I want to be an alien!

Julie Czerneda’s first book, A Thousand Words for Stranger isn’t new; it was published in 1998. The sequels, Ties of Power and To Trade the Stars aren’t new either. Those books, though, and especially the first, changed my perceptions of what makes good alien- and world-creation. Czerneda creates a rich and detailed universe without the tendency to focus too much on humans, and without deifying aliens because, well, aliens must be cooler than humans.

On top of this well-crafted, complex universe and its component societies are the main characters are the trilogy. Generally equally well-created, we are introduced to Jason Morgan and Sira, our protagonists, one human, one Clan, a species that looks human, but with immense telepathic abilities.

This isn’t another Troi and Riker, though. Don’t expect passionate romance and for mind-reading to solve the characters’ conflicts. Czerneda seems to work from the stance that aliens aren’t cool because they have “special powers”, but because they are, in fact, people, with warts and moles and hangups, just like humans. She also challenges the morality assumptions made when faced with an alien that looks human, which I appreciated.

The series isn’t without its flaws, but I’m hard-pressed to find them, even after reading the series several times. There are a few grammatical errors in the books - missing periods, extra or missing commas - but that’s not unusual these days. The plot that ties up the second book goes on rather too long, but still a good read.

The series won’t appeal much to “hard” science fiction fans, as Czerneda leaves aside the physics and technical descriptions in favor of more characterization. If you’re tired of reading about telepaths - even those with a weird, “otherworldly” basis for their power - this series definitely isn’t for you, since a lot of the books’ plots do revolve around Clan society.

As is true for many series with me, I liked the first book more than I liked subsequent books. There was something clear and perfect about A Thousand Words that was made a lot messier in the sequels. The focus on Clan politics, the romance-not-romance, the possibly too-long second book: these are things that may turn away some readers from the second and third books.

Overall, the series is a refreshing change from cardboard-cutout characters in hard sci-fi and too-sappy barely-veiled erotica sci-fi. Definitely pick up A Thousand Words; if you fall in love with Sira and Jason, pick up the next two.