Review: A fascinating story and a joy to read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 17, 2013
In The Gods of Garran, Este is the daughter of the commander of the invasion force that has captured and is slowly taking over the planet Garran. Her long-held personal goal is to return to her home world but her father won't leave his hard-won position in the military, so Este joins an elite special forces unit and volunteers to infiltrate an enemy group in order to gain valuable intelligence so that her commander can destroy that group, knowing that if she succeeds, the pay will be enough to buy her passage to her home world without having to ask her father. But while pretending to be one of the enemy, she begins to emphasize with them. She hears voices calling to her that others can't hear and sees visions no one else can see. Since those visions help her lead the "enemy" toward what they seek, a superstitious object the natives call the God stone, the clan she travels with believes she's been "God touched" and most of the group trusts her. After much travel and many trials, Este locates the "God stone", but when she picks it up she's thrown into a stronger vision than she's experienced before and learns that the "God stone" has somehow bonded with her and she can no longer be without it. Although science fiction, this story has similarities to the stories in the Old Testament of God calling people who believe they're nothing special to be His Prophets and to fulfill a mission in God's plan. Like most whom the God of the Old Testament called, Este doesn't want to leave her comfortable life and become an outcast from all she's known. She just wants to get her normal life back and struggles with that desire and the new understanding she slowly gains. The Gods of Garran, however, have their own plan for Este.Despite a few grammatical flaws, I still give this book five stars. It is a hard book to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I recommend it for any fan of sci-fi or fantasy who enjoys an unusual and original tale!