Manta's Gift

Publishers Weekly

What if James Dean were a twin-tailed manta ray swimming in Jupiter's atmosphere? Bestselling Star Wars novelist Zahn (Angelmass) gives us a tale of teen coming-of-age angst set in the herd society of the Qanska, intelligent herbivores who inhabit the equatorial band of the gas giant. Suspecting them to be non-native life, Earth's corporate masters, the Five Hundred, send in a spy to find their hidden star drive. Facing their own disaster, the Qanska agree, hoping to gain a human perspective on the impending exhaustion of their ecology. What neither side can count on is how the person injected into the Qanskan world will react. Matt Raimey, a 22-year-old paralyzed by a skiing accident, agrees to have his brain transplanted into a Qanska fetus. Given a second chance to be mobile, he also unexpectedly gets another chance to mature. Zahn concentrates more on the psychological processes at work than on the technological. Solutions to problems arise from better emotional and intellectual integrity, not simply larger databases. While the author doesn't get as deep into his characters as they do into Jupiter's depths, his portrayal of Matt/Manta is direct and involving. Qanskan life, looking much like marine reef life on Earth, is intriguingly portrayed, even if the biology of the Qanskan problem is suspect. YA readers looking for more than the usual SF action-adventure should be well pleased. (Oct.) FYI: The author's "Cascade Point" won the Hugo Award for best novella in 1984. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

Jakob Faraday of the Jupiter project approaches Matt Raimey, who was paralyzed in a skiing accident, to be a "native" emissary to the Qanska, the huge, sentient, floating giants who resemble stingrays with two tails. The plan calls for Matt to be "born" into a Qanska body, while retaining his human memories and intellect. Of course, just being an ambassador is not enough when Earth's ruling Five Hundred discover that the Qanska have some type of interplanetary transport device buried deep within the planet's atmosphere. Now Matt (who takes the name Manta) is to spy on and turn against his new family and friends. Everything is worked out to the benefit of all parties, but requires many sacrifices by the formerly self-centered, young Matt/Manta, as well as some finagling by Jakob and his crewmembers, who have come to respect the Qanska. Science fiction as it is meant to be! KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2002, Tor, 408p., Ages 12 to adult.
—Sherry Hoy

Library Journal

The discovery of the Qanska, a race of intelligent creatures resembling mantas or dolphins "swimming" in the atmosphere of Jupiter, provides quadriplegic Matt Rainey with a perfect opportunity to regain a functional body-through implantation in the womb of a Qanska female. The belief that the Qanska possess superior technology, which humanity covets for its own expansion into space, leads to a change in the leadership of the research project on Jupiter. Despite his unwitting violation of the Qanska's most sacred laws, Rainey finds himself the only person capable of preventing disaster for both races. The author of Angelmass brings a new twist to a classic tale of human-alien encounter, combining fast-paced action and hard science with personal drama. A good choice for most sf collections.

Kirkus Reviews

Alien-contact/coming-of-age yarn from the author of Angelmass (2001), various Star Wars novels, etc. A bunch of tightfisted oligarchs known as the Five Hundred run the Solar System. Colonel Jakob Faraday, aboard a probe deep in Jupiter's atmosphere, discovers the Qanska, large intelligent creatures resembling manta rays. Needing inside information on these intriguing life forms, he challenges self-centered, self-pitying quadriplegic Matt Rainey: Matt can have a new, fully functional body-if he's reborn as a Qanska. Soon, as a newborn Qanska Baby learning to swim/fly, Matt calls himself Manta. He's been equipped to communicate with Faraday and his team above, but as he feeds, sleeps, battles predators, makes friends, and learns about the structure of Qanska society, Matt begins to lose interest in his former life. The Five Hundred, however, don't believe that the Qanska are native to Jupiter, and therefore must have a star drive-which is why they sponsored Matt to become one. The Qanska don't actually have a star drive-they arrived on Jupiter through a wormhole-but they do have a serious problem: their ecology is faltering and they need help tackling the situation. Matt, however, becoming more and more Qanska, stalls until Faraday's belligerent new boss, Katrina Liadof, threatens to nuke Jupiter unless the Qanska yield the star drive. Despite the utterly ludicrous explanation for the Qanska's difficulties, Zahn fans and other young impressionables should find this a reasonably entertaining and edifying adventure.