Ganwold's Child by Diann Thornley Read

http://www.amazon.com/Ganwolds-Child-Sergey-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B009SS3GM4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362928277&sr=8-3&keywords=diann+thornley+read

I knew before I started “Ganwold’s Child” by Diann Thornley Read that I would enjoy it very much. I wasn’t disappointed, although I wouldn’t want to be one of Read’s characters. Yikes! She has a gift for keeping things moving and seldom gives her characters a break. 

Darcy Dartmuth, a military officer and mother, flees capture with her toddler son from a slaver’s ship, barely able to get the two of them to safety on an alien planet. Once there, mother and son are enveloped into a hunter-gatherer tribe that has no use for modern technology. Young Tristan grows up learning to hunt and provide the ‘gan’ way with his foster brother, Pulou.

When Darcy becomes infected with a local disease that will surely kill her, Tristan is compelled to do whatever it takes to save his mother, even when that means risking his own life by going into enemy territory and trying to contact the father he hasn’t seen in 16 years. Along the way, Tristan and Pulou are introduced to technology and ideals that are foreign to them, with sometimes frightening and sometimes humorous results.

I loved the way Diann weaved themes of loyalty, honor, duty, respect for one’s elders, country, self-accountability among the fast-paced action and world of intrigue, deception, instant gratification, power, military chain-of-command, keeping intact the humanity of each character as they struggled from pressures within and without. In worlds with such advanced technology, it is easy to get lost without an internal compass. At the same time, these themes are interwoven with such complexity that the ‘right’ way is not a simple decision, and often results in great personal loss and sacrifice.

I highly recommend “Ganwold’s Child” on many levels. It is a fast-paced, sci-fi thriller with plenty of fantasy elements to entertain young and old and certainly will appeal to those with military backgrounds as well as civilians who happen to enjoy a good read with a technology bent. It will also appeal to those who enjoy futuristic stories and those who embrace the honor code of the Wild West.

I am also looking forward to Diann's latest release: RUNNING FROM THE GODS. It will be available after March 16, 2013. 

Diann Thornley Read is truly a multi-talented, multi-faceted writer who knows how to weave a great tale. Do yourself a favor and check out the Sergey Chronicles available altogether in the Kindle OMNIBUS version
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The other two books of the Sergey Chronicles are also available individually.

Check out Diann’s website at www.diannthornleyread.com, find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Diann-T-Read/291193624316145?ref=hl, follow her blog, “Hero Journeys,” at www.diannread.wordpress.com and on Twitter @DiannTRead, and find her books on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/diann.t.read Diann is also on Goodreads.

Book 2, THE ECHOES OF ISSEL is available: here

<------ Book 3: DOMINION'S REACH is available: here

About Diann T. Read and Her Books

Originally from northern Utah, Diann Thornley wrote her first story at the age of five and never stopped writing. She taught herself to type—with two fingers—on her father’s ancient manual typewriter at the age of six because it was faster than pushing a pencil. After winning a statewide writing contest, junior high division, at the age of fourteen, she began her first novel, which was based on the Arthurian legends. This endeavor filled most of her high school years and freshman year of college, until a handful of friends introduced her to science fiction by “kidnapping” her to go see an obscure little movie called Star Wars. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ganwold’s Child, first book of the The Sergey Chronicles, took seven years to complete, due to completing college and entering the U.S. Air Force. Following a year-long tour of duty in the Republic of Korea, Diann finished Ganwold’s Child while stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. Echoes of Issel and Dominion’s Reach, the second and third books in the Sergey trilogy, were also written in Ohio.

Diann transitioned into the Air Force Reserves following Desert Storm, but her military career spanned 23 years and included deployments to Bosnia and Iraq. In December 2000 she married Jon Read, NASA rocket scientist and martial artist, and moved to Texas. Diann retired from the Air Force in June 2009 to return to her writing career and spend more time with Jon.

For Parents & Teachers

Diann wasn’t blessed with kids of her own, but she and Jon have nearly 40 nieces and nephews, and she teaches kids at church. She’s also had a warm spot in her heart for the American Indians as far back as she can remember, a warmth and appreciation that was deepened by having a Navajo foster brother during several years of her youth.

Diann writes, “I look at the youth of today and I know who they are. I see their potential as children of a loving God even when they don’t, when their circumstances may give them no reason to believe in God. I see what the world is becoming and the terrible challenges these kids face, especially non-Anglo kids. Do they have any inkling of how precious they are? Far too many of them don’t. It breaks my heart to know that suicide is the second leading cause of death among American Indian kids.

“With my books I hope to reach out to kids from difficult backgrounds, kids who struggle with their self-worth—especially boys, for whom there’s very little fiction available in the young adult market, but also to girls. I want to provide kids with heroes who maintain their integrity and moral values in the face of tremendous odds, even at great risk to themselves. I want kids to see that no matter where they’ve come from, no matter how terribly they have been abused or disadvantaged, their lives have worth and purpose, and they, like Ku (who would be American Indian if he came from our world) and Derry (who has her own tragic history) can overcome and discover their divine worth and potential.

“While I especially hope to encourage, inspire, and motivate at-risk kids, I hope adult readers will find new meaning for their lives as well.”