The White Seed by Kenneth Marshall

I snagged a digital copy of Kenneth Marshall's The White Seed from LibraryThing a few weeks ago. I don't read much science fiction, even though it's one of my favorite genres to write and watch, so I didn't know what to expect going into it. I was in for a pleasant surprise!

The White Seed is the first book in a series of novels set thousands of years in the future. Mankind left Earth long ago and colonized many different star systems by using white seeds--databases containing everything necessary to establish a successful human colony from a wide selection of genetic material. In the story, a team of four people from the homeworld Athena explore the wilderness of super-earth Keto to examine a dead human colony and learn why it supposedly self-destructed.

I thought the plot would be the most memorable thing about this book--sabotage, surviving the wilderness, mystery and a possible traitor. But what really came through for me was the brilliantly portrayed cast of characters with all different personalities, backgrounds and beliefs. It reminded me of Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the atrocious Star Trek wannabe from the '70s). Kali, the leader, is burdened with responsibility and has a dark military background that haunts her through most of the tale. Toran is an anthropologist dealing with grief from the loss of his wife--possibly at the hands of Kali herself during the war. Ai is a vulnerable young microbiologist who struggles with self-acceptance and is encouraged by Alon, a secretive scientist who gets her to open up to him.

At first it was hard to keep the characters straight while figuring out how the universe worked, but in the end I was stunned by the multi-faceted heartache, suspicion and friendships that came out of this book, and the plot made it only more enjoyable. Four stars!

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The Blackbird's Song by Billy Wong

The Blackbird's Song is an epic fantasy novella that seems a cross between a Dungeons and Dragons scenario and I don't know what. A mysterious young woman named Blackbird leads a group of odd ruffians in a revolt against an oppressive church. Anyone reading this should expect epic fight scenes, drama, mystery and a healthy dose of adventure.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend it without fair warning. Though Blackbird came off as a loveable and detailed character, I couldn't tell the others apart and frequently got them confused. The writing style was inconsistent and even amateurish at parts, breezing over scenes that would have been amazing if they were drawn out more and replacing what could have been great one-liners with simple cliches. I frequently got the feeling that there was more to the world than Wong was letting on, and was partly relieved when some of it was satisfactorily explained in the end. I still don't know why the characters all hated the church in the beginning or what the church was doing that was so oppressive. There was also an alternate ending, which could have been carried off nicely if handled well but instead made the whole book feel like a ripoff that even the author didn't understand. Frankly I regret reading it and wish I could have settled just one ending in my mind.

In short, this is a highly imaginative work--but one that I feel could have used several more drafts and some serious cliche hunting. Not to mention the setting and character development. I can give it only a solid two stars--one for my being able to stomach the whole thing and one for a creative and exciting storyline. I wish the author all the best in his future efforts and look forward to seeing what he can pull off in a better-written book!

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