CLOUD-CRY by Sydney J. van Scyoc

Well, I picked up this 1977 sf novel on my way out to the Writing Circle in Glasgow and I have to say it's one of the weirdest books I've ever read.
   It's all about an alien world where people who catch the fatal bloodblossom disease are marooned. One human, one almost human and a avian alien are deposited there, and find an even stranger life form is unexpectedly already there.  Mayhem ensues, very weirdly described.  Eventually more or less all is well - and of course the alien life form inadvertently provides a cure for the disease.  All the technology in the book is future-proofed because it is unremittingly alien.
   I looked this book up on the internet and discovered one final weird thing: Sydney J. van Scyoc is a woman!  Why would anyone choose Sydney as a nom de plume?  Check it out if you don't believe me.
   Nobody is likely to find this book... nearly 40 years old after all... but if you do, you might like to read it to see just how strange it is, rather than because it is an especially good read.
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