Seas of Ernathe

Star Rigger #6

by Jeffrey A. Carver, Kelly Freas (Illustrator), Terry Carr (Introduction)

Millennia after the skills of starship rigging have been lost, can Seth Perland find the key to rediscovery on the world of the mysterious sea people, the Nale'nid? Seas of Ernathe was Jeffrey A. Carver's first novel, and the first full-length tale of what was to become his popular Star Rigger Universe. Set farthest into the future of all the Star Rigger stories, Seas of Ernathe sets the stage for a new cycle of history. A touching story of love and personal discovery, it leads the way to the rediscovery of the mode of star travel that once knit galactic civilization together. 

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Tom Britz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this book even though I liked Jeffrey Carvers other book, Panglor. Seas of Ernathe was published by Laser Books and I always heard they were a sub par publisher, maybe because the parent company was Harlequin Books, who were known for romances. Romances are not my cup of tea, but I must admit this novel has me wondering about them. Not for long though, they are defunct now. Needless to say Jeffrey Carver has won me over yet again. He writes character driven SF and it is quite hard SF, he goes for the big concept ideas. His ships don't just conveniently fly through the void at faster-than-light speeds, they travel through a zone outside of normal space called flux space. Nothing is normal there, it's like a kaleidoscope image of space, able to warp even the strongest of minds. Pilots tend to use a drug to be able to handle the voyage, but the inhabitants of Ernathe, the Nale'nid seem to spend a lot of their time using this flux space for their own ends of exploring their world. They've never been off-world.
When Seth Perland the Second Pilot on his ship visits the planet to investigate these Nale'nid he's intrigued by a young woman and then becomes a somewhat willing participant in his own abduction. During this time he learns how to deal with the Nale'nid and quite possibly have some recruits for a whole new pilot breed. If he can only convince the Nale'nid.

[Mike Franklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly disappointing this one. I have read and loved all the, so far, published volumes of Carver’s Chaos Chronicles series and so decided I’d take a look at his Star Rigger books in publication order. Of which this is the first and also his first published book and I’m afraid it felt rather like it. The basic premise of a kind of first contact is quite good and interesting but it suffers in the detail. For example, the sentient natives of the planet are called the Nale’nid and they are called that by themselves and the humans throughout and yet at the start of this book there has been no contact or communication with the humans, so how do they know to call them that? Okay so maybe a little picky but there are a lot of similar inconsistencies. Had this been my first Carver I’m not sure I’d have read more of his work and now I’m unsure about continuing with this series though in fairness the series has been written between 1976 to 2000 so I would imagine his writing has also developed over that time!

[Healing Toolbox Bruce Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seas of Ernathe (Star Rigger, #1 probably not #6)
To review this book, we need a new science fiction genre category, psychic-sci-fi. IF YOU LIKE--OR THINK YOU WOULD LIKE--PSYCHIC-SCI-FI, then this will likely be a 5/5 for you.
If you strongly prefer militaristic sci-fi, this will be one or two stars.
Other reviews here sketch the plot and characters. What I can add is this story UNDERMINES READER EXPECTATIONS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. If this bothers you, skip it. If you understand learning something new requires you going beyond and outside of your own expectations, it will be four or five stars for you.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good

I really enjoyed the creative ideas in this book, how they come alive and seem just right is great. Star rigging at its birth,what opportunity to read about it.

[Benjamin Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seas of Ernathe takes place at a time when the art of Star Rigging has been lost to humanity and they're left to navigating Flux Space with mechanized probability probes. (Sailing a ship through Flux Space is akin to shooting white water rapids. Imagine kayaking and leaving the navigation to an auto-pilot, to get an idea what the loss of Star Rigging means.)

A compound derived from plankton that thrives only on the planet Ernathe may be the key to humans regaining the ability to pilot Rigger Ships. But the indigenous population (the Nale'nid) has begun interfering with the human colonists harvesting operation, and no method of communicating with them has been successful.

Seth Perland must find a way to establish a dialogue before the two sides enter into an all-out war. While Seth is on a mission to contact the indigenous people, a Nale'nid woman, Lo’ela, and her brothers abduct Seth giving him the opportunity he needs. But immersing himself in their way of life could cost him his humanity.

This first book of the Star Rigger Universe is a shining jewel marking the way into an intriguing, thought provoking series. I highly recommend this anyone who loves great science fiction.

[Allana]

I found this book to be a difficult read. I had to work much harder to keep at it than I like when reading for pleasure and am unlikely to return to it.
It is the last book in the internal chronology, but the first one ever written by the author, and I'm afraid it shows.

I like a book that has 'layers' so that you get something new when you come back to it, but a novel should, in my opinion, be an easy read on the surface.

I should add that I will normally tolerate a book being hard to read or badly written when I am doing research, but not novels.

I do hope that other readers enjoy. His other books in the series are much better and I will return to them. Please do not be put off by my personal opinion.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the many good books hidden among the many Laser books, Jeffrey Carver and the Star Rigger novels deserve to be remembered.
Kelley Freas cover, wonderful color, the Laser books series was practically given away for nearly a year, and many people dismissed them for as disposable because they were not expensive.
This is a very wrong way to look at these, because they were all chosen for great stories, wonderful imagination, and bold styles. So many of those novelists went on to be well know for their later work like this author.

If you're lucky enough to find one in good condition, take time to read and enjoy this lost gem.

[David H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Retroactive Review (11 Sep 2021): The secret of "rigging" has been lost and it might be found on an ocean planet. It's an attempt at rediscovering something that once tied galactic civilization together, but I ended up being really displeased with this particular novel. A lot of dreamlike descriptions that frustrated me as a reader.

[Jim Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a series

Before embarking on this work, which is actually well written and interesting, you should look at the other books in the series and catch the story line at the beginning. I will investigate the other Star Rigger stories myself to catch up!

[Brian Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, basically mermaids in space.

[nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old sci-fi. Inconsistent and doesn't even make sense a lot of time.