Written by Liz Crowe
I’ll admit it. I’m kind of a Sci Fi fiction neophyte. I’ve not dug too deeply into it and that is to my detriment as a reader. My taste runs more toward near-future possibilities of what the world will be in a few short years, thanks to how badly we’ve treated it--most notably, the Oryx and Crake trilogy by Margaret Atwood. I mean I’ve read the Big Books--The Martian by Andy Weir, which was so incessantly scientific it sometimes felt like I was reading a physical textbook but in a good way; Wool by Hugh Howey, which fed my inner claustrophobic very nicely; Dune by Frank Herbert because, well, it’s “Dune;” Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer which is super confusing and has little to nothing to do with the movie other than its inherent confusion. A few others. Anyone who claims this genre is not formulaic is mistaken or hasn’t read enough of it. Survival is the goal, no matter what cost, regardless of what’s thrown in front of the characters to prevent it. How authors put a twist on that, is where good sci fi books exist. How the author makes you believe what’s happening is possible--that’s where great sci fi books thrive. Burning Horizon by T.M. James has a lot to recommend it as great. The pacing is excellent (fast, which is what I prefer). The author gives vivid life to something that’s been endlessly described by others (the inside of a cavernous spaceship). The plot unfolds in a way that doesn’t give everything away up front. My only complaint about it really is that two seemingly key points in the past are not ever really fully explained. What’s even more satisfying to me as a reader is that the ending is what should happen--not necessarily what we want to happen. It has that “wow, I could see this happening, and pretty soon,” realism element that I find compelling. It has a fair bit of gore and perhaps somewhat overdone descriptions of, well, gross stuff. But other than that, I found it entertaining and very nearly un-put-downable.
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