Hidden in Sight (the Webshifters # 3)

by Julie E. Czerneda

Book Overview

Julie E. Czerneda's acclaimed Web Shifters series continues with the story of Esen-the last survivor of a unique alien race. Able to take on the form of any creature she observes, Esen has long since... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0756401399
• ISBN13: 9780756401399
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.5" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Top reason to have a book series

This author is simply beyond words- If at all possible, Czerneda just gets better & better with each book she writes. In the third of this series, we get to return to the universe where our favorite alien Esen resides and get to see our little blue blob grow up- and get one hell of a great story to boot. Esen-alit-quar is simply one of the most beautifully written characters I have ever come across, a being so different & unique but so vulnerable, sweet and good that she personifies the phrase "never judge a book by it's cover." You never lose sight of her being an alien, but she is so endearingly "human" that you cannot help but love her. It is characters like this that make me still read Sci-fi. I only wish all authors had one ounce of the skill that Czerneda has in her craftsmanship. If you can only get one book, definitely get this one. The story & the character will become a part of you.

She did it again!

The first book of the Webshifters series was a pleasant surprise while I was finishing up with Grad school. Meeting Esen turned me into a fan of Julie's work, and I have not been disappointed yet.Hidden took my breath away, again. Julie Czerneda has a knack for improving from one book to the next, and considering how good the first book in the series was, WOW. A couple of unexpected twists made me stop, re-read and re-read again, wide-eyed and surprised. I lost a lot of sleep reading Hidden, but I don't regret a minute of it. Brava, Julie, Brava!

A masterful follow-up

It seems to me that one often sees a slip in series books, as the original inspiration for the series can't support the fan's hopes for more. An author continues in the series not because there is more story to be told but because there are more books to be sold. Thankfully, for fans of Czerneda and the Web series, this was not the case in Hidden in Sight.Hidden in Sight is a wonderful third book that not only maintained the depth of character and attention to detail of the first two but, to my mind, expanded the story and characters to new levels. I hate spoilers in reviews and won't have any here, but it's difficult to avoid because of how much I enjoyed the additional characterization of a couple in particular. I'll just say that I'm not talking about Esen or Paul, though the continuation of their relationship and characterization is well handled and moves along wonderfully in this third book of the Web series. And there are new aliens! I [have a weakness] for alien cultures -- when done by someone who handles them with the depth of detail and careful consideration that Czerneda obviously always does.It's a five star book. Buy it, and if you haven't read the earlier ones, buy them as well. They are all wonderful and this one my favorite so far. I can only hope there are more of the Web series, because they just keep getting better. Write faster, Ms. Czerneda. Write faster.

Wow !

Since I discovered her books a year ago, Julie Czerneda has never disappointed me. I simply love everything she writes! Her books have great stories and even greater characters. One just can't help but fall in love with them. In Hidden in Sight, we reunite with my own favorite character, wonderful Esen-alit-Quar, "Esen for short, Es in a hurry". I won't try to give you a summary of the story (as many others seem to enjoy doing), instead I'll only tell you to treat yourself and read this book (ideally starting with the first of the trilogy, Beholder's Eye, followed by Changing Vision). I can assure you you will enjoy it. It's great SF, with a heart... And the strangest aliens you'll ever see!

A Fishy Attack

Hidden in Sight is the third novel in the Web Shifters series, following Changing Vision. In the previous volume, Janet Chase has exposed her predatory intentions and has fled Minas XII. Her co-conspirator, Inspector Logan, is unwise enough to come to Minas XII and learns not to betray a Herd of Ganthor. Rudy Lefebvre has left the Russell III and is contemplating a new future. Project Leader Kearn has been slipped a tip by the Esen Monster and is horrified, confused and gratified. The Kraal have not learned the secret of Web-being flight. Esen has met a new Group of friends and she resumes her life with Paul on Minas XII.In this novel, Picco's Moon has been invaded by someone who is mining Ersh's mountain and killing Tumblers. The disappearance of a Tumbler is reported and this information is forwarded to data collection equipment at Cameron & Ki Exports. Paul and Esen book passage to Picco's Moon on the Largas ship, Vegas Lass, but another passenger, Hom Wolla, has disappeared in the Dump, delaying the departure. Paul goes to the Dump to fetch the passenger, but doesn't return or communicate in two hours, so Esen goes after both of them. When she enters the bar, a Herd of Ganthor enters behind her and another Herd is before her with a drugged youngster who has been stolen from the other herd; the negotiations between the Herds escalates into a firefight. Then heavily armed and armored troopers enter the bar searching for something and both Herds turn against the newcomers. Esen loses sight of Paul and Wolla, but manages to escape through the lava tunnels to relative safety just before the firefight blows off the roof.Esen flees to the safety of her home and finds a crater instead; someone has blown up her house. She then flees to the greenhouse over their warehouse and finds Joel Largas there. Paul also appears, but is followed by heavily armed and armored troops. When they fire at Paul, Esen shifts to her Web-form, dumping energy in an explosion. The troopers are gone and Paul is dazed, but otherwise fine. Joel, however, has just met his worst nightmare, a Web-being like Death, and has gone into shock. Paul and Esen sedate him and take him home, then book passage on the first starship leaving Minas XII. Esen has shifted to her Oieta form, something like a giant shrimp, and Paul is also disguised as an Oieta, but has a reaction to the fluid within the suit and removes it. Esen, however, has another problem with her suit: an excess of aldehydes has caused her Oieta-self to become intoxicated, literally poisoned, but still a blissful experience; in other words, Esen is spaced out. This novel is as fast paced as the previous two, but is still mostly about the evolving relationship between Paul and Esen. It has some of the same minor themes, including the Tumbler tendancy to compose, by committee, 500 page messages that no one understands. I am almost certain that the Rand species, a communal intelligence, is a joke and