By Hunter Venters. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (September 16)
What is technology? It’s not just cell phones and computers. Cars, clocks, lights, the steam engine—all of these things are technology. Technology defines our modern society. Whether we mean to or not, it is the thing we use to separate ourselves from what we see as the hardships of the past.
Now, what would happen if all of that technology were to stop?
More specifically, what would happen if all of the technology in one place were to stop working, while another place was left completely the same? What about on a planetary scale, where one planet had spacecraft and fusion reactors, and another had fire, stone tools, and the wheel?
This is what Drew Williams posits in his The Stars Now Unclaimed, the first book in his planned Universe After series. The universe he created is a hundred years in the aftermath of a disaster called “the pulse,” which filled every corner of space with a kind of radiation that selectively destroys technology. The result is a patchwork galaxy of planets on all levels of technological advancement.
And while the post-pulse universe isn’t great, life before the catastrophe is not described to be as idyllic as some science fiction might speculate. With the advance technology of the future comes advanced warfare, war that spanned solar systems and decimated planets.
War is a major theme in the novel. Much of the book deals with the effects of war on both society and the individual. It makes note of the rationalization of violence and death, and how easily unspeakable acts can be committed in the service of the “greater good.”
The story of the novel begins with the discovery that “the pulse” has, for some unknown reason, given children throughout the universe supernatural abilities. Jane Kamali, the narrator, is tasked by a sect known as the “Justified” to find these children and deliver them to her superiors.
It is refreshing to find in genre fiction a female protagonist who is not defined by shallow characteristics, and is instead confident, self-sufficient, and often proves to be tougher and smarter than some of the book’s male characters. I tip my hat to Williams for crafting a story with many strong female characters without making any of them tropes or tokens. Jane stands on her own, and as a reader, you feel like she could take on the entire galaxy by herself.
The biggest threat to the book’s characters is The Pax, a faction of obsessive zealots who want to absorb the entire universe into their uniformity. The Pax were, coincidentally, completely unaffected by the pulse, and therefore think that they were “chosen” to rule the galaxy; and with their army of brainwashed, disposable soldiers, they may succeed.
The Pax are a simple enemy, and are reminiscent enough of real-world regimes to function well in the story without seeming like a made-up boogeyman. Jane and those aboard her ship find themselves on the run from the Pax for most of the book, in a race to take a young girl to the Justified and keep her out of the clutches of the Pax, who want to weaponize her special abilities.
The Stars Now Unclaimed combines some of the best qualities of classic science fiction into something that still feels fresh and new. It gives off that familiar vibe to fans of sci-fi without relying on clichés. Williams does some fantastic world-building in the novel, and crafts a universe that feels massive without making the book feel too hefty, by simply showing us a small slice of it. Overall, the book is a prime example of classic sci-fi made new, and I certainly look forward to where Williams takes the series next.
Hunter Venters is a graduate of Belhaven University. He currently works as a bookseller at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson.
Signed first editions of The Stars Now Unclaimed are available here.
Comments are closed.