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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where it all began, April 2, 2003
This review is from: House Of Zeor (Paperback)
This is the original Sime~Gen novel, the one that started it all. It's the story of Hugh Valleroy, who's trying to be just another ordinary guy, but has a deadly secret -- his mother was a refugee from Sime Territory. Simes are mutants, energy vampires who suck the life out of a person like Hugh every month. His mother escaped that fate, but she couldn't leave behind her memory of her upbringing, in a mirror society where Simes are people and Gens (the ordinary people of Hugh's society) are fodder. She taught Hugh Simelan, the speech of the Simes, and while it's made him a superb intelligence officer, it also has subtly changed his perceptions. And then a Sime raider kidnaps his girlfriend, an engraver who could be forced to forge Gen money and bring the entire society of free Gens to its knees. Hugh's only hope for his beloved and for his society is a daring deep-cover operation with a Sime outcast, Klyd Farris ambrov Zeor. Klyd is a new kind of Sime known as a channel, who can safely take life force from a Gen without killing and transfer it to other Simes. However, his kind are reviled as perverts by the mainstream of Sime society, and live in isolated ghettos known as Householdings, where they associate only with others who abjure the kill. But can Hugh trust this bizarre story of Simes who don't kill? To save his beloved and his people, he has to trust Klyd with his life. This novel has been out of print and almost impossible to obtain for years. However, Meisha Merlin is now reprinting it as a part of their omnibus Unity Trilogy edition, along with Ambrov Keon and Zelerod's Doom. If you missed out the first time around, or if your copy is crumbling like mine is, don't miss out on the chance to get this new edition.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Begin your exploration of the Sime~Gen Universe, December 1, 2002
This review is from: House Of Zeor (Paperback)
The Sime/Gen universe started with this book, and it's easy to see why the universe developed a large fan following. Somewhere back in the pre-history of this Earth, something happened to humans - separating them forever into two types. The first main character, Hugh Valleroy, is a "gen". Gens are humans that appear perfectly normal, but generate an internal energy field that helps keep them alive. The second main character, Klyd (pronounced like "Clyde") Farris, is a Sime. Sime have tentacles growing out of their arms, some of which they use for manipulation of objects, but, more importantly, some of which they use to drain the energy from Gens. Simes need this energy to live, but the draining process generally kills the Gen providing the energy. This is where the similarity to a vampire story ends. But Klyd is different. He is a "Channel" - a Sime that can take energy from a Gen without killing them and transfer it to another Sime that needs it. And it is this interaction between Simes that Channel and Simes that do not, and the Simes and Gens themselves that make these novels popular. Klyd and Hugh are sent deep into Sime territory to rescue another Gen, who also happens to be the love interest of Hugh. Hugh makes a few friends among the Simes and Gens that live in Sime territory. But that doesn't help him deal with the fact that his lover is in a camp of Simes that do not have Channels. The fact that most Gens in Gen territories do not trust Simes (because all they know is that if they are drained of energy they die), and most Simes would kill a Gen for their energy rather than use the rare Channels makes this story similar to vampire fiction, but different enough to hold your interest through many books. The differences between this and a vampire novel could not be more apparent. There are no vampires that can transfer the blood they steal to another vampire. And The Farrises, who run a camp called The House of Zeor, are devoted to making the world a better place by making sure that Gens are safe from marauding Simes who have no channels - some of which do not want channels. It is these differences that make this novel a fascinating start to the Sime-Gen universe. The sequel, "Unto Zeor Forever" is an even better novel, but I'd recommend that you begin with this one in order to understand some of the events in the sequel. This book is scheduled for reprinting shortly, and it will be a welcome addition to any SF fan's library.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only the beginning . . . of a great series, November 4, 2011
I can't tell you when I first read "House of Zeor", but it was back when I was thin and my hair wasn't. I found it amazing, when, last month, after not reading it for perhaps 20 years, I picked it up and was immediately transported back into a fondly (and well) remembered world. This book is one of the most complex, painfully realistic and memorable psycho-sociological thrillers I've ever read, and the foundation for an entire universe of stories, the complexity and beauty of which would definitely win awards at Arentsi (and you'll have to read it to find out what that means). Ms. Lichtenberg, her eventual co-author for later books, Jean Lorrah, and the entire community of Sime-Gen worldbuilders have imagined characters, societies and situations that embed themselves on your brain and don't let go. I suppose it's indicative of something that I remembered many of the terms used in House of Zeor for decades -- mostly Sime-specific curse words, I confess, but they're used in context so clearly you have no problem knowing exactly what they mean. I've been reading science fiction for nearly 50 years (yes, really). I can count the number of authors and series that have stuck with me this well easily on two hands, and I've read a LOT of SF in those years. The Sime-Gen books make you want to KNOW these people, and make you CARE about what happens to them . . . and their society, which comes painfully to the brink of collapse and ultimate calamity. I've heard them called "vampire-analog" stories, "chick books" and more, but at base, what they are is good stories, well told, about characters you can get into. READ THEM!
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