Singer in the Snow by Louise Marley
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
The frozen world of Nevya experiences summer but once every five years, with the coming of a second sun known as the Visitor. The
Nevyans are therefore dependent on quiru, the magical fields of light and heat generated by Singers. Mreen has just qualified as
a Cantrix, and will shortly travel to the House of Tarus, where she will provide quiru for the inhabitants. Her quiru are
exceptionally strong, such that a nimbus of light surrounds her constantly, but she is mute.
Singer in the Snow by Louise Marley
reviewed by Donna McMahon
The author's career as a singer was the inspiration for Nevya, an ice planet where energy is created psychically through
music. People with the "Gift" are trained as cantors and cantrixes, to provide heat and light to small communities scattered
across the hostile terrain. Singers train for years at the Conservatory, then at the end of their training they are assigned
to a "House" where they may remain for much of the rest of their lives.
The Child Goddess by Louise Marley
reviewed by Donna McMahon
When ExtraSolar Corporation begins building a hydrogen retrieval facility on the planet Virimund, it seems an ideal site -- a
planet almost entirely covered in ocean and uninhabited. So hydro workers exploring some islands are taken completely by
surprise when they're attacked by a group of stick and rock-wielding children -- apparently the descendants of a lost Sikassa
colony that left Earth three centuries before.
The Maquisarde by Louise Marley
reviewed by Donna McMahon
Ebriel Serique has it all. A world-renowned flautist, she lives in an elegant Paris apartment with her physician husband and
six-year-old daughter. In the late 21st century, the "InCo" corporate government runs Europe and North America, and has drawn
a "Line" of embargo between the industrialized nations and the Third World, abandoning the majority of humanity to war, famine
and disease. Ebriel has never questioned InCo's propaganda -- until her vacationing husband
and daughter are killed by terrorists.
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The Maquisarde by Louise Marley
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
We keep getting told that strong female characters are rarer than hens' teeth in today's literature, especially the fantasy/science fiction
genre. And yet they keep popping up, like dandelions. You can't keep a good strong heroine down, it seems -- a character who sits up and
shoulders the burden of a book and carries it to the end. This is another such book, another such heroine.
The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley
reviewed by Steven H Silver
This novel's focus is the parallel lives of Eilish Eam, an 18th century street urchin,
and Erin Rushton, a 21st century glass harmonist.
While Eilish and Erin mirror each other, their associates also have parallels. Mackie, the crippled boy for
whom Eilish cares in 18th century London appears in Erin's world as her wheelchair-bound twin brother
Charlie. While Eilish is experimenting with a new instrument, Erin and Charlie are experimenting with new enhancements to the instrument.
The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
The book tells two stories, widely separated chronologically but
linked by music. Eilish Eam is an orphan in eighteenth century
London who earns a meager living on the street, playing tunes on a
set of water-filled wine glasses. One day she's discovered by Ben
Franklin, who is in the process of developing the glass harmonica
and needs someone to play it.
In a near-future Seattle, Erin Rushton is the world's foremost
virtuosa of the glass harmonica. She has begun having strange, ghostly visions of a
girl in old-fashioned clothing, which come to her only while she plays.
The Terrorists of Irustan by Louise Marley
reviewed by James Seidman
This is a dark sad look at a colony planet where women are terribly
repressed. Women have almost no rights, must remain veiled, cannot go
outside without an escort, and must suffer with however their husbands
choose to treat them. Until one woman decides to strike back at the worst
elements of Irustani society. But being a terrorist is not easy work.
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