Three thousand years ago, the Deep appeared without warning.
This alien life form was quickly put to service
teleporting people and cargo across great distances,
which allowed mass colonization throughout the galaxy.
It has also allowed Lancaster, the organization with access to the Deep,
to grow wealthy and powerful.
Cross Lancaster, and you are forced to travel between planets
using standard faster-than-light technologies. Nobody wants that!
Tembi Stoneskin is having a very bad day.
A Witch in service to the Deep, she spends her time disarming bombs in shipping stations.
On her way home to Lancaster, the Deep shows her the aftermath
of a weapons test powerful enough to slice a moon in half.
While the Deep is a vast intelligence, it is a terrible communicator,
and relies on its Witches to translate humanity’s requests into
thoughts, moods, and impulses that it can understand.
Tembi is a young Witch, but she is a skilled translator
and she has learned how to speak with her powerful alien friend.
She knows the Deep has asked her to solve the mystery of the biggest bomb they've ever seen.
As they set off to find the source of the weapons test,
Tembi and the Deep are pulled into the ongoing war between Earth-normal humans
and genetically modified humans.
But the two of them will soon learn that all wars are founded on excuses,
and their enemies have much more to hide than a simple shattered moon.
The Witches have controlled the Deep for millennia,
using it to transport people and goods throughout the Galaxy.
Not everyone likes the Witches’ monopoly,
and different factions are attempting to take over.
Tembi Stoneskin, looked down on by many for being genetically modified,
is one of the youngest Witches ever selected by the Deep.
And she has discovered that it is a sentient, feeling being,
not just a transport mechanism.
But many Witches are not interested to hear this.
When one of Temi’s friends goes missing,
she has to navigate company politics,
hostile factions, and her own relationship with the Deep.
This is a lot more SFnal and less fantasy than the cover blurb implies.
It’s a fast-paced adventure, with an interesting protagonist,
lots of plot twists,
and some good complex world building.
This has a satisfying conclusion, but also portents of worse to come.
I’ll be reading the sequels when they appear.
