Molt Brother is an 1982 Science Fiction novel by Jacqueline Lichtenberg.
Humans are only one of the races inhabiting the Hundred Planets, an extensive galactic civilization. Another is the Kren, snake-like humanoids with a unique physiology. The Kren shed their skins regularly, with the process leaving them physically vulnerable, emotionally exhausted, and dangerously aggressive. Kren choose a "bhirhir" (molt brother), a non-sexual life partner, to aid them through the trauma of the molt. Arshel Holtethor Lakely, a young female Kren with the power of Psychometry, has chosen poorly. Charming at first, her human partner Denis Lakely turns out to be a ruthless individual whose limitless ambition make him capable of any act of betrayal.
Dennis' goal is to locate the Mazeheart Object, an artifact sought by archaeologists and political factions throughout the galaxy. It is the last remnant of a previous civilization, and is rumored to be the key to absolute power over the current one.
But this quest has a high price, something which Zref Ortenau MorZdersh'n, a young human boy, has just begun to understand. His parents were experts on ancient languages. He and his molt sister Sudeen were going to follow the same path. But an attack organized by an unknown party resulted in the deaths of his parents and Sudeen. He is now alone.
The paths of the Arshel and Zref are set to cross against the backdrop of the search for the Mazeheart, but that isn't the only mystery they'll have to untangle.
The novel has a sequel, City of a Million Legends (1985).
This work contains the following tropes:
- Acquired Poison Immunity: Invoked: deliberately inoculating one's bhirhir with pre-venom so that they become immune to one's venom is one of the first steps of a molt brother/ sister relationship.
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Arshel and Dennis end up becoming adventurers — it comes with the territory of searching for an artifact sought by every other archaeologist and political faction in the galaxy.
- Ambition Is Evil: Although Dennis is cruel, callous, vindictive, and willing to cheat to get ahead, his ambition is ultimately the root of all his bad behavior.
- Archaeological Arms Race: The Mazeheart Object is a mythical artifact rumored to reveal the secrets of a form of mind-control. It's not just archaeologists who are after the thing for its cultural value...
- Humanoid Aliens: Although they're described as snake-like, the Kren have two arms, two legs, and two eyes arranged identically to humans.
- I Have No Son!: Arshel's mother and surmother disown her when they discover she's taken a human as her bhirhir. They invalidate her claims to the Holtethor name, bar her from their ancestral hatching pond, and begin the mourning process as if Arshel had died — and that's all in the first chapter.
- Interspecies Romance: Choosing a bhirhir from a non-Kren species is uncommon but not unheard of. Not that the relationship is always romantic — bhirhir are platonic life partners.
- No Biochemical Barriers: Kren's venom affects humans the same way it affects other Kren. Additionally, they breathe the same atmosphere and have no issues being in close contact with each other.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: Inverted - Arshel receives a bracelet designating her an ally of another Kren family after she provides them with a child.
- Psychometry: Arshel has the ability to touch an object and receive flashes of information about it's past. She uses that power to study artifacts she encounters in her work as an archaeologist.
- Show Within a Show: Skanqwin and the Emperor of Crowns, a "lantern novel" that Arshel enjoys. Considered drivel by Dennis.
