I love this book, and I've probably said that here before.
It's Cherryh-dense, it really is. Maxwell doesn't get much credit for it because she adds so much id and angst (whereas Cherryh just wants to tell you about people being exhausted and miserable and terrified, which is still id, but not the romantic kind).
_Timeshadow Rider_ starts with an explanation that the Za'ar civilization is a million years old, and it's collapsing -- and then somewhere along you realize that the Zaarain Cycle that is recalled (as ancient legend) in the Fire Dancer series *hasn't started yet*; those million years were the barbarian prehistory. (Because, let's face it, a civilization which is two pieces of purple crystal away from mass savagery still has a few issues to work out.)
And the extradimensional cat sings in two voices, because -- as Brust would say -- a god is someone who can be in two places at once.
They Can Never Touch because they both have five fingers and five touching five is the ultimate taboo on their planet.
Wait, how many fingers does everyone else on the planet have? And why? And couldn't one of them cut off a finger? I know, I am not interrogating the text from the right perspective...
Four-fingered and six-fingered hands are common among their species. Five is a genetic trait associated with powerful psionic talent, and the taboos are associated with that... and the book *does* force the characters to dig into the distinctions between themselves and, say, a member of a different five-fingered species.
Like I said, there's depth to it. This is also the first book I saw that presented the idea of True Soulmates and then (explicitly) said, look, this isn't *love*. Soulmates can wind up lovers, mortal enemies, or just destroy themselves trying to connect. The bond doesn't care.
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It's Cherryh-dense, it really is. Maxwell doesn't get much credit for it because she adds so much id and angst (whereas Cherryh just wants to tell you about people being exhausted and miserable and terrified, which is still id, but not the romantic kind).
_Timeshadow Rider_ starts with an explanation that the Za'ar civilization is a million years old, and it's collapsing -- and then somewhere along you realize that the Zaarain Cycle that is recalled (as ancient legend) in the Fire Dancer series *hasn't started yet*; those million years were the barbarian prehistory. (Because, let's face it, a civilization which is two pieces of purple crystal away from mass savagery still has a few issues to work out.)
And the extradimensional cat sings in two voices, because -- as Brust would say -- a god is someone who can be in two places at once.
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Wait, how many fingers does everyone else on the planet have? And why? And couldn't one of them cut off a finger? I know, I am not interrogating the text from the right perspective...
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Like I said, there's depth to it. This is also the first book I saw that presented the idea of True Soulmates and then (explicitly) said, look, this isn't *love*. Soulmates can wind up lovers, mortal enemies, or just destroy themselves trying to connect. The bond doesn't care.
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