Reap the Wild Wind
{4.5/5} “Runners dared go beyond where Om’ray were tolerated. Never to trespass on the Oud — no one was that stupid — but where no others would go… Runners weren’t of one family, or one Talent, though those with the ability to sense imminent change were persistently if quietly courted. They were risk takers, not fools.”
Reap the Wild Wind by Jule E. Czerneda, published in 2007
When the M’hir comes and there’s a disaster, Aryl Sarc rescues her beloved Bern. But others, including her brother, fall to their deaths. The Council, which includes Aryl’s mother, thinks that Bern has a new Talent they must understand. Because of her experience with what they might do, Aryl’s loathe to tell them what really happened.
This is the first book of the Stratification trilogy, which is part of Czerneda’s Clan Chronicles. It follows To Trade the Stars but takes place earlier.
The setting is an interesting planet with three sapient species who have an agreement but communicate incompletely.
It’s about dealing with a shortage of food. It’s about people who have forgotten they’re living on a planet and there are others. It’s about the clash between people who make rules and people who think rules should be broken.
The two storylines converge near the end with events that are surprising to the main characters.
I’ve read 14 books by Czerneda.