Tacenda

Captures your imagination

This is an enjoyable and interesting story with very likeable characters. Kerris and Arucken are an experimental human and nestling messenger team that find themselves stranded on a new colony where someone, or something, is steeling the minds of children. The pair must discover who is threatening the colonists lives, save the children and return safely to their semi-salient ship. The world the author creates captures your imagination and the unique relationship that Kerris and Arucken have leaves you wanting to know more. Their relationship is complex, they are a couple but not intimate. Whether it's even possible for their two species to have a sexual relationship remains to be seen, but the potential for one seems to hover at the edges of their growing relationship. The interspecies racism in the book can be viewed as a reflection of the prejudices that exists in today's multicultural societies and the derision Kerris and Arucken face is similar to that faced by many cross cultural couples. Even though these reflections are present, they do not monopolize the storyline, but instead add a subtle depth to this easy to read story. The book does leave some ends untied at the finish, which leads me to suspect there will be a second novel. I enjoyed this book and will look forward to reading more about this inventive world in the future. I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.