Review: Mother of Demons, by Eric Flint

[othercat]

Mother of Demons is one of my favorite books. The novel is a “braided timeline” style novel that tells the stories of a disparate group of people--human and alien--who become allies in a conflict with an enemy tribe. One timeline follows Nukurren, a mercenary currently serving as the body guard to a slave merchant. (This being the only job she can get since she is a “pervert.”) One timeline follows the leader and followers of a religion that is currently being persecuted by the main religious institution of a city-state. Another timeline follows a young infanta of a barbarian tribe about to go into battle for the first time and who is desperate to save her tribe from an invading tribe of cannibals. Yet another timeline follows a struggling human colony that has been adopted by a dwindling and nearly extinct species related to the dominant intelligent species.

Braided timeline novels can be a little tricky to read since the timeline within each point of view tends not to be entirely concurrent. Though there are many characters in this story and a lot of interaction between these characters, the pivotal characters are Nukerren and Indira, one of the human colonists; Nukerren because she has the skills that the young human colonists need in order to fight, and Indira for the knowledge of history that she possesses. (In fact, much of the resolution of the novel depends on Indira and Nukerren making the correct choices.)

Mother of Demons