Author: Kathy Tyers
Published: 2020 by Enclave Publishing
About the Book:
"Her memories are blocked. Her freedom is gone. Her crime is a mystery.
When Ming Dalamani awakens from twenty years of suspended animation, she recalls only fragments of her former life: the life she led before she was arrested by the governing interplanetary corporation, Renasco, for a now unremembered crime.
Relocated to an alien world far from the only home she has ever known, Ming serves a powerful Renasco representative to repay her debt. But daily she lives with deadly threats from two men—the hideous mutant Zardir Huekk and the handsome, secretive musician Tieg Innig—who both want the same thing: information. Renasco-trained as a calligrapher in three dimensions, Ming begins to remember more: a clan, a mission, and interstellar piracy.
Ming must decide where her loyalties lie: with her powerful new employer, with a budding resistance movement… or elsewhere."
The Artist Librarian Review:
Crystal Witness is my favorite sci-fi novel I've read so far this year! I wasn't sure if I would totally enjoy the novel from the summary, but it was by Kathy Tyers and I was intrigued by the protagonist being a calligrapher and vaguely presenting as Asian from her name and the cover art. I was not disappointed and actually rather surprised at how much art was a central theme to the story! Having a background in studio art, I adored all of the artistic methods, mediums, and accuracy in descriptions, both the traditional (such as contour drawings, typography, etc.) and the author-created futuristic (such as three dimensional calligraphy). The idea of the precise, drill-like tradition of calligraphy being the ultimate punishment for a creative visual artist is genius and the way Ming was able to still find joy and satisfaction in her work made me cheer. With modern lettering and calligraphy making a comeback, I found it something very fun to find in a sci-fi novel. Tyers' other descriptive details such as music, culture, and different world-building elements are equally well done.
This novel was originally released in 1989, but revised for its 2020 publication and honestly, I don't know how much was edited or changed, but it didn't really feel dated at all. There are also slight dystopian, suspense, and romantic elements as Ming navigates her new life and struggles to figure out who she can trust. Another thing I really enjoyed were side characters such as the ambitious Holjpip, supportive Lyra, and the mysterious Tieg. Though marketed as Christian Sci-Fi, I couldn't really see a whole lot of spiritual elements other than some characters referring to presumably monotheistic gods. However readers could also consider the ethical or moral implications of certain policies or technologies in this universe as thought-provoking. I also understand that the upcoming sequel series, The Sunstone Saga, will have stronger spiritual elements.
As a side note, there was one use of the word sl-t that a side-bit character used as an assumption about another character, which dropped me out of the story for a very brief moment because I've only seen Edgy Christian Fiction use the term and any similar descriptions utilized in-universe slang but I know some readers would want to be aware. However, I still think the novel has high crossover appeal to both teen and adult sci-fi fans, along with Christian and General Market Fiction since, though full of action, the violence is never gratuitously graphic and romance elements are tastefully handled as well. I recommend this to fans of Tyers' previous works, sci-fi franchises such as Star Trek, or fellow Enclave Publishing author Ronie Kendig's Brand of Light.
About the Author:
Kathy Tyers is widely published in speculative fiction, including her award-winning Firebird series and two licensed Star Wars “Legends” novels, as well as a travel book, a writing reference book, and a memoir co-written for classical guitarist Christopher Parkening. Her messiah-in-space novel Daystar, fifth in the Firebird series, won a 2013 Carol Award, and her terraforming/genetic engineering science fiction novel Shivering World won the 2019 Christy Award for Visionary Fiction. At home in southwest Montana with her husband William Gillin, Kathy focuses on writing, teaching music, and freelance editing.
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