Customer Reviews

The Child Goddess

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The plot behind "Child Goddess" is probably familiar to you if you are a Trekkie; without giving a spoiler here, suffice it to say the "The Child Goddess" has something in common with an Original Star Trek's episode. However, the treatment of the subject has Marley's originality and ability to create entire worlds and societies in a few deft strokes.

Mother Burke, a member of the Magdalenes, a female Catholic priesthood, is tapped to investigate the finding of a survivor of an old colony on a planet being used for Earth expansion and enterprise. After a tragic first contact, a child is brought back to Earth. But she is not all she seems to be. An alien (in which case, the planet is rendered useless for colonization) or is she the descendent of an ill-fated settlement from centuries ago? And why is she being kept in quarantine far longer than the six-month mandatory period, and by a very shady doctor.

Isabel Burke is a fascinating character. She is doing penance as a Magadalene as well as fulfilling a vocation. She is also a scientist and a sympathetic character with a mix of backbone and tenderness. One wants to learn more about her, hence my feeling that "Child Goddess" could be worthy of a sequel. Her order of woman priests is also interesting; imagine the history that was behind a church finally granting disciple status to Mary Magdalene and validating the Gospel of Mary.

Oa, the child, is interesting. Marley borrows from Australian aborigine customs as well as African to create her alien, and Oa is cast well in the role of a naive, yet sophisticated person.

Though I found the plot entirely predictable, I still raced through the book with enjoyment and hope for more from this author.

When I first picked up and examined this book, I very much doubted I would find it interesting enough to get through it. Finally, I applied a test that I've used many times. I just opened the book and read the first paragraph. I finally decided to acquire the book and to see if it would interest me.

In truth, I could not put the book down and finished it in two days.

The investigator in this detective-like novel is Mother Isabel, a Catholic sister of a religious order that "attempts to shine light into dark places." She begins by trying to protect a child who has been the victim of exploitation by a money-hungry corporation. But as she pursues justice, she encounters mystery after mystery.

The story also involves a love theme -- and she is forced to cross paths with the great love of her life.

As the mystery draws her in and the stakes rise beyond the welfare of a single child to the welfare of many children, Mother Isabel travels to a distant planet, where she continues to wage a brave but unequal battle against corporate greed and the cold pursuit of wealth.

This book excellently depicts a crossed web of feelings -- love between a man and a woman, love of a motherly woman for an abandoned child, and the love of a child for her ersatz mother and protector.

This novel could be compared with the works of Rosemary Kirstein -- books such as THE STEERSWOMAN'S ROAD. Here too, a woman protagonist is a member of a sisterhood, or religious order if you will, dedicated to the pursuit of truth -- that is, "to shed light into dark places." This is to take nothing away, and I do not mean to imply that Ms. Marley and Ms. Kirstein even know each other's work. But the excellence of these two authors shows considerable parallel.

Louis Marley makes a triumphant return to the universe she created in her 1999 novel, "The Terrorists of Irustan", which is a magnificient twist on the classic science fiction "First Contact" tale; it is simply more than that since it is an elegant examination of humanity, faith and romantic love too. In Isabel Burke, the Catholic priest who must choose between the dictates of her faith and her love for a doctor trapped in a marriage to someone he no longer loves, Marley has created one of her most mesmerizing characters; one worthy of favorable comparison to those created by authors as diverse as Ursula K. LeGuin and Mary Doria Russell.

On the oceanic world of Virimund which is thought to be uninhabited, Extra Solar workers have unexpectedly come across a lost colony of human children on a remote island. One of the children, the girl Oa, is brought back to earth and held in quarantine for over a year, until her existence is brought to the attention of the Magdalene order of Catholic priests. Mother Isabel Burke, a medical anthroplogist - and Magdalene priest - is sent to investigate and soon becomes Oa's guardian, enlisting the aid of her former lover, Dr. Simon Edwards, a world government medical official, who will make a surprising discovery about Oa's true chronological age and origins. In a surprising twist of events which will lead first to tragedy and then hope, Oa will finally realize what it means to be human.

Louis Marley has truly become one of the most interesting writers working today in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Her lyrical prose is almost as finely written as any from the likes of Ursula LeGuin or Joanna Russ. I found her latest novel simply impossible to put down, reading it in a short span of a few days. It's unquestionably among the finest science fiction novels published last year. And it is one which surely begs a sequel, which I hope will be forthcoming from Ms. Marley.

In the distant future energy is needed to keep the expansion of the human race into the galaxy going. Power parks on uninhabited planets are built to supply that need. On the planet Virmund, a colony of lost children is discovered but nowhere on that orb are any adults. The Extra Solar Corporation, responsible for the building of the power park, takes back one of the children, keeps her in isolation, and runs medical tests for fourteen months.

Isabel Burke, a priest in the order of Magdalene, is appointed as guardian for the child. However from the time she makes contact with the child, she is also put in isolation, unable to communicate in person with anyone from the outside. Thanks to the help of a gentle worker in the complex, Isabel is able to make contact with her ex-lover. Simon who has a lot of political clout is also a highly regarded physician. He discovers that Oa is over hundred years old but acts and thinks like a child and the powers that be want the secret of her inability to grow old. A group flies to Virmund to find out what is keeping the children young and killing the adults on the planet.

Louise Marley has written a very entertaining science fiction novel that deals with current social issues such as women becoming priests in the Catholic Church. The mystery of the children on Virmund is handled in a believable way using scientific methods based on research used today. The children who have no desire to be Peter Pans want to experience the wonders of aging. The tale belongs to the heroine facing adversity but determined to do the right thing.

