"A Wonderful Futuristic Tale"

Since the peace between the natives of planet Denahault and the star-people occurred, Noisy Girl accompanied by her mother Walks Crooked travels to meet people like herself.  Apparently, Noisy Girl is different from her tribe of cave dwellers as she looks and talks like those pale skin, almost fur-less people who live in constructed houses. At about the same time, Commander Jeff Anderson arrives on planet for his marriage with Trieka Cavendish.  However, she fails to greet her fiancé because she is busy as a proficient translator of the sign language of the indigenous population communicating with Nosy Girl and Walks Crooked.  To his surprise, Jeff, whose marital plans fit his career goals, finds himself very attracted to Noisy Girl almost from the moment he meets her.  As Jeff begins to fall in love with Lark, the name Noisy Girl chooses as her identity, he must decide between his career and helping his beloved with learning how she came to live with the white-furred tribe.

EARTHCHILD is an entertaining science fiction romance that centers on an individual struggling to learn a so-called more advanced culture than that she was raised in.  The plot succeeds because the story line is filled with tidbits that focus on Noisy Girl and to a lesser degree her beloved adopted mother amazement, awe, and anxiety.  Jeff's dilemma between love and ambition fits quite nicely with Lark's personal strife of where she belongs.  The support cast provides the depth to a wonderful futuristic tale that will not only make believers out of readers, but will send the audience seeking other works by talented Katriena Knights.

Harriet Klausner / December, 2000
Copyright © 2000 for PNR Reviews

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted April 21, 2002