Acquired Book By: I was chosen to participate in Julie E. Czerneda’s #timeandstarstour on behalf of the seventh volume of The Clan Chronicles ‘This Gulf of Time and Stars’. Ahead of reading that installment, I reached out to the author to sort out a way to read her entire series spilt between two trilogies: a prequel and the inaugural trilogy which launched the series as a whole. She offered to have DAW Books send me the series in paperback editions to help me sort out the hours I would need to read them as I could only use inter-library loan which has a built-in delay from receiving books via your local library.
Thus a book parcel from her publicist at DAW arrived forthwith and gave me the two trilogies ahead of ‘This Gulf of Time and Stars’. I received a complimentary copy of ‘Rift in the Sky’ the third novel of the prequel trilogy better known as Stratification. I was not obliged to post a review or share my impressions or opinions on behalf of these stories. I am posting my thoughts for my own edification and to help encourage new readers to meet the characters Czerneda created especially if like me, they are discovering The Clan Chronicles for the first time!
Continuing onward inside The Clan Chronicles:
As I disclosed on my review of Reap the Wild Wind this is my first reading of the works by Julie E. Czerneda. This is my continuing journey deep into the heart of The Clan Chronicles whilst conversing on Twitter via the tag #whoaretheclan.
My heart is heavy after having an emotional reading of Riders of the Storm as due to different events and circumstances, my heart truly bled for the complicated emotional state of Aryl by chapters end. She had strived so dearly hard to make right what had become wrong for her Clan(s) only to be confounded by the reality that everything on Cersi had it’s own order, it’s own rite of passage and an unsettling certainty that she may truly never fully understand of it.
Despite the gravity of her reality now that she’s called Sona her identifiable Clan life for Aryl is a bit bittersweet as she’s matured into a new phase of her life as an Om’ray. She’s also joined to her soulmate and taken on the leadership of a Clan whose become a bit odd-shaped and formed through a random (seemingly) set of exiled wanderers who joined her at Sona’s sacred ruins. The ruins were transformed and re-developed into living quarters and vital bounties of food and water. Aryl might stand out from the Clans as a whole but she is the one whose daring enough to fight for a future her birth-Clan denied.
I am further intrigued by her closeness to Marcus and her willingness to bridge her Om’ray customs and traditions with his Humanness. She is learning from Marcus skills that could help her survive an arduous future of unknown changes, as this is the key to the Clans survival: how to adapt to change when previously ALL which changed was deleted from existence? from memory?
Like Aryl, I smelt further changes about to explode her world-view into orbit!
Notation on the Cover Artist: The author’s note inside ‘Rift in the Sky’ is directed towards the amazing talent of her cover artists: Luis Royo. Every word of appreciation she’s expressing towards his artistry and his clarity of vision, I hinted at myself on my previous ruminations on behalf of this series. His expert eye on understanding Cersi and the worlds within the Clan Chronicles is a welcoming nod to me, the reader, who is picking up this series with ‘first sight’. His artwork has added a beautiful layer of oneness with the world in which Ms Czerneda has created for us to devour whole and true. In an age of ‘stock photos’ and unoriginal cover art designs en masse, to return to the golden age of cover artists who rendered original artwork to befit a story’s heart is a blessing of infinite joy. If I had been her, I would have had my eyes stinging with salted tears finding his art in an envelope… he has a soulful eye for understanding how words are the palette for which writers inkify their worlds to life.
Rift in the Sky
Synopsis on the Back Cover:
Julie E. Czerneda's Trade Pact Universe trilogy introduced the Clan, refugees from the world of Cersi who built an empire few people even knew existed.
The Stratification trilogy - of which RIFT IN THE SKY is the final volume - returns to an earlier point in the Clan's history, before they left Cersi. Known as the Om'ray, they are divided into widely scattered tribal Clans, constrained from advancing beyond a certain point by two power races - the Oud and the Tikitik.
RIFT IN THE SKY opens at a critical moment for the world of Cersi and the Om'ray Clans. As more Om'ray master the Talent of moving through space via the M'hir dimension, their newfound freedom threatens the delicate balance between Cersi's three races. At the same time, it causes a perilous division within the Clans themselves between those who do and don't have this Talent.
The crisis escalates when outsiders from Trade Pact space discover archaeological treasures left by the legendary Hoveny civilzation. As Cersi becomes the target of interstellar raiders, the Om'ray realize that any hope for survival lies in using the forbidden power of the M'hir to find a haven where their enemies will never look for them. . .
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780756406097
Series: Stratification trilogy
Also in this series: Reap the Wild Wind, Riders of the Storm
on 6th July 2010
Pages: 448
Published By: DAW Books (@DAWBooks)
an imprint of Penguin Group USA
Cover Artist: Luis Royo | Site | Twitter | Facebook
The Clan Chronicles:
- Reap the Wild Wind (Stratification trilogy, No.1)
- Riders of the Storm (Stratification trilogy, No.2)
- Rift in the Sky (Stratification trilogy, No.3)
- A Thousand Words for Stranger (Trade Pact Universe, No.1)
- Ties of Power (Trade Pact Universe, No.2)
- To Trade the Stars (Trade Pact Universe, No.3)
- This Gulf of Time and Stars (Reunification, No.1)
Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback and Ebook