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Mictlan #1
Dark Water's Embrace
It has been a century since a small group of humans was marooned on a distant planet. Now their descendants struggle with rising infertility, infant mortality, and mysterious birth defects for which no cause--or cure--can be found. Reproduction has become essential, and those who cannot produce children are scorned. Anais, a brilliant female doctor born with inexplicable physical abnormalities, falls victim to this severe treatment. But then comes a startling revelation during an examination of a remarkably preserved corpse, a member of the planet's long extinct native race. With horror, Anais discovers that the ancient creature has deformities nearly identical to her own. There must be some link between the planet's past and the plight of the present-day humans, and Anais must find it before she is exiled forever--thwarting her society's last chance for survival. It has been a century since a small group of humans was marooned on a distant planet. Now their descendants struggle with rising infertility, infant mortality, and mysterious birth defects for which no cause--or cure--can be found. Reproduction has become essential, and those who cannot produce children are scorned. Anais, a brilliant female doctor born with inexplicable physical abnormalities, falls victim to this severe treatment. But then comes a startling revelation during an examination of a remarkably preserved corpse, a member of the planets long extinct native race. With horror, Anais discovers that the ancient creature has deformities nearly identical to her own. There must be some link between the planets past and the plight of the present-day humans, and Anais must find it before she is exiled forever--thwarting her societys last chance for survival.
331 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Stephen Leigh
87 books59 followersStephen Leigh has been writing science fiction since he was in grade school. He sold his first story in 1975 and has been publishing regularly ever since then.
He has been nominated for and won several awards for his fiction over the years. He has written and published the occasional poems and non-fiction pieces, as well.
Steve teaches Creative Writing at Northern Kentucky University in the Greater Cincinnati area. He also plays music, and studies the Japanese martial art Aikido, in which he holds the rank of Sandan.
Stephen Leigh also writes as S.L. Farrell and Matthew Farrell.
He has been nominated for and won several awards for his fiction over the years. He has written and published the occasional poems and non-fiction pieces, as well.
Steve teaches Creative Writing at Northern Kentucky University in the Greater Cincinnati area. He also plays music, and studies the Japanese martial art Aikido, in which he holds the rank of Sandan.
Stephen Leigh also writes as S.L. Farrell and Matthew Farrell.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 21, 2025
Dark Water's Embrace is a thoughtful novel, with a very richly layered world-building backdrop to a very interesting cast of diverse and sympathetic characters. It was a book that was ahead of its time in consideration of diverse genders, thematically similar to LeGuin's work. There are frequent flashbacks that tell a part of the overall story, and the two halves meet and resolve satisfactorily in the conclusion. It's the kind of book that you have to concentrate on to keep it all straight; you can't pick it up and put it down between commercials. My 1998 Avon/Eos edition has several errors in the text that are distracting; hopefully subsequent editions are better corrected.
January 24, 2017
Interesting sci-fi and surprisingly well-paced... I think I figured out the big reveal *exactly* when I was supposed to, without the author clubbing you over the head with it. I have some biologist curiosity about his expressions of possible alien third gender, but mostly that would involve studying more Earth animals, heh. Sympathetic characters (I loved the names and the family structures) and a challengingly hostile world make for a thoughtful story.
April 25, 2020
This was a really terrific novel. It was really well written. It delivered quite an emotional punch and I could barely put it down. It’s rather complex, with multiple story lines played out simultaneously and changing voices. But I had no trouble following it. It follows the descendants of nine stranded space explorers on a distant planet called Mictlan. One of the descendants is a hermaphrodite and their mere presence throws the colony into disarray. At the same time, it tells the story of the beginning of the end of the indigenous population two thousand years prior to human’s arrival. It won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award in 1999.
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Come visit my blog for the full review…
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December 14, 2018
This was one of those books where I liked the idea of it a lot more than I liked the execution.
As far as the broad strokes of the story go, there was nothing horribly wrong with it. There were a lot of nice worldbuilding details, especially when it came to the constant mutability of Mictlan and the fact that almost nothing was the same from year to year. Then there were the parallel stories between the present-day colony of humans that was hanging on by its fingernails and the last turbulent gasps of the extinct Miccail, both of whom were in peril because of reproductive issues.
Then, though, we get to the problems. I had two major issues with this book, the first of which was that the editing was unbelievably sloppy. There were so many mistakes that it was practically impossible to highlight everything, but here's a taste of the sorts of things we're dealing with:
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I expect to see these sorts of mistakes in stories that have been typed up by amateur writers and thrown online with no oversight and no filtering for quality. I don't particularly like reading amateur writing that's riddled with typos or where the author can't tell the difference between "past" and "passed", but I understand why it happens. When it comes to professionally published work, though, I'm paying to read this. If I shell out money to read something that was published through professional channels, then I'm going to expect it to be of professional quality.
Oh yes, and not to mention:
If you're writing a science paper, this is an acceptable aside. You do not, however, I repeat do NOT, insert narrative asides in the middle of a sentence in a work of fiction that's intended to be immersive!
If you want to let your readers know there's an appendix, there is an appropriate place to do that. It's called the "Table of Contents". Breaking the narrative flow to tell your readers that "Oh, by the way, I included a glossary if you want a more detailed description of what that word means!" is not only not helpful, it's an insult to the readers' intelligence. It's making the assumption that either we can't get the needed information from context (and as the writer, that is your fault, since it is your job to get across key points in a way that reads like a story as opposed to a dry report), or that we're too stupid to find the relevant appendix on our own terms. Neither possibility makes the writer look particularly good.
The second major issue was that there was just too much jumping around with the point of view.
Again, on principle, I have no problem with works that are told from an ensemble perspective—but there is a practical limit. This is the story of Anaïs's present and how it ties into the past: from a storytelling perspective, literally everything you needed could have been accomplished if the narrative voices had been cut down to just Anaïs, Gabriela, and Kai. If you want more emotional bones to flesh out the relationships, then you could have accomplished that by adding Elio and Máire, tops. All of the other multiple points of view, from characters we barely know, who play only minor roles, who quickly become impossible to keep track of, and whom we never hear from again, are just extraneous, and only serve to weigh the story down with a lot of narrative baggage it really doesn't need. Every time we hear from a character who isn't one of the five mentioned above, it's either to advance a plot point that could just as easily have been incorporated into the main narrative, or to flesh out a worldbuilding or cultural detail that could also have been incorporated into the main narrative, and the end result is just disjointed and confusing.
As far as the broad strokes of the story go, there was nothing horribly wrong with it. There were a lot of nice worldbuilding details, especially when it came to the constant mutability of Mictlan and the fact that almost nothing was the same from year to year. Then there were the parallel stories between the present-day colony of humans that was hanging on by its fingernails and the last turbulent gasps of the extinct Miccail, both of whom were in peril because of reproductive issues.
Then, though, we get to the problems. I had two major issues with this book, the first of which was that the editing was unbelievably sloppy. There were so many mistakes that it was practically impossible to highlight everything, but here's a taste of the sorts of things we're dealing with:
KaiSa sniffed the air, fragrant with brine and crisp with die promise of new snow, and opened ker mouth wide to taste all the glorious scents.
Tami wondered, even it's he refused to let those speculations actually form into words in her mind.
He's also has made it very obvious to everyone else that he doesn't care.
Hayat had seen apprentices come and go with Hui—when they went, it was usually because they foiled the tests Hui set them.
Her eyes were startlingly blue and so big in mat small face...
I caught a glimpse of myself in Rebecca's mirror between tine clothing.
When we first tried the boat in a small, quiet inlet, water had streamed through the seams, all of which had to be reseated with tar from the stink-flower trees.
Salt spray had dappled Elio's beard, arid he blinked the stinging spray away.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I expect to see these sorts of mistakes in stories that have been typed up by amateur writers and thrown online with no oversight and no filtering for quality. I don't particularly like reading amateur writing that's riddled with typos or where the author can't tell the difference between "past" and "passed", but I understand why it happens. When it comes to professionally published work, though, I'm paying to read this. If I shell out money to read something that was published through professional channels, then I'm going to expect it to be of professional quality.
Oh yes, and not to mention:
He was squatting in front of the nasituda, (See Appendix 'A' for a detailed glossary of terms) the Telling Stone.
If you're writing a science paper, this is an acceptable aside. You do not, however, I repeat do NOT, insert narrative asides in the middle of a sentence in a work of fiction that's intended to be immersive!
If you want to let your readers know there's an appendix, there is an appropriate place to do that. It's called the "Table of Contents". Breaking the narrative flow to tell your readers that "Oh, by the way, I included a glossary if you want a more detailed description of what that word means!" is not only not helpful, it's an insult to the readers' intelligence. It's making the assumption that either we can't get the needed information from context (and as the writer, that is your fault, since it is your job to get across key points in a way that reads like a story as opposed to a dry report), or that we're too stupid to find the relevant appendix on our own terms. Neither possibility makes the writer look particularly good.
The second major issue was that there was just too much jumping around with the point of view.
Again, on principle, I have no problem with works that are told from an ensemble perspective—but there is a practical limit. This is the story of Anaïs's present and how it ties into the past: from a storytelling perspective, literally everything you needed could have been accomplished if the narrative voices had been cut down to just Anaïs, Gabriela, and Kai. If you want more emotional bones to flesh out the relationships, then you could have accomplished that by adding Elio and Máire, tops. All of the other multiple points of view, from characters we barely know, who play only minor roles, who quickly become impossible to keep track of, and whom we never hear from again, are just extraneous, and only serve to weigh the story down with a lot of narrative baggage it really doesn't need. Every time we hear from a character who isn't one of the five mentioned above, it's either to advance a plot point that could just as easily have been incorporated into the main narrative, or to flesh out a worldbuilding or cultural detail that could also have been incorporated into the main narrative, and the end result is just disjointed and confusing.
Read
July 1, 2024Great origin story but otherwise, just not me.
Grateful to the kind person at Charlie's Queer Books who tried to help me find something for the challenging "Body Liberation" book bingo square, though 💖
Grateful to the kind person at Charlie's Queer Books who tried to help me find something for the challenging "Body Liberation" book bingo square, though 💖
March 10, 2021
Great! Unpredictable and way outside my normal reading genres
Compulsive book, I wanted it to be a series as I became so invested in all the characters and timelines. Interesting world building with lots characters.
Compulsive book, I wanted it to be a series as I became so invested in all the characters and timelines. Interesting world building with lots characters.
January 30, 2026
A lesser known and very solid sci fi novel. I thought I had it all figured out 30 pages in, but it pleasantly surprised me. The social dynamics of a tiny, struggling human settlement were written well, minus a blip at the beginning where I found the initial character introductions of Elena and Ghost to be annoying. Elio is my favourite character, ugly and kind-hearted. The way gender and sexuality are written were probably way ahead of their time when this was written in 1998, but nowadays, with queer sci fi being such a big part of the genre, it still holds up but isn't particularly cutting edge.
The worldbuilding and fictional science aspects were pretty good. We never learn why life is the way it is on Mictlan, and I thought the "magical realism" aspects would eventually be explained, but they are left up to interpretation.
Definitely recommend if you want to read a story of survival on a hostile alien planet, and how a society reckons with those who land outside heterosexuality and the gender binary.
The worldbuilding and fictional science aspects were pretty good. We never learn why life is the way it is on Mictlan, and I thought the "magical realism" aspects would eventually be explained, but they are left up to interpretation.
Definitely recommend if you want to read a story of survival on a hostile alien planet, and how a society reckons with those who land outside heterosexuality and the gender binary.
June 20, 2021
I couldn't finish it. I don't too often not finish a science fiction novel but this one got too confusing to understand. The made up pronouns were too confusing and the story didn't keep me interested.
October 29, 2021
1-star is being generous.
October 17, 2010
I read this book for the first time when I was... like 15 or 16, on the recommendation of a friend. And I have very vivid memories of being curled up on the spare bed at my aunt and uncle's house during summer vacation reading this. I remember being enthralled by the idea of a third gender... and by the fact that fiction could provoke such interesting conversations about gender and sexuality. Before this, I think the only exposure I'd had to those ideas had come from fanfiction. Lots of SFF readers talk about The Left Hand of Darkness as their gateway book for exploring such themes, but for me, it was this book. (I did enjoy Le Guin's take as well, but I didn't read it until much later.)
But that was a long time ago. And the details of the characters and plot had grown quite hazy. I still remembered this book fondly, and with a little awe, but I wondered if it would hold up on a reread. Especially given all the time that's passed. And I also worried that if it didn't, it would taint all those important memories for me.
So I've been putting off this reread for a while. But I finally decided to find a copy of this at the library and give it a go.
And then I spent the whole day reading.
And man, I just really love character driven sci-fi. Because the characters here are absolutely the selling point. Sure, there's sort of a central mystery, what with the back and forth of past and present perspectives; but at the end of it all, it's just a story about people.
And I liked it. A lot. Which is definitely a relief.
It certainly has its flaws, some of which I even expected given the late 90s publication date. But there weren't any great dealbreakers here.
It's definitely not for everyone. The writing is dense at times, but not overly complicated. More in a way that makes you want to slow down and pay attention. Some of the language use and jargon takes time to get used to. And the pacing is slow. This is not an high-action book. It's really more slice-of-life science fiction. So some people are definitely going to bounce off it.
I'm just glad I didn't. I really did enjoy it again, and I don't think that's just the nostalgia talking, considering I'd remembered very little of the actual plot.
But that was a long time ago. And the details of the characters and plot had grown quite hazy. I still remembered this book fondly, and with a little awe, but I wondered if it would hold up on a reread. Especially given all the time that's passed. And I also worried that if it didn't, it would taint all those important memories for me.
So I've been putting off this reread for a while. But I finally decided to find a copy of this at the library and give it a go.
And then I spent the whole day reading.
And man, I just really love character driven sci-fi. Because the characters here are absolutely the selling point. Sure, there's sort of a central mystery, what with the back and forth of past and present perspectives; but at the end of it all, it's just a story about people.
And I liked it. A lot. Which is definitely a relief.
It certainly has its flaws, some of which I even expected given the late 90s publication date. But there weren't any great dealbreakers here.
It's definitely not for everyone. The writing is dense at times, but not overly complicated. More in a way that makes you want to slow down and pay attention. Some of the language use and jargon takes time to get used to. And the pacing is slow. This is not an high-action book. It's really more slice-of-life science fiction. So some people are definitely going to bounce off it.
I'm just glad I didn't. I really did enjoy it again, and I don't think that's just the nostalgia talking, considering I'd remembered very little of the actual plot.
April 4, 2011
It has been a century since a small group of humans was marooned on a distant planet. Now their descendants struggle with rising infertility, infant mortality, and mysterious birth defects for which no cause--or cure--can be found. Reproduction has become essential, and those who cannot produce children are scorned. Anais, a brilliant female doctor born with inexplicable physical abnormalities, falls victim to this severe treatment.
But then comes a startling revelation during an examination of a remarkably preserved corpse, a member of the planet's long extinct native race. With horror, Anais discovers that the ancient creature has deformities nearly identical to her own. There must be some link between the planet's past and the plight of the present-day humans, and Anais must find it before she is exiled forever--thwarting her society's last chance for survival. (publisher's blurb)
An interesting study of a closed society as it struggles with internal strife, loss of technology, prejudice and infertility. Leigh makes some insightful observations about bigotry and fear while telling his story of the descendants of a marooned expedition.
Although I wasn't overly impressed, the story is well-done, and the format is intriguing: we are presented with both present-day and historical events, as seen through the eyes of one character and then another. This format is the chief reason I kept reading: that, and I wanted to see if my conclusion about one of the central mysteries was correct.
PARENTAL GUIDANCE WARNING: I wasn't expecting this novel to be as sexually explicit as it was. Given the author's direction for the novel, it could hardly have been otherwise, but I would have appreciated being given at least a hint of this aspect of the storyline by the cover blurb.
But then comes a startling revelation during an examination of a remarkably preserved corpse, a member of the planet's long extinct native race. With horror, Anais discovers that the ancient creature has deformities nearly identical to her own. There must be some link between the planet's past and the plight of the present-day humans, and Anais must find it before she is exiled forever--thwarting her society's last chance for survival. (publisher's blurb)
An interesting study of a closed society as it struggles with internal strife, loss of technology, prejudice and infertility. Leigh makes some insightful observations about bigotry and fear while telling his story of the descendants of a marooned expedition.
Although I wasn't overly impressed, the story is well-done, and the format is intriguing: we are presented with both present-day and historical events, as seen through the eyes of one character and then another. This format is the chief reason I kept reading: that, and I wanted to see if my conclusion about one of the central mysteries was correct.
PARENTAL GUIDANCE WARNING: I wasn't expecting this novel to be as sexually explicit as it was. Given the author's direction for the novel, it could hardly have been otherwise, but I would have appreciated being given at least a hint of this aspect of the storyline by the cover blurb.
September 28, 2015
What if 3 genders was needed for reproduction with out mutations? What if just living on this planet caused human DNA to mutate, how will those colonist survive? A wonderful tale of how marooned explorers try to survive and build a growing population starting with just 9 people. But it is also a tale of the downfall of the indigenous species. How the two tales, past and present, are brought together is well worth the read to find out. No spoilers here.
April 16, 2023
The concept of this book was interesting. It was a weird read at first, but it grew on me over the years afterward thinking back on it. I re-read it again in 2023. The many spelling and other grammatical errors make it seem like fanfiction or something on AO3, but I just dealt with it as it happened. Maybe the newer printings fixed them, my copy is from 2009.
August 3, 2011
Hard to review this book. The plot was totally predictable. However, I identified with the main characters and was intrigued by the world the author created. I also enjoyed the writing style. This book made me look forward to its sequel since it leaves so many questions unanswered.
Read
February 28, 2008I have read and re-read this book many times. I believe it was one of a couple of airport finds I made while traveling.
August 3, 2009
Idea of necesity of a third sex. Part Ursula LeGuin part Sherri S. Tepper.
February 9, 2010
A surprising good book with a clever idea. I like the characters and the premise and look forward to reading the second book.
June 15, 2011
A nice story, told in flashbacks and present-time chapters, weaving together with enough foreshadowing to keep it interesting. Some excellent characters in this book.
October 1, 2012
One word to describe this book. Ick!
October 18, 2012
The main reason I liked this is that it led to a series of interesting conversations with a friend. A good 'conversation catalyst'
May 12, 2024
if the right person reads this it'll save their life. awesome book
August 2, 2007
a good read, and a wonderful exploration of gender identity issues.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews