Reap the Wild Wind

Reap the Wild Wind (2007) is the first SF novel in the Stratification series. This series is a precursor to The Trade Pact Universe series. It is set on the world Cersi far in the future. The Om'ray are the third -- and least -- sentient species on Cersi. They have mental talents such as the ability to mindspeak with other Om'ray and to sense their direction. Yet their children are being born with new and more powerful talents. The Om'bay try to live by their Agreement with the Tikitik and the Oud -- which forbids any changes -- but the new talents directly violate this concord. They could eliminate those with such talents, but that would lead to much grief and internal strife. So most just hide these talents from the Tikitik and Oud and other Om'bay. In this novel, Taisal di Sarc is an Adept and Speaker to the Tikitik for the Yena Clan. She also has the hidden talent of moving small objects with her mind. She is a widow, but did not become Lost as have so many others who lose their Chosen ones. Aryl Sarc is Taisal's daughter. She has the extraordinary ability to identify individuals by their mind touch. She is also one of the best climbers in her village. Costa sud Teerac is Aryl's older brother. He collects plants and makes them thrive. He is the Chosen of Leri Teerac. Bern Teerac is Aryl's Heart-kin. He spends much of his time with Aryl. They wish to be each other's Chosen, but neither is quite ready. Enris Mendolar is an unChosen of the Tuana Clan. He is a metalworker like his father. He is hiding his talent of moving heavy objects from the Oud and others within his clan. In this story, the M'hir wind blows and the Yena harvesters are out in the canopy ready to bring in the dresel pods. Aryl expected to be selected for the Harvest this year, but she was not chosen. So Aryl has convinced Costa to climb up a rastis tree to observe the Harvest. Reaching the canopy, they see the harvesters hooking the wings out of the air. Bern is out there among the harvesters flailing away at the dresel's wings flying before the wind. Aryl knows that she could do much better than Bern. Then the siblings see a shiny object floating toward them. The Wastryl birds also have come to harvest the dresel pods. Seeing the floating object, the Wastryls fly toward it with outstretched claws. Thunder and lightening shatter the sky and a burst of hot air shakes the canopy. The Yena harvesters fall toward the dark waters of the Lay. Aryl is terrified and frantic about Bern. She reaches through darkness with her mind, catches him in mid-air, and drops him on the bridge below. But the others fall into the Lay and are torn apart by the predators in the water. Now Aryl is grief-stricken by the loss of her brother. Worse yet, the Adepts -- including her mother -- believe that Bern saved himself. They suspect a new and terrible talent. Taisal asks Aryl about her memories of the event and finally strips the memories from her mind. Then she

Julie Czerneda is one of my favorite science fiction writers - and I have been reading scifi since the 1960s. In part this is because I am a biologist by profession and she is also trained in that specialty, but her skill at writing and in weaving a riveting tale is certainly a major factor. In the start of her new series, "Reap the Wild Wind" ("Stratification #1"), she has not disappointed me. Her setting is one of the humanoid Om'ray clan colonies on the planet Cersi,- colonies which are barely tolerated by the "owners" of the planet, the powerful slug-like Oud and the tall, spindly, Tikitik. The young Om'ray, Aryl, of the Yena clan, surreptitiously observes the harvest of dresel, the food that her clan collects from the upper canopy at the time of the fierce wind, known as the M'hir. A mysterious spying device appears and inadvertently causes the death of most of the harvesters, as well as her older brother Costa, who has accompanied her on her illicit visit to the upper canopy (she had not been chosen to help the harvest). The only survivors are Aryl and the young Yena she hopes to join with - Bern. She had accidentally used a forbidden power that might very well end the fragile peace between the "races" on the planet and bring the lives of the entire "tolerated" Om'ray to a halt! The tale weaves on involving a Tuana Om'ray male, Enris, and Aryl's Speaker mother Taisal di Sarc, the strangers, the fierce predators of the planet, and many other well-drawn characterizations. In the Yena, Czerneda has created a fascinating study of a humanoid clan tied to a vertical world of the tree canopy (other Om'ray are surface-dwellers) who have to make do with and adapt to the world above the water (and many predators) below. Their night time lights are the only protection between them and the swamp-emerging predatory swarm. This is the start of another great series for hard core scifi readers. I am very much looking forward to the rest of the series! It goes almost without saying that I recommend this book highly!

