Monday, March 13, 2017

Underground Airlines

Ben H. Winters

Set in current time, but as an alternate history. President Lincoln was assassinated before the emancipation, and the civil war resulted in a compromise. This compromise allowed slavery to be a state decision and permanently disallowed federal oversight. In the current year, only 4 states remain as slave states, but as a result, the U.S. is on the outs with the global community, effectively under economic sanctions. Some of the subtle beauty of this novel is in how this reality filters through to language. For example, a passing vehicle is a SA truck - referencing its manufacturing origin of South Africa. Or a Pakistani Wagon. Just dropped clues about the impact of remaining a slave state. The protagonist is Victor, a 'semi-free' black man working for the U.S. Marshalls, charged with tracking down runaway slaves and returning them to their owners. On this particular case, he is working to infiltrate the 'airline' to track a particular man and there are a few things that strike him as odd. While he continues his tracking, he also encounters increasing memories and emotional resistance. Not only is this a fascinating take on an alternate history, it is also a well told story of the internal struggles that one develops when pursuing a profession that is inconsistent with your values.

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Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Shades of Earth

Beth Revis
Book 3 in Across the Universe trilogy

Final installment and we are not disappointed. Elder, Amy, and about 1500 of the Godspeed inhabitants have decided to travel to the surface of Centauri-Earth, in spite of the promised monsters and dire warnings of both Eldest and Orion. When they arrive, they also thaw out the 100 earthborn military and science officers who are earthborn and who are charged with the next phase of the mission. It turns out that Amy's father is the ranking military officer and her mother is the chief biological scientist. And of course there is conflict between the military and Elder of the shipborn. There is racism, there are control issues, there are secrets, and yes, there are monsters. Amy and Elder continue their sleuthing, trying to solve the final of Orion's clues, keep everyone (shipborn and earthborn and alien) safe, and make a home while they are at it. Again, Revis has created a book that is interesting in its own right, fits in with the universe she created, and continues to develop this world into an increasingly deep and rich place.

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