Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Sixth Discipline

I bought the kindle edition of The Sixth Discipline after reading about it on Kindle Author Interviews.

Carmen Webster Buxton's The Sixth Discipline is a far-future story that has strong elements of world building—a feature that always interests me. A distant planet is called Haven by the people who settled there. Several factions formed at land fall; they dispersed to different parts of the hospitable planet.

Ran-Del Jahanpur is part of the Sansoussy, who believe in living with the land. By design, their development in the forests remains basic to needs; but they also have a variety of psi abilities. While out hunting, Ran-Del is kidnapped by some technologically-advanced people from the progressive city of Shangri-la. His captivity remains a mystery to him as he is treated well and introduced to the contrary marvels of the city.

Here enters a Romance side of the story, as we meet Francesca Hayden, whose father engineered Ran-Del's kidnap. He intends for Francesca and Ran-Del to marry. Romance, yes; but not heavy-handed with the expected genre standards of distrust, jealousy, and misunderstandings. Instead, the story of why Ran-Del is the perfect husband choice for Francesca, and the politics of Shangri-la guide the story.

The story shifts back to the Sansoussy Forest and Ran-Del's family—especially his great-grandfather who sees what is in Ran-Del's future. Movement between these two regions on the planet shows the cultural development of each in realistic fashion. All the characters are sharply drawn and believable, from the dock-side workers who become Ran-Del's friends, to Ran-Del's grandmother who is unsure of the very modern Francesca. The final resolutions include Sansoussy rituals and political maneuvering in Shangri-la. Tension is high and the outcome satisfactory. A good read (great cover, too).

1 comment:

Carmen Webster Buxton said...

Kae-- I am happy you liked my book! If you would be interested in reviewing the sequel, please let me know. I could send you a review copy.

Carmen