Review: Seeds across the Sky

Seeds Across the Sky is the fourth book in Mark Whiteway's popular science fiction Lodestone chronicles. In this latest installment we find Keris, head of the Division of Maintenance of World Order, investigating the thief of an artifact. Her investigation leads her to a bar and Alexander Edward McMann, the last human on Kelanni. He produces the artifact she looking for and reveals how her people came to be known as the Kela-nesh-hannani, those who have been cast out. Curious to find out this knowledge she follows him to an ancient archive where she listens to a sphere log that tells the story of how the Helvenian people came to be the Kelanni. From the first time that Keris plugs in the sphere and we hear the voice of Zemira as she keeps us spellbound with tale of her first meeting with energy being called Ash, the events that lead up to desperate group of Helvenians being launched into space and their struggles to survive. Throughout the telling of her story we find ourselves emotionally ivested as Zemira reluctantly co-operates with Ash but keeps a suspicious eye on him until she can figure out his ultimate goal and just how it will impact the Helvenian people. Zemira knows that she will eventually have to challenge Ash but not until she discovers how far his influence goes and the limits of his power.

Mr. Whiteway uses the element of suspense extremely well in this book not just with the mysterious Ash and what are his plans are, but who is responsible for the explosion on the the solar sailing vessel known as the lattice and who betrayed Zemira's plan to return to Helvena. One of my favorite parts and another example of the use of suspense is the epic battle between what has become known as the rimmers, Zemira and the others that have been exiled to the outer circles of the lattice, known as rimmers, and those living near the center, known as hubbers.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys science fiction involving space travel, conflicts between good and evil or just the struggles to overcome prejudices.

I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars