Tropic of Creation [Mass Market Paperback]

Kay Kenyon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2000

In the bloody war that ended between Th Congress Worlds and the alien ahtra, Captain Eli Dammond had distinguished himself as an officer who could no wrong--until his last catastrophic battle.  Now, with his shining reputation tarnished, the commander finds himself assigned to a grimy kettle of a ship making basic transport missions.  Routine work -until he arrives on Null: a barren, scorned world at the mercy of two suns.  Here, a marooned human outpost  has survived for three years until their rescue by Eli's ship.  But on this austere planet, the human newcomers are about to learn a harsh lesson: that nothing is quite as it seems.  For soon a new season will call forth a hidden ecology both exquisite and deadly.  And Null will test the survivors in a fight no soldier was ever trained for, and few can predict - while a young the survivors in a fight no soldier was trained for, and few predict - while a young woman of privilege may well prove to be their finest warrior.

Yet for Eli Dammond, the worst struggle will unfold below the surface.  There he will discover a threat to all the settle human worlds, even as he matches wits an adversary both familiar and alien.  The odds are against human survival on null's surface or indeed, in the galaxy-- unless Eli succeeds in bringing home the hard-won secret that neither human nor ahtra can hear.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this subtle though engrossing novel by the author of The Seeds of Time, a seemingly deserted planet morphs into a jungle filled with predators and secrets. During an uneasy peace following a long war against the only other known sentient race, the ahtra, Captain Eli Dammond diverts his ship from its primary missionDto transport a general's familyDin response to an SOS from a barren planet. Upon landing, Dammond finds the captain and crew of a stranded military craft that has been missing for three years, and Dammond must investigate the crash to determine if the captain and her crew were deserters. Having found an empty burrowing craft, Dammond explores below the surface. There he is captured and drawn deeper into the previously unknown subterranean homeworld of the ahtra, while above ground the stage is set for a new attack by the ahtra forces on the small band of unsuspecting humans. The author deftly interweaves the viewpoints of Drammond and two ahtra ill at ease in their repressive society with that of 14-year-old Sascha, coming of age on the planet's surface as the heavily outmatched humans battle for survival. Kenyon's vision of a unique universe ranks with those of such science-fiction greats as Frank Herbert and Orson Scott Card. Kenyon should prepare herself: readers will anxiously anticipate a sequel. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Kenyon's vision of a unique universe ranks with those of such science-fiction greats as Frank Herbert and Orson Scott Card. Kenyon should prepare herself: readers will anxiously anticipate a sequel.

"A rich weaving of science, politics, and mysticism.  A believable memorable story."
-- Brian Herbert, co-author of Dune: House Harkonnen

"More that Kay Kenyon is a major talent."
-- Mike Resnick

Also by Kay Kenyon

The Seeds of Time
Leap Point
Rift

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (October 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553580264
• ISBN-13: 978-0553580266
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Kay Kenyon has a message for aspiring writers: Never give up! Although she has published 10 science fiction novels, she remembers how tough it was to break in. She'd been working full time to support herself and her son, commuting two hours a day, and stealing time in the evenings to write, and finding only rejections from agents and publishers. Then she wrote The Seeds of Time, and after eight years of work she was an overnight success. Since then her work has been published in French, Spanish, Czech and Russian, and is available in audio versions.

Kay's best known work is The Entire and The Rose series. She is very grateful for the reception of these books, beginning with Bright of the Sky--named one of the best books of 2007 by Publishers Weekly--and ending with Prince of Storms. Also, she has been buoyed by the incredible artwork on these covers, the work of the phenomenal Stephan Martiniere. (Authors love all their books, but when you get an ugly cover, you just have to hold your head up and act proud!)

Kay is hard at work on a new novel, believing--as writers usually do--that it is her best yet. You can catch up with her latest work at www.kaykenyon.com, where she often blogs on the craft of writing and trends in the industry. You can also follow her on Face Book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new master of science fiction, February 19, 2001

By 

Igor Koyfman (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tropic of Creation (Mass Market Paperback)

Kay Kenyon has written her best story so far. This one has none of the cheesy flavor of Raft (not to say it was bad, just a standard space opera, even if saved by its aliens) nor anti-science of Seeds of Time (which is excellent if you accept unrealistic time travel speculations). But it's not just plausibility of the plot that makes Tropic of Creation great. Kay Kenyon is an author who always fully develops characters of living depth, be that humans or aliens, without sacrificing the larger view of the story's world. Both of these aspects are shining brilliantly in this book.

The story is set during an armistice between the human and alien races. The humans have been beat by the older and more technologically advanced aliens and had to back off a strategic resource, surrendering all the trading rights. A transport ship is sent to rescue the survivors of a battleship marooned for three years on a desert world due to the system failures. During the investigation of the battleship's condition a number of alien machines are discovered, which eventually leads to the new contact, understanding and collaboration between the two races.

The elaborate beginning that sets up the world of the story may seem a bit slow to an impatient reader, but once the stage is set it explodes. At times the book resembles a horror story, one of the best I've read at that. But it's not gore for the sake of itself, everything is tied to the main plot and builds it from the solid foundation up. But not to a single climax, for the story is so complex and multipathed, as well as fast paced, that the excitment stays high throughout and the climaxes are many. The reader meets a self-made starship captain haunted by his luck, army men of various vices and virtues, an aristocratic family, and aliens of all strata of their exotic society, all portrayed with great detail and depth. The strange landscapes and animal life are also painted with realistic brilliance. All in all, the book has a very solid sci-fi and is a great pleasure to read. Look forward to more excellent, intelligent works by this author.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't get much better than this!, May 20, 2001

By 

Hank Schwartz "banjo & SciFi" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tropic of Creation (Mass Market Paperback)

I am obliged to give one of my very rare 5-star reviews to Kay Kenyon for a deep, complex, exciting and most satisfying novel.

In this tale, failing starship Captain Eli Dammond finds himself on the desert planet Null where his responsibility is to investigate to wreck of another ship and to transport its crew to safety. Although everybody is anxious to get the job done and to leave the inhospitable world, Eli feels that it is imperative for him to spend his last moments there making a quick exploration below the surface of Null in one of the many alien hexadron boring machines found on the surface.

Thus begins a wonderfully told and realized adventure of Eli's meeting with the ancient subterranean race of Ahtra. The story is so masterfully told that we can clearly visualize and comprehend the complex alien culture, and understand their motivations in dealing with the problematic stranger in their midst.

While the story underground is evolving, life on the surface of Null is changing rapidly and catastrophically for the remaining humans. The planet has its own bioligical imperitives at work, and human life is not a high priority.

In spite of the dark events that drive this story or, perhaps, because of them, the resolution of this gripping tale is uplifting and hopeful. A fitting conclusion to a wonderful adventure.

I highly recommend Tropic Of Creation, and I anxiously await the next fine work by Kay Kenyon.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative and Believable, February 8, 2001

By 

Brad Davis (Issaquah, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tropic of Creation (Mass Market Paperback)

As a long time sci-fi reader, most plots and situations these days are not too hard to figure out. That is until I read this book. Ms. Kenyon has quite a knack for setting up scenarios that keep you turning the pages and trying to anticipate what will happen next. I was easily able to identify with each character and even picture the surroundings and landscape as the story unfolded. There were still many times that I said to myself, "Wow, that's not what I expected but it sure makes sense". This was the first book that I have read by Kay Kenyon but definitely not the last. I have since purchased all of her other books and thoroughly enjoyed each one. This is a unique, fresh author I really enjoy. Keep 'em coming Kay!!!