I've always been interested in the paranormal: everything from vampires to futuristic anything. Star Wars was a big hit in my house when I was a child. The Seeding gave me a jolt like Star Wars did. A jolt of "maybe".

Hana, the Second Daughter of War, is fulfilling her duty to her society by participating in the yearly Seeding Ritual. And she is fulfilling the command of her sister, the Queen of the House of Moons, who is feuding with the Daughters of Lore. Hana was sent to participate in the Seeding as a way to placate everyone involved and to further along her race.

Hana is surrounded by the Daughters of Lore, waiting for her turn to get the seed from the kidnapped warrior. Her society is made up of women, and women only. They send their sons off the continent to be raised by someone else, while keeping their daughters for themselves. They are warriors, trained in art of protecting themselves. Part of their training is to hate men as well. But the man chained to the Seeding Platform is different from every man Hana has ever seen, and she can't stand to see him used.

Don't let the fact that this is a novella deter you; it has everything you need for a great story. Love, lust, revealing of secrets: everything is here. And it still teaches that love, whether you want it or not, comes at the oddest times and takes your personal reality for a bumpy ride.

The cure for a hard day is to lose yourself in a good book: one with characters that feel so real you think they're sitting next to you telling their story, and one with a happy ending. The Seeding certainly fits that prescription! And even if you haven't had a hard day, this is something you should read anyway!

Reviewed By Marissa
© February 2005