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Rating: ****
Reviewer: Meg
Note: This is a long book. Set aside some time because it shouldn't be interrupted.
Wraeththu is essentially three books in one with three narrators to take you through 30 years in the adaptation of a new species to a world inherited from the dying Homo sapiens species. The new species is hermaphroditic, two sexes exist side by side in the same body. Any individual is capable of reproduction and much of the adjustment of the species depends on the ability of each member to come to terms with "his" male/female balance. Emotional and physical health is achieved through "aruna", the sexual act done with reference and intense sensuality. Individuals may assume the dominant or submissive role depending on the circumstances, but reproduction is achieved only when two individuals achieve a special communion of soul that allows the recipient of the sperm to open his inner self so that the egg can descend and union can be accomplished. After a short gestation period the egg, wrapped in a leathery black shell is expelled and a week later the child is hatched. Quick to develop (half the time of humans) the child is sexually and emotionally mature at the age of 7 or 8.
At the time the book begins we learn that the Wraeththu are new to the planet and that they are descended from one mutated male individual known as the Aghama. The Aghama learned that by a transfusion of his blood, he could "incept" young male humans and turn them into Wraeththu. In a way , as new pure blood Wraeththu are born, the story becomes the beginning of a transition from incepted members to those born into the new species.
The author has a difficult job exploring how humans who are used to being separate sexes adapt to their new condition. Politically the species is as divided as the humans who came before. There are utopian societies, Spartan enclaves, violent cultures, mystical cultures, trading and artistic cultures. The characters journey through them all and through all types of geographical terrain, both actual and magical, because the union of male and female is powerful spiritually and adept Wraeththu maneuver on many dimensional planes.
Not only does the author keep the story moving, but the characters who drive it forward, Pell, Swift, and Cal are extremely well drawn and complex. They grow and evolve as the boo, if so, how we should face the demons of our pasts. Do we let go of the tragedies of youth or do we attempt to resolve them and how do we know what method should be used to effect resolution? Given that a search for balance is integral in Wraeththu belief, then the goal of emergence from a conflicted past is part of the life journey toward balance. Each character approaches this quest differently and the layers within the issue become many.
There are a myriad of characters, are all well accounted for and most are treated with respect and are part of the great scheme of things presented by the ending. Essentially this is a book where everybody wins, even those whose psyches are dark and negative to start with. One fascinating example of a character with enormous nuances is the ethereal beauty Cobweb, a Wraeththu who functions in the role of consort to a ruler named Terzian, whose reign is known for brutality by its warrior armies. Cobweb is the "hostling" to Terzian's child, Swift. That is, he fulfills the role of mother having hosted the egg fertilized during aruna by Terzian. Cobweb is moody, bitchy, psychic, possessive, caring and deeply loyal to his child and to Terzian. His powerful maternal nurturing instincts make him the perfect parent to counteract the violence of the father in the son. Swift is a combination of his hostling and Terzian and thus in the new pure bred generation, represents the balance for which Wraeththu search. It is Swift's destiny to be part of the new, more benevolent governance making its way into his land and it is partly because of Cobweb that he is able to free himself from the legacy of his father and take the reigns of power. With his father's decisiveness and his hostling's vision and compassion he is able to win over the people and point his land in a new direction.
Swift, pure born to two incepted Wraeththu is the narrator of the second book. This book is flanked by the stories of Pell, the future ruler of the entire Wraeththu dominion and his erstwhile and fractious companion and soul mate, Cal. Pell is the light and Cal the dark and to bring the Wraeththu to the central apex of power requires both. How they eventually meet to consummate their destiny is the essence of the story and it is a long, treacherous, occasionally hilarious and often absurd journey through fabulous landscapes, dreams, and dimensions to an ending powerful and full of enlightenment.
This is fun book full of questions about destiny and the existence or not of free will. What are the ways we are manipulated? Is is by our upbringing, our gods or goddesses, our parents, lovers, childhood friends, peers, our convoluted inner selves? Storm Constantine explores all these and much more and keeps the reader's interest through engaging characters and a swiftly moving adventure.
Warning: As noted above, pick a quiet weekend and charge into this one. You won't be able to stop once you start and it is 774 pages of excitement and romance.
Note to writers: This is a book about a species that is partly human and and partly other. It is a good example of the exploration of the psychology and sensuality of beings who, like vampires, exist outside but along with humanity.
