Every year the Shumai witness a spike appearing out of the ground and it has become a ritual to go watch. Stel accompanies them this time and is convinced it is something mechanical. It is. Inside there are people who have lived there since the Great Fire. They raise the spike to see if the radiation has abated. What they don't know is that the spike itself is so heavily irradiated that it is useless. They are in an edge area that is still mildly dangerous, though. They have evolved a very small creepy society, very sciency, genetically engineered, but just as the dome itself is on a cliff that is eroding, their culture, too, is compromised.
And, of course, Stel ends up smack dab in the middle of it all. Some great new characters though and another good story. I love how Williams thinks up these cultures then gives them a big problem, juxtaposes them with the Pelbar culture, which, although it has many flaws, seems to have a believable (enough) resilience and flexibility to take on and solve the problem. **** ( )

Stel and Jestak both appear in this one, but it is largely the story of Tor of the Shumai. It is nine years after events of the second novel, and a mysterious pillar is investigated that rises from the earth twice annually which is (correctly) attributed to the ancients and their technology. This leads to the introduction of the strangest society yet to rise from the ashes, and another level of stress upon Pelbar still wedded to their traditional ways. The Shumai and Sentani are changing as well, and I'm noting this is handled with sensitivity given the parallels to actual history.

Initially I wasn't happy with the direction this story was taking, worried it would mess with the series' atmosphere, but as events transpired they served to demonstrate that atmosphere's superiority. The author enjoys this world he's created as much as I enjoy reading about it, and I guess neither one of us wanted to seriously upset the apple cart. It has the strongest plot so far, much less centered on travelogue this time and with even more insight into the ways that Urstadge has evolved, proving a couple of my pet theories to be correct. It was also the most affecting of the first three books, more than I anticipated. ( )

This the third title in the Pelbar cycle continuing the growth of a nation out of the ashes of a devastating world war known as the time of fire. The Pelbar cities are struggling with the changing of the world and its affect on their way of living. Now they will face the toughest upheaval yet, the emergence of a people isolated within a radiation zone. A people carrying knowledge and technology reaching back to the time of fire. Reintegration is not easy. I have to say that I am hooked by this series and its exploration of change and acceptance in growing societies. There are some interesting insights the author mentions that align with the views I have adopted over the years pertaining to the future of the USA from back in 1981. ( )

The 3rd book in the Pelbar cycle. Just when things start to settle down, people and technology from the past start to interfere with the new order of things in Pelbar, and once again, Stel bears the brunt of it - as well as having to fix it, as usual. ( )

F/SF