Weekly Reader: The Judgement of Seth (The Love of The Tayamni Book 2) by T.A. McLaughlin; The Struggle Among Tayamni, Tlaloc, and Potacas Gets Wider and More Intergalactic

 

Weekly Reader: The Judgement of Seth (The Love of The Tayamni Book 2) by T.A. McLaughlin; The Struggle Among Tayamni, Tlaloc, and Potacas Gets Wider and More Intergalactic

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The first book of The Love of the Tayamni series took what could be complex themes of Intergalactic space travel, prejudice, fate, and destiny and simplified them into a straight narrative. It was about a woman who was part of an ancient race of aliens sent to Earth and was thrust forward into 1960's Mississippi to protect a child who was destined to become the next Matriarch, head of the community.

It was a good way to draw the Reader into the world created by T.A. McLaughlin and to follow the story and themes. The simplicity of the first volume paves the way for the complexity of the second, The Judgement of Seth.

McLaughlin opens up the universe that she established in the first book. She introduces a larger cast of characters, new worlds and alien species, and expands on the original concepts that were previously introduced in The Love of The Tayamni. In fact, as a sign on how large this book is, most of the main characters from the previous book are reduced to minor roles. 

Batresh, the time traveling protagonist assigned to protect the future Matriarch is initiated into her role as Matriarch after her mother's death (or rather Interim Matriarch until the future one comes of age). Denny, said Future Matriarch, is still a child in 1960's Mississippi, but is beginning to remember their past life and experiencing flash forwards. They are also coming to terms with feeling like an outsider because of a toxic masculine father who insists that Denny should act like a boy. Jerry, Batresh's love interest from the first book, was let in on Batresh's secret identity and mission. He is currently living on Lunar Base and watching over Denny.

While Batresh, Denny, and Jerry are safe and snug in their own subplots (or just barely living in their subplots.),much of the heavy lifting is done by other characters. Now the Tayamni are fighting against rival alien species, the Potacas and Tlalocs. The Tayamni see that this one time private war is threatening other worlds. So many of the characters are dispatched to recruit other planets to join in the struggle.

McLaughlin really gets a chance to explore different types of planets and species. Some are mammalian and human in appearance. Others are cyborgs. Still others resemble other beings. One planet is mostly water and has aquatic beings living in this mostly liquid environment.

 Allowing the core Tayamni characters to interact with new characters shows how large this problem is. In fact, most of the action is set in space or in other worlds. The overall effect is to show that Earth is not the center of the universe (sorry fellow Earthlings). In fact, it's almost like Tatooine in Star Wars. It's far away and remote from the most important decisions made by the higher powers, yet it still ends up in the thick of the action. 

The interactions between old and new characters allows them to open up and build relationships. Kirashi, a Tayamni, develops a romantic relationship with E5, a cyborg. 

She also relates the backstory of the First Ones, the ones who came to Earth and merged their DNA with Earthlings. They were once the Nine but now they are the Eight when Seth broke from the others and killed his brother. (A story that is also known in Egyptian mythology. Remember Set and Osiris?) It is implied that Seth got the Tlalocs and Potacas the power and will to fight the Tayamni. Kirashi's story gives the characters an understanding about why this struggle will eventually affect everyone and why allies are needed.

Batresh's sister, Namazu has a large important character arc. She ascends to the rank of Supreme Commander and takes the lead in fighting against their enemies. She, as many of the characters do, questions the Tayamni Code which encourages love towards everyone, even their enemies. Since Namazu is at the forefront of most of the fighting, she is the most conflicted between the code that she was raised to believe and the current drive to bend and even break it. She also finds and loses love on a personal level as she is mourning the death of colleagues while falling fo someone who is borderline obsessive.

For most series, the second book often feels like filler. The first book introduces us to the world, characters,and conflicts. The third is the final battle where everything gets resolved. Therefore, the second is often filled with personality clashes and side quests that are only meant to fill up pages and not carry any weight in the end. The second book introduces a meeting point for the third book to catch up with in 1977, but everything in the book feels important. Instead of distracting the Reader, The Judgement of Seth, expands on their previous knowledge and helps this universe grow and deepen.