Elephants and a trip to Mercury
Review: The Sun Runners by James Bow
I’m going to start by saying I did enjoy this book, but I have three nits to pick.
1. Okay, so the Earth is in full blown climate crisis and we’re colonizing the solar system. Mercury, though? It takes Bow until page 200 to tell us it’s about mining and resources. I was left wondering why bother with Mercury for over half the book.
2. I’m sorry. I love Jerusalem too. Adore it. It was my father’s favorite hymn and we played it at his funeral. There is absolutely no way any version of that hymn would end up as the anthem for a united Earth. I can’t see it. The author isn’t even English from what I can tell, he seems to be Canadian.
3. I wouldn’t name anything on Mercury after Kim Stanley Robinson when Mars is right there. I think I’d have used Hal Clement to name the rails after instead (he does use Clement as a settlement name).
That said, by sheer rule of cool this version of Mercury is amazing. “Latitude towns” that are basically really huge trains run on rails around the planet, staying always on the dark side. (I’m pretty sure some things survive the day in parts of the book and don’t in others, but I’ll give it to him). There are also two statics, at the poles, in the permanent twilight. They produce the water.
They eat extremophile bacteria. They eat extremophile bacteria. This is just an awesome Mercury and I love it.
This book isn’t just about Mercury, though. It’s about cultural survival. There were three major towns on Mercury when the Earth went silent – Hermes, Apollo, and Messenger.
All three react to the loss of Earth and the fact that they’re probably going to starve in different ways.
Hermes retains democracy and tries to be as Earth like as possible.
Messenger goes for authoritarianism in the form of monarchy. Fortunately, the monarchs are good women.
Apollo goes completely feral and resorts to cannibalism.
Our protagonist is Freida, the Crown Princess of Messenger…and another theme of this book is what hereditary monarchy does to the heir. All she wants to do is be an engineer, but…nope. She has to lead.
The book ends before she finally resolves that, but she wants to step down and implement democracy.
I have a horrible feeling the poor girl abdicates…then gets voted right back in. Just saying. Probably because I’m mean and it’s what I would do to her.
The characters and their relationships are all interesting, although I found the resolution of the plot a mild deus ex because something that should have been noticed before just kind of appeared out of the blue.
Another thing worth noting is that while the word is never used, Freida is clearly meant to be asexual.
I enjoyed this. Not great literature, but fun space opera with some interesting worldbuilding, despite my nits.
You know me, I pick nits.
Review: Under A New and Brilliant Sky by R.E. Stearns
Elys is escaping from prison, framed for a crime because she knows entirely too much about a killer AI made by the evil Republic (in name only…it’s a pretty classic Galactic Empire).
With the help of Taia, she flees to the colony world of Mayari, where they have a major problem with their AI. Or do they?
This book is a pretty enjoyable read if you like problem stories. Yes, it’s very much a problem story, although it does have some interesting characters and a solid F/F romance attached.
The solution, though, isn’t quite as obvious as I would have liked, and I was a tiny bit uncomfortable with the way the mediators work. Community response officers in armor didn’t feel right to me, although I can see where Stearns was going with it.
If that doesn’t bother you, though, this is a solid work of science fiction with a villain who chews plenty of scenery and a protagonist it’s easy to root for.
Enjoyable.
Review: Daydreamer by Rob Cameron
Okay, I’m not…sure…about this book. It’s a MG story about neurodivergence, and the protagonist appears to have maladaptive daydreaming, dyslexia, and…not sure what else.
It’s a fantasy, or is it? Cameron does leave enough to maybe think the fantasy is real, not all in Charles’ head. But it’s a bit too much all in the kids’ head for my strong aversion to “it was all a dream” stories (which is stronger in kids’ books) not to kick in.
So, it’s not the book, it’s me. The lyrical style is beautiful, but sometimes makes the protagonist feel older than eleven. I was sure he was at least 13.
At the same time, it makes it an experience to read. And maybe if I was the right age…
(The poor kid’s dyslexia isn’t diagnosed and everyone thinks he’s stupid or lazy. The dyslexics in my family would be nodding along. My dad wasn’t diagnosed until adulthood and was branded stupid by his own parents).
The neurodivergence is actually handled well, at least the dyslexia part.
But I prefer my fantasy less ambiguous.
YMMV.
Review: Elephantasy by Charles W. Hyatt
A farmer acquires an elephant, runs away to the circus, and ends up in a pulp adventure. That sums up this oddly-titled book.
It’s interesting, but while the writing itself is good, I had a few issues with it.
First of all, it’s being marketed as science fantasy, but the only science in it is a smart elephant learning to use a communication board. This isn’t science fiction, it’s existing science.
Then there’s the point where Jesus turns up. No, I mean, actual…Jesus. Why? To teach the protagonist a lesson about charity then disappear again.
There’s also a pulp hidden kingdom wherein our hero, of course, cheats on his comatose girlfriend with the exotic not-a-princess-honest in India.
So, is this neo-pulp? That might be a better way to describe it. He did do his research on elephants…although there’s a disproportionate amount of complaining about poop that appears to be the author complaining about elephant poop.
Did he have a bad experience volunteering at a zoo while doing research on pachyderms? I mean, they do produce a lot of poop…
Again, this is interesting, but I would have liked more actual speculative elements, rather than a bit of religion and some interesting current science. YMMV.