SUMMARY:The Shongili twins, Ronan and Murel, accompany their friend Marmie on her luxury space craft Piaf to rescue their friend Ke-ola's family from an uninhabitable planet. They arrive to find the planet in the midst of a terrible meteor storm and when they go down to the surface find that the survivors have taken refuge under ground. Ronan and Murel change into seal form and find the survivors and their totem animals or aumakua, the giant turtles, or Honu, and the sharks. Back on Petaybee the twins, in their seal form, escort the Honus to their new home in the middle of the ocean. They also want to warn the otters and seals about the sharks. It is a long journey and Murel falls asleep and gets separated from the rest. She is surrounded by a pod of Orcas who, thinking she is a normal seal, try to eat her. Before they can do so she is caught up in a whirlpool caused by the volcanic activity in the area, as is Ronan, who had swum back to try to rescue her. They are rescued from the whirlpool by the mysterious deep sea otters and taken into their shielded city on the ocean floor. While their leader, Kushtaka, is talking to them her son Jeel sees the sharks and goes to inspect them, Murel races after him but is too late and Jeel is killed. Meanwhile Marmie and her crew are arrested on trumped up charges of kidnapping Ke-ola's family and taken to Gwinnett Incarceration Colony, along with most of the survivors they rescued. When Murel and Ronan return to their family and discover that Marmie has been arrested and the Piaf impounded they realize they need to get off the planet and go to her rescue. While staying with Kushtaka they were told that the deep sea otters were not just otters but beings from outer space who had hidden in the depths of Petaybee's oceans for years. Now that they have been discovered they plan to leave, the twins persuade Kushtaka to take them with her and to help them rescue Marmie.
Maelstrom is where this series really hits its stride. I love the concept of a sentient planet that the human residents can "speak" to and Ms. McCaffrey and Ms. Scharborough do it justice. They bring together a truly diverse cast of characters that are fun and interesting. What the story lacks in focus and tightness of plot it makes up for in sheer creativity and exuberance. My main problem with the book was its voice. Yes, this is Ann McCaffrey and it has her characteristic tone and timber to the prose. But, while the first Petaybe series was about and for adults, this one was about children. It seemed to me, that the authors knew it should be a middle grade or YA book but didn't want to alienate the adult fans of the original series. So they straddled the line between, not specifically writing for either audience and missing them both.Overall it was a fun and entertaining read but not as good as it could have and really should have been.
What do You think about Maelstrom (2006)?
I've reviewed this trilogy elsewhere: see Deluge.
—JoyfulK
The second book in the Twins of Petaybee trilogy. I enjoyed this one also. The twins are aboard a spaceship headed for the planet where Ke-ola's people are suffering. They discover that the planet is being bombarded with meteors and that the settlements are in danger. Against the wishes of Intergal (the evil company that has a lot of power in this universe), their ship rescues the survivors and their totem animals, the Honu (sea turtles) and the Mano (sharks). As might be expected, when released on Petaybee, the Mano cause problems in the oceans. An unexpected ally, the "deep sea otters", show up and reluctantly help the twins and their friends. The story ends with Intergal threatening Petaybee's way of life and sets the reader up for book three.
—Kris
