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Lethe
It is the year 2166. Eighty years have passed since the Gene Wars devastated the Earth, decimating the human population and giving rise to myriad new life-forms. Only planetwide rule by an oligarchy of once-human brains in permanent computer interface has allowed "pure" humans to survive. Now, among the dolphins of Australia, Jenae Kim stumbles on the information that could mean a new beginning for human civilization: information that the government is determined to keep secret--even if they have to kill her.
On the edge of the solar system, researcher Daire Morales falls through an interstellar gate and discovers an Edenic world to which refugee children from the Gene Wars escaped long ago--but at a terrible price. The onset of adulthood promises a monstrous fate, and now the colony's adolescent leader, Tsering, faces her own violent demise. Only when Jenae exposes the long-buried truth about the Gene Wars does Tsering realize that the memories trapped in the planet's strange, sentient trees have the power to save--or destroy--not only the colony but the hope of humanity itself.
On the edge of the solar system, researcher Daire Morales falls through an interstellar gate and discovers an Edenic world to which refugee children from the Gene Wars escaped long ago--but at a terrible price. The onset of adulthood promises a monstrous fate, and now the colony's adolescent leader, Tsering, faces her own violent demise. Only when Jenae exposes the long-buried truth about the Gene Wars does Tsering realize that the memories trapped in the planet's strange, sentient trees have the power to save--or destroy--not only the colony but the hope of humanity itself.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Tricia Sullivan
34 books74 followersTricia Sullivan (born July 7, 1968 in New Jersey, U.S.) is a science fiction writer. She has also written fantasy under the pseudonym Valery Leith.
She moved to the United Kingdom in 1995. In 1999 she won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel Dreaming in Smoke. Her novel Maul was also shortlisted for the same award in 2004.
Sullivan has studied music and karate. Her partner is the martial artist Steve Morris, with whom she has three children.
She moved to the United Kingdom in 1995. In 1999 she won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel Dreaming in Smoke. Her novel Maul was also shortlisted for the same award in 2004.
Sullivan has studied music and karate. Her partner is the martial artist Steve Morris, with whom she has three children.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 16, 2021
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at forfemfan.com]
Lethe was recommended to me in the book channel of a "Women in Tech" group. Alas, Slack's scrollback consumed the specifics of the recommendation. I remember it mentioning that Lethe is a fascinating book that you flash back to regularly even though it suffers from several not-insignificant flaws.
I would agree with that, though it appears there is a lot of discussion about what, exactly, those flaws are. Some argue that there's just so much going on, and as Sullivan doesn't take the time to spell it out for you, it's hard to find your footing.
I didn't struggle with this since we have two protagonists with straightforward problems.
Janae is seventeen. She feels disconnected from her twin sister and is growing increasingly concerned about her sister's mental state. She struggles to find meaning outside of work and cope with a world that doesn't feel like it has a place for her. Her coworkers worry about her as she digs deeper—too deep really—into her work.
Sure, these problems tie directly in with aquatic-human hybrids, psychic dolphins, monstrous cyclops tribes, disembodied brains interfaced with computers, and a war-ravaged earth both irradiated from nuclear bombs and toxic due to genetic, viral warfare.
It's a lot, but it doesn't matter if you don't "get" the cyclopses at first so long as you understand Janae's trepidation surrounding them. It doesn't matter if you "get" the disembodied brains so long as you can feel their power. The rest can trickle out throughout the narrative.
Opposite Janae is Daire. Because we need all the sci-fi elements possible in one book, he's fallen through a wormhole/portal of sorts into an idyllic world dominated by one mystical tree. Children populate the land; something strange and terrible happens when they reach adulthood. Daire must come to terms with his new location and try to tease apart its mysteries while he waits for rescue. Perhaps, with his knowledge, he can help these children.
Understanding this world is less complicated—Daire is a newcomer, so as he comes to understand things, we do too. That's not to say that everything in Daire's sections are on display; there's still plenty of mystery, it's just the sort you expect.
I thought this made for a good balance. Janae's sections felt grander, if more confusing. Daire's sections felt like a break where we got to dig into one thing with more depth. It was good to bounce between them, Janae's vast yet blurry world slowly coming into focus as Daire’s careful focus removes the fog of war on his new world.
I also love stories with two strong yet thoroughly separate storylines. They're inevitably going to affect each other, somehow, and I relish watching the author set up that eventual crossover.
So I don't mind a vast and somewhat bizarre world teeming with complicated sci-fi magic, and, clearly, the protagonists aren't a problem for me. They aren't larger-than-life and imminently likable or anything, but they are well characterized and easy to follow. They even get a boost from the supporting characters. Janae makes an unlikely friend that elevates much of her section, and Daire connects with the inhabitants of his new world in a way that allows his low-key personality to shine.
A+, no real complaints.
So where's the problem?
Janae has an emotional plot and an intellectual one.
The emotional one, involving her sister, is easy to follow, and it's easy to understand Janae's motivations and goals. At least for a while. Then it takes a turn and, as one would expect, Janae's character grows and changes. These changes are significant. Like, trophy-hunter-turns-vegan or person-with-phobia-of-dogs-volunteers-for-dog-rescue level of change, which is fine. The biggest changes are the most fascinating to watch. But there's the rub: we have to watch them change.
In Lethe, Janae's change happens over several highly influential months delegated to a few paragraphs of reflection. And when we meet the new Janae, the change is complete. Worse, she's somewhat jaded judgy of people who exhibit behaviors. So this isn't a case of "Janae's volunteering for a dog shelter despite her deep-seated fear of dogs," it's "Janae is so over dogs, they're boring, but she also doesn't think they deserve to be treated poorly, so she's mopping kennels and taking them for walks while sighing and rolling her eyes, especially at people she passes who are clearly afraid of dogs."
That huge shift in the emotional plot when months pass between chapters brings with it other problems.Her intellectual plot started straightforward—she wanted to uncover some hidden information—but things get a little loose after the jump. She wants to take this information and do something with it. What? It's kinda unclear. Why? That's definitely unclear. To what end? I'm pretty sure Janae hasn't thought that far ahead.
Worse than that, she's putting all of this energy into something dangerous, but she's also pretty passive about the outcome.
To continue the weird and imperfect dog-rescue analogy, it's like, "I will get this dog to the shelter ... but I don't care if the shelter is full or if it's been taken over byThe Meat Industry* PETA and plans to euthanize all the dogs or whether it's owner is right there and I could just return it right now. I will drop it on the shelter's doorstep or die trying."
There's a significant disconnect there that cheapens the stakes.
So the plot becomes inscrutable; I lose the specifics of why they're doing what they're doing and am just following along, one brow permanently cocked going "Uhuh. I guess that's something they could do?" while new characters are lobbed into the mix with such frequency that I cannot be bothered to keep them straight or care about them in the slightest.
The final problem is there are tons of hints that don't pan out. A character says something enigmatic that hints at a bigger picture ... and we never hear about it again. Janae suspects someone of doing something unusual, then never brings it up, and the moment is forgotten forever. I kept thinking things were building towards a reveal that never came. And that seriously weakened the already kinda-weak ending. It's never good to close a book and go "What? I expected more," even if you did really like the first 250 pages of the novel.
And I did really like the first 250 pages of the novel.
So I can see what the original recommender meant. The ending doesn't ruin what's good about the novel at all; it simply feels like it doesn't do justice to wrapping things up. And since nothing is specifically ruined for me, my brain lingers on the parts that I did like, the parts where Janae struggled with her troubled world or where Daire came a little bit closer to understanding something mysterious.
Apparently, this is Sullivan's first novel, and I've seen it said by others that they're glad they read her other works first. I find this exciting; Lethe might have been overly ambitious, but Sullivan's talent is apparent. I'm looking forward to revisiting her writing. All-in-all, a good recommendation, and one I’m glad to have read despite its flaws.
*Please indulge me this, my one conspiracy theory: I’m pretty sure PETA is an organization created and run by the meat industry that just hires the most out-there vegans they can find to be the face of the organization and run horrible campaigns that’ll piss everyone off just to make vegans and people down with animals’ rights look like idiots and psychopaths. Seriously. What organization supposedly dedicated to improving the lives of animals would actively campaign against a measure to improve living conditions for factory cows? Because PETA did the meat industry a real solid by doing just that.
