Review: the end of the world and the beginning of the world
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 11, 2011
I read it twice to make sure i got everything! It's a short but very full novella.Char's sister's fiance, Mike, arranges for her to be taken off-world to the Imperial Space Station. (Char believes Mike is a benign middle mgt bureaucrat.) Just in time, Char is ushered aboard the Space Junque by Jake, the hunky captain of that space ship, whose sister is a  mutant with fire in her eyes (sometimes literally!) Char believes that her sister, Sky, is dead. She may not be, but then again. and Mike...just whose side is he on?This novella explores the evils of unchecked corporate power. Earth has become a one-world govt with all the corporations united behind 1 emperor. The right to profit is universal law.This book is a scary lesson for today's politicians who believe that govt should be run like a corporation. Oil and gas companies have ruined the earth. Toxic levels have caused mutations and ghosting in humans and animals. For example, birds of prey (like eagles, falcons, etc) have grown to the size of large automobiles and their prey is human, not rabbits or rats.  It's become a world without faith, but there is a religious sector, Los Talianos Unidos. They don't seem very holy - as they are quite militant.  The DOGs, or the Defenders of Gaia, should be an earth-friendly group - based on their name...but they admit to nuking major cities.Out of the blue, a goddess appears to Char and reveals a better future. 9 young girls, 8-10 years old will be chalices. The leader of these girls, 10-year old Durga, is a warrior and wise beyond her years.