Well, I just finished the fourth book in my friend Clay Gilbert’s “Children of Evohe” series, “Annah and the Arrow”, so I thought I’d review it here.
After the events of the previous installment Annah And the Gates of Grace, Annah was murdered by the Shadow, but her twins Linnah and Laren survived. Her husband, Gary Holder, raises them on her homeworld while he waits for his return. Her friends in her Circle await her return, as she had promised she would.
But in that passage of time, two of her friends, Liara and Chelries, have found lovers. Liara has partnered with Celene, a fellow Evohetian of the same gender as herself. And Chelries has taken a human mate, the autistic mechanic and hacker Jason Treader, who was introduced in the second book and was based on yours truly.
In this book, Jason becomes a more important character. An evil woman named Shaeras has made a pact with the Shadow, a sinister force who seeks to upset the balance between the light and the dark. She has dark plans for Evohe, and Jason is sent to spy on her. He believes he will have an advantage in deceiving her, because people often underestimate autistics such as himself.
Clay does a great job with this book, as he has done with previous books. Here, the aspects of autism that could often be frowned on are actually assets. For instance, Shaeras posseses a desyr-tal, which corrupts those who look into it. Because autistic people often have difficulty making eye contact, Jason is not as easily deceived by it. I enjoyed the budding romance between him and Chelries, and I hope to see it become more intimate in the next book.
I highly recommend this series. If you’re unhappy with the way autistics are often portrayed in the media, I think this series may surprise you, as Clay used me as a source for the character of Jason Treader. Often, autistic people are ignored in the creation of autistic characters, but this is not the case.
I will be eagerly awaiting the next book, Annah and the God-Builders.
Aspie Catholic 