Regeneration

A nice wrap up to a very intriguing trilogy. I love SF/intellectual mystery so this series was right up my alley. The characters are real and very well done. The aliens (and humans) are very humorous at times and provide a nice counterpoint to the gripping, "horror" like SF plot. The only thing I could have wished for was that I expected a little more out of the "Origins" team (read the first two if you don't know what I'm talking about) but I still very much enjoyed this series and the shift in focus still seemed a natural turn in the story. One reason I am writing this review was because I could not find someplace else to comment on something I noticed myself while reading this series and was pointed out in a Review of the first book "Survival" on Infinity Plus (quote taken from http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/survival.htm): "The 'Portent' sections would not be out of place in the Cthulhu Mythos; indeed, there are things in this story that would make the Great Old Ones mumble an apology and shuffle out of the way." I would go even further after this final installment to say it was quite remarkable how the whole Ro "Mythos" reminded me of the Cthulu Mythos in the end. I found it very concievable after finishing the series that the Ro WERE the "great old ones"... Just an observation :). Is it just me or Did anyone else notice this? Which is why I say H.P. Lovecraft might have found this SF re-creation of his legendary creature with its own epic SF mythos interesting and enjoyable.

Julie Czerneda is a very talented writer of science fiction and certainly she is destined to be one of the greats after her current trilogy "Species Imperative." The third in the saga, "Regeneration" spins the tale of Dr. Mackenzie Connor, an earth biologist who specializes in salmon life cycles, to an exciting and very satisfying conclusion. The civilizations of the universe are threatened by the total destruction brought on by the migrating Dhryn, a very complex species of highly intelligent but driven aliens who are literally eating every living being in sight through their "feeder" form. These provide sustenance for the huge progenitors as they travel to new worlds, but no one knows why they transform from apparently gentle creatures to this monstrous life-destroying stage. Mac (as she is known) has been dragged away from her comfortable studies on the salmon to solve this mystery and help save the universe. Her associates include Emily, a South American biologist and close friend who has just returned from being a tool of the possibly helpful (or possibly evil) Myrokynay (the Ro), who live in no space. Other important humans include "Oversight", the crusty representative of the conservation organization overseeing the salmon research, and Nicholas Trojanowski (a spy and Mac's love interest). Add numerous complex aliens, such as the Mygs, the Sinzi, the Trisulians, the bear-like Gromnoii and others, and you have a classic scifi story of biological entities that will warm the heart of any hardened scifi fan. A great series from a great author! If you like solid scifi, you should love this book, especially if you are into weird biology! But then Earth organisms have at least as weird life cycles as the Dhryn, if on a smaller scale. Czerneda's background in biology serves her well here!

Regeneration (2006) is the third SF novel in the Species Imperative series, following Migration. In the previous volume, Mackenzie Conner convinced the Sinzi consul to stop broadcasting to the Myrokynay and the oncoming Dhryn ships also stopped. Nikolai Trojanowski and Vessel traveled back to the Progenitor with news of Ro treachery. Mac stayed behind with the gravely injured Emily Mamani Sariento, but received treatments for her alexia while keeping Emily company. In this novel, Mac decides that Emily needs to be among familiar people doing familiar activities. She gets permission from Anchen to take Emily back to Base. With Mac and Emily leaving, Anchen also allows the Origins Team to return to the Dhryn's original homeworld (now named Myriam for the victim of Brymn's feeder form). While trekking through the recovering Castle Inlet Preserve, Emily suddenly remembers that the Ro had hidden something in the sea nearby. Mac immediately relays this information to the Ministry and soon materiel and personnel are moving into the area. As Mac leaves to rejoin the Origins Team in orbit, Emily is quite busy rebuilding her DNA Scanner to help track down the Myrokynay facility. Mac has a side trip on the way to orbit; the lev leaves Mudge, Sam and herself in Dawson City. That night, Mac has a surprise visit from Hollans -- Nik's boss in the Ministry -- who has arranged this layover to get some advice. She also learns that there are abandoned Dhryn ships in the Myriam system and that her team will be transferred to Myriam on the Annapolis Joy, a glorified customs cutter with massive offensive weapons. On the way to the Naralax Transect, a Sinzi courier dart comes aboard the Joy. Mac and the Joy's Captain find that they now have two Sinzi-ra onboard, one for the Myriam system and the other to open a consulate on the Annapolis Joy itself. The Joy's Captain keeps turning over more of the ship to the Interspecies Union. The Joy also has another passenger, Sigmund Eduardo Norris, for whom Mac develops an instant dislike. Yet Norris has an interesting exploration vehicle that seems to be invisible from the inside. He takes Mac out on a short hop to one of the abandoned Dhryn ships and sneaks them aboard. Searching the ship for clues, Mac notices an invisible Ro walker -- it has a distinctive sound -- and yells for Norris to flee. She hides under a cargo pallet and discovers that she is not alone. A Dhryn Wasted is also hiding under the cargo. Mac listens for the walker and, after hearing nothing unusual, takes the Wasted with her back to the lander. She finds Norris's body near the lander ramp and the walker lurking close by. The Wasted spits on the walker with his acidic sputum and kills it. After contacting her escort vessel, Mac manages to get the walker body on the lander and the Dhryn ejects the lander from the ship. In this story, Mac learns much more about the Ro and the Dhryn, discovers that Cayhill has his good points, and re

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of books that have had me in tears at the end, not because the ending was paricularly sorrowful, but because it was so completely and utterly RIGHT. REGENERATION is one of those books. The saga of salmon researcher Mackenzie "Mac" Connor comes to a conclusion in this final chapter of the SPECIES IMPERATIVE trilogy, and once again Julie Czerneda manages to outdo herself. The stakes are higher, the characters are deeper, and the biolological concepts driving the story are so detailed, you can practically smell the salmon. The result is a rich and wonderful book that is an absolute delight to read, and a perfect end to the trilogy. Highly recommended.

Regeneration, by Julie E. Czerneda, is one of those books you long for, but never expect to receive - that is, the conclusion to a trilogy that far exceeds your every expectation. The final chapter in the story of Mackensie Elizabeth Winifred Wright Connor Sol is a triumph. "Where on that scale do you and I lie?" A haunting, haunting question posed in the first book of the Species Imperative trilogy, and one that takes on new meaning as all Mac has ever known comes under threat. Mac has already lost Brymn Las to the Ro's tampering, as she has almost lost her dearest friend, Dr. Emily Mamani. Now, in Regeneration, Mac parts with those she desperately wants to see safe in order to find the truth behind the Ro's actions. As the trilogy comes full circle and the danger of a species' imperative to survive is played out on a grand scale, the individual's journey - Mac's journey - is told with a depth of compassion that will remain with readers long after the final scenes are read. In every sense, Regeneration is a book that will satisfy readers. It is a book enormous in meaning, enormous in purpose, yet one that still has room for combustible aliens, sheep ... and ribs. In its pages, there is loss and laughter, joy and tears, heartache and humour - there are moments and thoughts and questions that will resonate with readers on a deeply personal level. And after the book has come to its stunning and unexpected finale, readers won't be able to help but ask themselves where on that scale they...