Lethe was recommended to me in the book channel of a "Women in Tech" group. Alas, Slack's scrollback consumed the specifics of the recommendation. I remember it mentioning that Lethe is a fascinating book that you flash back to regularly even though it suffers from several not-insignificant flaws.
I would agree with that, though it appears there is a lot of discussion about what, exactly, those flaws are. Some argue that there's just so much going on, and as Sullivan doesn't take the time to spell it out for you, it's hard to find your footing.
I didn't struggle with this since we have two protagonists with straightforward problems.
Janae is seventeen. She feels disconnected from her twin sister and is growing increasingly concerned about her sister's mental state. She struggles to find meaning outside of work and cope with a world that doesn't feel like it has a place for her. Her coworkers worry about her as she digs deeper—too deep really—into her work.
Sure, these problems tie directly in with aquatic-human hybrids, psychic dolphins, monstrous cyclops tribes, disembodied brains interfaced with computers, and a war-ravaged earth both irradiated from nuclear bombs and toxic due to genetic, viral warfare.
It's a lot, but it doesn't matter if you don't "get" the cyclopses at first so long as you understand Janae's trepidation surrounding them. It doesn't matter if you "get" the disembodied brains so long as you can feel their power. The rest can trickle out throughout the narrative.
Opposite Janae is Daire. Because we need all the sci-fi elements possible in one book, he's fallen through a wormhole/portal of sorts into an idyllic world dominated by one mystical tree. Children populate the land; something strange and terrible happens when they reach adulthood. Daire must come to terms with his new location and try to tease apart its mysteries while he waits for rescue. Perhaps, with his knowledge, he can help these children.
Understanding this world is less complicated—Daire is a newcomer, so as he comes to understand things, we do too. That's not to say that everything in Daire's sections are on display; there's still plenty of mystery, it's just the sort you expect.
I thought this made for a good balance. Janae's sections felt grander, if more confusing. Daire's sections felt like a break where we got to dig into one thing with more depth. It was good to bounce between them, Janae's vast yet blurry world slowly coming into focus as Daire’s careful focus removes the fog of war on his new world.
I also love stories with two strong yet thoroughly separate storylines. They're inevitably going to affect each other, somehow, and I relish watching the author set up that eventual crossover.
So I don't mind a vast and somewhat bizarre world teeming with complicated sci-fi magic, and, clearly, the protagonists aren't a problem for me. They aren't larger-than-life and imminently likable or anything, but they are well characterized and easy to follow. They even get a boost from the supporting characters. Janae makes an unlikely friend that elevates much of her section, and Daire connects with the inhabitants of his new world in a way that allows his low-key personality to shine.
A+, no real complaints.
So where's the problem?
Janae has an emotional plot and an intellectual one.
The emotional one, involving her sister, is easy to follow, and it's easy to understand Janae's motivations and goals. At least for a while. Then it takes a turn and, as one would expect, Janae's character grows and changes. These changes are significant. Like, trophy-hunter-turns-vegan or person-with-phobia-of-dogs-volunteers-for-dog-rescue level of change, which is fine. The biggest changes are the most fascinating to watch. But there's the rub: we have to watch them change.
In Lethe, Janae's change happens over several highly influential months delegated to a few paragraphs of reflection. And when we meet the new Janae, the change is complete. Worse, she's somewhat jaded judgy of people who exhibit behaviors. So this isn't a case of "Janae's volunteering for a dog shelter despite her deep-seated fear of dogs," it's "Janae is so over dogs, they're boring, but she also doesn't think they deserve to be treated poorly, so she's mopping kennels and taking them for walks while sighing and rolling her eyes, especially at people she passes who are clearly afraid of dogs."
That huge shift in the emotional plot when months pass between chapters brings with it other problems.Her intellectual plot started straightforward—she wanted to uncover some hidden information—but things get a little loose after the jump. She wants to take this information and do something with it. What? It's kinda unclear. Why? That's definitely unclear. To what end? I'm pretty sure Janae hasn't thought that far ahead.
Worse than that, she's putting all of this energy into something dangerous, but she's also pretty passive about the outcome.
To continue the weird and imperfect dog-rescue analogy, it's like, "I will get this dog to the shelter ... but I don't care if the shelter is full or if it's been taken over by
There's a significant disconnect there that cheapens the stakes.
So the plot becomes inscrutable; I lose the specifics of why they're doing what they're doing and am just following along, one brow permanently cocked going "Uhuh. I guess that's something they could do?" while new characters are lobbed into the mix with such frequency that I cannot be bothered to keep them straight or care about them in the slightest.
The final problem is there are tons of hints that don't pan out. A character says something enigmatic that hints at a bigger picture ... and we never hear about it again. Janae suspects someone of doing something unusual, then never brings it up, and the moment is forgotten forever. I kept thinking things were building towards a reveal that never came. And that seriously weakened the already kinda-weak ending. It's never good to close a book and go "What? I expected more," even if you did really like the first 250 pages of the novel.
And I did really like the first 250 pages of the novel.
So I can see what the original recommender meant. The ending doesn't ruin what's good about the novel at all; it simply feels like it doesn't do justice to wrapping things up. And since nothing is specifically ruined for me, my brain lingers on the parts that I did like, the parts where Janae struggled with her troubled world or where Daire came a little bit closer to understanding something mysterious.
Apparently, this is Sullivan's first novel, and I've seen it said by others that they're glad they read her other works first. I find this exciting; Lethe might have been overly ambitious, but Sullivan's talent is apparent. I'm looking forward to revisiting her writing. All-in-all, a good recommendation, and one I’m glad to have read despite its flaws.
*Please indulge me this, my one conspiracy theory: I’m pretty sure PETA is an organization created and run by the meat industry that just hires the most out-there vegans they can find to be the face of the organization and run horrible campaigns that’ll piss everyone off just to make vegans and people down with animals’ rights look like idiots and psychopaths. Seriously. What organization supposedly dedicated to improving the lives of animals would actively campaign against a measure to improve living conditions for factory cows? Because PETA did the meat industry a real solid by doing just that.
December 11, 2025
talking dolphins? sod off
November 11, 2025
Tricia Sullivan is a much underappreciated and neglected author. Dreaming in Smoke won the 1999 Arthur C Clarke award and is part of the SF Masterworks series with an intro by Pat Cadigan. Her novels have been finalists in the Clarke award in 2004, 2011, and 2017, but was always pipped at the post.
This was Tricia’s debut novel and is the second book of hers I’ve read. It bears some thematic similarities with Dreaming in Smoke, but isn’t linked in any direct way. What it does show is the breadth of her imagination.
The book is vast in scope. It should be a 7 novel series, but she zips through the first 6 unwritten books with 2 page 100 year summary called A Gene Wars Timeline and then gives us the last book in the series.
Some of the highlights.
- 2052: Weird alien artifact/gateway found on the edge of the solar system
- 2070: Global restrictions on everything to save the planet proposed by genetics mega corporations and shafting 3rd world countries.
- 2077: Illegal stealing of children from 3rd world countries for secret genetic experimentation under the sophistry of population control.
- 2080: 3rd world countries retaliate with nukes
- 2083: Genetics mega corporations retaliate with bio-warfare killing billions.
- 2084-89: New types of humans emerge and mage corporations destroyed.
- 2089-2166: Slow global recovery.
-2166: The book starts.
And that’s not everything in the timeline. None of that is spoilers is all covered in the 2 page timeline before Chapter 1 starts. There’s at least half a dozen good books in there I want to read.
Within the story there are a number of different groups of humans as mentioned in the 2080s. Altermoders are mermaids in essence. They undergo a were-wolf like transition when immersed in water. They were deliberately created by the mega corporations as an experiment. Jenae, who is arguably the protagonist of the story is one of these. One Eyes are essentially cyclops. They are a random mutation that evolved and can survive without protection in the toxic wasteland that is Earth. The Heads are a ruling elite referred to as Pickled Brains as they have shed their bodies and are literally brains in vats wired up to web and controlling everything. And pure humans who have managed to escape poisoning and genetic infection through luck or money. They live in environmentally controlled reservations. Weird alien artifact/gateway has an untainted habitable world on the other side. It’s pretty obvious what the storyline is going to be, who gets to live on and control the nice world. There’s a LOT more to the book than that, but that’s a spoiler free overview.
