Geomancer (Volume One of The Well Of Echoes) by Ian Irvine
01/12/2002 . Source: Sue Davies 
Pub: Orbit/Time Warner. 621 page enlarged paperback. Price: £11.99(UK). ISBN: 1-84149-209-4. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. Check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk
Artisan Tiaan, who works at the manufactory
to aid the war effort of Santhenar, is condemned as a spy, declared
mad and sold to the breeding factory so she can continue to serve
her country.
She recovers from the madness, finding out she is a fledgling geomancer,
a dangerous art that melts the very rocks beneath her feet. Using
a crystal helm to communicate across the Void she meets the perfect
man but he is trapped on a dying planet. Anxious for love, Tiaan
makes a hazardous journey to meet with him.
 The
lyrinx, massive winged humanoids, who escaped from the Void one
hundred and fifty years ago, are waging a seemingly endless war
with humanity for control of the planet. They need Tiaan and her
new powers to finally win the war. Cryl-Nish, the cowardly artificer
and unsuccessful spy, spurned as a potential lover by Tiaan, also
follows her.
He must recapture Tiaan to be reinstated, otherwise he
will be sent to certain death on the battlefront. To aid him he has a Seeker,
Ullii, a delicate creature who blocks out the physical world and follows the light
of Tiaan's power.
Not having read the 'Mirror Quartet', I was pleased
to find that this novel works well as the first of the new trilogy. The characters
are believable, some super-powers but no super-heroes. The non-human characters
are also more than sketched in and the interaction between Tiaan and her lyrinx
companion is telling as they exchange views on their differing morality. The presence
of the breeding factory is a reminder that no matter how skilled the women, they
are only one step away from 'doing their duty' and of how quickly basic human
rights can be eroded in times of war. The conclusion is dramatic and sets
up the subsequent instalment nicely.
Mr Irvine has created a captivating
reality. I had no sense of reading a long novel and was eager to keep getting
back to it. Definitely one for winter evenings with a nice cup of cocoa. I'm
pleased to find a new author and I'll be reading the 'Mirror Quartet', too.
Sue
Davies 
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