juniperbranches's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thedoctorreads's review
4.0
One of my favourite reviewers @RedStarReviews on #Bookstagram mentioned in a post about January being #VintageSciFiMonth. Basically, you have to read and review a sci fi book published any year before you were born. I'm cutting it kinda close because I was born in 1987 and Darkchild was published in 1982 but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This is a book that I read at a particularly weird stage in my life as a twelve year old and well, it means a lot to me, leave it at that.
First and foremost, Sydney J van Scyoc's world-building is beyond stellar-- like Tolkien, you get the feeling that the author is merely reporting back on what she's witnessed, not writing fiction. Her compelling narrative style and imagination create a brooding atmosphere on par with anything created by Frank Herbert. If women are the under-represented heroes of sci-fi, Scyoc represents the bleak under-representation of women writers in sci-fi.
Brakrath is as alien a world as they come, settled by it's first human colonies, the planet exerted its own evolutionary force on the species until they gave rise to the Guardians of the Redmanes and the ruling queens called the Barohnas, who control the power of the sun through sunstones to bring warmth and light to their small kingdoms. Each valley has its own ruling Barohna who relinquish their claim to the throne once a daughter 'bronzes' by making her first kill on the mountains of Brakrath. Failure to do so results in death and the slow demise of the valleypeople.
You cannot find fault in such stellar descriptions of a people and planet so plausible-- as though you are discovering them. I am unable to name any recent series that can come close to this book. It makes me wonder, if, perhaps, with time, we are catering more to labels like YA than to actual story-telling. Tiahana's usurping control of stone sculptures to test Darkchild, the moving scenes of Guardians and redmanes falling to their death under the pulsing beat of redmane hoofs, all are unbelievably vivid images that you'll find yourself struggling to forget-- this is simply extraordinary story-telling.
Darkchild's past and his struggle to stay true to his love for Khira, the palace daughter compelled to make her stand on the mountain provides enough emotional struggle for any current 'YA' novel but the depth of their struggles against the vast cosmos and more intimately, on the stage of Brakrath itself are so deeply moving that even reading it now as an almost thirty year old, I felt goosebumps on my skin-- Khira and Darkchild were less characters in a book, to me, than they were people, human beings whose struggle I could witness first-hand.
A vastly under-rated novel by an extremely under-appreciated author, if you can get your hands on a copy, do give it a read. It is one of the best books in science-fiction that you'll ever come across.
Favourite lines:
“Yes.” Tiahna leaned back, pleasure playing lightly at her lips. Khira could see it there. “Yet you understand me so poorly that you don't know if I'm threatening you or toying with you. You don't know if the Council is permitting you to amass a fund of information which only we will see or if we intend for you to return to Arnim one day.”
First and foremost, Sydney J van Scyoc's world-building is beyond stellar-- like Tolkien, you get the feeling that the author is merely reporting back on what she's witnessed, not writing fiction. Her compelling narrative style and imagination create a brooding atmosphere on par with anything created by Frank Herbert. If women are the under-represented heroes of sci-fi, Scyoc represents the bleak under-representation of women writers in sci-fi.
Brakrath is as alien a world as they come, settled by it's first human colonies, the planet exerted its own evolutionary force on the species until they gave rise to the Guardians of the Redmanes and the ruling queens called the Barohnas, who control the power of the sun through sunstones to bring warmth and light to their small kingdoms. Each valley has its own ruling Barohna who relinquish their claim to the throne once a daughter 'bronzes' by making her first kill on the mountains of Brakrath. Failure to do so results in death and the slow demise of the valleypeople.
You cannot find fault in such stellar descriptions of a people and planet so plausible-- as though you are discovering them. I am unable to name any recent series that can come close to this book. It makes me wonder, if, perhaps, with time, we are catering more to labels like YA than to actual story-telling. Tiahana's usurping control of stone sculptures to test Darkchild, the moving scenes of Guardians and redmanes falling to their death under the pulsing beat of redmane hoofs, all are unbelievably vivid images that you'll find yourself struggling to forget-- this is simply extraordinary story-telling.
Darkchild's past and his struggle to stay true to his love for Khira, the palace daughter compelled to make her stand on the mountain provides enough emotional struggle for any current 'YA' novel but the depth of their struggles against the vast cosmos and more intimately, on the stage of Brakrath itself are so deeply moving that even reading it now as an almost thirty year old, I felt goosebumps on my skin-- Khira and Darkchild were less characters in a book, to me, than they were people, human beings whose struggle I could witness first-hand.
A vastly under-rated novel by an extremely under-appreciated author, if you can get your hands on a copy, do give it a read. It is one of the best books in science-fiction that you'll ever come across.
Favourite lines:
“Yes.” Tiahna leaned back, pleasure playing lightly at her lips. Khira could see it there. “Yet you understand me so poorly that you don't know if I'm threatening you or toying with you. You don't know if the Council is permitting you to amass a fund of information which only we will see or if we intend for you to return to Arnim one day.”
fudge_jar's review
5.0
Palace daughter or amnesiac clone, we all need to find ourselves. This is probably my fourth time reading this book, but it's been a couple of years. The themes of this book blend beautifully into the story. Finding strength in admitting fear, in giving kindness no matter how forced, and in facing the conflict within you.
prationality's review
4.0
Darkchild is the first in the 'Daughters of the Sunstone' trilogy and a very intriguing beginning.
Possibly the oldest book I've read in a while (published in 1982) that I haven't read previously at least, Darkchild is told from a variety of third person POV's and slowly chronicles the coming of age of both the title character, but also the young girl who takes him in and cares for him.
A fantasy with scifi leanings is a good way to describe much of the book. The immediate environs are, for the most part, pre-industrial. The only exception to this rule are the quarters of alien visitors to the planet, the Armini, who conduct studies of the peoples and planet.
Then also you have the over-reaching menance, who are technologically advanced and use Darkchild (and others like him) to gather intel on the planet they despoit them on to see if the planet is a viable planet for exploiting or if they can leave it well enough alone.
At times I was tempted to double check the internet to make sure the author wasn't a pseudo for [author:Louise Lawrence] who wrote books of a similiar trend.
I look forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy.
Possibly the oldest book I've read in a while (published in 1982) that I haven't read previously at least, Darkchild is told from a variety of third person POV's and slowly chronicles the coming of age of both the title character, but also the young girl who takes him in and cares for him.
A fantasy with scifi leanings is a good way to describe much of the book. The immediate environs are, for the most part, pre-industrial. The only exception to this rule are the quarters of alien visitors to the planet, the Armini, who conduct studies of the peoples and planet.
Then also you have the over-reaching menance, who are technologically advanced and use Darkchild (and others like him) to gather intel on the planet they despoit them on to see if the planet is a viable planet for exploiting or if they can leave it well enough alone.
At times I was tempted to double check the internet to make sure the author wasn't a pseudo for [author:Louise Lawrence] who wrote books of a similiar trend.
I look forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy.
More...