Review: StarMother by Sydney J. VanScyoc

Synopsis: Centuries had passed since the first Earth colonies were founded. Evolution had played cruel tricks. The backplanet of Nelding was an especially tragic case. There, an eruption of grotesque mutations had divided the colony into two hostile races. Peace Cadet Jahna came to Nelding to care for mutant infants, and soon found herself the center of a strange sacred rite, the object of both deep veneration and fearful, murderous hatred. Hailed as the bearer of new, healing life by some, vilified as a force of devastation by others - was she the long-awaited deity from the skies, the awesome and legendary StarMother? (from the back of the book)

Review: Interesting world-building and a variety of characters make this book intriguing. Set on a dismal world three centuries after the arrival of human colonist, Jahna comes in response to a mysterious demand from the current inhabitants. VanScyoc does an excellent job of creating a miserable culture, split between the pious settlers and the strange mutations born of them. With only a few paragraphs, VanScyoc can tell what other authors take pages to tell. She does an excellent job of creating tension and mystery, keeping you with the story until the end.

My qualm is the ending. Despite finding out what the big mystery is, the story ends with a feeling of incompleteness , as if there ought to be a sequel or at least, an epilogue. Additionally, VanScyoc used the stock aboriginal character – the grass-hunt dance-to-drums native that appears in much of the action-adventure pulp stories of the 60s and 70s – which makes sense as this was published in 1974. Still, this was a tiresome trope then and it hasn’t improved any.

While I enjoyed the world she built and the mystery (and science) used for the plot, it was somewhat spoiled for due to the above. However, this is a classic vintage science fiction novel, with a female author, and worth reading for the story and the history. 

Bookmarks: 3 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 425-03345-7
Year Published: 1974
Date Finished: 1-29-2018
Pages: 216