GRAVITY DREAMS by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Tyndel's life is straightforward and remarkably pleasant. As a Dzin master, he teaches the young to accept reality and to fear the demons who cannot accept man's limits. When Tyndel is infected with nanites (subcellular machines that bond to the body), he becomes a demon himself and must flee from everything he taught, believed, and loved.

Like many of Modesitt's characters (see BooksForABuck.com reviews of all novels by this author), Tyndel initially refuses to accept the changes that surround him and the path his demon-friends lay out for him. His Dzin training prepares him to become one of the rare and precious Needle Pilots, the men and women who take ships to the stars, but Tyndel denies the challenge. Through a process of personal growth, Tyndel learns to accept what he has become. He finally enters into pilot training only to discover that the greatest struggle lies ahead.

Pilots and ships have been vanishing. A god-like power appears connected, and Tyndel must face this power if his newly adopted people are to be allowed to continue to pursue their dreams.

In GRAVITY DREAMS, Modesitt has written a compelling novel of a future where multiple cultures pursue distinctly different dreams and where the protagonist is torn between the dreams of his original people, the dreams of the so-called demons he becomes, and the dreams of the god-like power of space. As with many of Modesitt's books (a classic is THE MAGIC OF RECLUSE), the story centers around character forced to confront who they truly are, rather than simply around space adventure.

Three Stars

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