Manta's Gift
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A gripping first-contact adventure for fans of James Cameron’s Avatar from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Star Wars: Thrawn series.
At twenty-two, hotshot Matthew Raimey has his whole life ahead of him, but a tragic accident quickly changes everything. He’s left feeling hopeless—until he receives a proposition to be part of a new project for SkyLight International: Project Changeling.
It’s not the easiest transition, but eventually Matt is spending his days unlike anyone back on Earth could imagine—swimming through the toxic yet beautiful atmosphere of Jupiter, in the body of a Qanska, an enormous alien resembling a cross between a manta ray and a dolphin. Even stranger, Matt is happy again.
But his second chance at survival doesn’t come without a cost. Behind this project is a mysterious oligarchy of rich and powerful individuals who run the solar system, and they didn’t place Matt on Jupiter out of mere kindness. They’re monitoring his every move, and preparing to collect what they came for . . .
“The direction Manta’s Gift ultimately takes is inventive and unexpected. . . . Zahn plays out his suspense as deftly as always, building a tense situation and ultimately defusing it in believable and pleasing ways.” —Locus
“Zahn is ingenious in his plotting and well versed in keeping things moving. Manta’s Gift leaves the reader feeling very satisfied.” —Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“The author of Angelmass brings a new twist to a classic tale of human-alien encounter, combining fast-paced action and hard science with personal drama. A good choice for most sf collections.” —Library Journal
“Another thoroughly literate sf yarn from Zahn.” —Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What if James Dean were a twin-tailed manta ray swimming in Jupiter's atmosphere? Bestselling Star Wars novelist Zahn (Angelmass) gives us a tale of teen coming-of-age angst set in the herd society of the Qanska, intelligent herbivores who inhabit the equatorial band of the gas giant. Suspecting them to be non-native life, Earth's corporate masters, the Five Hundred, send in a spy to find their hidden star drive. Facing their own disaster, the Qanska agree, hoping to gain a human perspective on the impending exhaustion of their ecology. What neither side can count on is how the person injected into the Qanskan world will react. Matt Raimey, a 22-year-old paralyzed by a skiing accident, agrees to have his brain transplanted into a Qanska fetus. Given a second chance to be mobile, he also unexpectedly gets another chance to mature. Zahn concentrates more on the psychological processes at work than on the technological. Solutions to problems arise from better emotional and intellectual integrity, not simply larger databases. While the author doesn't get as deep into his characters as they do into Jupiter's depths, his portrayal of Matt/Manta is direct and involving. Qanskan life, looking much like marine reef life on Earth, is intriguingly portrayed, even if the biology of the Qanskan problem is suspect. YA readers looking for more than the usual SF action-adventure should be well pleased. FYI:The author's "Cascade Point" won the Hugo Award for best novella in 1984.
