Child of Venus [Paperback]

Pamela Sargent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2002

The project--the terraforming of Venus--was begun centuries ago. And generations more will come and go before the planet's surface has been fully habitable.

There are those, however, whose patience has grown dangerously thin.

Mahala Liangharad is a true Child of Venus--conceived from the genetic material of the cult leaders who brought chaos and horror to this planet in transition. To some, she should never have been born; others see her as the future. Now catastrophe looms once more, and it is she who must ensure that there "is a future for her flawed, star-travelling kind...even if her great destiny tears her brutally away from everything she has ever known and loved.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nebula and Locus award-winner Sargent's latest novel completes her masterful SF trilogy (Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams) about terraforming the planet Venus. Thanks to the advanced technology of the Habbers (humans who long ago left Earth to carve out habitats inside asteroids), colonists live and work in reasonable comfort within domed settlements on Venus's surface while progress continues on making the planet's atmosphere breathable advances that irritate to no end the jealous Earth-based Islamic power base of Mukhtars. Through the eyes of young Mahala Liangharad, Sargent gives readers an intimate view of life as a colonist, caught between two rival powers limited by the Mukhtars to those jobs deemed necessary to the colony's growth, while the mysterious Habbers seem to offer something more. Then Habber electronics pick up a radio signal from an alien intelligence 600 light-years away, and shifting priorities threaten the delicate balance of power between Earth and space, as well as the completion of the terraforming itself. As in previous books, Sargent brings her world to life with sympathetic characters and crisp, concise language. The only weak moment is the novel's last section, told a little too swiftly, which folds the story back on itself to confront a millennium of sweeping changes in humanity and its place in the universe.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Despite efforts to terraform Venus, the planet remains hostile to human habitation except for the domes under which colonists live tentative lives in the shadow of Earth's domination. As she grows up, Mahala Liangharad, the artificially conceived daughter of former rebels, hears a call from beyond the planet and makes a choice that will forever change her world. The author of Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams concludes her trilogy set in the far future with a tale of redemption and bravery that belongs in most sf collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Eos (July 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061058092
• ISBN-13: 978-0061058097
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,143,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Ending for the Series, June 23, 2001

By 

Aubrey (Jasper, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Child of Venus (Hardcover)

Finally!! Years ago, a friend found "Venus of Dreams," at a bookstore and bought it for me. I enjoyed the story that unfolded about a girl named Iris. Her dream was to become a part of the terraforming of Venus and she see's this dream come true as an adult. Iris ultimately pays the price for her dream of transforming Venus, when the planet itself claims her life. The second book, "Venus of Shadows," is by far the best of the series. Sargent weaves an excellent story (as always) by using Iris's decendants (in particular, Risa, Iris's daughter) to tell of both their personal desires as well as the desire to breath life into Venus itself. Again, there are hard prices to pay for these desires. The last and final book, "Child of Venus" wraps up the entire tale. Again, Iris's decendants are still terraforming Venus, amid all the troubles and turmoil that existed from the previous books. Normally I would have given this book Four Stars. But, I gave the book "FIVE STARS" partly because - it was actually a very good and interesting book. But mainly because I read the first book when I was about 21 or so, and I'm now 36. I guess I'm just grateful that the last book was published during my lifetime. Pamela Sargent has been one of my favorite authors since I read "Venus of Dreams." I've read many of her other books and find them all extremly interesting and well written. I hope to read more of her work in the future.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A walk down memory lane, July 7, 2002

By 

B. Davis "HakMajik" (Fort Mill, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Child of Venus (Hardcover)

As an original reader of the first two books, it'd been a long time since I'd walked the aisles of Venus. It's fairly amazing to me that I'd still, from time to time, search on 'Sargent' to see if she'd ever written the third book. The pleasant surprise at seeing she had can not be overstated.

What was also exhilarating to me was how-- prodded reflectively by the author-- I was able to recall the first two novels read nearly a decade and a half ago. That alone was worth the trip. However, to be frank, the book is a *good* read.

How to describe it? It is a character novel. Specifically, a novel on the entirety of the protagonist's Mahala's life-- her choices, the people with whom she interacts, etc. It's interweavon nicely with a science fiction thread dealing with the fate of Venus, the Habbers, Earth and, ultimately, all of humanity.

As such, it's a good thing that Sargent's strength in this novel is the fine, yet gentle literary tapestry of characters, future 'plausible' science, and, quite frankly, leveraged strength wrought from the legacy of the first two novels.

If anything, the weakness in the books-- borne out in the closing 50 or so pages-- seems to be the cause of the delay in writing the third book (12 years? 13 years?): namely, how to end it. After all, the trilogy, at least from a Sci Fi standpoint, is about terraforming venus. of course, I'm not going to divulge that here.

bottom line? It's a good read. If you haven't read the first two books, SHAME ON YOU. Get them. Read them all. Enjoy them.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring!, May 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Child of Venus (Paperback)

I so enjoyed 'The Shore of Women' and had high hopes of a good read with 'Child of Venus'. No such luck. I did manage to finish it, although I found myself skipping and skimming much of it. Just plain boring. Never got into any real action at all, much of it was simple rambling and thoughts on paper. Maybe if I had read the first two in the trilogy, but even then I just don't think this book works well. I just can not recommend it. Try something by Sheri S. Tepper instead--or read 'The Shore of Women'.