"Beauty can sometimes be deadly"
Venusian flowers landing on Earth seek to change the
environment from cold and soggy into clouds and heat. The
first phase is complete, the plants have found a place to
take root. Now it is time to branch out.
On Earth the date is sometime after the Great
Destruction. Twenty years ago the Outsiders came to the
village on a bride quest and, through an act of violence,
Glyneth was conceived. The Earth speaks to Glyneth,
something her mother made sure she kept secret. Glyneth
also has a thirst for knowledge, unlike the others of her
village. Fear of radiation keeps them from venturing out
into the Great Beyond, and from the desire to know how
things came to be. Even more than her thirst for knowledge,
Glyneth's strange telepathy and her skin's chameleon-like
color changes sets her apart from the others.
Ten years ago the Outsiders returned and abducted
her mother. Now the Outsiders will come again--today. In
preparation, Glyneth makes herself look plain and diseased.
Yet when Major Jefferson abducts her anyway, Glyneth
realizes this provides her with the opportunity to find out
who her father is and seek revenge.
Major Lucas Jefferson, one of the heirs of the ten
symbolic sons of Canusa, the leader of Columont, is unhappy
to have been sent on the non-combative mission to supplying
fertile women for his province. He is even more unhappy to
find that he is drawn to this homely, sick looking woman.
He feels fortunate that she will not be his mate. However,
in the end he does chose Glyneth to be offered as a bride.
Their return to his home in Columont is fraught with
danger, for it seems Canusa would prefer that Lucas not
return at all because of a prediction given to him by an
astrologer many years ago.
Glyneth also has enemies, but of a different
species. When she first encounters the Venusian flowers,
she is not attracted to them as all other women are. She is
actually repelled by them, to the point that she picks one
and casts it aside. The plants sense that she is a danger
to them and sets in motion a plan to remove her--
permanently.
Once again Susanne Knight produces as interesting
and thoroughly entertaining paranormal romance, one that
fans of science fiction should enjoy, also. The setting is
an post-Apocalyptic Earth, not one brought on by war, but
as a result of the destruction of another planet. I
appreciated that though there is plenty of action and evil
intentions in this story, the violence is minimal. I also
was impressed at the way the human villain reacted to his
punishment. I felt the way the invaders were dealt with was
justifiable. The story kept up it's momentum to the very
end, which was quite satisfying. Sexuality: Very non-descriptive sex. Reviewed by Flora Bell
Posted March 15, 2004
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 11, 2006
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