This moves the story forward without hitting the "middle book of the trilogy" trap, where everything gets worse and the book isn't any fun.

Picking this up after a year, I hit a "silly words SF" speedbump until I resynced with all the people, races, and plants in this world. Czerneda is a biologist, so all the names feel justified, not just an authorial whim.

Interestingly, this really works as a prequel. The context of knowing where this story goes many generations later allows the story to expand into the future. I can feel the evolutionary past and future in the story. ( )

Finished in about 3 days and enjoyed it as much as the firs book. Love the character Development and the overall feel of the story line. Very thought out detail in their lives. Mistrust of others and the clan mentality. ( )

Some books are almost impossible to review. Riders of the Storm is one of those. While reading it (it’s book 2 of 3 in the Stratification Trilogy) I was immersed in the story but when my head popped out of the book, after the last word left my retina… I just don’t know what to think.

In the first book (Reap the Wild Wind) I felt grateful that she – Czerneda, author of these books – didn’t let her characters drown in needless romantic involvements. True, there were hints of possibilities, but nothing overt. This is also, partly, how this, the second book, starts.

Book one focuses on how change and evolution is inevitable, that not even the strictest rule/r can stop it from happen, and that knowledge – if not understanding – can be a facilitator for such change.

In this second instalment focus has shifted to look at consequences, what happens when you do things without understanding the larger context, but it’s also about taking responsibility and about society; what do a society need to sustain itself?
This is the main storyline, carried by the young woman Aryl Sarc.

The second storyline, or point of view, is that of Enris Mendolar. His use is to provide character depth and back story to some of the supporting cast, and to convey a wider, more complex, picture of the world than one person – Aryl – possibly can provide. This works well. Until the last handful of pages. I can forgive that, it’s a good read. But I think it was a bit too much, even given what happens is founded in the previous 800+ pages of the story. It’s also more romance than this books needs.

All in all a good read; I look forward to reading part three, whenever it arrives in my mailbox.
But be prepared for some truly deus ex machina moments, however consistent with the described world they may be. (Hint – on Star Trek they originally invented the ‘transporter’ so the cast could go places without spending TV time/production cost on being ferried around…) ( )

Looking forward to book 3. ( )

The second in the Stratification series follows the continuing adventures of the Omray refugees. Another solid entry from Czerneda. But don't start here! ( )