Diadem from the Stars (The Diadem Saga Book 1)

Diadem from the Stars is the first book in Jo Clayton's science fiction saga. Aleytys, a young woman raised by the barbarian valley people of Jaydugar—a planet with two suns—has always felt she did not belong. Abandoned by her space-traveling mother and viewed with suspicion by her tribe, she is forced to flee after a fireball appears in the sky. Using her mother's journals as a guide, Aleytys travels alone across the unfamiliar planet searching for a spacecraft and escape. Her journey leads her instead to the Diadem, a powerful artifact stolen from an alien arachnid race. When its energy transfers to her, Aleytys becomes bound to the device permanently. Mastering the Diadem becomes essential to her survival, as she is now the most wanted woman in the universe. The novel combines space opera and epic fantasy quest elements, following Aleytys's coming of age, self-discovery, and struggle for survival in a world not her own.