Jaydium [Paperback]

Deborah Wheeler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1993

When a chain reaction between a jaydium deposit and Eril's force during a mining run send Kithri and Eril adrift in time, they are joined by a spaceman from an earlier era and an anthropologist from an alternate universe. Original.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is an emphasis on the quest for peace that is unusual when so many novels focus on the quest for dominance and victory." -- Tom Easton
--ANALOG

"Beautifully executed . . . marks Wheeler as a stellar new talent." -- Catherine Asaro --MINDSPARKS

"A wild and woolly journey through time and space that contains enough imagination and plotting for an entire shelf of books." -- Don D'Ammassa --SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Author

Jaydium was my first published novel, although I joke that the previous ones were "just practice." For the past few years, I'd written two or three short stories and a novel each year. I sold most of the shorts, but received encouraging "no thank you" rejection letters. Then I joined a local writers group and submitted a draft of Jaydium. To say they tore it to shreds is putting it mildly. I went home, cried, and came back determined to learn. I slogged through revision after revision until I knew it was as good as I could get it, and then sent it out. And began the next novel while I was waiting. Then I spent most of a year in France with my family, during which time I wrote every day. When I returned, I decided not to return to my day job, although this meant a terrible financial risk. Three months later, my editor called with an offer! Jaydium taught me to believe in my dreams...but isn't that what Kithri was telling me all along? --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: DAW (May 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886775566
• ISBN-13: 978-0886775568
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jaydium, Rhymes with Radium, October 25, 2011

By 

Sue Lange "Sue Lange" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jaydium (Kindle Edition)

But it's not radioactive, not in the normal sense. Jaydium does decay, but only on exposure to air. The really cool thing about the stuff is that it empowers spacecraft to go faster than light speed.

And Kithri Bloodyluck has a very special jet that can not only go and get the jaydium, it can also travel back in time to find out just exactly where that strange substance came from.

A great book set in a world beyond the beyond with creatures that have to be seen to be believed. And the intrepid humans that encounter them.

Enjoyed it immensely.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent Adventure SF and some good questions, May 21, 2011

By 

Katharine Kimbriel (Texas Hill Country, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jaydium (Kindle Edition)

This review is a portion of a previously published review at Goodreads.

There is a special place in science fiction and fantasy for the "door in the wall" story. Sometimes it takes place on a completely different world; occasionally it takes place with alien minds front and center. In Jaydium, we have the repeating mirror of multiple times, the branching universe of "What if?" magnified and showing us different ways the universe has played out - and how one small world may be the home of a sentient alien species, the ruins of a once-great civilization, and a rock with a bonanza of energy wealth buried within it.

As always, Ross poses important questions through the thoughts and actions of her players. The fates of four humans from three different times and even universes collide when an unstable jaydium deposit and a sparking force whip combine to cast the group and a small ship adrift in time.

As she did in Northlight, Ross examines betrayal, survival, healing, second chances, even redemption. There is a lot of adventure, a touch of romance, and new worlds and aliens to get to know. The question of what is sentience, and could we recognize intelligence so different from ourselves, adds to the story. Fans of the Miller & Lee Liaden books, the Cherryh Atevi books, the Smith Idomeni books or my Nuala books will probably like this one, too. Recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master of Characters and Stories, January 14, 2012

By 

Eric Leo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jaydium (Paperback)

I discovered Deborah's two books, Jaydium and Northlight, quite late in life, but am very grateful I have.

There are a host of excellent authors in the science fiction and fantasy genres (my two favourites), many of whom write stories of epic scale and complex intricacy (Peter Hamilton being my all time favourite of these), which I tend to default towards. Regardless of scale though, what I love most are beautifully written stories, especially when they feature characters of inspiring strength, conviction and humanity, woven together with underlying themes of challenge, growth, redemption and, ultimately, inner balance and love.

While Deborah doesn't choose to write stories of such epic scale, to my mind, no one is quite as able to create such stories, and particularly such intensely rich and wonderful characters, as Deborah is able with so few words (relatively speaking). In particular, Kithri (Jaydium) and especially Kardith (Northlight), for who I am, epitomise some of the best female lead characters I've come across.

Given enough time, one could probably each of these books in a single setting, such are their easily flowing yet gripping stories, which might suggest these are 'light' books. To me that would be to miss the wonderful weave of, I suspect, carefully chosen words that Deborah seems to be a master of.