'Ann Halam' is the pen name of adult science-fiction author Gwyneth Jones and although The Daymaker has an ostensiably fantasy setting it is clear that the author has a science-fiction background. Technically the setting of this book is post-holocaust science-fiction (in much the same way as Peter Dickenson's The Weathermonger) but the presumed cataclysm is so far in the past that for the most part the book can be read as fantasy.
The story follows the journey to adulthood of a young girl named Zanne, a potentially powerful magician with a headstrong temperament. It begins in the village of Garth in the land of Inland. The people of Inland lead simple lives; having made a Covenant with the land and each other which precludes the use of any sophisticated machinery. Zanne's mother is a covener, a village machinery responsible for the welfare of the local community, and Zanne's idyllic childhood is directed by rigidly ethical standards. However, Zanne herself is an attracted to the idea of the old ways and the 'makers' used by her ancestors. The simple life of a Garth villager is tame when compared to the delights of the past and the stories spun by her fascinating uncle Lol.
The plot progresses quickly as a childish display of power results in Zanne being sent to the Covenant school at Hillen. Here she is trained in the magic and the gaian morality of Inland. The characters in this book are lively and compelling and Zanne herself is an engagingly direct heroine. When disaster strikes and Zanne disobeys the laws of Inland because of her love of the makers, the real matter of the story begins. Zanne and her friend Dimen set out on a journey to find the last legendary maker: the Daymaker.
This is a beautifully crafted story and Halam's vision of a world in which magic is commonplace and technology a thing of wonder and beauty is unrivalled in fiction. This is a book which should appeal to readers of all ages and from all genres.