This book is set in the same base universe as Clayton's epic "Diadem" series, but features a new and fascinating character. Skeen, a tough, quirky woman with a dark past, makes her living as a "rooner", plundering the treasures of the past on worlds across the galaxy. With the authorities hot on her trail, she stumbles through a "gate" into an alternate universe, where several different races from her own universe have found their way and share a world in relative peace. Skeen teams up with one of the shapeshifter indigenes of this world, and sets out on a quest for the near-extinct race who created the Gate, the only ones who can operate it and send Skeen back home. This book features Clayton's usual wildly imaginative array of beings and cultures. Skeen's outlaw background tends to bring her into contact with the underworlds of these cultures, unlike Aleytys whose conflicts seemed to be mainly with corporate and ruling-class types. But Clayton's trademark sharp social commentary is still very much present, as the uneasy interactions between the different races form a backdrop for Skeen's adventures. Skeen is a much more complex, hard-edged character than Aleytys, with some definite kinks as a result of her troubled past. But she's an engaging character, and has enough good qualities that you won't mind following her through this book and the two sequels. "Skeen's Leap" has all the Clayton hallmarks that "Diadem" fans have come to appreciate: imaginative,detailed settings and cultures; intelligent social commentary and realistically complex moral dilemmas; engaging, well-fleshed out supporting characters; thoughtul passages alternating with suspenseful, fast-paced action sequences. I'm not sure how much I like the short you-are-the-author passages that precede each chapter, but I give Clayton credit for trying something different. A "rogues's quest" story that manages to transcend the usual formula.
Description:
This book is set in the same base universe as Clayton's epic "Diadem" series, but features a new and fascinating character. Skeen, a tough, quirky woman with a dark past, makes her living as a "rooner", plundering the treasures of the past on worlds across the galaxy. With the authorities hot on her trail, she stumbles through a "gate" into an alternate universe, where several different races from her own universe have found their way and share a world in relative peace. Skeen teams up with one of the shapeshifter indigenes of this world, and sets out on a quest for the near-extinct race who created the Gate, the only ones who can operate it and send Skeen back home. This book features Clayton's usual wildly imaginative array of beings and cultures. Skeen's outlaw background tends to bring her into contact with the underworlds of these cultures, unlike Aleytys whose conflicts seemed to be mainly with corporate and ruling-class types. But Clayton's trademark sharp social commentary is still very much present, as the uneasy interactions between the different races form a backdrop for Skeen's adventures. Skeen is a much more complex, hard-edged character than Aleytys, with some definite kinks as a result of her troubled past. But she's an engaging character, and has enough good qualities that you won't mind following her through this book and the two sequels. "Skeen's Leap" has all the Clayton hallmarks that "Diadem" fans have come to appreciate: imaginative,detailed settings and cultures; intelligent social commentary and realistically complex moral dilemmas; engaging, well-fleshed out supporting characters; thoughtul passages alternating with suspenseful, fast-paced action sequences. I'm not sure how much I like the short you-are-the-author passages that precede each chapter, but I give Clayton credit for trying something different. A "rogues's quest" story that manages to transcend the usual formula.