Book Review: Sue Parritt, Pia and the Skyman,
Gosh! It's been a long time since I posted a book review. Having an infarct will do that to Ya, I guess. Thankfully, I seem to be genuinely on the mend, so, back to the metaphorical grindstone.
Odyssey Books, Australia, 270 pages, 2016, ISBN 978-1-922200-52-5 (pbk) ISBN:978-1-922200-53-2 (e-book)
In the first book of this thought provoking series, Sannah and the Pilgrim, Sue Parritt introduces an all-too possible view of the future, a world where people of colour, have been herded together in enclaves, ‘for their own safety’, slaves in all but name.
In their zone, the ‘brown skins’ live a tightly controlled existence. White governors and troopers are assigned to police most of their activities. Curfews are rigidly enforced, and after work, people are expected to attend story-meetings presided over by Tellers of Tales. Sannah, the heroine of Book I, is one of these. She has been trained in the official history of her people and in the techniques for correctly delivering these in the gatherings. This tells the story of her meeting with a mysterious traveller from another planet and their battle alongside the Women’s Line, a modern version of the Underground Railway of the American Civil war period to recue friends and colleagues imprisoned in the underground camps of future Australia.
Book II, Pia and the Skyman, picks up one year to the day after the exciting and calamitous ending of Book I. Pia, Sannah’s daughter had escaped to Kauri Haven, a community established on the coast of Democratic Aotearoa. Here she had been attempting to come to terms with her despair and frustration, and to continue the work of the Women’s Line in rescuing people caught trying to undermine the vicious government of apartheid Australia. In this she has been supported by the stranger from the sky. Kaire, now an integral part of the Brown resistance movement, has become her best friend and treasured companion.
Now the work of the Women’s Line is threatened by informers from inside the group and Kaire’s home planet, Skyz50, is facing a catastrophic environmental crisis. He is being recalled home by his leader Commander Breta. How Pia and Kaire meet these challenges form the plot lines of this engrossing and enjoyable sequel.
Equally, Ms Parritt has used these to raise a number of thorny and currently very relevant social issues, especially the challenges of receiving large numbers of refugees and the very difficult choices that must sometimes be made in deciding who will be admitted into safety and who will be left behind. That she is able to do this within the context of an exciting story without pontificating or propagandising is all to her credit.
I think it is obvious that I enjoyed this book very much. Sue Parritt writes in a clear crisp style that makes events move along swiftly, dragging the reader with her. I am happy to give this ***** 5 Stars, and am eagerly awaiting the third part of this story.
Odyssey Books, Australia, 270 pages, 2016, ISBN 978-1-922200-52-5 (pbk) ISBN:978-1-922200-53-2 (e-book)
In the first book of this thought provoking series, Sannah and the Pilgrim, Sue Parritt introduces an all-too possible view of the future, a world where people of colour, have been herded together in enclaves, ‘for their own safety’, slaves in all but name.
In their zone, the ‘brown skins’ live a tightly controlled existence. White governors and troopers are assigned to police most of their activities. Curfews are rigidly enforced, and after work, people are expected to attend story-meetings presided over by Tellers of Tales. Sannah, the heroine of Book I, is one of these. She has been trained in the official history of her people and in the techniques for correctly delivering these in the gatherings. This tells the story of her meeting with a mysterious traveller from another planet and their battle alongside the Women’s Line, a modern version of the Underground Railway of the American Civil war period to recue friends and colleagues imprisoned in the underground camps of future Australia.
Book II, Pia and the Skyman, picks up one year to the day after the exciting and calamitous ending of Book I. Pia, Sannah’s daughter had escaped to Kauri Haven, a community established on the coast of Democratic Aotearoa. Here she had been attempting to come to terms with her despair and frustration, and to continue the work of the Women’s Line in rescuing people caught trying to undermine the vicious government of apartheid Australia. In this she has been supported by the stranger from the sky. Kaire, now an integral part of the Brown resistance movement, has become her best friend and treasured companion.
Now the work of the Women’s Line is threatened by informers from inside the group and Kaire’s home planet, Skyz50, is facing a catastrophic environmental crisis. He is being recalled home by his leader Commander Breta. How Pia and Kaire meet these challenges form the plot lines of this engrossing and enjoyable sequel.
Equally, Ms Parritt has used these to raise a number of thorny and currently very relevant social issues, especially the challenges of receiving large numbers of refugees and the very difficult choices that must sometimes be made in deciding who will be admitted into safety and who will be left behind. That she is able to do this within the context of an exciting story without pontificating or propagandising is all to her credit.
I think it is obvious that I enjoyed this book very much. Sue Parritt writes in a clear crisp style that makes events move along swiftly, dragging the reader with her. I am happy to give this ***** 5 Stars, and am eagerly awaiting the third part of this story.