Helpful Score: 2
This is one of my favorite books. It's the second in the series, but set centuries after A Door Into Ocean, so you could probably start here if you wanted.
The main characters are members of the Windclan family: Raincloud, her husband Blackbear, and their children Hawktalon and Sunflower (and Blueskywind, who is born partway through the novel). They're from a mildly matriarchal religious minority group called the Clickers on the planet Bronze Sky. Clicker society values children highly, to the point where it is unusual to see an adult without a child in tow, and I loved how well the children were integrated into the story. They acted like believable children, without being saccharine and annoying.
The Windclans have temporarily moved to one of the contained Elysian cities on the planet Shora, where Raincloud will act as a translator in a sticky political situation with a third, warmongering planet, and Blackbear will join in the Elysians' research on genetic engineering for longevity. It's a culture clash as they try to adjust to living in an enclosed city where children are raised in communal creches away from adults and inhabitants can expect to live a thousand years or more. Shora's native Sharers, who still live on their massive living rafts, have strong opinions about genetic engineering, terraforming, and related topics, and make sure they are heard. Meanwhile, Hawktalon and Sunflower spend time playing with the city's robots; not having preconceived notions about robot intelligence like the adults, they're more willing to believe that when the robots act like people, it's because maybe they are...
This book includes a lot of ideas and ethical debates, but it's all woven into a gripping story involving assassination attempts, banking shenanigans, sit-ins, conspiracies, robot uprisings, and all sorts of other adventures.
The main characters are members of the Windclan family: Raincloud, her husband Blackbear, and their children Hawktalon and Sunflower (and Blueskywind, who is born partway through the novel). They're from a mildly matriarchal religious minority group called the Clickers on the planet Bronze Sky. Clicker society values children highly, to the point where it is unusual to see an adult without a child in tow, and I loved how well the children were integrated into the story. They acted like believable children, without being saccharine and annoying.
The Windclans have temporarily moved to one of the contained Elysian cities on the planet Shora, where Raincloud will act as a translator in a sticky political situation with a third, warmongering planet, and Blackbear will join in the Elysians' research on genetic engineering for longevity. It's a culture clash as they try to adjust to living in an enclosed city where children are raised in communal creches away from adults and inhabitants can expect to live a thousand years or more. Shora's native Sharers, who still live on their massive living rafts, have strong opinions about genetic engineering, terraforming, and related topics, and make sure they are heard. Meanwhile, Hawktalon and Sunflower spend time playing with the city's robots; not having preconceived notions about robot intelligence like the adults, they're more willing to believe that when the robots act like people, it's because maybe they are...
This book includes a lot of ideas and ethical debates, but it's all woven into a gripping story involving assassination attempts, banking shenanigans, sit-ins, conspiracies, robot uprisings, and all sorts of other adventures.
