Darkchild is the first in the 'Daughters of the Sunstone' trilogy and a very intriguing beginning.

Possibly the oldest book I've read in a while (published in 1982) that I haven't read previously at least, Darkchild is told from a variety of third person POV's and slowly chronicles the coming of age of both the title character, but also the young girl who takes him in and cares for him.

A fantasy with scifi leanings is a good way to describe much of the book. The immediate environs are, for the most part, pre-industrial. The only exception to this rule are the quarters of alien visitors to the planet, the Armini, who conduct studies of the peoples and planet.

Then also you have the over-reaching menance, who are technologically advanced and use Darkchild (and others like him) to gather intel on the planet they despoit them on to see if the planet is a viable planet for exploiting or if they can leave it well enough alone.

At times I was tempted to double check the internet to make sure the author wasn't a pseudo for [author:Louise Lawrence] who wrote books of a similiar trend.

I look forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy. ( )

Humanity is scattered and isolated throughout the stars. And on each world, they grow different and strange. This is a story about one of those worlds, and what happens when a boy is dropped out of the sky to be taken in and adopted.
Except he is a "cultural recorder". He will be retrieved and his memories used to prepare the world for exploitation. ( )