This is pretty terrible; it reads more the outline of a novel than a novel itself. Everything is summarized and nothing is demonstrated.

It has the common sf error of treating evolution as teleological, but while its evolutionary theory is nonsensical science, I can't help reading it as a trope for gender. The textual treatment of gender is very flawed -- sort of an easy 60s feminism, I guess, women on a more egalitarian level in society, in the background, but marginalized by the narrative -- but I can't help reading the relationship between Simes and Gens in gendered terms. Simes are perfectly normal people who just don't consider Gen humans and can turn on them and destroy them at any time (depend upon them for sustenance), and yet Gens live with them and support them and care for them -- it's a really horrible take on misogyny as a social institution. But the gendering is mixed, androgynous -- Simes are much stronger than Gens -- but Gens are bigger and more muscular. Simes' moods and logic are profoundly affected by the monthly Need cycle (the resemblance to menstruation/PMS is actually spelled out by one exchange in First Channel). The books read an unconscious attempt to re-define some despised stereotypes of femininity as simply human -- by projecting them onto male POV characters and by treating them as gender-neutral in the world-building (again, the narrative and the background world-building frequently impose contradictory results).

Very much of the Id Vortex, I think. science-fiction2 s Jeri533 1 follower

2.5 interesting fill-in-the-blanks look at the history of the Sime-Gen universe, but skims over the more interesting (to me) character development2 s Pat76 4

A convoluted mess of a book, with too many characters - most of them arguing unproductively at each other - a plot with little apparent surface tension, focus or logical progression, no identifiable theme, no continuation of the original series premise, and as a final fatal flaw, a conclusion for the main characters that happens off stage, told rather than shown.

It seems the author took too much to heart certain criticisms of her main character type, the Farris channels, as being arrogant. So in this book, Rimon, the "Farris Channel" and main character, the founder of the House of Zeor, is woefully out of character for a Farris. He swallows his conclusions, holds back his decisions, and often lets the mob of characters overwhelm him. He constantly worries about how others regard Farris decisions to the point where he seems weak and ineffectual. Rimon thus ends up no leader, from the very first scene of the book when a mob boils into his office and he lets them overrule his decision. He had nothing of the charisma and natural leadership purported to the Farris Channels in the original novel House of Zeor. As a main character, he profoundly disappoints. And even worse, he knows it.

Since Rimon can't be a leader of action or plot, hosts of other characters step in. Most of them bicker incoherently - and interminably - at each other. The combination of noise, hysteria, and indecision reaches a near farcical level from the novel's very first scene. It makes me roll my eyes and bail. Sadly typical of how Mary Sue characters or influences universally destroy a franchise - even in absentia. I'd rather have a leader lead. Others can choose to follow or break off and form their own group. But to me the emasculation of the main series Farris characterization, an original cornerstone of the series, has been a disappointing and damaging development. To my view, it affected both popularity and salability of the series and readability of this book.

In place of decision making, sacrifice and determination, the author has inserted magic, magical gypsy characters who step in to resolve the action, and magical artifacts that affect the characters and the outcome. I don't care for it. Nor was it part of the original premise. As an add on to the series, it doesn't work. You can have character effort and determination resolve a plot, and their virtue and leadership be the "hero" - as was the original premise of the series, or you can have the resolution be a side effect of magic. If the main character is weak and magic he had no awareness of is a major factor in the resolution, then magic is the hero rather than the character. The character, weak as Rimon was, becomes even more ineffectual.

Other reviewers have complained at the lack of any connection or relationship between characters with which a reader could identify. Especially from an author who had tried to rebrand the long established genre of character driven plots or "buddy stories" with her own "intimate adventure" phrase - a label that never took off given character driven stories have been around for centuries. But in "The Farris Channel" I also didn't sense any real connection between characters, except on a superficial level, nor did I identify with any of them. Even Bruce, the Companion to the main character and Channel Rimon -- two characters that should have had a close relationship - was continually described as being part of the furniture, fading into the wall. What relationship was purported between them, again, was told and not shown. Character development and intimacy was so lacking here that the author chose to close these two main characters' resolution off stage and tell about it from another character, rather than write the ending scenes. To have the end of the book related by a 'Mr. Exposition' is a major flaw. This lack of relationship between Channel and Companion again is a profound switch from her first novel. I've never felt that Lichtenberg had much of an affinity for female characters, but she used to be able to write buddy relationships well - and certainly there were buddy relationships between Channel and Companion in the first two published novels in the series and their conflicts and resolutions dovetailed with the action plots. So, given that was a main selling point of the first books of the series, why leave it out of this book?

"The Farris Channel", the denouement of the House of Zeor, has little in common with the original premise in the first series book "House of Zeor. A change from what makes a Farris Channel -- charisma, leadership and determination -- to emasculation, a switch from hard work, sacrifice and determination to magic, a loss of strongly focused character development and character driven plots to a huge cast of largely one dimensional characters that have relationships told and not shown - and an ending that happens off stage rather than a simultaneous and ostensibly positive resolution of character and action plots.

This is a novel that was supposed to come out in the late 90s. Given all that time - and most writers do write, polish, revise and edit -- writers write, they can't help it -- it is hard to understand why the apparent denouement of the House of Zeor if not the series - is so poorly written, why the ending is told and not shown, why the plot was never tightened, with extraneous characters cut and scenes sharpened, and why character development, intimacy or a character aspect was never added to the ostensible action plot, given such relationships were one of the original series' draws. Who story edited this? I looked for an editor acknowledgement and did not find one. Whomever did edit it, did the author and her consumers no service.

Consumers see a lot of poor writing due to authors slogging out a novel a year on contract, pushing a slopped together book on deadline - that's the nature of modern publishing today. And story editing has become almost a lost art. But with a novel that's been in progress for twenty years, lack of time obviously wasn't an issue. So my question is not what makes this novel disappoint and not deliver on the original series premise - that part seems obvious - but why was it left this way? Nana Kitteh147 1 follower

The third book chronologically in the Farris Channel part of the Sime/Gen story, and the 12th book published. The book while giving you your Sime/Gen fix is pretty awful. It is half metaphysical mumbo jumbo (really bad), half governing battles (which is the good part) and a stupid reason for the Zeor name and motto origin. On top of that, the writing is mediocre at best.kindle1 Serene68 3

This was an interesting story, about the life of Delri, and elderly channel who works at Fort Rimon, a place where Simes and Gens can go to live together in peace. He is joined by Solamar a talented foreign Sime with channeling gifts and a few obscure hidden skills. The drama centers around a group of Freeband raiders who capture a channel, and some internal fort politics, and whether to help a young sime dis-junct.

While I d Farris Channel I didn't love it. At times I felt the story read a bit too much a history text, and I didn't care for Solamar. Solamar kept too many secrets for my taste, and I didn't much care for his romance which seemed bit predictable and cliche. I did however Delri and Bruce, especially Bruce who was just really sweet.

I didn't the end at all. Too many deaths, and Bruce died off screen! bah! IT made me sad. There were just too many deaths overall for me. And worse still, I had to hear about the major characters from Solamar's dad. .Bah. I would've at least d to have seen Delri/Bruce etc's final moments.

While I enjoyed this one, I didn't the ending.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review LesleyAuthor 12 books31 Read

One for the completist Ken88 Read

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