Three contrasting recent novels, all intended to be the start of series.
Planetside, by
Michael Mammay
Planetside was
recommended to me as a good example of military SF, so I added it to my reading
list. The first thing I noticed on flipping through it is that the author is a
former army officer, a veteran of Desert Storm, Somalia, and the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. So, no surprise that the portrayal of the military in general
and soldiers in action in particular are very convincing. Furthermore, the hero and narrator of the
story (Colonel Carl Butler) is of retirement age, bald and married, so
obviously designed for me to identify with!
The background to the novel is a far future in which
humanity is spreading across many star systems. Newly found planets capable of
supporting human life are promptly colonised; if they aren't suitable for that,
they are mined of any worthwhile minerals. In none of this are the interests of
any native life considered important, although in the one case found of
humanoids of similar intelligence to mankind, the inhabitants of the planet
Cappa, an agreement has been reached for humans to mine the abundant silver
reserves. However, a resistance movement among the Cappans is resulting in a
continuing low-level conflict.
The plot concerns a missing army officer, the son of an
important politician. He was seen to be badly injured in an engagement with the
Cappan resistance, was loaded aboard a medical evacuation shuttle for transport
to the orbiting Cappa Base, and never seen again. Butler is given the job – and
extraordinary powers – to investigate and resolve the mystery. What he finds is a series of cover-ups which
make it almost impossible for him to complete his mission. As he digs further
into the mystery, he finds a high-level conspiracy and realises that the
situation is very different from what he had believed, and his mission is
changing quite radically.
At one level this is a fast-paced and enjoyable thriller,
well-written in a laconic, understated military style. At another level are
some fundamental issues about the relationships between humanity and other
intelligent forms of life. The Cappans had already achieved a degree of
technological sophistication, and could be considered unlucky to have been
found by humanity before they were able to develop a comparable civilisation. I
am sufficiently interested to send off for the sequel, Spaceside, which is now out, with Colonyside to follow.
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Planetfall, by Emma Newman
The setting is a recently-established and very idealistic
colony on a new world, with social structures designed to ensure that it does
not suffer from overpopulation, pollution and war. The key to the colony's
success is the use of 3D printing to produce anything that is needed, followed
by recycling anything no longer required. Literally overhanging the settlement
is an enormous tree, which it was believed contained alien artifacts.
This is a curious sort of book. Not a lot happens for quite
a while, then we find that the narrator is suffering from an uncontrollable OCD
described in convincing depth and detail, then there's a spectacular final
episode with a rather mystical conclusion. I did get rather tired of the
terrible secret known only to the narrator and one other, which was hanging
around without being explained for almost all of the book. I doubt that I can
be bothered with the sequels (which I gather are not direct sequels, just set
in the same universe).
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The Invisible
Library, by Genevieve Cogman
Another recommended by members of the Classic Science
Fiction group, which I perhaps would not have considered without that. If so, I
would have missed a gem.
Irene is a professional librarian, but not in any ordinary
library. She is an investigator of the Invisible Library, a mysterious and
secret organisation with a vast collection of books (constantly added to) which
seems to exist somewhere in between a multitude of alternative worlds, with
access to all of them. Some of these versions of Earth are strictly
technological, some entirely magical, but most have elements of both. We first
see the resourceful Irene retrieving a very rare and ancient book from a
magically-protected library, which she survives only because of her use of
"The Language", a kind of magic peculiar to the librarians.
For her next task she is instructed to take with her Kai, a
student librarian. The version of London they arrive in has vampires,
werewolves and the Fae coexisting with humanity. Then there is, out there somewhere,
the evil Alberich. a renegade librarian. There are also dragons, who can take
human form and are basically on the side of law and order, but still best
avoided. As is Bradamant, a rival investigator and Irene's sworn enemy.
Particularly reassuring to Irene is the discovery of Vale, a private
investigator who is an exact incarnation of Sherlock Holmes – Irene's favourite
fictional character. Finding the book she is looking for is complicated by the
intense interest in it from several important people – and other beings – and
Irene is tested to her limits and beyond in her attempt to complete her
mission.
This book is well-written, with something of the flavour of
Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the
Dog. Irene is a very likeable character and the book is immensely
enjoyable. I found myself reluctant to put the book down, and read until late
into the night to finish it. I see that there are several other books in the
series so will be bulk-buying them!
