Niall Renfro is an indentured laborer to the forrest world of Janus. This world is under the control of a religious group somewhat like the Amish who are systematically destroying the forest to create farmland. Niall uncovers a treasure that causes him to succumb to the "green sick"; a mysterious illness that results in his transformation into an Ift, The treasures are a way of an extinct race of natives to re-create their people. As well as physically transformed, Niall now has some of the memories of a long-dead warrior.

re-read 6/29/2023 ( )

Again, we visit the dipple on Korwar, that massive blight of humanity defacing the glorious planet. Naill Renfro is our protagonist in this tale. Unlike Troy, Naill's only hope of getting away from such a place is the option of shipping off planet as indentured labour, the money from this going to buy his mother a few more days of blissed out life before her demise. Destination and conditions unknown, though you were supposed to be able to buy yourself out of the contract eventually. Naill finds himself on the planet of Janus, covered with a continent wide forest with a single space port and a scattering of farmsteads hacked out of the forest and it was to one of these garths that Naill found himself sold to, with no chance to but out that contract. He was stuck there, until he died, or he caught the Green Death, thought to be synonymous with death. The Garthmen were strictly religious, well, strict in all aspects of their lives but when anyone found a hidden treasure in the forests and didn't hand it over to be destroyed they would come down with the Green Death and abandoned to die (recovery didn't seem to be an option). Naill resolved to be careful but when it happened that he found a hoard he's entranced by his find to go down with the Green Death only to find that death isn't the result. He turns into a green skinned being with the memories of Nail and Ayyar of Iftcan. Much of the rest of the book sees Naill/Ayyar trying to integrate of both sets of memories and accustom himself to the abilities of his new body. As the book continues Naill is joined by another converted human, then the couple are attacked by a power out of their ancient Iftan memories where they meet other of their kind.

Although staring out from the same starting point as 'Catseye', this book does get more mystical in places ( )

A somewhat cerebral adventure on an alien planet, where the colonists start changing, one by one, into members of an alien race, a people who were there before the human settlers. Interesting. ( )

As I read this book, I kept waiting for it to get better. It never did. Now, it was intriguing enough for me to read and finish it, but I felt the ending was incomplete and anticlimactic and I was disappointed.

Naill Renfro's mother is dying, so he sells himself into indentured servitude to buy her drugs to ease her suffering. Next thing you know, he's on a world called Janus, owned and working for a "Garthman" who is like a cross between an Amish person and an expert from the Inquisition. I mean, these people are all about sinners and they're pretty mean. Rumors abound of people finding "treasures" in the forests and fields where they work, and as it turns out, they're often cast out because they develop a "Green" sickness. Naill wonders what this is about. And then he finds some treasure. He's taken by its beauty and hides some of it while the rest is destroyed by the Garthmen. One night, he steals out to go see his bounty. Next thing you know, he's been caught and has contracted this Green sickness. Hot and fevered, he runs into the forest where, kneeling before a pool of water, he catches a reflection of himself and is shocked to see a bald, large pointy eared green man staring back at him. Yes, he has turned into "Ayyar of Iftcan." And he remembers things from the Iftcan past. In spots. The Iftcan were an ancient race that lived in the forest and is seemingly long gone. He finds a huge tree with clothing and a sword and sets out to see if he can find others like him. He soon encounters a young woman who undergoes what he did, becomes green, and accompanies him on his adventures. Blinded by light, they move under the cover of darkness, but soon get captured by a being in an old space suit (Naill recognizes it because even though he's now an alien being, he still thinks human thoughts and has his own memories. Quite convenient.) They're herded into a white forest where everything's light and there they find three others like them, all of whom underwent the same thing. They escape their white prison, find a space ship, find goggles in it that will protect them from the sunlight -- but just one pair -- and they continue to try to escape some unknown, unseen evil entity out to get them. They escape to a pool of water called The Mirror, where a huge storm blows up and apparently beats the evil entity and that's the end of the book. I know I just gave away the plot and I'm sorry, but I had to relate just how insipid it is.

This book read more like a fantasy book than sci fi, and apparently Norton wrote fantasy, so you can see how she merged the two. It's okay. I think it would be best for teens. It's not "serious" sci fi. I reminded me of the Narnia series, for some reason. I've read two of Norton's books now and I'll probably read more, but with caution. I'm not convinced she's a sci fi writer who will be high on my list. I'll stick with Philip K Dick, thank you very much. Recommended for adolescents. ( )

A bit of an unusual story, even for Norton, but it was entertaining. ( )