Storyteller
by Amy Thomson, ACE

Humans have colonized the largely water-covered planet of Thalassa, settling on the many islands which dot its oceans. For centuries, news has traveled and history has been taught by storytellers, itinerants who sail the seas on harsels, which resemble intelligent telepathic whales.

One storyteller, who calls herself Teller, takes a young boy named Samad under her wing. She is very old, and Samad will be her final apprentice. As Samad grows up and travels with Teller, he learns about the world on which he lives and about the harsels which transport them.

A great deal of the conflict in the book deals with Samad’s career goals. Samad wants to pilot starships, but Teller wants him to continue in her career. When Samad begins to investigate starship pilots who have retired, he finds that very few still live and most of those are addicted to intoxicants in an attempt to forget the thrill of piloting between the stars.

Everyone has secrets, and the charm of the story is learning (and suspecting) gradually what the secrets are that Teller, Samad, and their harsel carry. There are major and minor gay characters in this novel. The harsels, being an important part of the book, are very well realized. Thomson does a good job of concentrating on the relationships between the characters and their development. I enjoyed it highly.

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Cary Renfro is an author and book reviewer.  He is a feature writer for The Capitol Forum in Salem, Oregon.