author : M. C. A. Hogarth

Jahir is a new student at Seersana University. He is one of the Eldritch, a reclusive species of humanoid espers. He is taken under the wing of Vasiht’h, also an esper, but of one of the Pelted centauroid races. The unlikely pair become friends, as they negotiate psychology classes, cooking, future career choices, and their growing esper bond.

This is just delightful. The complex history of the various Pelted races, uplifted and gene engineered on Earth, fleeing their enslavement there, the description of life on campus and the joy of learning, the coming to grips with some terminally ill patients, the depiction of the joy and difficulties of cross-species friendships, all work perfectly.

This is a very gentle tale, in that there is no overt violence, and very little nastiness (just one bigoted professor), but the actions and choices of the characters have real depth and consequence.

I immediately ordered the rest of the series.

Jahir has gone off to Selnora to a coveted residency position, at the urging of his friend Vasiht’h. He was expecting the work to be hard; he wasn’t expecting to be so affected by the higher gravity. And Vasiht’h realises that the mindtouch he shares with Jahir is important, so goes to follw his friend. He wasn’t expecting the mindtouch to deepen so rapidly, or that he would need to stop Jahir killing himself through work. Can the two friends even survive their friendship?

This is still as delightful as the previous. The world-building continues, as we move to a different planet with different constraints. The various Pelted and other gene-engineered species are well-drawn. And the way Jahir and Vasiht’h are essentially inventing a new medical discipline is fascinating to follow.

This is still a gentle tale, in that there is very little no overt violence, although there are more criminal issues depicted now the characters are outside their somewhat secluded academic environment. But that doesn’t mean it is boring: the challenges are real, they are just addressed by less physical means than we are used to in fiction of this type.

Xenotherapists Jahir and Vasiht’h are now qualified, and need to start a practice. Vasiht’h has his heart set on the starbase he visited on his way to join Jahir. But when they arrive, they discover that they are on a six month probation: if they can’t earn their place in the highly restricted society that time, they will have to leave. They have to find somewhere to live, set up a new practice, get and treat enough new patients to demonstrate their worth, while one of the established therapist accuses them of being unethical, all within a short timespan. No pressure, then.

Well, actually, no, not a lot of pressure, it seems. The stakes are rather low: even if they fail to win a place on the starbase, they can simply pack up and try elsewhere. And they don’t have much trouble attracting new clients, whose problems they seem to solve with ease, and mostly unrelated to their style of therapy.

So, this is still a gentle tale of two engaging characters; but it’s maybe a little too gentle this time. Nevertheless, I’m still looking forward to the next installment.