Child of Fortune

This narrative in the heroic tradition tells the tale of a young wanderer, Wendi Shasta Leonardo, who sought her destiny on an odyssey of self-discovery amid the many worlds of man. The spoiled, sheltered, carefree girl from the small planet of Glade sets out on her trip to the decadent world of Edoku. Penniless on the streets of the strange new world, she encounters Pater Pan, the legendary leader of an itinerant band of artisans called Gypsy Jokers. He becomes her lover and teacher, and gives her the name Sunshine, as she masters the art of ruespieler (yarnspinner). She then undertakes a reckless journey with the dashing Merchant Prince Guy Vlad Boca through the forest of Bloomenveldt, and finds the end of her odyssey. Spinrad calls the youthful wanderers who set out on the road from innocence to experience in the exotic, intersteller civilization of the Second Starfaring Age, the children of fortune. ISBN 0-553-05089-3 : $16.95.