Mother of Demons
Encyclopedia
Mother of Demons is the debut novel
of science-fiction author Eric Flint
. It was published in paperback form in 1997 by Baen Books
. It was one of the first books published freely on the web by its author and publisher, as part of an experiment by Eric Flint and Jim Baen
which led to more active electronic publishing
by both. The story describes the aftermath of the crash of an interstellar starship on a world full of barely biologically compatible primitive but intelligent alien life.
The first part of the story proper introduces the aliens, the Gukuy, described as molluscs but vaguely similar to land-dwelling walking octopuses. They have non-sentient work animals of similar description, and slave semi-sentient Hunnakaku (later seen to be the same as the Humans' Maia). Gukuy males are a tiny fraction of the size of Gukuy females, but of similar intelligence. The main Gukuy character, Nukurren, is known as somewhat of a sexual deviant, for having run away with a bonded male partner, Dhowifa, formerly a palace consort and keeping him with her. She is a female, not a breeding Mother, and few females regularly consort with males. A slave caravan she is helping to guard is attacked by strange, two legged, two armed Demons (the humans), and Nukurren and her male are the only Gukuy survivors, who are captured.
Living on a plateau on a large mountain, the humans have gradually become aware of other, more intelligent, and more hostile natives, various factions of the Gukuy. As the children reach adulthood, they begin to interact more and more with the surrounding lands. A large but decaying Gukuy civilization is falling; an honorable warrior tribe is massacred by a cannibalistic barbarian horde. The humans, along with the founders of a modernistic "humanistic" Gukuy religion, outcasts, and the few survivors of the massacre, are forced to work together to defeat the cannibals.
The central human character, Indira Toledo, is one of the few surviving adults and a historian. Though the human population is in dire straits, Indira is extremely reluctant to introduce human ideas of warfare from human history, as she also recalls the violence throughout human history. She is finally convinced that civilization must triumph over barbarism, and by the end of the book turns into a war leader and educator, the "Mother" of the book's title.
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
of science-fiction author Eric Flint
Eric Flint
Eric Flint is an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also writes humorous fantasy adventures.- Career :...
. It was published in paperback form in 1997 by Baen Books
Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, military science fiction, and fantasy...
. It was one of the first books published freely on the web by its author and publisher, as part of an experiment by Eric Flint and Jim Baen
Jim Baen
James Patrick "Jim" Baen was a noted U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983 he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction and space opera genres...
which led to more active electronic publishing
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing or ePublishing includes the digital publication of e-books and electronic articles, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. Electronic publishing has become common in scientific publishing where it has been argued that peer-reviewed scientific journals are in...
by both. The story describes the aftermath of the crash of an interstellar starship on a world full of barely biologically compatible primitive but intelligent alien life.
Storyline
On arrival at the planet, the Human ship is destroyed in an unexplained accident; the only survivors are the ship's children and a few adults, who escaped on two lifeboat shuttles. They find a highly toxic ecology, and nearly starve to death before discovering accidentally that most humans can safely eat partially digested, regurgitated plant materials produced by the Maia, a race of large semi-intelligent herbivores.The first part of the story proper introduces the aliens, the Gukuy, described as molluscs but vaguely similar to land-dwelling walking octopuses. They have non-sentient work animals of similar description, and slave semi-sentient Hunnakaku (later seen to be the same as the Humans' Maia). Gukuy males are a tiny fraction of the size of Gukuy females, but of similar intelligence. The main Gukuy character, Nukurren, is known as somewhat of a sexual deviant, for having run away with a bonded male partner, Dhowifa, formerly a palace consort and keeping him with her. She is a female, not a breeding Mother, and few females regularly consort with males. A slave caravan she is helping to guard is attacked by strange, two legged, two armed Demons (the humans), and Nukurren and her male are the only Gukuy survivors, who are captured.
Living on a plateau on a large mountain, the humans have gradually become aware of other, more intelligent, and more hostile natives, various factions of the Gukuy. As the children reach adulthood, they begin to interact more and more with the surrounding lands. A large but decaying Gukuy civilization is falling; an honorable warrior tribe is massacred by a cannibalistic barbarian horde. The humans, along with the founders of a modernistic "humanistic" Gukuy religion, outcasts, and the few survivors of the massacre, are forced to work together to defeat the cannibals.
The central human character, Indira Toledo, is one of the few surviving adults and a historian. Though the human population is in dire straits, Indira is extremely reluctant to introduce human ideas of warfare from human history, as she also recalls the violence throughout human history. She is finally convinced that civilization must triumph over barbarism, and by the end of the book turns into a war leader and educator, the "Mother" of the book's title.