From Publishers Weekly
Nebula and Locus award-winner Sargent's latest novel completes her masterful SF trilogy (Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams) about terraforming the planet Venus. Thanks to the advanced technology of the Habbers (humans who long ago left Earth to carve out habitats inside asteroids), colonists live and work in reasonable comfort within domed settlements on Venus's surface while progress continues on making the planet's atmosphere breathable advances that irritate to no end the jealous Earth-based Islamic power base of Mukhtars. Through the eyes of young Mahala Liangharad, Sargent gives readers an intimate view of life as a colonist, caught between two rival powers limited by the Mukhtars to those jobs deemed necessary to the colony's growth, while the mysterious Habbers seem to offer something more. Then Habber electronics pick up a radio signal from an alien intelligence 600 light-years away, and shifting priorities threaten the delicate balance of power between Earth and space, as well as the completion of the terraforming itself. As in previous books, Sargent brings her world to life with sympathetic characters and crisp, concise language. The only weak moment is the novel's last section, told a little too swiftly, which folds the story back on itself to confront a millennium of sweeping changes in humanity and its place in the universe. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Despite efforts to terraform Venus, the planet remains hostile to human habitation except for the domes under which colonists live tentative lives in the shadow of Earth's domination. As she grows up, Mahala Liangharad, the artificially conceived daughter of former rebels, hears a call from beyond the planet and makes a choice that will forever change her world. The author of Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams concludes her trilogy set in the far future with a tale of redemption and bravery that belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Mahala Liangharad is a native Venusian (or Cytherian), raised by her grandmother, the stern Risa of Venus of Shadows (1988), a sequel to Venus of Dreams (1986). She is the test-tube daughter of dead Cytherian rebels who are either disgraced or heroic, depending on whether one is an Earthling, a Cytherian, or one of the evolved, not quite human inhabitants of asteroids known as Habbers. A tentative, troubled child, Mahala grows discontented with the sameness of life under Cytherian domes. Earth's Venus Project has stagnated while Earth has rebuilt from its Resource Wars, and the Habitats have become estranged. As an adult, Mahala, now a physician but still undemonstrative, visits Earth for a conference to bring all of far-flung humanity into concord and receives a mysterious message from across space that inspires her to leave her home forever. That story sounds intriguing, but this one, while thoughtful, is pretty slow. Admirers of Sargent's previous epics will probably want it, though. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Pamela Sargent,"One of genre's best writers."


"One of the peaks of recent science fiction."

Book Description
The Project -- the terraforming of Venus -- was begun centuries ago. And generations more will come and go before the planet's surface has been rendered fully habitable and its human settlers, the Cytherians, can finally leave their protective domes. There are those, however, whose patience has grown dangerously thin -- malcontents unwilling to resign themselves to never enjoying the fruits of freedom promised to their descendents.Devastation and horror recently paralyzed this world in transition, as two religious cult leaders brought a plague of civil war to Venus, and were ultimately destroyed by their own treachery and despair. Out of the chaos and conflict came Mahala Lianghard -- a true child of Venus conceived from the rebels' genetic material and artfully gestated after their deaths. Some believe Mahala should never have been born; others see her as the glorious light that arose out of a dark time. Mahala herself is conflicted, as she struggles to come to terms with her painful birthright and her immutable future: a lifetime of unquestioning service to the Project.Young Mahala fears her obligations to the expectations of others will leave her no room to pursue her own destiny, whatever it may be. But things are changing in the universe around her -- and not all for the good. The already fragile alliance between Earth and Venus shows signs of shattering, as the Cytherians seek a greater independence from the stifling dominance of the home planet. And rumors of a hidden agenda among the "Habbers" -- the cybernetically enhanced dwellers of the mobile asteroid "Habitats" -- threaten to bring about a rebirth of the bloody turmoil that once nearly doomed a world. With catastrophe looming, it is Mahala who must take the steps to ensure that there is a future for her flawed, star-traveling kind -- as a mysterious call from deep space pulls her toward the fulfillment of her most cherished dreams . . . even as it tears her brutally away from everything she has ever known and loved. The long-awaited conclusion to Pamela Sargent's remarkable epic trilogy of the colonization of Venus is a stunning feat of inventive storytelling and flawless world-building from a widely respected name in the field of speculative fiction. It is a masterful achievement, combining heartrending humanism with breathtaking wonder.

About the Author
Pamela Sargent is the author of several highly praised novels. Gregory Benford described her novel Venus of Dreams (1986) as "A new high point in humanistic science fiction." Venus of Shadows (1988), the sequel, was called "alive with humanity, moving, and memorable," by Locus. The Shore of Women (1986), one of Sargent's best-known books, was praised as "a compelling and emotionally involving novel" by Publishers Weekly. The Washington Post Book World has called her "one of the genre's best writers."Sargent is also the author of Earthseed (1983), chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and two collections of short fiction, Starshadows (1977) and The Best of Pamela Sargent (1987). She has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award. Ruler of the Sky (1993), Sargent's epic historical novel about Genghis Khan, tells the Mongol conqueror's story largely from the points-of-view of women.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Though the terraforming of Venus began centuries ago, the planet is still not habitable. After generations of hard work, a growing enclave of malcontents are becoming dangerously impatient, threatening the planet's peace. Devastation paralyzed this world before—a conflict that produced Mahala Liangharad, a true child of Venus conceived from the rebels' genetic material.

As the fragile alliance between Earth and Venus treatens to shatter, rumors of turmoil among the planet's inhabitants abound. With catastrophe looming, Mahala must choose her destiny. A mysterious call from deep space is pulling her toward the fulfillment of her most cherished dreams...even as it tears her away from everything she has ever known. Child of Venus is a stunning feat of storytelling, an epic tale in the tradition of Kim Stanley Robinson's bestselling Mars series.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Nebula and Locus award-winner Sargent's latest novel completes her masterful SF trilogy (Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams) about terraforming the planet Venus. Thanks to the advanced technology of the Habbers (humans who long ago left Earth to carve out habitats inside asteroids), colonists live and work in reasonable comfort within domed settlements on Venus's surface while progress continues on making the planet's atmosphere breathable advances that irritate to no end the jealous Earth-based Islamic power base of Mukhtars. Through the eyes of young Mahala Liangharad, Sargent gives readers an intimate view of life as a colonist, caught between two rival powers limited by the Mukhtars to those jobs deemed necessary to the colony's growth, while the mysterious Habbers seem to offer something more. Then Habber electronics pick up a radio signal from an alien intelligence 600 light-years away, and shifting priorities threaten the delicate balance of power between Earth and space, as well as the completion of the terraforming itself. As in previous books, Sargent brings her world to life with sympathetic characters and crisp, concise language. The only weak moment is the novel's last section, told a little too swiftly, which folds the story back on itself to confront a millennium of sweeping changes in humanity and its place in the universe. (May 1) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

Raised by her grandmother beneath Venus's protected domes during the terraforming of the planet, Mahala becomes a physician and council member. When a message is received from interstellar space, Mahala volunteers to become one of the spacefarers sent to search for life beyond their solar system. The journey will take six hundred years. Leaving behind most of her family and friends, she boards the Seeker, where except for the first and last five years of the journey, she will spend the trip in suspended animation. The ship's eventual arrival at the source of the message finds no intelligent life of any kind. The trip has been futile. Traveling back to Venus, they arrive twelve hundred years after their departure, only to discover a deserted planet. The spacefarers begin to resettle Venus as did their ancestors. The cover art is attractive and intriguing, but the plot has little action. Although half the book deals with Mahala's early life and schooling, the friends she makes, and her family members, her relationships seem restrained and distant. The last fifty pages concerning the journey are told from the point of view of the cybermind by which all travelers are linked, making the narrative surreal and detached. Following previous out-of-print volumes in the trilogy, Venus of Dreams and Venus of Shadows (Doubleday, 1988/VOYA June 1989), this book can stand alone, but it will be slow going for many teens. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P J S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2001, EOS/HarperCollins, 448p, $25. Ages 12 to Adult. Reviewer: Nancy K. Wallace

Library Journal

Despite efforts to terraform Venus, the planet remains hostile to human habitation except for the domes under which colonists live tentative lives in the shadow of Earth's domination. As she grows up, Mahala Liangharad, the artificially conceived daughter of former rebels, hears a call from beyond the planet and makes a choice that will forever change her world. The author of Venus of Shadows and Venus of Dreams concludes her trilogy set in the far future with a tale of redemption and bravery that belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Belatedly wrapping up the trilogy (Venus of Shadows, 1988, etc.) about the terraforming of Venus, with some of the previous characters making minor reappearances. After the disastrous Resource Wars, Earth is ruled by the Mukhtars; Habbers with their advanced technology occupy numerous space habitats; the Mukhtars, aided by the Habbers, have embarked on an ambitious project to render Venus habitable, increasing the planet's rotation, decreasing insulation, reducing the crushing, suffocating atmospheric pressure, and bringing in hydrogen to make water-though Sargent's scientific details make little sense. Mahala Liangharad's parents, involved in unpleasant goings-on, died before she was conceived, artificially gestated, and raised by her grandmother Risa. A promising student, Mahala attends advanced schools on a flying island. Too soon, though, all the students are sent home and the advanced schools are closed; amid big confabs between Habbers and Mukhtars, it emerges that the Habbers have detected an alien beacon more than 500 light-years distant. They're organizing an expedition to send a habitat off at near light-speed to investigate. If Mahala signs up, she's aware that if and when she returns, everybody she knows will be more than a thousand years dead. Like the previous installments, if anybody remembers that far back: all talk, no passion, with an anonymous planetscape and characters largely free of personality.