Mother Feral’s Love

Mother Feral’s Love
Lawrence Barker
Swimming Kangeroo Books
ISBN: 1-934041-08-4
Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Reviewed by Chris Gerrib

Mother Feral’s Love by Lawrence Barker is an unusual book, set in an unusual world. Told in first person, it is the story of Evrandal, a “feral” or genetically-mutated human female, and her attempt to prevent her daughter Broglin from being sold into slavery. Evandral’s first problem is that Broglin doesn’t know who her mother is. Ferals are only tolerated because they can do some (dirty and distasteful) jobs that humans can’t. Children of Ferals, who are outwardly humans, are total outcasts. Therefore, Evandral has arranged for her daughter, who can “pass” for human, to be raised by another.
The world of Mother Feral’s Love is a distant human colony, on a planet circling a double sun. In the distant past, a plague ravaged the colony, and technology regressed to Bronze Age levels. The Church of the Four Mothers, which is heavily into ancestor worship, is bound and determined to keep it that way. When the alchemist Furnandus is murdered, Broglin’s caretaker is arrested and charged with the crime. She will be executed in four days, and her “daughter” Broglin will be sold into slavery.
At first, Furnandus’ murder appears to be just a routine crime, but as Evandal investigates, it becomes apparent that Furnandus was involved in forbidden research, namely making gunpowder. Thus Evandral gets pulled into a massive struggle between the powers that be and those looking to rediscover the secrets of the ancients.
Mr. Barker’s writing is quite professional, and he pulls off a difficult stunt by writing this book in first person. I did have a few issues. In the book, “melon-eaters” is used as slang for rich and spoiled people. I got this the first time and found the other explanations redundant. Also, I found the names a bit confusing. Several key characters were named Furnandus, Willus and Greamus, respectively, and the names kept running together. Lastly, I’m not sure that the title or the book’s cover does justice to the story.
Having said all of that, I enjoyed reading Mother Feral’s Love. It’s a well-written book, with a number of flashes of brilliance. The core mystery of who killed Furnandus is well-written, and closely integrated with the big mystery of this world’s history. Overall, I found this story very entertaining and quite enjoyable. I can recommend Mother Feral’s Love to fans of science fiction or fantasy.