It's sometimes very difficult to tell the difference between a genius and a crackpot. Both can be geeky, eccentric, abrasive, or just plain annoying. There is, however, one foolproof "tell" for the crackpot: they don't share ideas. If someone comes up to me at a convention or a book signing and starts going on about some amazing idea they had, but can't tell me because I might steal it (or blab about it to someone who will steal it) . . . that person is a crackpot.
All the truly creative writers and game designers I know are constantly tossing off ideas the way dandelions give off seeds. They have far more ideas than they can ever get around to writing — and if an idea is really compelling they don't waste time telling me about it at conventions, they just write the damned thing.
This is all a roundabout way for me to explain why I'm not at all unhappy to see that British science fiction superstar Alastair Reynolds has written a novel with a setting almost exactly like something in my "this could be interesting" folder of ideas. Quite the reverse: now I can enjoy reading about that setting without doing any work at all!
The novel in question is his latest book, Revenger. It's a space pirate story set millions of years in the future, when the Solar System is a "Dyson swarm" of thousands of inhabited planetoids and space habitats. Hundreds of civilizations — both human and alien — have come and gone, and some of their ancient near-magical technology still lies hidden in abandoned asteroids. Bold solar-sailing adventurers go out treasure-hunting, braving the dangers of forgotten technology and empty worlds — and the risk of pirates who prey on the treasure-seekers.
A pair of upper-class sisters, Adrana and Arafura Ness, sign on aboard a treasure-hunting expedition, partly to restore their family fortune but mostly as a lark. Things turn very serious when their ship is jumped by the black-sailed ship Nightjammer, captained by the dread pirate Bosa Sennen. One of the crew sacrifices her own safety to help Arafura hide, while Adrana is taken by the pirates and the rest are massacred. Arafura vows to rescue her sister and get revenge, and from there the plot hurtles along as she fights to survive, gather allies and weapons, and hunt down the Nightjammer.
It's a cracking good pulp-style adventure story. The incomprehensibly far-future setting means we can have all the tropes of the 1930s Solar System: lots of inhabited worlds, grungy spaceship crews, ancient supertech, space pirates, and diabolical villains. But there's a titanium core of Real Science inside it all. There are parts which reminded me of Bester's The Stars My Destination, a nod to The Princess Bride, and even a tip of the hat to the animated Disney movie Treasure Planet.
This book could also be a master-class for writers in how to create strong female characters without falling into the trap of conflating strength and violence. Fura Ness is just bursting with agency, but she is still a girl in her teens, and accomplishes her goals with appropriate weapons: deception, manipulation, bargaining, and bribes. When she does engage in a physical conflict, Fura goes to extraordinary lengths to get hold of weapons which will give her an edge. There's no "waif-fu" in this novel; no 98-pound teenager beating up hardened killers twice her size. Nor does Reynolds shy away from showing the sacrifices and compromises Fura must make in her Ahab-like pursuit of the Nightjammer. Even she admits she was a much nicer person before her adventures began.
Revenger does feel slightly like an "origin story" and I wasn't surprised to read here that Reynolds is planning a sequel. No complaints from me about that: I want to find out what becomes of Fura Ness and see more of her world.
For more stories of thieves, abductions, and ancient technology, buy my new ebook Outlaws and Aliens!
Sounds fun, I'll check it out.
Posted by: Karl Gallagher | 05/19/2017 at 11:58 PM