The Silver Ship and the Sea is a young-adult science-fictionnovel by Brenda Cooper, published in 2007. In 2008, it won the Endeavour Award, and was also one of Booklist's Adult Books for Young Adults Winners. The Silver Ship and the Sea is the first book in a series. The other two books are Reading the Wind and Wings of Creation. Critical response to The Silver Ship and the Sea was generally positive. Writing in Analog, Richard Foss criticized the pacing of the next book, "Reading the Wind". The book is about six genetically altered children who have been left on the planet Fremont after a war. They were often mistreated because they descended from the altered who fought against the humans. These altered were stronger and faster, with better reflexes and sharper senses than the normal humans of Fremont.
Synopsis
In The Silver Ship and the Sea, there are six altered children: Chelo Lee, her brother Joseph, Kayleen, Bryan, Alicia, and Liam. Fremont had a single town, Artistos, where most of the people lived. There were also two bands of "Roamers": the east band and the west band. These travel around studying plants and animals. Chelo and Joseph lived with Artistos' leaders while Kayleen and Bryan lived with other families in the town. Liam went to the West Band, while Alicia was sent with the East Band. The book starts with Chelo narrating, telling how her brother Joseph, and her friend Kayleen, could hold "data streams" and could fix data networks. Joseph, especially, could use the data networks to sense people and predators in remote places, and see events such as crashing meteors. Chelo and Joseph's adoptive parents were out hunting with others when they were killed by an earthquake. The earthquake also caused much damage to Artistos. After this experience, Joseph was weak and shaken, and unable to do what he used to. Soon the East and West bands met in Artistos. Liam was treated better than anyone else, but Alicia had been accused of murder by Ruth, the East Band's leader. Judgment was reserved, and while Liam left with his adoptive father Akashi, Alicia stayed. Bryan, who possessed enormous strength, was kept in Artistos. Tom and Paloma took Joseph, Chelo, Kayleen and Alicia out of Artistos in an attempt to heal Joseph. Jenna, an altered adult who was left on Fremont, showed the four children around the battle headquarters of the altered. Joseph was completely healed with a help of "reading thread", and much more powerful than before. Jenna revealed to them their genemods. Liam and Akashi soon joined them. They learned that Bryan had been severely hurt in a fight at Artistos, and was locked up. Joseph along with Jenna, Alicia, and Bryan left on the silver spaceship the New Making, while Chelo, Liam and Kayleen stayed behind. Chelo joined Liam in the West Band, and Kayleen remained with Paloma in Artistos.
There are currently two other books in the series, Reading the Wind and Wings of Creation. A fourth book The Making War was projected. According to an interview by MilSciFi.com, the author did not originally plan to make the first book into a series.
''Reading the Wind''
Kayleen takes Liam and Chelo to the other continent Islandia, where they discover the mercenaries that have been hired to wipe out Fremont. Meanwhile, Joseph and the others reach Silver's Home, and he is trained by someone called Marcus. When they find out about the mercenaries, they return to help battle them.
