Customer Reviews

Mindspeaker's Call (Ghatti's Tale)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been six months since Doyce's stepson Vesey and the renegade "Gleaners" (telepaths) he led were destroyed, though not without cost to Doyce herself: ever since that battle she has closed herself off mentally from everyone, including her would-be lover Jenret (whose presence she wasn't even aware of) and her beloved Bond, the ghatta Khar'pren. So Khar is delighted when the chief of the Seeker corps asks Doyce to join a diplomatic mission. The chief (only?) continent of the ghattis' world was long ago divided by its human colonists into two countries: the Seekers' Canderis, which is a republic, and Marchmont, a monarchy. Recently Marchmont's aged queen died without obvious heirs, and border incidents have been multiplying ever since, endangering the freedom of trade between the two nations and, thereby, Canderis's prosperity. Accompanied by several other Seekers and their ghatti, plus Nakum, the forester, and his ghatt Saam as guides, she sets out for the border. When Chak, the Bond of the senior Seeker, unexpectedly dies and his human walks off a cliff with his body, Doyce is promoted to head the party, much to her dismay, and they continue on their way.

In Marchmont, intrigue is afoot, and questions are everywhere. Who is the heir, and why can't he or she be found? Who is the mysterious Steward who guides Marchmont while the search continues? Who is trying to disrupt the Seekers' mission? Where does the D'Artagnan-esque guardsman Arras Muscadeine stand? Can the Canderisians stop a palace coup from placing the power-hungry Lord Maurice on the throne? As they struggle to carry out their mandate, they learn, to their astonishment, that Marchmont is overrun with telepaths--but these are not the meddling Gleaners of Canderis; their society acknowledges them and they function openly and, for the most part, ethically. Their powers will prove crucial to the resolution of the situation--but so will the Seekers: the late Queen on her deathbed urged her people to "wait for the ghatt" who would lead them to their next ruler, and so one does.

Although by no means a quick read, this second in the Ghatti's Tale series is equally rich in texture and insight, and author Greeno displays a keen understanding of how governments and economies work and how people react to psychological stress. (Some reviewers take Doyce to task for her "whining," but I understand her feelings: she thinks there should have been something she could have done, as Vesey's stepmother, to prevent him from growing up so twisted, and she believes she should have nurtured rather than destroyed him, which naturally makes for guilt.) The climactic scenes may be difficult for some readers to bear, as two ghatti and their Seekers die gallant but violent deaths for a country that isn't even theirs; but in the end the right triumphs and Doyce and Jenret appear to be on their way to healing.

Mind-Speaker's Call, the second book in The Ghatti's Tale trilogy, was a worthy sequel to Finders-Seekers, and a little easier to get into. While the first book got off to a bit of a slow start, this one was immediately engrossing.

It opens not far from where the first book left off, with Doyce locked inside her own tormented mind, leaving poor Khar'pern starved for connection. Those around her have finally decided to send her on a mission, hopefully for her own good.

Their land of Canderis is dangerously close to war with their neighbor, Marchmont. Doyce and her companions are sent to find the cause of trade breakdown and the ejection of their representative from Marchmont. Meanwhile, Canderis is struggling with the question of how to handle the hidden Gleaners in their midst, the heinous mindstealers whose very presence threatens everything Canderis holds dear.

If you've already read _Finders-Seekers_, you're probably already attached to many of the characters; there are some terribly sad surprises in store. But, new and bigger hopes and dreams are revealed that leave one anticipating the next book, _Exiles' Return_. The ending was a pleasant surprise; don't give up at the depressing parts!

I thought this book was better than the first, the first got to be a page turner when the ending was near ... and you might need to read the first one to understand this book better ...

Doyce can't accept the fact that her stepson, Vesey, was a Gleaner, a mindstealer and more, he was responsible for her friend and lovers death, Oriel. Doyce can't accept it but she has to. Time is running short.

