About the Author

Julie E. Czerneda is a biologist and writer whose science fiction has received international acclaim, awards, and best-selling status. She is the author of the popular "Species Imperative" trilogy, the "Web Shifters" series, the "Trade Pact Universe" trilogy and her new "Stratification" novels. She was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her stand-alone novel, In the Company of Others, won Canada's Prix Aurora Award and was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished SF. Julie lives with her husband and two children in the lake country of central Ontario, under skies so clear they could take seeing the Milky Way for granted, but never do. You can find her at www.czerneda.com.

Reviews

?Czerneda's world-building flair and fascinating characters set this intricate story well above most SF series prequels.?
?"Publishers Weekly"

?The pace is fast, the energy is high, and the world is fascinating."
?"Sci Fi Weekly"

aCzernedaas world-building flair and fascinating characters set this intricate story well above most SF series prequels.a
a"Publishers Weekly"
aThe pace is fast, the energy is high, and the world is fascinating."
a"Sci Fi Weekly"

In this tantalizing prequel to Czerneda's Trade Pact Universe trilogy (A Thousand Words for Stranger, etc.), the roots of the Clan refugees are revealed. On the planet Cersi, the seven Om'ray clans coexist with the technologically superior Tikitik and Oud, who maintain peace by banning change. Aryl Sarc, a young Om'ray of the Yena Clan, hides her forbidden psychic abilities, but when a UFO attacks Yena harvesters, Aryl teleports her best friend, Bern, to safety, while others die, including her brother. The Tikitik then abduct Aryl and set her to spy on the off-world Strangers who may have sent the UFO. Human researcher Marcus Bowman's fact-finding mission on Cersi becomes inextricably linked to Aryl's adolescent rite of passage. Czerneda's world-building flair and fascinating characters set this intricate story well above most SF series prequels. (Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.