I enjoyed this a lot on re-read; I read it originally while at school, and a few years ago when I bought it second hand for the cover and the nostalgia. Now I've come back to it again on a Norton mini-binge.

It's quite a contrast to the other recent Norton re-reads, specifically The Beast Master and Lord of Thunder, both of which are very boy-y books. This one has a female protagonist who gets to do exciting stuff, including rescuing the male quasi-lead; it's mutual as she wouldn't survive without him. The emotions in the book don't devolve into sentimental love, either; at the core is a recognition of respect as the base for any real relationship.

The images of the past of a very alien world are built up impressively and I like its nested structure too. ( )

This was the first book of actual science fiction I ever read. I recall where it was in my school library -- around the back of a little jutting half-shelf, near the emergency exit door. The cover fascinated me and I checked it out.

Thus was I infected by the kind of story that would affect my life and my thoughts ever afterwards. Little bits of the book are part of my speech now, like the phrase "Creature-with-but-thought-of-food", and the idea of psionics. I recall the main character's name -- Ziantha -- to this day.

And the story! A young woman with unusual powers used by others to steal and blackmail, trapped and in danger of losing everything, depending on that unusual power to save herself. Going with her as she is thrust into the lives of people on other worlds, people long dead, people attached to a particular artifact -- worlds upon worlds built up, tragedy and danger, and one person trying to maintain her own identity throughout her ordeal. That in and of itself caught my imagination -- the idea of identity and what made someone who and what she was.

Not a bad place to start as a 12 year old, really. I revisit this book every few years and it never loses its power. ( )

Another lost war refugee makes it out of the Dipple, discovers telepathic powers, and wins her way to a better life. This time it is a young girl with telepathic power mixed with time travel teleportation power, and adventures on a hostile planet. ( )

When a highly skilled sensitive girl comes into contact with a strange green stone, she finds herself trapped in the past in the identity of another person ( )