The ghatti seek the Truth. Their Bondmates help to find the truth. Disguised problems are happening across the border. Trade is slowing noticably and Doyce is positioned in a group as a recorder. She hasn't mindspoken with her Bondmate, Khar'pern, because of her grief and withdrawal. But she finally mindspeaks to her beloved Bondmate when her mind starts to clear ...

The group inculdes Jenret and Rawn. Jenret has been there for her before and they were forced to work together (in the first book) so they have a wary kind of relationship. When the leader of the group dies she is forced to be Special Envoy, the leader of the group. She is opposed to it as much as Aelbert, who believes he should be the leader. But she has no choice and takes the lead.

Across the border they find that things aren't as they seem. Someone wants to rule the court, now that the Queen has died and not left an heir, and wants the ghatti along with their Bondmates out of the way because the ghatti seek truth and truth would be unfortunate for the person who wants to rule.

Romance, or what the others think of as romance, sparks fly between Arras (a protector of the throne) and Doyce. Jenret's emotions become more clear now that jealousy has began to flow through his thoughts.

The complications are more intricate and delicate then they had realized and soon they find themselves caught in what they didn't want, Danger. They came to open the trade between the borders and find themselves seeking the truth for the rightful heir of the throne. Danger lurks where they least expect it and death is chasing them. If they slow down it will swallow them up and then what?

Will Doyce be ready for the truth when it's revealed? After what she had to go through will she be strong enough to deal with the new problems and unwanted discoveries about others ... and herself?

Jenret's jealousy heightens ... will he speak up or will his love go forever silenced?

A great book, full of mystery and adventure, along with romance and secrets. Surprises flow with the pages ... hints of something and then your own conclusion ... when it's cleared it may not be what you thought.

I couldn't put it down until I hit the end and I couldn't wait for my next visit to this world! This was a great read, if you love cats, telepathy or the interaction of just people and animals you'll love this book!

I enjoyed the first book, Finders-Seekers. The concept of the mind links between the Seekers Veritas and their ghatta bondmates is very interesting.

Compared with the first book, Mind-Speakers' Call was a big disappointment. If you thought Finders-Seekers was slow-paced, don't even start this one. Greeno could have cut at least 100 pages without hurting the story.

I can't imagine why everyone has so much confidence in Doyce, the star Seeker in the story. What did she actually do in this book? Just spend the entire book wallowing in self-pity, and drag Jenret down with her. And what did the ghattis do? They did some long distance communication, and they kept secrets from their bondmates.

I am not sure I will read the third book. If I do, I hope Doyce grows up and stops whining. And I hope we don't get another super-villain who is going destroy the civilization. What I would like to see is the Seekers and Ghattis have an adventure on their truth-seeking circuit. We only got to see one case in the first book and none in the second.

The book was okay looked to be a very old book. Had a few black marks on it and the outer pages looked brown. But its okay I wanted the book!

A lot of second books in a trilogy lack the initial burst of energy from the first, but this one is just as good if not better than the first! I thought it was great, and some new characters are introduced. I particularly like Hru'rul! This book is great and I strongly recommend having book 3 on hand to start once you finish this one!

Vesey is gone, but Doyce and the Seekers face new threats as they begin to realize that the ghatti aren't the only Mindspeakers on the planet....and the future may lie with the Gleaners who have been persecuted as evil! Highly recommend for fans of this series, cat lovers, and those who also like Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series (horses as bondmates)

For some reason, Greeno chose to destroy MOST of the main characters -- almost as if she was worried any book without a lot of senseless deaths would be unprintable...The Ghatti are also relatively absent for much of the book, which I found a great disappointment.

The plot and characterization are otherwise brilliant... It was nice to see Greeno decide to treat the "Gleaners" a little more rationally in this volume than she did in the first. The only problems really occur where Greeno evidently "needed" to inject elements that didn't fit in with reality. Still, it's worth the extended read, if only for a historical set-up for the next novels.

MUCH better than the first. Sure it was kind of long-winded and depressing, and it was hard to understand since Greeno keeps you almost completely in the dark for most of the book, but all in all, not bad