From Publishers Weekly
In her first novel, which begins a series set among the Unified Worlds, Thornley melds diplomatic intrigue, anthropological speculation and military derring-do into an effective yarn. Pursued by political enemies and alien slavers, a mother and her son, Tristan, escape to the planet Ganwold, where the boy is raised among the humanoid natives. Later, when Tristan, now a young man, seeks help for his ailing mother, his quest leads him into the complexities of interplanetary politics and to the realization of his paternal heritage as a soldier and pilot. Thornley's elaborate plot is bolstered by vivid descriptions of unusually compelling characters?though a few succumb to generic stereotypes. And while the military episodes often prove exciting, it is with the quieter, more textured presentation of Ganwold culture that Thornley excels. She presents a richly imagined world that is truly alien while at the same time still understandable. (Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In a galaxy wracked by war between the ruling Dominion and the rebel forces of the United Worlds, Tristan Serege, son of a rebel hero, becomes a bargaining chip in a deadly battle of wills and opposing armies. Thornley's first novel begins a military sf series set in a far-future universe of alien slavers, crafty politicians, and bold fighting men and women. Although emphasis falls more heavily on plot than characterization, the author's skill in bringing space combat to life provides strong focus for this well-written, though predictable, space adventure.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Thornley's highly respectable debut inaugurates yet another saga laid in a future universe, the Unified Worlds. Darcie Dartmuth and her child Tristan flee from a dictatorship and survive among aliens. As a young man, Tristan is kidnapped by the dictatorship and must spend the rest of the yarn simultaneously flying the dictatorship's fighters and trying to escape to a friendly planet. This rather standard plot, with shadings of both Kipling and George Lucas, Thornley tricks out with plenty of action, competent characterization, and wit. Moreover, he sets it in a world that has a lived-in feeling that may owe something to Thornley's own experience as an air force officer. Good, solid action sf, it is commended to any collection full of such; and keep an eye out for a minimum of two more volumes in the Unified Worlds saga. Roland Green


Review
"A bright new talent."--Roger Zelazny

"A boy raised by savages comes of age in the midst of interstellar war--fast action and characters you can care about."--David Drake

"Grips and holds from the first chapter--a good read."--C.J. Cherryh



Book Description
Tristan grew up human among aliens, now he must use his alienness to survive among humans.

ANNOTATION

The first volume in this military SF adventure epic introduces a complex future universe of humans and alien races contending for control of habitable planets. Fleeing a slave ship, Darcie Dartmuth and her son Tristan are stranded on an alien planet, where Tristan grows to manhood--and escapes the planet to seek out his father, commander of the Unified Worlds' fighting forces.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An exciting multivolume saga of worlds at war in space opens in Ganwold's Child. The story starts with a child: Tristan Serege, son of Darcie and Lujan, the heroic leader of the Spherzah, the "special forces" of the Unified Worlds. Darcie is taking Tristan to rejoin Lujan in the Enach system when the fierce masuki, nonhuman slavers, attack and capture their transport ship. Darcie escapes with Tristan in a lifepod and touches down on Ganwold, a primitive planet controlled by the Dominion, the long-time enemy of the Unified Worlds. But they have also accidentally jumped more than a year forward in time due to a malfunction in the space drive and cannot expect rescue, so Tristan must grow to young manhood in hiding among the alien ganan. Tristan is barely eighteen when Darcie contracts a lingering, life-threatening illness. To help her, he and his gan "brother," Pulou, go on a quest to seek his father, Lujan. In one of the Dominion colonies, they are captured and turned over to the Sector General, Mordan Renier, who uses Tristan as a bargaining chip in an attempt to invade Sostis, the homeworld he lost years before in the war. General Lujan must combat Renier's impending attack, realizing he could lose the family he's just learned is still alive.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In her first novel, which begins a series set among the Unified Worlds, Thornley melds diplomatic intrigue, anthropological speculation and military derring-do into an effective yarn. Pursued by political enemies and alien slavers, a mother and her son, Tristan, escape to the planet Ganwold, where the boy is raised among the humanoid natives. Later, when Tristan, now a young man, seeks help for his ailing mother, his quest leads him into the complexities of interplanetary politics and to the realization of his paternal heritage as a soldier and pilot. Thornley's elaborate plot is bolstered by vivid descriptions of unusually compelling characters-though a few succumb to generic stereotypes. And while the military episodes often prove exciting, it is with the quieter, more textured presentation of Ganwold culture that Thornley excels. She presents a richly imagined world that is truly alien while at the same time still understandable. ((May)

Library Journal

In a galaxy wracked by war between the ruling Dominion and the rebel forces of the United Worlds, Tristan Serege, son of a rebel hero, becomes a bargaining chip in a deadly battle of wills and opposing armies. Thornley's first novel begins a military sf series set in a far-future universe of alien slavers, crafty politicians, and bold fighting men and women. Although emphasis falls more heavily on plot than characterization, the author's skill in bringing space combat to life provides strong focus for this well-written, though predictable, space adventure.

BookList - Roland Green