A Game of Perfection

Alain Lamothe is a librarian in the J.N. Desmarais Library at Laurentian
University.

A Game of Perfection is the second book in Йlisabeth Vonarburg’s
Tyranaлl series. It has been translated from the original French by the
author and Howard Scott.

The first book, Dreams of the Sea (2003), is an account of human
colonization of the planet Tyranaлl, which is later named Virginia
after the birth of the first human child. A major disaster befells the
colonists as a mysterious “sea” appears, floods a great portion of
the land, and obliterates all that it touches. The expedition’s
survivors, now stranded on this strange new world, must cope with the
resources at hand and resume the colonization effort.

A Game of Perfection begins many years later. The colonists have grown
to a population of millions. Some of the people have gained telepathic
abilities and, with those abilities, an unnaturally long lifespan.
Persecution of the mutant telepaths by “normals” naturally ensues.
Simon Rossem, a character who first appeared in Dreams of the Sea, is
central to the storyline. As the first and oldest telepath on Virginia,
he must help other telepaths deal with their mutation and avoid those
who would harm them.

Mysteries from the first book remain. There is the sea that destroys
all it touches. It is not water though it is blue in colour. What are
its origin and function? There is also the vanished alien race that
seems to have abandoned its civilization without reason. They may be
gone but there influence on Virginia continues.

A useful summary of Dreams of the Sea at the beginning gives newcomers
to the series a good idea of past events. Two maps of Virginia before
and after the invasion of the sea illustrate the extent of the
catastrophe.

A Game of Perfection is primarily a social, psychological, and
philosophical drama; as such, it may not appeal to diehard
science-fiction readers.