Bad luck for those who live on Ajumir, which will soon be destroyed.
DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAY / SCIENTIFIC PHOTO LIBRARY
Slow Gods
Claire North, Orbit
Claire North is a successful and prolific writer, writing under three different names, but this is their first foray into classic science fiction, that is, spaceship romance. I really liked the title of this book, Slow Godsand I liked the cover. All this to say, I went in with high hopes.
It begins: “My name is Mavukana na-Vnaze, and I am a very pathetic copy of myself.” Great start.
After that I got a little lost at about 60 pages. It's an epic space opera, and there were so many time frames, cultures, names… Of course, this is normal for a space opera, but I have yet to connect with the main character, a deep space pilot with exceptional flying experience, but a bad history when it comes to killing people. Perhaps I was just not in the right mood. I pushed a little. And then the hero Mo met a man named Gebre, and I found myself inside.
I'm going to go ahead and READ THIS BOOK. If you love science fiction, this is for you. This is great. If you're like me and aren't sure at first, keep going!
Since I do have room for a few more words, I will address these statements in more detail. It's been a while since I read such amazing science fiction. That doesn't mean it's just entertainment; it also manages to be both moving and profound. Oh, and beautifully written.
North is great in his very detailed world building and galaxy-wide plots, as well as his characterization and feeling. Humor too, and in the great tradition Iain M. Banksthere are some great AI/drones here that serve as comic book backgrounds.
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Slow Gods There are also great villains with bad personalities and deadly equipment, such as the city-killing “black ships”.
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Moe is an exceptional protagonist. It's always nice for the reader when you have no idea what your hero is capable of, but suspect that it is something quite dramatic. After an incident in deep space during their first mission as pilot, Moe continues to die… and then comes back to life. It turns out that this will happen as long as no one looks at their corpses and mourns them. It's unlikely that Moe is still human, although that's what they mostly look like.
So, back to that meeting with Gebre… Mo agreed to pilot a ship to Ajumir, a planet that would soon be destroyed by the collapse of LK-08091881, a binary star system.
A mysterious god-like machine called “Slow” actually warned everyone that the star system was about to collapse and that the resulting shock wave would travel at the speed of light and “destroy all life within a radius of eighty-three light years.” The problem is that the response to this warning in the affected area was mixed at best, and when Maw lands on Ajumir in his final days, there are still people there. There are billions of them. Everyone hopes that their number will be called in the lottery and they will be able to escape.
So Mo meets Gebre Netya Chatitimska Bajwara. Gebre is “countless” at the moment, but they are not focused on that. They simply want to preserve vital artifacts so that future generations can learn the true history of Ajumir.
Gebre is a very attractive character and Mo falls very much in love with them. What can they do to protect Gebre? Or at least avenge them? Our stage is ready.
I should mention that there are also “The Shining”, excellent villains with bad temperaments and deadly equipment, including nearly invisible, city-killing “black ships” and super soldiers.
As mentioned: read this book!
Emily also recommends…
Consider Phlebasa
Iain M. Banks, Orbit
Slow Gods reminded me a lot of Banks's Culture novels, so a natural “also recommends” follows from that. I generally recommend The Player of Games to readers new to the culture. But it's also a very friendly start to the series for a new reader, and is actually the first cultural book Banks has written. It's about a man named Horza who can change shape, becoming a perfect copy of anyone around him. Who needs to know more?
Emily H. Wilson is a former editor of New Scientist magazine and author of the Sumerian trilogy, set in ancient Mesopotamia. The latest novel in the series, Ninshubar, is out now. You can find it at emilyhwilson.comor follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1.
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