This is very nearly a great book. It's just that every time I am getting sucked in it comes up with a piece of sloppy prose (comparing fantasy elements to a shish kebab?) or awkward over-explanation or unconvincing motivation; a little more polishing might have smoothed a good deal of it out. As it is, it's still a very good bit of fantasy.
The basic concept is a fascinating one: that of an alien world with Lamarckian evolution ("if trees grow taller, the next gaffi calves are born with longer necks. If lakes dry up, the offspring of underwater creatures are born with rudimentary lungs. Their need affects their DNA, in precise and perfect balance"), and where human minds can affect their surroundings simply by existing, creating an involuntary manifestation of every nightmare that crosses their awareness, or - in the case of those with training and mental discipline- by deliberate acts of will that amount in effect to magic.( Read more... )
The basic concept is a fascinating one: that of an alien world with Lamarckian evolution ("if trees grow taller, the next gaffi calves are born with longer necks. If lakes dry up, the offspring of underwater creatures are born with rudimentary lungs. Their need affects their DNA, in precise and perfect balance"), and where human minds can affect their surroundings simply by existing, creating an involuntary manifestation of every nightmare that crosses their awareness, or - in the case of those with training and mental discipline- by deliberate acts of will that amount in effect to magic.( Read more... )