About The Pheeworker’s Oath:
Humans don’t belong on this world. The refugees who crash-landed on the Atipok homeworld can’t see or touch phee, the elemental power which flows through rock and stone like living rivers of light. From the moment of his hatching, healer Takey has manipulated phee to heal, bending strands to his will to mend muscle and bone for both human and Atipok alike.
But when the Atipok queen is murdered and her death blamed on an orphaned human child capable of pheework, the first of her kind, a rift is torn between the two races that could spell the end of humanity. Anti-human factions seize power and the Atipok army is on the march. Can Takey survive long enough to unravel the strands of conspiracy, protect the child, and broker a peace to avoid genocide without betraying his own people or himself?
I looked the girl over, then
shook my head. “Setting aside the very real chance of death by dehydration,
she’s more than just physically trapped. She’s trapped within her own mind.
Unless her parents were secretly pheeworkers, which I doubt, then she’s had no
training. She needs a guide to coax her out of her own head or she might
destroy herself.” Small bumps arose on the girl’s naked skin. I pulled a
blanket from the nearby debris and draped it over her. The poor thing was just
a nestling. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her, which might explain why I
didn’t take the time to consider the implication of my next words. “There is
another option. I can take her to Salitat and get her the help she needs.”
Hassan’s thick eyebrows arched
skyward. “I didn’t think humans were allowed in Salitat.”
“They’re not,” I conceded,
equally surprised by my offer. “It will be a risk.” That was an understatement.
Anti-human sentiment had been increasing. To bring a human to Atalan could
easily be construed as treason. I would be putting us both in danger. “But I
don’t think she has any other options.”
Hassan sighed, massaging his
temples with one large, calloused hand. “Very well, I’ll pull together a few
men and we’ll—”
I help up a hand. “No one else.
Only the girl.”
“But I can’t let her go alone,”
Hassan protested.
“She won’t be alone.”
“You know what I mean. I can’t
just let you take her.”
“Then she will stay, and she will
die.” I didn’t like being so blunt with Hassan. He was a caring man and a good
leader, but the situation was grim. I shouldn’t have made the offer in the
first place and there were no other options.
I could see conflict play on the
human’s features. He looked around, like he was searching for another way.
“Crap,” he said finally. “Gimme a minute.” He stomped off in the direction of
his people.
I watched him, mulling over
another consideration I hadn’t shared. In the thirteen solars since their crash
landing, other than some initial hostilities and the Battle of the Red Plain,
humans and Atipok had managed a tenuous peace. We mostly kept to our own, them
in their adobe villages, us in our stone cities. But there were a few
individuals, such as myself, who worked to bridge the gap. I felt it was my
duty as a healer to help them. I’d taken an oath to do so. And over time I’d
developed a certain respect, even a fondness for their ways. But my time with
them had also revealed their tendency toward violence. They loved their
weapons. I rarely saw an adult human who wasn’t carrying a plasma pistol or
rifle. Even now, Hassan carried one of each, a pistol on his hip and a rifle
across his back. Such things were unknown to us before their arrival and while
they were no match for skilled pheework, humans still managed to kill each
other on a regular basis. I sometimes wondered how readily they would abandon their
makeshift towns in favor of our great stone cities if not held at bay by their
fear of phee. If this girl represented a new trend, if humans gained the
ability to pheework, it would completely change the balance of power between
our species.
I had to present this girl to the
queen.
Hassan returned looking no less
frustrated. “I asked around and nobody seems to know if she has any other
family. Her group’s been on their own for the last couple years, really
sticking to themselves. She’s all alone now.” He looked down at the girl. “My
guys think I should decide but…”
“You think it should go before
the council,” I finished for him.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Genres:
https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2024/03/book-tour-schedule-for-pheeworkers-oath.html
From Aimee Ogden, Nebula Finalist:
A compellingly alien protagonist, who also has the deeply-held and familiar belief that a better world is possible.
In THE PHEEWORKER'S OATH, neither compassion nor cruelty are traits limited to humankind. There are no easy answers to the complexities of human refugees building a new home for themselves on a different world--but it is easy to care about the compellingly alien Takey, and about his deeply-held and familiar belief that a better world is possible.
From Rachael Jones, WFA Finalist &
Tiptree Award honoree:
The Pheeworker's Oath is a timely science
fiction tale about a stranded human colony dependent upon the Atipok, aliens
with near-mystical abilities that allow them to control their environment and
their very bodies. It is a fascinating examination of how manipulative leaders
harness fear of the other to gain power, and how the only way to break that
power is to find kinship with the very beings you've been told to fear. This
adventure story showcases timeless themes and intriguing worldbuilding. Come for
the cool alien powers, stay for the lizardlike Atipok--but don't you dare call
them Lizards!
MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING:
Paperback:
Ebook:
AMAZON:
Adam Gaylord (he/him) lives in Colorado with a
wife that is smarter than him, their two monster children, and a very handsome
dog. When not at work as an ecologist, he’s usually writing, baking, drawing
comics, or some combination thereof. Look him up on GoodReads or find him on
Twitter/BlueSky @AuthorGaylord.
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