Strings

Alya has an almost magical talent. Her hunches are never wrong. The scientists of planet 4 I want to use her talent and promise her a spot on the next off-world colonization team in return for her assessment of the potential of the latest worlds they have discovered. But Alya meets Cedric, the grandson of the brilliant and tyrannical director of 4 I, and she begins to doubt her own intuition. Cedric has dreamed of becoming a scout and exploring new worlds, and when he meets Alya, he is more determined than ever to leave 4 I with her. His grandmother needs him on 4 I, though, because she has schemes afoot to protect her planet and to cover up a murder, and she does not intend to let him go. However, she has underestimated her grandson-and the young woman whose intuition is strong and whose destiny is linked to Cedric's. Dave Duncan, born in Scotland in 1933, is a Canadian citizen. He received his diploma from Dundee High School and got his college education at the University of Saint Andrews. He moved to Canada in 1955, where he still lives with his wife. He has three grown children and four grandchildren. He spent thirty years as a petroleum geologist. He has had dozens of fantasy and science fiction novels published, among themA Rose-Red City, Magic Casement, andThe Reaver Road, as well as a highly praised historical novel, Daughter of Troy, published, for commercial reasons, under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin. He also published the Longdirk series of novels, Demon Sword, Demon Knight, andDemon Rider, under the name Ken Hood. In the fall of 2007, Duncan's 2006 novel, Children of Chaos, published by Tor Books, was nominated for both the Prix Aurora Award and the Endeavour Award. In May 2013, Duncan, a 1989 founding member of SFCanada, was honored by election as a lifetime member by his fellow writers, editors, and academics. His website is www.daveduncan.com."