After Long Silence

Vintage Tepper. And a lovely piece of work it is. Jubal, a planet in the process of colonization by humans, is a world full of strange and wonderful things, some amusing, some dangerous. The Presences, large crystalline structures scattered throughout the land, are dangerous, and they are everywhere, preventing easy travel between settlements. They can be passed only with the aid of a Tripsinger, a trained vocalist and musician who accompanies a group of travelers and, in essence, sings the party past the fragile crystal mountains. Each structure requires a different song; the song seems to set up some sort of counter-resonance peculiar to the individual structure that prevents the crystal from fracturing due to the vibrations made by the mules, wagons, and humans as they pass. Even one wrong note could cause a potentially fatal shatter. One structure, called Enigma, has thus far proven impassable: no one has discovered the proper song which will allow safe passage. Except, perhaps, one person. And then there are those who want to see the Presences destroyed because they hinder free trade and easy commerce. A strange cult which worships the Presences has also arisen. Amid much intra-planetary politics, money grubbing, and, umm, a few alluded-to deviant sex games, the fates of Jubal and the Presences will be decided. In this early novel, Tepper establishes some of her touchstone themes which she continues to develop in her later work: responsible use of natural resources; religious fanaticism; tolerance of differences; human (and non-human) rights. Tepper's vivid imagination stands her in good stead here. As a trained vocalist myself, I was intrigued by the notion of literally singing for one's life. How would the knowledge that one wrong note could kill affect the quality of my song? I was captivated by the viggies, small indigenous mammalian-like creatures, who are so much more than they seem. As are the Presences themselves, beautiful and deadly and awe-inspiring. My only quibble with the story is insufficient information on the cult of the Crystallites. Did they want to preserve the Presences? Or were they allied with those who wished to destroy them? Either I missed it or Tepper never made clear what precisely was their purpose, their agenda. The agenda of the leaders was made quite clear, but not the purpose of the cult they established -- what was the propaganda they preached? At any rate, it's a relatively minor quibble in an otherwise wonderful read. While surfing about the internet, I discovered this book has an alternate title, The Enigma Score. A rose by any other name, etc. etc. [grin]

While I found this book confusing at first, as I persevered the story gradually crystalized. That's an appropriate way of putting it, as the book is set on a planet filled with lovely but fractile crystal structures that shatter, killing foot travellers. The trip singers have created soothing musical sounds to play to each structure, which allow passage. But are the singers commuicating with the crystals and are the crystals a new form of intelligent life? If so, planetary exploitation can be halted.Tepper has a great imagination and creates believable situations that speak into our own time and lives as well.I was ultimately caught up in the dilemma and found the conclusion immensely satisfying. Worth hanging on through the initially confusing stages, for the characters are ultimately well developed and the reader cares what happens to them.

Tepper is one of the best SF writers at creating worlds and the aliens that inhabit them. Her aliens nearly always have real depth to them and a real impact on her storylines besides the usual shoot-em-up space opera SF. This book in particular [surprised] me because I wasn't sure I was going to like it after the first couple of chapters but I ended up amazed at her handling of humans and aliens and plots. This was my 2nd Tepper book (after Sideshow) and by the end of this book I was determined to read everything she'd ever written. Still am, too! I loaned this to my sister and it had the same effect on her even tho she's not as much of an SF fan as I am, so I would recommend this as an introduction to Tepper too.

As a confirmed fan of Sheri Tepper's books (and I've read almost all many times) this just might be my favourite. I know the story well from reading it again and again but the little touches she excells at still delight me.

I started reading Tepper's books years ago, starting with the "True Game" series. I've loved everyone of her books. But I think that the alien intelligences in "Raising the Stones" are the best realized of any Sci. Fi. book Ever! How funny, they didn't realize men were intelligent!