Commencement

Starfire Saga #1

by Roby James

The Sting was what made Ronica McBride special -- that, and the years the interstellar government called the Com had invested in teaching her how to use it. Class C talents could use the power called gathering to control their own bodies; the less common Class Bs used pathfinding to alter the inner workings of mechanical things; but only the rare Class A could use the Sting -- and it was that unparalleled power over other minds that made Ronica the most valuable resource in the Com.

Newly graduated and ready to use her Class A talent, Ronica McBride should have had the worlds at her fingertips. But instead she was lost on an unknown planet, hurt, alone, with no memory of how she had gotten there -- and she had lost her Sting.

Gathering and pathfinding were tools, not weapons. Without her Sting, Ronica could not stop the Stonehouse dwellers who rescued her from promptly trading her away to the chief of a primitive tribe. And as Ronica struggled to find a place for herself on the wilderworld, accept her loss of talent, and regain her missing memories, she began to discover that everything the Com had taught her was a lie...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

356 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 30, 1995

About the author

Roby James has been writing since she was nine years old, with a ten-year hiatus from 1978 to 1988 to ensure that her marriage would succeed (it has). She is the author of Commencement (Hawk Books, 2000) and Commitment (Hawk Books, 2000); both books were previously published by Del Rey Books. She has also written a great deal of nonfiction, most notably for The Washington Post. She has spoken before audiences as large as 1,000 without being pelted by tomatoes or cabbages. At one time, she wrote for television (where assault by vegetables is one of the nicest things that happens to you), and her plays have been presented in Los Angeles, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In real life, she is a desktop publisher, a technical writer, and a fiction instructor.

Reviews

[Baygan Hartzheim · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read

[Josephine Draper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems to be a relatively unknown book which is a shame, because it's a gem. I picked it up by chance and was immediately hooked.

It's a sort of sci fi / fantasy fable about the main character, a girl with amazing power who has mysteriously crash-landed on a primitive planet, and her discoveries about herself, her past and the planet she is on.

The story is gripping and beautifully well written, the main characters engaging and believable. Appealingly, the tale is based on a mystery - the main character cannot remember how or why she has crash landed and spends most of the book trying to remember her lost memories and piece together her past. This makes for an intriguing plot line, which leaves you guessing right up until the end.

I've read it twice now and I can see that there are a few plot holes - why didn't the children wonder more about their families? But this is always true of this kind of mystery book and if you take it at face value, don't question the science too heavily and read it for what it is this book is highly enjoyable - it races along at a fast pace and is one of those books you find yourself reading with your breakfast because you want to know what happens next.

Highly recommended (as is the sequel, Commitment).
(One of my old reviews which I've consolidated on Goodreads).

[Jennifer Kubenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my comfort books that I've returned to this year, I find the re-read is still appealing, as the characters and the world building are rich and wonderful. Also, as I approach upon my 28th year of marriage to the same man, and think about the ebbs and flows of our relationship, I look at the relationships presented in this book in a different light, I suppose, and enjoy them differently as well. The book and its sequel are certainly not perfect, but do take me out of this world and position me fully into their world, and I appreciate that so very much.

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was part of the Del Rey Discovery series, which I am making a point of reading ALL of! The feel of this book reminded me of another in that series: Delia Marshall-Turner's 'Of Swords and Spells'. I'm not surprised that the same editors would have selected both. It also reminded me a bit, at first, of "The Blue Sword" by Robin McKinley - although not as good. Ronica, a self-important young woman brought up in privilege, in a starfaring society, because of her mental powers, is shocked to find herself stranded on a primitive planet, with no memory of how she got there., and without her most valued mental strengths. But soon, she finds herself in the tent of a strong and seductive primitive tribal leader, and begins to make herself a place in this new society. At this point, the romance element in the story gets a bit heavy, and the end suffers from a case of too-many-radical-revelations, too quickly - but overall, this was a good first novel, and an enjoyable sci-fantasy tale.

[Warren Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the writing. I thought it was a good entertaining read with believable characters.