Harriet Klausner

The Child Goddess is the third book I've read of Marley's, including the adventurous Maquisarde and the ghostly Glass Harmonica, and I find her treatment of speculative issues, future worlds and superb characterization well thought out and always refreshing. Her detailed research and knowledge into technical issues - be it medicine, science or music, always makes the work seem well-studied and yet easily digestible. As a reader of multiple genres (with a special appreciation for SF/Fantasy), I find that I require a lot more from a book than just an interesting SF plot - no matter the category. I don't want clean but characterless sentences (which a lot of SF has), I want prose; I don't want two dimensional characters; I want three. I don't want a generic romp; I want to think, and Marley delivers on all three counts. What this all means is: her books are hard to put down.

Plenty of reviewers have addressed the strength of the first contact plot, so I will simply add, The Child Goddess is loaded with great characters -- every one of them. Besides the key protagonist, Isabel Burke (discussed below), there is Oa, the brave, un-aging, child-protagonist in this story of greed who is easily recognizable as both young and "old;" the evil Andetti and Boreson, who literally want to suck the life from Oa; Jin-Li Chung, an angel of a man and a character I'll miss should Marley take Isabel on other adventures; Simon, Isabel's, right arm in an emergency, and her lost and impossible love; and the other "anchens," who at moments take me back to Lord of the Flies. While some reviewers were disappointed about thwarted love between Simon and Isabelle, I did not see it as the point of the book, but as one of its strengths. The main love affair is between Oa and Isabelle, and it is their developing mother/child relationship that is the real treat to experience.

Marley is an author with heart, which gives her stories a reliable signature. The Child Goddess is no different. Like the protagonists of Marquisarde and The Glass Harmonica, Marley's heroine, Isabel Burke, a priest of the order of The Mary Magdalenes, is imbued with a fierce maternal instinct that is so tangible and conflicted that it is at once admired and believable. Her deft treatment of the Magdalenes - a female Catholic order, makes me wonder that if I had been raised by the Magdalene's instead of the patriarchal Catholic structure, I might have maintained my faith - and that says a lot. Not that this book preaches in any way; it doesn't. Here treatment of the subject is devoid of control, and for this reason, Isabel's faith comes across as pure. I seriously hope Marley has more adventures for Isabel where she might open that spiritual door a little further, because I'd be willing to go along for the ride.

What a moving, lovely story! This is the first book I've read by Louise Marley, and I'm anxious to seek out her other works.

"Child Goddess" centers around the relationship that grows between Isabel, a priest in the female Order of Mary Magdalene, and the offworlder child Oa, who is kidnapped from her home planet and brought back to Earth. The descendent of African colonists, Oa and the other children of Virimund are unique and very, very valuable - they do not age past childhood. Oa's abduction is, of course, prompted by the greed of those who see her as the source of a Fountain of Youth, and Isabel must fight to protect her young charge from the exploitation of those who see her as a "creature" and not a human child.

Oa is a delight, an "old child" whom Marley has actually managed to make believable as a little girl - an incredibly difficult task, to judge by the number of authors who can't seem to manage it. What is to everyone else a wonderful gift is, to Oa, a source of shame, and her attempts to hide her "secret" from Isabel are heartbreaking. Isabel herself is a richly drawn, complex character - a devoted priest who is still not recognized by conservative Catholics, a celibate doing penance for an affair with a married doctor, a Mother who finds herself fiercely loving an eternal child.

This sci-fi book has more heart than anything I've read in a long, long time. Enchanting, touching, bold, and richly told - I loved every page.

This is really a novel of love, love between a man and a woman, love for a child, love of God. Isabel Burke's journey is one of self-discovery as well as courage, and Oa of Virimund, the old child, makes her own journey of devotion, in the face of terrible struggles. These characters will catch you up in their story, and stay with you long after you turn the last page. Highly recommended.

I found this novel thought-provoking and an excellent, compelling read. It's one of my very top books for the year.

Louise Marley's The Child Goddess is an absorbing book; even a casual reader quickly becomes engrossed. I, for one, read relentlessly and had devoured the book within hours of beginning it. The premise is that a few centuries hence, Isabel, a female Catholic priest, is appointed the guardian of Oa, a child from another planet burdened with an awesome secret that a scary corporation desperately wants to figure out. Watching Oa open up to Isabel was a treat; the writing was crisp and fast-paced. The ending, however, fell a bit short. It felt rushed and there were a few loose ends left. For example, once Oa's secret is revealed and discovered only to work on certain subjects, it is dismissed. I believe the problem would persist -- why wouldn't it still be tempting to parents of young children or to researchers hoping to unravel how to make it work for everyone?

Additionally, I was disappointed in the philosophical reach of the book. Why, if we can envision a female priesthood, must we cling to an outdated celibate one? The love lost in this book seemed a waste; it was hard for me to accept Simon's fate -- he deserved better! He deserved Isabel. Don't get me wrong; this is a great book and well worth the time I spent reading it, but I still preferred Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and Joan Slonczewski's A Door into Ocean. In science fiction, you want to stretch the imagination as far as possible, and frankly, while the characters are beautifully drawn, I can envision much more for them.

I just finished reading this book for the first time. It will go on the bookshelf with the others I reread. The touch is deft. Not too sentimental, but very engaging. The settings are many layered and believable. The charcters are emotionally satisfying. She can write people who are flawed and true to life. Growth is described in some of them. Like in the real world, not everyone chooses to grow. I've just found a new women science fition writer! I'm happy.