A Thousand Words for Stranger, the first of the Trade Pact trilogy, is one of my favorite Czerneda books--so it seems only fitting that Reap the Wild Wind (first of the Trade Pact prequel trilogy, Stratification) now crowds Stranger for that very spot. Like Stranger, RTWW focuses on individuals while unveiling a much larger story, making us care deeply about Aryl Sarc and her family--and newly acquired friends--even while catching us up in a tale that spans worlds Aryl can't yet imagine. Czerneda's deep respect for life of all forms here on Earth and her knowledge of same come through clearly, giving us all a little peek at what that vision might be like.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer on 09/05/2007 Cersi is a world divided by three sentient species. The Om'ray, a people almost indistinguishable from humans, are the most restricted. They must keep to their clans or face death, the only exception being Om'ray males who are called on Passage to distant females. Among the Om'ray, the Yena is a forest clan whose people live far above the ground. Aryl Sarc is a young woman, not yet mature, but not quite a child. She is young, enthusiastic, and tends to act before thinking, especially where her considerable Talents are concerned. When tragedy strikes in the form of an incomprehensible device that flies with no discernable wings or motor, Aryl starts down a path that will change her life in unimaginable ways. Cersi's other two species, the Tikitik and Oud, suddenly play larger roles in Aryl's life than she has ever known, and when she meets strangers who claim to be from another world, all her beliefs and knowledge will come into question. As an Om'ray, questioning the way things are can be deadly. REAP THE WILD WIND is a prequel to Czerneda's "Trade Pact Universe." While I have not had the pleasure of reading the trilogy, I had no trouble following the action in this compelling science fiction adventure. In fact, RTWW was thoroughly enjoyable. Drama, action, all ranges of emotion, and the story itself will touch sci-fi fans, as well as many fantasy lovers. Whether it's Ms. Czerneda's considerable background in biology, her sheer knack for storytelling, or something more ethereal, she has the ability to deliver to readers a gift of reading wonder worthy of a good night with a bowl of your favorite snack and drink. Enjoy!

On planet Cersi, the races of The Om'ray, Oud and Tikitik each possesses clearly marked territory; rarely except during the coming of age Passage does a member of one species trespass into the lands owned by the other two as that are key segments of the three principles that make up the planetary governance. The other criticality is that change is bad so nothing must transform on Cersi. Within the territory of the most privative of the three species, the Om'ray, are small tribal villages in which villagers except during the Passage never visit their neighboring villages as it has always been this way and will always be this way. However aliens from the Trade Pact worlds of outer space arrive on Cersi. By their coming, they devastate the interrelationships between the species because regardless change has arrived from space. At the same time of the alien landing, an Om'ray female Arylis Sarc begins her rite of Passage trek by examining the outlawed M'hir power as she believes she can harness its usage, which will save her species from extinction as she fears the other two species and now this first contact outer space race will ultimately destroy them unless they embrace radical change. Fans of the Trade Pact Universe trilogy will cherish the fabulous first act of the Stratification series, which is a prequel of the Clans when they still were planet bound. Although the story line provides a deep look into the three cultures especially the Om'ray, the action is non-stop as Julie E. Czerneda uses events for the audience to learn how the species lived before the first encounter and the beginning of the changes caused by the alien landing, which means Star Trek's Prime Directive is an impossible sham. Their coming encourages Arylis Sarc to further explore the taboo M'hir. Thus REAP THE WILD WIND is a coming of age science fiction tale at a time when people must choose between maintaining the status quo of centuries of customs and tradition vs. reaping the benefits of progress. Harriet Klausner