Singer from the Sea Book

In Singer From The Sea, Sheri S. Tepper returns to one of her most enduring themes: the destruction of the natural world by male aggression and greed. Humans have colonised many planets since the world-soul of Old Earth was driven out and the planet died. Many of those colonies are now struggling, their own world-souls threatened by the destructive activities of human colonists, but the ocean world of Haven appears to be thriving. Indeed, many of the rulers of this patriarchal aristocracy seem to be living for centuries. However, Genevieve, a young marchioness, is beginning to gather evidence that many of the noble women die young, under mysterious circumstances. When she and her father are summoned to court, she discovers that the Lord Paramount is ordering mountains of luxury goods from off-world, which are then left to rot, unused, in vast underground caverns, and she wonders what her low-tech society can offer in payment. When old Prince Delganor shows an interest in her, she quickly realises that more than her own safety is at stake, and is drawn into a struggle to save not only Haven, but the other colony worlds as well. In this compelling novel, Tepper has created a multi-layered society, filled with interesting and sometimes bizarre characters. The plot is driven forward by Genevieve's anger at the injustices she sees around her, and although the solution to the mystery is no great surprise, the denouement itself works well. --Elizabeth SourbutRead More