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To bring the dead back to life, to stop the world-wide mutiny of Valdesoldiery, to block the conquering ambitions of a Tek of many shapes - thesewere the problems that converged on Jannus, the secret heir of the crown oflost Kantmoire.

Topping off his problems add the dangerous wanderings of his half-humandaughters and the machinations of a spaceship down from orbit, and you have the ingredients that mark this amazing new novel of the world first depicted in Pursuit of the Screamer.

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

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About the author

Ansen Dibell

13 books3 followers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ansen Dibell was the penname used by Nancy Ann Dibble (September 8, 1942 – March 7, 2006), an American science fiction author, who also published books about fiction writing. Born in Staten Island, New York, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop and earned a doctorate in 19th C. English literature. She taught literature and creative writing at several colleges and universities until 1980, when she became a freelance editor and author. From 1983 she worked as editor at Writer's Digest Books.
She published a number of stories and poems in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and received two awards for her poetry. Her novels sublimate events in her life into fiction.

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1,398 reviews8 followers
May 11, 2018
Like the previous books, it leaves me wondering how Dibell could possibly follow this. The world has changed drastically yet again and the Tek influence is gone, in an event recalling Lord of the Rings. Since the final two of the series were never published in English, I guess I'll never know.

Correcting the original wrong done by the amoral Tek to the Valde, the planetary natives, involves untangling both the genetics and social changes to the Valde and severing the inter-dependencies tying the Valde with the human societies. There's an aspect to Brohn's relentless pursuit of 'justice' for the Valde that still stinks of manipulation and interference.

At the same time, there is crisis of identity and explorations of 'self'. Poli the Valde has died and been technologically resurrected (not a spoiler) with gaps in her existence. The Shai's 'mobile'--a synthetic being--has been growing more independence with each iteration and his/their interactions back to the progenitor/creator is more human than previously implied. The Shai itself is starting to doubt its all-consuming Rule of One, which has guided its meddling in human affairs.

It adds up to a very complex and textured story with some real emotional points. In particular how Poli grapples with her new life, and how the very act of resurrection has an effect on the entire political situation of the world and the strange long-term plans of the Shai itself.

The last fifth of the book, however, felt like it was spinning out of control, between the dreamlike state of the Valde and the emotional deadness of various other characters. It was wrapped in the mental landscape of Valde telepathy and various terminology that I couldn't quite follow.
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