Jason Worthing comes from a planet
totally covered over with steel, where the elite take a drug that
causes them to sleep agelessly for years at a time, “skipping
through time as a stone skips over water,” so they can pretend to
live forever. Lared comes from a planet roughly technologically
similar to medieval times, a planet that until recently, until the
Day of Pain, did not have true pain, fresh grief, or accidents with
consequences.
Throughout time some have thought Jason
was a god, after all, he came out of the starship which brought forth
man, animals, and crops. He came from the heavens and walked on
water, along with his companion, Justice. But really Jason is only a
man. True, he is a man who reads minds and memories so thoroughly
that he sometimes confuses others memories with his own, but he is
still just a man. Lared is just a boy, a boy who helps around the
farm, but he can read and write. He can receive dreams and can tell a
story.
Jason needs someone through whom his
story can be told, Lared is chosen because through his mostly
unlearned quill, the story will be simple and, hopefully, have the
simple ring of truth. Jason needs to explain why the Day of Pain
occurred on this and every world and what his part in the story was.
Lared is becoming a man and, in this
new world which contains pain, that means more in more ways than it
ever has before.
What is it about? It is science fiction
and also somewhat fantasy. It is about growing up, memories, defining
moments, pain and joy and sorrow. I think it is most deeply a
philosophical book. It is a book which seeks to answer why some pain
occurs; why grief, betrayal, and want can be a blessing. It strives
to show how living one day at a time, instead of trying so hard to
live forever, is really the best way, because it is lived side by
side with others that we love.
It is a little slow at times but it is
also really and truly interesting. Also, some of it is quite thought
provoking. Though it certainly doesn't make sense of all pain,
suffering, and hardship; it does, perhaps, make sense of some and
seeks to explain why a god would allow these things to come to man.
I would rate it a strong PG-13 or maybe
an R for violence, gore, sexual content (it doesn't go into details),
and tough subject matter.