There are some strong parallels to aspects of 20th century history, but I can’t say more without significant spoilers. Even that is probably too much.
The prose is excellent. It’s a rare occasion when an author surprises me with a word I’ve never encountered before, but Tricia manages to do it twice in one book. And they are used in a way that doesn’t look like she went searching through a thesaurus for a complicated obscure word. It is simply the right word for the context.
The ground beneath his feet deliquesced to the consistency of mercury.
The trees were still dripping, aeruginous in the light after the storm.
But it’s not a perfect book despite me waxing lyrical. The bulk of the book is very disconnected. It’s not until the last quarter the two main plotlines start to converge. You have two separate sets of characters on either side of the alien artifact/gateway. It’s almost like they are two entirely separate stories until the last quarter.
And finally, telepathic cetaceans, just because.
I highly recommend this book. Luckily for me I picked up another 3 of her books during a charity shop trawl based on the strength of Dreaming in Smoke so I’ve got a couple more to read.
This was Tricia’s debut novel and is the second book of hers I’ve read. It bears some thematic similarities with Dreaming in Smoke, but isn’t linked in any direct way. What it does show is the breadth of her imagination.
The book is vast in scope. It should be a 7 novel series, but she zips through the first 6 unwritten books with 2 page 100 year summary called A Gene Wars Timeline and then gives us the last book in the series.
Some of the highlights.
- 2052: Weird alien artifact/gateway found on the edge of the solar system
- 2070: Global restrictions on everything to save the planet proposed by genetics mega corporations and shafting 3rd world countries.
- 2077: Illegal stealing of children from 3rd world countries for secret genetic experimentation under the sophistry of population control.
- 2080: 3rd world countries retaliate with nukes
- 2083: Genetics mega corporations retaliate with bio-warfare killing billions.
- 2084-89: New types of humans emerge and mage corporations destroyed.
- 2089-2166: Slow global recovery.
-2166: The book starts.
And that’s not everything in the timeline. None of that is spoilers is all covered in the 2 page timeline before Chapter 1 starts. There’s at least half a dozen good books in there I want to read.
Within the story there are a number of different groups of humans as mentioned in the 2080s. Altermoders are mermaids in essence. They undergo a were-wolf like transition when immersed in water. They were deliberately created by the mega corporations as an experiment. Jenae, who is arguably the protagonist of the story is one of these. One Eyes are essentially cyclops. They are a random mutation that evolved and can survive without protection in the toxic wasteland that is Earth. The Heads are a ruling elite referred to as Pickled Brains as they have shed their bodies and are literally brains in vats wired up to web and controlling everything. And pure humans who have managed to escape poisoning and genetic infection through luck or money. They live in environmentally controlled reservations. Weird alien artifact/gateway has an untainted habitable world on the other side. It’s pretty obvious what the storyline is going to be, who gets to live on and control the nice world. There’s a LOT more to the book than that, but that’s a spoiler free overview.
There are some strong parallels to aspects of 20th century history, but I can’t say more without significant spoilers. Even that is probably too much.
The prose is excellent. It’s a rare occasion when an author surprises me with a word I’ve never encountered before, but Tricia manages to do it twice in one book. And they are used in a way that doesn’t look like she went searching through a thesaurus for a complicated obscure word. It is simply the right word for the context.
The ground beneath his feet deliquesced to the consistency of mercury.
The trees were still dripping, aeruginous in the light after the storm.
But it’s not a perfect book despite me waxing lyrical. The bulk of the book is very disconnected. It’s not until the last quarter the two main plotlines start to converge. You have two separate sets of characters on either side of the alien artifact/gateway. It’s almost like they are two entirely separate stories until the last quarter.
And finally, telepathic cetaceans, just because.
I highly recommend this book. Luckily for me I picked up another 3 of her books during a charity shop trawl based on the strength of Dreaming in Smoke so I’ve got a couple more to read.
April 18, 2020
This is my fourth time reading Tricia Sullivan, and this time it’s her debut novel, which demonstrates that even when she was first starting out, she had a very left-field approach to SF. This one takes place in 2166 – 80 years after the corporate Gene Wars have devastated Earth – where civilization is held together by the League of New Alchemists, which is run by three disembodied brains in Australia connected to a computer network that also uses altermoders (amphibious mutant humans) communicating telepathically with dolphins for extra compute power.
Meanwhile, space travel is a thing, and one of the things the “Pickled Brains” are doing is sending research ships to investigate an alien structure just outside the solar system where interstellar gates have been discovered that could lead to inhabitable planets. A League researcher named Daire falls through a new gate and finds himself on another planet with sentient trees where children don’t make it past puberty. Back on Earth, altermoder Jenae is assigned to compute the data sent back from the ship that turns out to be the key to what really happened in the Gene Wars.
So. Yes. As with Sullivan’s other books that I’ve read, there’s a lot of nifty ideas flying around with minimal exposition, so I had to spend the first few chapters getting acclimatized to the surroundings. Which is normally not a problem, but this time it was more of a struggle to get a handle on just why the Gene Wars happened in the first place and the various factions struggling for power. Even with all that, it holds together okay until the final act, which feels really rushed. For a first novel it’s alright – points for creativity and daring – and Sullivan would go from here to write some really good stuff. But I’m glad this wasn’t my starting point with her work.
Meanwhile, space travel is a thing, and one of the things the “Pickled Brains” are doing is sending research ships to investigate an alien structure just outside the solar system where interstellar gates have been discovered that could lead to inhabitable planets. A League researcher named Daire falls through a new gate and finds himself on another planet with sentient trees where children don’t make it past puberty. Back on Earth, altermoder Jenae is assigned to compute the data sent back from the ship that turns out to be the key to what really happened in the Gene Wars.
So. Yes. As with Sullivan’s other books that I’ve read, there’s a lot of nifty ideas flying around with minimal exposition, so I had to spend the first few chapters getting acclimatized to the surroundings. Which is normally not a problem, but this time it was more of a struggle to get a handle on just why the Gene Wars happened in the first place and the various factions struggling for power. Even with all that, it holds together okay until the final act, which feels really rushed. For a first novel it’s alright – points for creativity and daring – and Sullivan would go from here to write some really good stuff. But I’m glad this wasn’t my starting point with her work.
June 19, 2012
I found Lethe to be overall strange and interesting as older sci-fi are wont to do. Earth is recovering from global war the 'gene wars' and what is left of humanity is protected under climate controlled domes. Everything else is mutated, including humans unlucky enough to be infected. In addition, several people have had their consciousnesses transferred into tanks/machines- they are a collective think-tank that has slowly brought humanity back from the brink of extinction.
The book opens up several subplots that I found more interesting than the main thread at points. The main character has 'altermode' a fish-like physical morph state she takes on when in contact with water and this ability is a result of a genetic mutation passed down from the wars. A collection of permanently altermode humans is established on another planet and while several questions are raised about this group, the main character never finds out much about them.
A few other subplots end (or don't end) the same way and that was disappointing. The fallout from the major climax happens off screen so I felt a bit cheated there as well.
Otherwise an interesting setup for a sci-fi.
The book opens up several subplots that I found more interesting than the main thread at points. The main character has 'altermode' a fish-like physical morph state she takes on when in contact with water and this ability is a result of a genetic mutation passed down from the wars. A collection of permanently altermode humans is established on another planet and while several questions are raised about this group, the main character never finds out much about them.
A few other subplots end (or don't end) the same way and that was disappointing. The fallout from the major climax happens off screen so I felt a bit cheated there as well.
Otherwise an interesting setup for a sci-fi.
March 2, 2011
This was my favorite book of my early/mid teens. I probably read it about 7 times. Not sure if I'd like it as much now, but the themes are still interesting. There's a lot of crappy sci-fi out there. This is one of the good ones!
October 9, 2007
While this book incorporated some interesting although not overly original ideas, the writing was often hard to follow.
January 27, 2008
One of the most thoughtful, beautifully written pieces of science fiction I've read.
December 17, 2011
This was my favourite books i've read it so many times.
August 5, 2012
Well written, but bizarre.
December 10, 2015
silly premise, talking dolphins, ha
June 2, 2022
This was quite a debut novel back in 1995. Reading it now it reminds me of some of Robert Holdstock's books, not just Mythago Wood transposed into the sentient lywyn forest with its ghostly figures drawn from memories, but stories such as Where Time Winds Blow and Earthwind in which sentience can exist outside corporeal bodies.
The idea of using two fairly separate stories told in more or less alternating sections and finally bringing them together to answer the question: why did all these terrible things happen, comes close to functioning. It doesn't quite because having two stories introduces an awful lot of characters, many of which have to disappear or die to make the final single story workable. The Pickled Brains meet their end in a computer induced maelstrom of destructive data; Jenae's twin sister is finally polished off by a killer virus; Tien fades from sight in Jakarta; Keila the one-eyed, along with several scientists board their spaceship and leave Underkohling for Earth; the too-smart-by-half dolphins swim away into obscurity. There are others but it is only when they have gone that Tsering and Daire can meet their inevitable tragedy.
One character who is brought into prominence as the story approaches its finale is the affable British scientist Colin. I don't know if the author's idea was to make him a rival for Tsering's affection. If so, for me it didn't work. Colin is and remains a well-meaning, nice man who finally listens to Jenae and believes what she has found out about the original directors of the evil Ingenix corporation. He begins as a tool to keep the story moving and pretty much stays that way until near the conclusion he wanders off to do more research in the lywyn, allowing Tsering and Daire to act out their bitter parting.
There is some shortage of explanations. Most obviously what is Underkohling and why is it called Underkohling? I can only guess it's an alien construction to hold worm-holes in place that has somehow drifted on to the edge of our Solar System. If the directors of Ingenix wanted to kill off the children they had been using for experiments why choose such a brutal and heartless way of doing it; why not use their virii to simply kill them? And for so long in the early part of the story we have the impression that “pure humans” are few in number and struggling to survive in their protective rezs, then Jenae travels to England, and London seems to be a thriving metropolis filled with people. There is even an active spaceport at Bergen in Norway.
Anyway, if you let your imagination loose, it all makes for an excellent fast-paced dystopian tale of genetic warfare, greed, power struggle and a fight for survival. Now, if you'll pardon me, I'll just slip into altermode and have a quick bath.
The idea of using two fairly separate stories told in more or less alternating sections and finally bringing them together to answer the question: why did all these terrible things happen, comes close to functioning. It doesn't quite because having two stories introduces an awful lot of characters, many of which have to disappear or die to make the final single story workable. The Pickled Brains meet their end in a computer induced maelstrom of destructive data; Jenae's twin sister is finally polished off by a killer virus; Tien fades from sight in Jakarta; Keila the one-eyed, along with several scientists board their spaceship and leave Underkohling for Earth; the too-smart-by-half dolphins swim away into obscurity. There are others but it is only when they have gone that Tsering and Daire can meet their inevitable tragedy.
One character who is brought into prominence as the story approaches its finale is the affable British scientist Colin. I don't know if the author's idea was to make him a rival for Tsering's affection. If so, for me it didn't work. Colin is and remains a well-meaning, nice man who finally listens to Jenae and believes what she has found out about the original directors of the evil Ingenix corporation. He begins as a tool to keep the story moving and pretty much stays that way until near the conclusion he wanders off to do more research in the lywyn, allowing Tsering and Daire to act out their bitter parting.
There is some shortage of explanations. Most obviously what is Underkohling and why is it called Underkohling? I can only guess it's an alien construction to hold worm-holes in place that has somehow drifted on to the edge of our Solar System. If the directors of Ingenix wanted to kill off the children they had been using for experiments why choose such a brutal and heartless way of doing it; why not use their virii to simply kill them? And for so long in the early part of the story we have the impression that “pure humans” are few in number and struggling to survive in their protective rezs, then Jenae travels to England, and London seems to be a thriving metropolis filled with people. There is even an active spaceport at Bergen in Norway.
Anyway, if you let your imagination loose, it all makes for an excellent fast-paced dystopian tale of genetic warfare, greed, power struggle and a fight for survival. Now, if you'll pardon me, I'll just slip into altermode and have a quick bath.
September 13, 2021
Well it appears to be heavily inspired by the Obernewtyn Chronicles. Which by default appears based near what was once Australia. This book still has the names. So it's earlier on than OC. So it isn't exactly original. But more of a section in time that OC doesn't cover. I wouldn't call this book pure Science Fiction but like Star Wars a Hybrid of Science Fiction and Fantasy.. OC is similar. But the ends are different. One is supposed to destroy , but in this book the 2 main characters don't. the Partner of one of them does perhaps. Whether she knew it would happen it doesn't say. This is a fault in the book. It also ends with too many questions. It isn't bad for a new author at the time. I got this in March 1996. Never thought I'd get around to reading it but needed a book I wouldn't get hooked on before vacationing up in Northern MN so as to take it with me.. And still brought too many books. Oh well :) Loved the color scheme for the cover.. It's just weird that Daire appears to be the main but Jenae is on the front cover.. Like yeah I did get it cause I was almost 21 and there's this clearly naked lady on the front.. But the Dolphin's helped.. I didn't think it was a bad book but way too much like obernewtyn chronicles. Except obernewtyn chronicles is very well written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2020
This was a good book, but a sort of hard read...didn't really reach out and grab me and make me not want to put it down 'til right at the very end.
Very intriguing sci-fi futuristic plot ideas though. I'd probably read a sequel, but not right away.
Very intriguing sci-fi futuristic plot ideas though. I'd probably read a sequel, but not right away.
April 17, 2020
An interplanetary eco-thriller that explores the questions of identity, moral responsibility, and the bonds of affection.
November 23, 2020
Pretty good. Earth is run by minds, genetically modified children on another planet looked after by Older woman
April 19, 2011
For her first published novel, Tricia Sullivan has created an Earth in the aftermath of a Gene War where mankind has suffered human species transformation and 'pure' humans reside in established locations behind protected barriers, and once what were humans are now only 'brains' connected to computers rule over what is left of the populous.
I found the concept and plot somewhat interesting, but it was a bit of a demand at first trying to get into the story and the ending wasn't really too much of a surprise.
Another fault was where authors nowadays feel they should throw in course language which if the story is well written never needs to be applied and sadly there is plenty of 'cuss' words peppered throughout this novel. Plus, being an American author, she has thrown in wording that would only be familiar to British readers maybe trying to grab UK readership. Who in America would know that a 'boot' in a vehicle would actually be the back-end or trunk?
Would I recommend the novel? Sorry, not really.
I found the concept and plot somewhat interesting, but it was a bit of a demand at first trying to get into the story and the ending wasn't really too much of a surprise.
Another fault was where authors nowadays feel they should throw in course language which if the story is well written never needs to be applied and sadly there is plenty of 'cuss' words peppered throughout this novel. Plus, being an American author, she has thrown in wording that would only be familiar to British readers maybe trying to grab UK readership. Who in America would know that a 'boot' in a vehicle would actually be the back-end or trunk?
Would I recommend the novel? Sorry, not really.
January 10, 2013
3.5 stars. Good sci fi, interesting characters and situations. The writing is a little uneven in places and I wanted more closure from the ending.
April 30, 2017
Too dark and messy for me right now.
April 11, 2017
I received this book from a friend, whose review was "It was a fine book, but I don't need to keep it." I'd say that's an accurate assessment. There were some very interesting ideas, the kind that put little hooks in your brain so you remember them long after the details are gone. But it almost felt too short, too rushed at times, getting from Idea to Idea without much finesse. There were relationships and characters that popped up to make the plot move and then disappeared without a trace. There were elements that felt like plugs for plot holes. I didn't mind reading it, but that's as far as it goes.
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