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To live in a world of webbed feet desert wind-wanderers, golden Kiffa-walkers, and mysterious godly creatures is a fantasy experience made reality in Troon Harrison's land of Terre. Harrison has outdone herself in this masterpiece of imagination and adventure.
We follow two very different teenagers, yet similar in that both have amazing gifts, dark secrets, and insurmountable quests necessary to save the world of Terre from the clutches of the evil queen. So much animosity and racism has been scored deep into the souls of the differing tribes of Terre, and those hurdles require much sacrifice and secrecy for the sake of success.
Ambro D’Monte is a long lost Kiffa-walker with a dangerous secret. He was raised among the seafaring hodge-podge riff-raff that found him floating in the ocean as a baby. His intelligence and skills make him a master among seafarers, but fitting in is difficult given his physical differences.
When the chance to find his long-lost family presents itself, the need to be accepted into the fold of family unity overcomes him. He harshly casts aside his natural perception of right and wrong in his deep desires to belong, to be accepted, to gain the one thing he has longed for all his life: family. Fortunately, his selfish actions lead to his ultimate hunting quest where one-sided tales are made clear, his loyalty is rightly placed, accepting himself makes him a man, and his part in saving Terre from the Evil Queen proves much to so many.
Noleena is his opposite. She is not only a Wind-wanderer but also learns that she is the princess of her people. The survival of the Wind-wanderers, the rebalancing of Terre and the quest to find the goddess Luna all rest upon her shoulders.
Time is of the essence, but she has never before left the safety of the Temple. Her self-confidence needs quick building for her to succeed in the most challenging seeking of her life. With the aid of the sand fleas and many unlooked-for alliances along the away, Noleena’s quest has great chance of success if her own fears and shortcomings don’t prevent her progress.
The originality in Harrison’s work makes for a very entertaining read, and the plot is captivating. The unusual world she has created reminds me very much of Dune’s desert setting and tribal differences, but the comparisons end there.
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The Twilight Box (Tales of Terre)