otherwyrld's review against another edition
3.0
The second book in the series takes us to Dendra, a world completely covered in forest. Ecologist Alex, 1st person POV character (and stand in for the author) is convinced that the colony that arrived at this world would be a failure. It turns out to be horrifying true - the few survivors have sealed themselves away from the forest and are starving to death in amongst the bountiful riches of the world they have failed to make inroads in after 7 generations.
The how is easy enough to discover, but the why takes a bit longer and involves a trip into the forest to work out why the original survey team recommended against colonisation. He is accompanied by ships pilot Karen, who tends to shoot first and ask questions never, and teenaged empath Mariel, who has been brought on the mission to try and speak to the intelligent aliens known to be on some of the colony worlds. So far these have been the only characters that have had any development, the rest of the crew remain cyphers.
If the character development remains wanting, at least the author can give full rein to describing the forest and its ecology. Coming from a planet where civilisation equates to managed fields and tidy houses, the untamed wildness of the forest can be a bit of a culture shock. The idea of the forest as alien territory has a long pedigree in literature, from the European fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel, to [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392799983l/4900._SX50_.jpg|2877220] via Mirkwood in [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566425108l/33._SX50_.jpg|3462456] to actual alien forest in [b:The Word for World is Forest|276767|The Word for World is Forest (Hainish Cycle, #5)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1283091038l/276767._SY75_.jpg|3256815]. Here the author takes on a fairly leisurely field trip and stops frequently to admire the butterflies.
It can't last of course, as the team run into other survivors of the colony, but ones who have degenerated into savages (the authors word, not mine, and it lost a star for using this imagery) without language or culture. This encounter does not go well, to say the least, but it also leads to the answer the team seeks
While its an interesting story it doesn't quite live up to the first book in the series, but it is a good enough tale of man vs nature, where nature won.
The how is easy enough to discover, but the why takes a bit longer and involves a trip into the forest to work out why the original survey team recommended against colonisation. He is accompanied by ships pilot Karen, who tends to shoot first and ask questions never, and teenaged empath Mariel, who has been brought on the mission to try and speak to the intelligent aliens known to be on some of the colony worlds. So far these have been the only characters that have had any development, the rest of the crew remain cyphers.
If the character development remains wanting, at least the author can give full rein to describing the forest and its ecology. Coming from a planet where civilisation equates to managed fields and tidy houses, the untamed wildness of the forest can be a bit of a culture shock. The idea of the forest as alien territory has a long pedigree in literature, from the European fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel, to [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392799983l/4900._SX50_.jpg|2877220] via Mirkwood in [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566425108l/33._SX50_.jpg|3462456] to actual alien forest in [b:The Word for World is Forest|276767|The Word for World is Forest (Hainish Cycle, #5)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1283091038l/276767._SY75_.jpg|3256815]. Here the author takes on a fairly leisurely field trip and stops frequently to admire the butterflies.
It can't last of course, as the team run into other survivors of the colony, but ones who have degenerated into savages (the authors word, not mine, and it lost a star for using this imagery) without language or culture. This encounter does not go well, to say the least, but it also leads to the answer the team seeks
Spoiler
the butterflies pheromones have psychedelic components that have literally and permanently blown the minds of the colonistsWhile its an interesting story it doesn't quite live up to the first book in the series, but it is a good enough tale of man vs nature, where nature won.
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