PRINCESS OF HORSES

Peaceful agrarian islanders defend their home with the help of an outsider in this fantasy.

On the planet Diox, Jon Sevanthian works as a security enforcer for the trading corporation IMX. His boss, Greengold, informs him that his next mission is on Plethlonney Island, a “paradise” that’s been isolated for decades by a period of war called Chaos. There, his “Prime Directive” will be to “Protect Trade.” Jon isn’t allowed to take any weapons nor is he to know anything about the secretive agrarian society ahead of time. Once on Plethlonney, Jon meets his guide, Prethlind Barleykind, who’s one of the stout Sheep People. She teaches Jon to ride a horse, the island’s primary mode of transport, and brings him to the Hollycourt Tree, a massive living structure that houses a family of sheep shearers. Elsewhere on Plethlonney, a trio of “Fighting Man-Machines” arrives from the island of Klare. They’ve been sent by those with an interest in the Sheep People’s wool trade. As Jon develops a fuller picture of Plethlonney’s society, he finds the peace on the island fragile. In the north, the Mountain People harbor deep jealousy over the success of their southern neighbors, including the Horse People. Will meeting the Sheep People’s ruler, Queen Yuten, help Jon complete his mission? In this series opener, Gill deftly offers fantasy readers a detailed look into animal husbandry against a backdrop of political intrigue. Some genre fans may get whiplash from the extensive SF worldbuilding that frames a sociological study. But the Fighting Man-Machines, which use the brains of women (who sometimes rejoin their original bodies), help keep the balance. Prompts to rethink humanity’s relationship to the natural world abound in intriguing lines like “Humans are reluctant to grant the existence of an intelligence that is not human, especially if they are not used to animals.” Readers may need patience waiting for the novel’s title character to appear. Jon’s outsider perspective encourages long explanations for his benefit, yet this approach sacrifices more intimate character work. Future volumes may allow the large cast to drive the narrative.

A thoughtful, richly detailed fantasy adventure.