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A review by morgandhu
Artemis Awakening by Jane Lindskold
3.0
The world of Artemis was created as a pleasure planet for the richest citizens of a technologically advanced galactic empire, one in which both science and psionics interacted to enable almost fantastic feats of science and engineering.
Created from an airless asteroid, seeded with genetically engineered life - even to the humanoid servants who lived on the planet, serving as resort personnel - Artemis was a playground for the elites. But empires end, and violent power struggles among the ruling families of this empire brought about its destruction. Lost is much of the psionic technology, and the remaining planetary civilisations, while still space-faring, are much diminished. Lost also is the location of Artemis, where for 500 years, the genetically altered humans and animals have been left to build a functioning society. Their past as a vacation resort is still very much a part of their way of life - they have no advanced technology of their own, and live in the same simple agrarian ways set for them by the long-absent “seegnurs.”
Griffin Dale is a historian, archeologist, and anthropologist, whose field of research is the old Empire. In his research, he discovers clues to the location of long-lost pleasure planet Artemis, and being somewhat young, over-confidant, and a bit hungry for glory, he sets out alone to check his findings. But not only does he find Artemis, but his shuttle, which he intended to use to observe the planet from a closer distance than the high orbit of his spaceship, suffers mechanical failure due to the presence of destructive nanobots in the atmosphere, a relic of the wars that raged between imperial factions even on Artemis. Trapped on the planet, he is fortunate to encounter three Artemisians - two genetically adapted humans, Adara and Terrell, and an adapted puma, Sand Shadiw, who is telepathically bonded to Adara.
Together they embark on a quest to uncover what may remain of the old technologies, so that Griffen can go home again.
In Artemis Awakening, the first of two novels following the hunt of Griffin, Adara and Terrell seek information from a respected loremaster who has studied the technology left behind by the seegnurs - an adapted human known as the Old One Who Is Young because of some mutation that has left him with an extended life span. But instead they are drawn into his unsavoury secret plots, which include a forced breeding program intended to re-establish the psionic powers of the ancients in a new generation of Artemisians who would be bound to him.
As they work together to foil his scheme and rescue the unwilling participants of his program, both Terrell and Adara begin to manifest unexpected abilities. Terrell, descended from a line of Artemisians bred to be the perfect tour guides, turns out to have the ability to link telepathically with Griffin, who is, after all, descended from seegnur stock. And Adara, together with her bondmate, is somehow in communication with the awakening consciousness of the artificially created planet itself.
It’s an engaging story, a pleasant blend of science fiction and fantasy tropes and settings, with somw interesting characters and situations. The developing love triangle between Griffin, Adara and Terrell, is handled in a refreshing manner, with both men keeping the lid on the potentials for pointless competition and jealously, and acknowledging Adara’s right to make her own choices, or no choice at all, in her own tiim.
Created from an airless asteroid, seeded with genetically engineered life - even to the humanoid servants who lived on the planet, serving as resort personnel - Artemis was a playground for the elites. But empires end, and violent power struggles among the ruling families of this empire brought about its destruction. Lost is much of the psionic technology, and the remaining planetary civilisations, while still space-faring, are much diminished. Lost also is the location of Artemis, where for 500 years, the genetically altered humans and animals have been left to build a functioning society. Their past as a vacation resort is still very much a part of their way of life - they have no advanced technology of their own, and live in the same simple agrarian ways set for them by the long-absent “seegnurs.”
Griffin Dale is a historian, archeologist, and anthropologist, whose field of research is the old Empire. In his research, he discovers clues to the location of long-lost pleasure planet Artemis, and being somewhat young, over-confidant, and a bit hungry for glory, he sets out alone to check his findings. But not only does he find Artemis, but his shuttle, which he intended to use to observe the planet from a closer distance than the high orbit of his spaceship, suffers mechanical failure due to the presence of destructive nanobots in the atmosphere, a relic of the wars that raged between imperial factions even on Artemis. Trapped on the planet, he is fortunate to encounter three Artemisians - two genetically adapted humans, Adara and Terrell, and an adapted puma, Sand Shadiw, who is telepathically bonded to Adara.
Together they embark on a quest to uncover what may remain of the old technologies, so that Griffen can go home again.
In Artemis Awakening, the first of two novels following the hunt of Griffin, Adara and Terrell seek information from a respected loremaster who has studied the technology left behind by the seegnurs - an adapted human known as the Old One Who Is Young because of some mutation that has left him with an extended life span. But instead they are drawn into his unsavoury secret plots, which include a forced breeding program intended to re-establish the psionic powers of the ancients in a new generation of Artemisians who would be bound to him.
As they work together to foil his scheme and rescue the unwilling participants of his program, both Terrell and Adara begin to manifest unexpected abilities. Terrell, descended from a line of Artemisians bred to be the perfect tour guides, turns out to have the ability to link telepathically with Griffin, who is, after all, descended from seegnur stock. And Adara, together with her bondmate, is somehow in communication with the awakening consciousness of the artificially created planet itself.
It’s an engaging story, a pleasant blend of science fiction and fantasy tropes and settings, with somw interesting characters and situations. The developing love triangle between Griffin, Adara and Terrell, is handled in a refreshing manner, with both men keeping the lid on the potentials for pointless competition and jealously, and acknowledging Adara’s right to make her own choices, or no choice at all, in her own tiim.