The Cydonian Pyramid by Pete Hautman (review)

In the first volume of the Klaatu Diskos trilogy (The Obsidian Blade, BCCB 4/12), Tucker Feye met Lah Lia, an intriguing girl who came through a of the shimmering diskos, or time-travel portal, and their fates became intertwined. This second volume reveals Lah Lia's origins as a Pure Girl, one of the few selected by the priests in her time to be sacrificed and thrown into the diskos as a spectacle to keep the people in line. Some Pure Girls return, however, having been sent to a time where the medical technology is advanced enough to repair the damage done by the priests; these girls become Yars, who train the Pure Girls with skills that may enable them to survive their ordeal. Lah Lia survives because of Tucker's timely appearance through a portal, and her adventures as she travels through time include interactions with the various factions that have gained and lost power over the half-millennium separating her time from Tucker's. Her goal is to find and save Tucker from his own fate as a sacrificial victim, but to do so she must engage the very priests who tried to kill her, as well as risk her life by hurling herself through portals that may lead to unsafe places and times. Lah Lia, though she appears meek and demure on the outside, is more than up to the task, making her another likable, strong-willed, resilient YA heroine with admirable fighting skills set against formidable odds. As in the first volume, interstitial passages provide history and context for the peoples that Lah Lia encounters and intrigue readers with thought-provoking glimpses of the changes that technology can bring about (and may yet in the human world as well). Lah Lia is a compelling character that readers will be glad to see developed and given equal time with Tucker Feye; their meeting at the end sets the stage for a conclusion that is sure to be as harrowing and action-packed as the first two books.