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annathepiperJulie Czerneda is always a pleasure, and with the new Stratification series in particular, she returns to the same universe of her first book--still my favorite--A Thousand Words for Stranger. This story is set much earlier in the history of the species called the Clan, on their original homeworld, Cersi. In this timeframe, they are a people called the Om'ray, subservient to the two more powerful species of their world, the Tikitik and the Oud. An Agreement exists between all three species that forbids change of any kind of their cultures, an Agreement that until now the Om'ray of Yena Clan have scrupulously endeavored to keep. But young Aryl Sarc of the Yena Clan is discovering new and frighteningly powerful abilities. And though she tries to hide them at first, she is pushed again and again into using them, for the arrival of offworld explorers on Cersi is throwing the Agreement into peril.
I quite liked this story, and was delighted to see that two of the principle explorers were a human and a Carasian; I remembered the latter species quite vividly from A Thousand Words for Stranger, and it was fun to see one here again. The primary human character, Marcus Bowman, is as likable as you can get through Aryl's eyes, given his lack of speech she can understand, both vocal and mental. We also get an interesting Om'ray male, the metalworker Enris, who has "future mate of Aryl" written all over him. ;)
But there's no sign yet of any romance in this story, which is all to the good. It's interesting to see Aryl's eyes opened to the bigger picture of worlds beyond Cersi, and how the Tikitik and Oud are responding to the presence of the offworlders. There are fascinating hints that the Om'ray were once much more powerful than they are now--and that the offworlders know something about it. I'll definitely enjoy seeing where Book Two takes this. Four stars.
I quite liked this story, and was delighted to see that two of the principle explorers were a human and a Carasian; I remembered the latter species quite vividly from A Thousand Words for Stranger, and it was fun to see one here again. The primary human character, Marcus Bowman, is as likable as you can get through Aryl's eyes, given his lack of speech she can understand, both vocal and mental. We also get an interesting Om'ray male, the metalworker Enris, who has "future mate of Aryl" written all over him. ;)
But there's no sign yet of any romance in this story, which is all to the good. It's interesting to see Aryl's eyes opened to the bigger picture of worlds beyond Cersi, and how the Tikitik and Oud are responding to the presence of the offworlders. There are fascinating hints that the Om'ray were once much more powerful than they are now--and that the offworlders know something about it. I'll definitely enjoy seeing where Book Two takes this. Four stars.