duane@anasazi.UUCP (Duane Morse) (09/20/85)
The jacket reads: The three-thousand-year-old thearchy which rules the planet Aseneshesh faces certain disaster as the Chani civilization is racked by famine and rebellion -- a famine caused by the alien "messengers", who are willing to trade grain for Chani blood, and nothing else. Young Curin is ordered by his master, the Lord Protector of the Thearchy, to carry a secret message to the distant highlands. It is a perilous journey in the best of times, and for an unworldly scholar, it is certain death. But Curin's adventure among the lionlike people of his planet is a revelation, and he will learn, ultimately, that nothing is as he believed it to be: not his world, not his master, not his mission...not even his god, not even himself. As frequently happens, the jacket description makes the book sound more interesting than it really turns out to be. The main characters in the book are nonhumans, and they deal almost exclusively with each other. This type of story (that is, with little or no human involvement) is rather rare in SF; unfortunately, the author isn't especially convincing. (For an instance of where it works is Lee Killough's THE MONITOR, THE MINERS, AND THE SHREE.) The story starts out interestingly enough but it never picks up steam. I never got particularly involved with any of the characters, and the only interesting concept wasn't really developed. I give the book 2 stars (mediocre). -- Duane Morse ...!noao!terak!anasazi!duane (602) 870-3330