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A review by mxsallybend
The Gate To Futures Past by Julie E. Czerneda
4.0
One of the things that I love most about the science fiction of Julie E. Czerneda is that it's never predictable, and never the same thing twice. Currently standing at eight books, her Clan Chronicles is one of the deepest, most diverse series in a genre that's best defined by its grasp of ideas.
With The Gate To Futures Past, the series arrives at a major turning point, one that I doubt most readers will see coming. Sira and Jason, along with member of the Mhiray and Om'ray, are trapped in a dangerous flight aboard the sentient ship Sona. With no bridge and no controls, and levels that rearrange themselves, shunting the passengers into an ever-shrinking living space, all they can do is trust that the ship is indeed taking them home - even if they have no idea where that home may be.
This ship's taking us back where this started . . . What makes you think that's as simple as a world?
It's an odd entry in Czerneda's space-faring epic, with half the novel taking place in the claustrophobic confines of the Sona. The drama and the tension here is largely internal, with the refugees beset by bad dreams and the haunting cries of the dead. It's a story of madness, desperation, and rapidly diminishing hope. The ship itself seems content to take care of its passengers, but only communicates with Sira in short, vague bursts. They don't understand it, and aren't sure they can trust it, especially once it begins herding them all into the core.
"I think we're landing . . . or we're in big trouble and about to die."
The second half of the novel will be more familiar to readers of the series, both in terms of scope and storyline. Once again, the Clan finds that home may not be a home, and that they may not fit with the other races already there. It's clear they're not welcome, and when things begin to go wrong . . . well, they do so in spectacular fashion. I loved the way the world literally explodes around them, forcing past and present, history and mythology to collide.
"I'm not supposed to be here. None of us, the Clan, are."
As it turns out, The Gate To Futures Past is an entirely fitting title for the book, but where that gate leads, and what it will take to pass through, is something of a shock. The final chapters are some of the most sorrowful in a series that previously gone to some dark places. It's appropriately mind blowing, with some really cool revelations about the Clan, but it really leaves me wondering where the story will wrap up. It's not that Czerneda has written herself into a box, but she's cut off a lot of possibilities, and I'm excited by the fact that I can't see the future.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
With The Gate To Futures Past, the series arrives at a major turning point, one that I doubt most readers will see coming. Sira and Jason, along with member of the Mhiray and Om'ray, are trapped in a dangerous flight aboard the sentient ship Sona. With no bridge and no controls, and levels that rearrange themselves, shunting the passengers into an ever-shrinking living space, all they can do is trust that the ship is indeed taking them home - even if they have no idea where that home may be.
This ship's taking us back where this started . . . What makes you think that's as simple as a world?
It's an odd entry in Czerneda's space-faring epic, with half the novel taking place in the claustrophobic confines of the Sona. The drama and the tension here is largely internal, with the refugees beset by bad dreams and the haunting cries of the dead. It's a story of madness, desperation, and rapidly diminishing hope. The ship itself seems content to take care of its passengers, but only communicates with Sira in short, vague bursts. They don't understand it, and aren't sure they can trust it, especially once it begins herding them all into the core.
"I think we're landing . . . or we're in big trouble and about to die."
The second half of the novel will be more familiar to readers of the series, both in terms of scope and storyline. Once again, the Clan finds that home may not be a home, and that they may not fit with the other races already there. It's clear they're not welcome, and when things begin to go wrong . . . well, they do so in spectacular fashion. I loved the way the world literally explodes around them, forcing past and present, history and mythology to collide.
"I'm not supposed to be here. None of us, the Clan, are."
As it turns out, The Gate To Futures Past is an entirely fitting title for the book, but where that gate leads, and what it will take to pass through, is something of a shock. The final chapters are some of the most sorrowful in a series that previously gone to some dark places. It's appropriately mind blowing, with some really cool revelations about the Clan, but it really leaves me wondering where the story will wrap up. It's not that Czerneda has written herself into a box, but she's cut off a lot of possibilities, and I'm excited by the fact that I can't see the future.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.