The Ghost Sister (Mass Market Paperback)

by Liz Williams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Landblind means having no active psychic connection with the land and other creatures, and unlike the rest of her people, Mevennan has been landblind for as long as she can remember. Instead of the useful psychic linkage, she receives impressions with equal intensity and all at once, which can result in an overload that fries her nervous system. Because of this "defect," some feel that she should not be allowed to live. Eleres, her fiercely protective brother, feels otherwise and escorts her to the family's southern holding, far from the powerful sea rhythms that spark her seizures. There they meet Shu, who they are sure is a ghost, but who is actually a Gaian anthropologist. Shu and her team plan to bring the Gaian religion and ecological reformation to Mevennan's planet's misbegotten inhabitants and, very probably, healing to Mevennan, but at great cost. Williams addresses difficult moral and ethical questions in a compelling novel concerned with genetic engineering and a people's struggle to transcend their limitations. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
The fate of a planet lies with an outcast woman and a mysterious visitor....

In this richly imagined and thought-provoking novel, Liz Williams tells the story of a world engineered to preserve the precarious balance between animal and human. To this world comes an emissary from a distant planet who will walk the razor-thin line between consciousness and instinct, freedom and conformity, life and death.

On Monde D'Isle a rugged people live in union with their world. They migrate with the tides of the moon, sense the meridians of the planet, and slip into a Dreamtime that grants them access to -- and escape from -- the darker urges of their animal nature.

Mevennen ai Mordha is out of tune with her people's "bloodmind." She is protected by her devoted brother Eleres, who refuses to listen to those who say that Mevennen is not fit to live. Still, Mevennen fears that even her brother will give in to his instincts during the time of the hunt, when the Mondhaith seek out the weakest as their prey.

Taking her on an expedition in hope of a cure, Eleres has brought Mevennen deep into the wilderness. There they are visited by a strange woman who they are certain is a ghost, but who is really a Gaian anthropologist charged with bringing utopia to their world. She promises to heal Mevennen -- but it is a promise that comes with a terrible price....


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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (June 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553583743
• ISBN-13: 978-0553583748
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #383,594 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique speculative fiction, June 28, 2001

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The founders of the colony on remote Monde D'Isle established the prime directive of harmony with nature. Thus, the life cycles of the descendants tie into the planet's pulse including a feral urge to unleash their animal instincts. The weak are systematically killed.

Somehow Mevennen ai Mordha survived her time out in the wild, but upon returning everyone knew something was wrong with her. Her family wanted to kill Mevennen as befitting the weak as only the strong survives. Only her brother Eleres and the Satahrach Luta kept her alive. However, as the tides have increased in velocity, Mevennen suffers increasing fits. To save his beloved sister Eleres takes her inland to an abandoned tower. Not long afterward off-planet individuals arrive. Mevennen believes she sees a ghost while the visitor insists she is a Gaian anthropologist sent to help the people.

THE GHOST SISTER is an engaging science fiction novel that follows closely a culture that seems like nomads living within the cleansing of Ancient Sparta. The story line moves slowly forward to insure the reader understands the civilization and the key players. Fans of speculative fiction that focuses on characters and lifestyles will enjoy Liz Wlliams's THE GHOST SISTER.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent fantasy for thinking people, July 12, 2001

By	U. M. McCormack "Una McCormack" (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Liz Williams' first novel fulfils the promise of her short stories. This is an intelligent book which skilfully combines a richly realized fantasy setting with clever science-fiction ideas; the blurring of the boundaries between the magical and the scientific is reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin.

This is a story in which you are invited to immerse yourself completely in the mindset of two very alien cultures - and explore what happens when these cultures collide. It is a thoughtful exploration of the philosophical aspects of cultural miscommunication, in a situation where all concerned are acting for the best.

Williams' trademark sense of place means that the country through which the characters pass is evocative and beautiful; the land itself, to which the characters are so tightly bound, is an important aspect of the book, and Williams' superior descriptions do it great justice.

An excellent first novel, and I am looking forward greatly to her second.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fortune presents gifts not according to the book, October 28, 2002

By	"blissengine" (Norfolk, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

On Monde D'Isle the people are literally connected to the world: they feel the tides change, they sense their fellow beings, and they share the bloodmind which tempts them into their (sometimes darker) animal instincts. Eleres has never been comfortable with this nature, and his sister Mevennen is one of the landblind, those who are not connected as others are. She is considered a ghost, a being not really of the world and worthy only of being destroyed, and Eleres has always protected her from harm, including from his male lover. When Mevennen herself sees other ghosts, she is confused, especially when they tell her they are not actually ghosts, but from another planet and they would like to help heal her. The mysterious visitors have come to investigate why the original colony from their matriarchal society became the animalistic people they are today, and possibly find a way to fix them to be like themselves again. By attempting to help Mevennen, the visitors divide on how best to do it, and ultimately this proves to have more consequences than anyone anticipated. "The Ghost Sister" is highly fascinating and poses many compelling ethical questions about human nature. And while the story does move along at a brisk pace, it bogs down through much of the center of the novel into a tedious anticipation of what the outcome will be. This can be aggravating for readers. Williams does include many asides which elaborate on the native culture and from where the visitors came, all of which may interest readers and does keep one continuing to the end. Overall it's a great book that will give readers much to ponder and will intrigue us to look for another work from the author.