Finder

Emma Bull

Orient lives in the Borderland, the land between the Elven world and the Human world. He has a unique talent, one that was an embarrassment to him in the Human world. When he is properly questioned or directed, he can find almost anything. The only condition is the the thing to be found has to be known to either himself or the questioner. When he was younger he had run away to the Borderland to escape himself. With the help of his friend Tick-Tick, an elf, he is now at peace with himself and uses his gift to support himself.

He is approached by one of the Borderland cops, Sunny Rico. She is all business. She wants Orient to find the source of a new drug in Borderland. It is a genetic mutation drug that supposedly changes Humans into Elvish beings that can cross into the Elven world. Normal Humans cannot. Instead, this drugs appears to begin to work, then kills the user.

Because neither Rico nor Orient know anything about the drug, she can't just ask him to find it. Instead, they have to investigate through backward methods that Orient can accomplish. At times Tick-Tick also helps him. They discover that due to the drug and an illness sweeping through the Borderland that the racial division between Humans and Elves is widening.

Borderland appears to be a fantasy world established in other short stories and novels. If I understand correctly, the Human world and the world of the Elves has been strictcly divided for centuries. But something has happened that the two intersected, bringing about a strange area that is a combination of both, yet still separating the two worlds. Both species can exist in Borderland, neither can enter the other's natural lands.

This is a good, well paced fantasy. It is written with a light touch about nasty subjects - drug use and racism. Orient is a character it is easy to like and identify with his foibles. Since Borderland appears to be established, it is now the comfortable background with only bits of information here or there for the first time reader. I recommend this as entertainment and as a reminder of the problems that we have in our world.