Butterfly & Hellflower

Butterfly and Hellflower, originally published as a trilogy in three consecutive books - "Hellflower", "Darktraders" and "Archangel Blues", is the omnibus edition of all three together, inscribed on the dedication page, "To Chris Jeffords, with honor." The relevance of this book which was published over fourteen years ago is two-fold: language and honor. If, like me, you enjoy Science Fiction and are hungry for honor, even if (only) in a novel, you might enjoy reading "Butterfly and Hellflower". Eluki bes Sharhar has scattered soliloquies on the meaning of honor throughout the story. On page 326, the Hellflower muses, "Is there higher honor than honor? When honor itself twists like a serpent, what shall we prove ourselves against to know we are still human? ... If humans who betray are human no longer, what is honor that is only a tool of kingmakers?" This excerpt is from the fly-cover: "I was making my way around wondertown; free, female, and a damn sight over the age of reason, when I saw this greenie right in front of me in the street, about to mix it up with K'jarn and six of his werewolves. And hell, it was seven-on-one and I never liked K'jarn anyway. That was my first mistake, rescuing a Hellflower. ...And now he said he owed me his life, said it like he hated it, like he'd rather be dead than owe me. And me, Butterfly St. Cyr, darktrader, interdicted barbarian, and the partner of Paladin, a death-to-possess Old Federation Artificial Intelligence, all I wanted was to get Valijon out of my own life and get back to business. ...there was nothin for it but to blast out of there, taking my new pet Hellflower with me. After all, where was the harm? He'd see a little of the galaxy he'd never seen before--just as long as he didn't ever tumble to Paladin bein' on board--and after I delivered my cargo, I'd drop him into the lovin arms of his all-too-powerful da. That was the plan anyway, but the rest of the galaxy seemed to have other ideas, ideas that included seeing that Valijon never made it home alive..." I have to read "Butterfly and Hellflower" at least once a year, just to stay sane.

"Butterfly and Hellflower" is a very unusual series; it contains three books by eluki bes shahar (aka Rosemary Edghill), starting with "Hellflower," continuing with "Darktraders," and finishing with "Archangel Blues."I've read through about the first half of it, and it's excellent. Lots of interesting things, most not seen in other s/f much if at all, including a plot where knowledge not only can corrupt but _has_ corrupted before, so people are still mostly dead set against it (which is why the sentient Libraries were outlawed in the first place); interdicted barbarian worlds where slavery is not only tolerated, it's legislated; mercenaries who have a greater sense of honor and moral courage than most ruling elites, and are dedicated to keeping the sentient Libraries _out_ of power; and much more.Butterfly is a tough, proud ship Captain, someone who's clawed her way out of obscurity and has taken the only way open to her. She's learned as she's gone, and forged a partnership with one of the interdicted Libraries -- which has also grown, changed and become more "human" because of her influence.The main Hellflower in question is Valijon Starbringer; he's young, impetuous, and very honor-bound. And he doesn't know what to make of Butterfly.They go through a series of adventures (as I said, there've been quite a number already, a book and a half in), and Butterfly has to examine many of her most precious principles in the process, including her (formerly well suppressed) maternal instinct.Although it's a relatively minor quibble, I don't think this book has quite the weight of Ms. Edghill's later-released work. Yet I've read other books by other writers such as William Gibson and Bruce Sterling that did this premise (or a similar one, without the libraries) post-cyberpunk, and they were praised much more than Ms. Edghill, and had greater sales.Go figure.At any rate, I enjoyed this book far more than I enjoyed "Neuromancer" or "The Difference Engine" or any of Gibson or Sterling's work. I also enjoyed this more than most of the military science fiction I've read that depended on technology, meaning I enjoyed this more than S.N. Lewitt, S.L. Viehl, the later Anne McCaffrey books about the Brain Ships, etc.So, while this book will probably not stand as a classic in the genre, it definitely stands as a book that's as well worth reading as the day it came out, nearly twelve years ago. Highly recommended for anyone above age fourteen or so (as anyone younger probably won't understand much of the convoluted plot).

Follow a hard-as-nails, foul mouthed space captain with the unlikely name of Butterfly - actually "Butterflies are Free", as she attempts to survive an unexpected and horrible mix of a teenaged Hellflower (a warrior race dedicated to the irradication of sentient machines), who is full of adolescent angst, and seems to have a lot of people out to kill him, and a ship's computer that is actually - unbeknownst to anyone but Butterfly - sentient. By the end of this set of three novels in one, Butterfly has found out a lot more about herself, the Hellflowers in general, her Hellflower in particular, and the history of the sentient machines than any sane person would want to know. Not an endless classic, but a good and engaging read.