The Ghost Sister, by Liz Williams

[agoodwinsmith]

I liked it.  I recommend it.

It is the far future.  It is set in a world (not just the particular planet of the plot) that is a cross between an Andre Norton landscape and Ammonite.  It pandered to my prejudices that people are people no matter what their faith by having a Dianic Pagan dominant institutional religion where some of the adherents are as pig-headed and prosetilyzing and condescendingly arrogant as those of any other religion that becomes powerful enough to enforce compliance.  It explored the idea of "one with nature" in a very interesting way.

I think her second book (which I read first), Nine Layers of Sky, is a tighter, better book, but The Ghost Sister is a helluva first novel.

There are some hmmmm moments at the end of the book (noted below), but they are not enough to spoil the work.  I've tried to note them in a generalized way, but I still think they will spoil the book for you.  Read the book first.

SPOILERS - two logical inconsistencies:

(1) the ruins on the moon are mentioned very late in the book, and (2) if the second air car can be controlled automatically from the base camp once - why not twice?