Typhon's Children

The story is about the world of Typhon, and the people from another world that try to colonize it. When I volcanoe destroys almost all of their supplies, and genetic mutations effect all children born on the planet, the colony seems doomed. Per, a marine biologist, and Dilani a deaf and defiant girl make contact with a strange native of the planet, things get interesting. They may be the only ones to save the colony!

I really enjoyed most of the book, but the ending left much to be desired. The whole part about being out in sea, the Changing Ones, and godbits I really didn't like. The ending, in my opinion, was bad but hopefully there will be a sequel.


Splendid reading   November 4, 2000
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Suprisingly, the book seemed a bit thin, not filled in sufficiently perhaps. Was this because there was lots of action, or many plot twists to be told?

No.

It seems so thin because the book is a very deep, insightful look at some of the fundamental issues of life. Certainly, science is science, and there is much to explore. When, though, there is a world to explore by oneself, when science makes anything that is interesting to have, what is it that is worth having?

Original thought of course.

The culture of the survivors is interesting, and while it could be an easy throwaway, it is instead illuminating of values, and how they are shaped by the environment.

Biology runs amuck, but when all is said and done, it is randomness that sets some above the other. Not randomness in the sense of sloppy thought, but luck. Perversity if you will.

That is the true gift of life, where some rise above, and others remain mired on the bottom.

And this small homily is illustrated in a story where there is action enough, and alien (human and otherwise) races and alien thoughts (ditto). Not to mention an interesting world, and the story of the struggle to survive in it.

Read this book.


Currents of Water and Ideas   October 12, 2000
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

What a great book!

It's not very often you get a science fiction story based on biology and genetics, and when you do, it's not often done well. But not only does Anzetti really seem to know her science, she has a great hand with characters and plotting. And the water world Typhon seems very real. You can almost smell the ocean, and feel the currents on your body.

There are currents on land, too, as the remnants of the colonists struggle with the decisions they have to face about survival and the fate of their children. The children are also interesting characters, each of them a real person, and more than the handicap or deformity Typhon has cursed them with.

The deaf girl Delani was the person I most identified with. Her handicap made her frustrated, but she kept on pushing through, and not always in a nice way! I know I've felt trapped like her sometimes in my life, and you just have to do whatever you have to, to make things right. She was very realistic, and admirable.

Per, the scientist, was good, too, strong and complicated. There's a mystery behind him, and I hope we learn more about him in future books. It's clear that Anzetti is planning a sequel, and I look forward to it.

I won't give the ending away, but I thought that the second half of the book, with the solution to Typhon's problem was exciting and intelligent. It was one of those stories where the ideas just keep getting bigger and bigger.

I would recommend this book to anyone!


Loved the first half, hated the second   May 10, 2000
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

I would give the first half of this book 5 stars and the last half only 2 stars. I loved the characters and the events that led them to the planet. Their predicament was extremely intriguing! But their underwater exploration and discovery of the "godbits" bogged down the whole narrative. It read like a "psychedellic trip" gone bad.


A Good Beginning   April 29, 2000
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I read Typhon's Children at the encouragement of my SF book club, but certainly without regret. The story of genetic change on a strange (and unhospitable) world is both interesting and thought provoking.

The story centers on a deaf girl (Dilani) who lost her parents on the oceanic world of Typhon. A volcano unexpectedly became active and destroyed the one existing island where the colony had settled. Life even before the "big disaster" was less than idyllic. Something, either on Typhon or within the colonists, is causing each of the new generation to be born with mutations. Some are slight (Dilani's deafness and webbed toes), while others are nearly monsterous.

The bulk of the book is a combination quest story combined with a different twist on the "first contact" theme. I enjoyed Anzetti's descriptive underwater passages, although some of the varied names of animal life became confusing.

This book ended too slowly, but still left plenty of possibility for a sequel. Plenty of good issues to provoke discussion. It was a great selection for our book club.