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Loading... Water Witch (edition 1984)by Connie Willis
Work InformationWater Witch by Connie Willis
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Willis, Connie, and Cynthia Felice. Water Witch. Ace, 1996. Connie Willis is always a class act who finds new ways to treat traditional genre material. Water Witch would seem at first to be pure fantasy, but we gradually realize that all the seemingly paranormal elements are really bits of far future tech. A father-daughter team is running a game on the Tycoon (it seems to be an official title) in a desert city. The daughter pretends to be a princess with a paranormal gift of water divination. But then the game goes sour, and the plot thickens in unexpected ways. Characters are surprisingly nuanced, and the story has several satisfying twists. Fun. This book, co-written by Cynthia Felice, was Connie Willis' first published novel. (1982). Unfortunately, although this book is a perfectly acceptable sci-fantasy adventure, it does not show any of the witty, original aspects that have subsequently catapulted Willis to the forefront of her field. The cover blurb is by Andre Norton, and it reads very much like it was strongly influenced by Norton. On a desert planet, controlling the underground water supply is of primary importance. Unfortunately, infighting has decimated the nobility, and the final surviving princess has none of the hereditary water-witch mental powers needed - instead she relies on computers - and seems to be making shady deals with off-worlders for weapons and more. Her trusting fiance tries to do damage control on the situation - but a flyer accident strands him in the desert - where he meets another victim of recent disaster - Deza, a young woman whose life has been that of a con-artist, pretending to be a water-witch herself, along with her father. Now, her father has been killed, and her father's spirit seems to be able to telepathically communicate with her through an animal known as a mbuzi - the bones of which have long been associated with both the water-witch powers and other legends - and which now seem like they may become a hot commodity off-world... The complexity of the situation here deserves more than a 200-odd page book, and although the book is entertaining, it doesn't achieve greatness. no reviews | add a review
A space adventure involving a young girl's misadventures. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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BTW, I liked this book about 100 times more than Light Raid by the same authors, and yet I give them both four stars. Go figure. ( )