 7 - a humdinger of a review!


https://amzn.to/337Uem0

By Audrey Driscoll

This is the seventh part of the fictional biography of 28th century spacefarer Robbin Nikalishin. It's every bit as gripping and exciting as the very first book. No, actually it's even more so, because in this book, the long-anticipated voyage to the stars actually happens. The first third of the book shows Capt. Robbie and his crew launch into space and settle in to shipboard routines in a long series of temporal quantum jumps and intervals that eventually take them to the vicinity of the star Epsilon Eridani. The only shadow on this optimistic beginning is the secretly delusional state of Chief Engineer Ian Glencrosse. Otherwise, we have a multicultural storytelling session, hormone-driven hijinks, birthday celebrations, and even a wedding. I laughed out loud at some scenes and was moved to tears at others. Many of the crew members are familiar personalities from the earlier books, so it's easy to relate to them as they interact and become an extended family.

Things get serious when part of the ship's engine malfunctions. Two tension-filled chapters are followed by relief and the thrill of discovery and a series of historical "firsts." Then, just over the halfway point, real disaster strikes and the tension is cranked up to excruciating. There were many places where I honestly did not want to keep reading, but couldn't make myself stop. I will say no more at this point, except that the ending promises momentous revelations for humans of the 28th century as well as readers of the 21st. Those who have read Lorinda J. Taylor's book The Termite Queen may guess at some of them. I hope Part 8 is in the works!

A few things that impressed me especially: first, the extent to which Robbin Nikalishin has grown and matured since his younger days. He has definitely overcome some of his personality flaws to the point that he draws upon his earlier errors and their consequences in dealing with a number of issues on this all-important mission to the stars. Second, the aforementioned wedding scene includes a tantalizing glimpse into the writings of one of the Mythmakers. The Valley of the White Bear and the character Ingreaf are referenced in several of the earlier books, so I was intrigued to learn a little more about them here. Finally, I continue to be impressed by the technological terms for engines and other devices that do not as yet exist. When the Engineers and technical crew deal with these items, their discussions sound absolutely authentic (bearing in mind that I'm neither engineer nor scientist).

It may be argued that a reader committed to a long-running series may not be an entirely objective reviewer. On the other hand, having followed Capt. Robbie's career through its many ups and downs, I would have been disappointed if this episode had been less than thrilling. I was certainly not disappointed, and would definitely recommend this book to anyone who appreciates serious science fiction leavened with realistic human relationships and emotions. But you really have to read the first six books to fully appreciate this one!

Find the original review at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1008652
or on Amazon.ca https://www.amazon.ca/Found-Birds-among-Stars-Seven-ebook/dp/B085PZL2BM/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=lorinda+j.+Taylor&qid=1584542084&sr=8-4

Find Audrey Driscoll's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Audrey-Driscoll/e/B00J7X7QVC?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1584542263&sr=8-1
or here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/audreydriscoll