REVIEW: Nucleation by Kimberly Unger

Blurb:

We are live, we are live, we are live. . .

Helen Vectorvich just botched first contact. And she did it in both virtual reality and outer space.

Only the most elite Far Reaches deep-space pilots get to run waldos: robots controlled from thousands of lightyears away via neural integration and quantum entanglement. Helen and her navigator were heading the construction of a wormhole gate that would connect Earth to the stars . . . until a routine system check turned deadly.

As nasty rumors swarm around her, and overeager junior pilots jockey to take her place, Helen makes a startling discovery: microscopic alien life is devouring their corporate equipment. Is the Scale just mindless, extra-terrestrial bacteria? Or is it working―and killing―with a purpose?

While Helen struggles to get back into the pilot’s chair, and to communicate with the Scale, someone―or something―is trying to sabotage the Far Reaches project once and for all. They’ll have to get through Helen first.

~Amazon

REVIEW of Nucleation

written by Aidan Zingler of ReshapingReality.org

Overall Thoughts: For a science fiction tale, this book not only impressed me with its use of physics, specifically entanglement of particles, but blew me away with its scope of imagination. The characters leap off the page with such personality, and the book kept twisting and turning with surprises every step of the way.  

Plot Overview: The story follows the tale of an operator who works for a corporation exploring the far reaches of space. Helen plugs herself into the company's quantum entanglement system and sends her consciousness to a "waldo," where she operates robot machinery in a far away solar system. Her work is fairly mundane at first - eject the payload, which is the necessary ingredients for the nano technology (called "eenies") to collect matter around that system's star until enough is reached to build the jumpgate. Except Helen discovers that the spacecraft housing the payload is covered in a weird dust that shouldn't exist (all their eenies recycle all non-used stuff, so no dust or other matter should exist) but then a feedback signal fries her navigator's brains. This horrifying incident catapults Helen into a dangerous and wild mystery full of corporate espionage, possible aliens, quantum weirdness, and rivals trying to silence her attempts to find answers.

Thoughts on Characters: Helen, Keller, Ivester, Hofstaeder, and the rest of the cast all felt unique and superbly drawn. Each held motivations that overlapped or conflicted with others to create delightful tension. Also, PTSD and trauma were covered and dealt with in humane ways that made sense to the world and to the reality of how trauma actually affects humans, which was incredibly refreshing to see in a novel.

Plot Impressions: What a wild ride this was!! The plot followed a loose three act structure. It had me guessing and wondering where we'd go next, and just when I thought I figured out the mystery, a surprise unleashed which had me reexamining my theories. I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt, but then the ending does leave room for any sequels if the author wishes to explore this world and its unique technology again.

Recommend? Yes. Definitely worth the read!

My rating: 5 of 5 galaxies

This review may also be found on Aidan's Goodread's page.

Find Nucleation at your local library, your local bookstore, and these retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

REVIEW: The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Published by Ace Books, 2000

Blurb of The Telling, Hainish Cycle #8:

Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. Records of the past have been destroyed, and citizens are strictly monitored. But an official observer from Earth will discover a group of outcasts who still practice its lost religion-the Telling. Intrigued by their beliefs, she joins them on a sacred pilgrimage into the mountains...and into the dangerous terrain of her own heart, mind, and soul. With her intricate creation of an alien world, Ursula K. Le Guin compels us to reflect on our own recent history.

~Amazon

Review:

written by Aidan Zingler of ReshapingReality.org

Sutty comes from a tumultuous time in Earth’s history, where religion has bombed libraries and universities. She travels to the planet Aka as an observer in hopes of studying a world of rich history, where equality is paramount. Except by the time her ship finally arrives, the world does not match the reports of the original Ekumen observers. Technology has utterly transformed it. The Corporation strictly monitors the citizens in their March to the Stars, and all books and stories of their history have been banned and eradicated. Her first few months are spent under rigid control by the authorities, where she is given propaganda and nothing that she can truly study. 

Within the first chapter, we learn that Sutty's request for passage out of the capital city is finally granted by bureaucrats. So she travels north to a small town in the foothills of the mountains. Here she uncovers the once rich society of the Telling. People here risk much to keep their stories alive.  Intrigued by their beliefs, Sutty joins them on a sacred journey into the mountains. It is there, deep in the highest caverns of the mountains, that she delves into her past, these peoples’ past, and how it all intertwines here on this planet far from Earth.

Being a Master of Science Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin does not disappoint, and she weaves a masterful story about philosophy, societal change, and the depths people go to keep their traditions alive. The characters are vibrant and interesting, full of quirks and flaws. Even the Monitor — one of the Corporation’s agents — has surprising depth, once Sutty has the chance to talk to him outside of the strict confines of the Corporation. All of the dissidents — the Maz, storytellers — leap off the page with a glorious richness.

Not to be outmatched by the characters, the twist in the tale unravels through a discovery Sutty makes which surprised me in a delightful way. Despite the novel's small stature, the richness of the world-building and the characters shine with the brilliance of stars.

I highly recommend the novella as each page begs to be turned. It’s science fiction at its best — exploring humanity in all its idiosyncrasies.

5 out of 5 galaxies:

Pick up "The Telling" at your local library, your local bookstore, or these retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble