https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3211912.html

There's lots of interesting stuff here, but it doesn't quite all hang together. Our hero is the product of an absurdly long-term genetic experiment (his race is long-lived as well, so 33 generations add up to a very long time indeed); he falls out dramatically with his home people and heads off to join the Earth space navy, where he rapidly rises to become a supremely gifted commander. He narrowly escapes certain death several times, has deep relationships with people who don't really seem to matter all that much, and suffers horrible losses of comrades and family which seem to leave him rather cold. A slightly odd book, but I believe the author went on to better things. ( )

Very early Meluch, possibly her first published novel, and it shows with a few writing flaws, and lacking the drama of her more famous mil SF. Still it's an interesting world, and a fairly novel concept. The cover has the tagline in the style of Ursla Le Guin, and that probably is applicable! Slow moving but with thought to the politics religion and views of the contemporary society she was writing in. That we've moved on a bit (small) since then doesn't date the story as badly as has happened with some other authors.

The opening few chapters are a very fantasy based story, completely unlike anything of Meluch's mil SF. This is a simple people, living their simple lives in a binary star system. As a natives of the planet they've adapted to the highly variable seasons, and are directing their own evolution towards a lofty goal - the betterment of their race. (Quite how they know of eveolution without the technology to study genes goes unmentioned). Ray Teal is the 64th son in direct single line descent form the ancestor, and hence at a forseen crisis point in the evolutionary line. He has the long life, rapid healing, and can breathe underwater for 30mins or so, but doesn't yet have the ability to control his own offspring. Unfortunetly his mother dies during his premature birth, leaving him estranged from the father's condioning that he needs to continue to grow. It also leaves him periously exposed to the madness which is a genetic sideeffect of his breeding. Spurned by the father he sets off to explore his wrld ait and finds other father figure's who consol his need for a while, before they send him away, or he runs again. This eventually takes him off world where he discovers that there are other humanoid races out there, some of them living on a planet called Earth within who's galactic territory his home world lives. Suddenly the lives of all his people depend on something out of their control.

The slow start, slightly confused plot, and occasionl poor writing - especially the terrible foreshadowing, combine to make this not a stellar book. But it is still interesting with a careable central character who experiences some unusal things. In summary there are probably too many ideas and concepts crammed into this storyline. A simpler plot with more attention to all of it would have served it better. ( )

A complex and slightly disturbing tale, beautifully written. ( )