UNTIL THE CELEBRATION

This third volume in Snyder's admirable Green-sky trilogy continues to mirror contemporary issues in a soundly realized future world. By now Green-sky's priestly Ol-zhaan class has been stripped of its mystique, its gentle Kindar population and those banished Erdlings long imprisoned below the root have been reunited, and all of Green-sky is preparing for the ceremonial celebration of the Rejoining. But suspicions and resentments remain general and there are practical problems in integrating the rougher, money-using, meat-eating Erdlings into the Kindar society and child gardens. More seriously, both the treacherous Ol-zhaan D'ol Regle and the vengeful power-hungry Erdling Axon Befal are plotting separate takeovers. And the trilogy's hero Raamo D'ok, novice Ol-zhaan and now a leading Rejoiner, fears the people's tendency to worship the two children (one from each culture) who inspired the Rejoining by demonstrating their command of ancient powers. But the two little girls essentially effect their own demytholigization by behaving like normal children, and in the end the hope rests as it must with all the children. This is intellectual fantasy in that the ideas are in complete control, but throughout the trilogy they always come embodied in well-paced action. And if personalities fail to materialize (though Raamo himself is sacrificed near the end you won't really grieve, having identified chiefly with his views), character is consistently strong and shaded.