OBIR: Occasional Biased and Ignorant Reviews reflecting this reader’s opinion.
Ghosts of Colossus: A Consensus Prequel – by Peter J. Foote
Publisher: Peter J. Foote, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2013.
Cover art designed by Miblart.
Premise:
Is a dead planet truly dead when it starts killing visiting Archaeologists?
Review:
GHOSTS OF COLOSSUS is a prequel written after the first three volumes of the Universe Consensus Series were published. They are:
1) ECLIPSING THE AURORA
2) THE COSMIC WHIRLPOOL
3) DEAD MOON RISING
I have not read any of these but evidently an Earthman named Nigel Meridith is the main character common to them all. He and his daughter get involved with aliens both friendly and hostile, as well as humans from one or more planets inhabited by descendants of people who had been taken off Earth by aliens centuries before.
The main character in GHOSTS OF COLOSSUS is Asa Kleve, a thirty-year-old woman from a planet inhabited by descendants of pagan Scandinavians, i.e. Vikings or Norse, presumably scooped up by aliens in medieval times. She is an agent of the Consensus, a coalition of intelligent species spanning the galaxy, whose unifying factor is the Lyk, gigantic “living spaceships” who provide transportation for members of the Consensus.
The Earth is a largely ignored backwater which has not yet joined the Consensus. Nevertheless, the “bumbling idiot” Nigel Meridith had been trained as an agent at the same time as Asa and she’d been ordered to function as his tutor to ensure he’d make the grade. She’d even contemplated seducing him but nothing came of that. He does not appear in this volume. He is simply part of her cognitive background when contemplating all the mistakes she’s made in her life. It adds a touch of continuity for those who’ve already read the series.
At this stage in her career Asa is proud to be appointed the official Consensus liaison with the Bureau of Uncharted Civilizations and Cultures. To me that is an exciting concept. Every spacefaring species has got to have such, if they want to be seen as civilized. On the other hand, given the track record of the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs (now known as the Department of Indigenous Affairs), putting government bureaucracy in charge of first contacts and subsequent relations is not necessarily the perfect solution to all potential difficulties.
In this case, however, Asa Is responsible for providing security to a small group of archaeologists investigating a dead planet, and what a planet. Corzore, once habitable, is now scourged by intense radiation from its cobalt-blue sun. Underground is the only safe place to be. Whatever life once existed, only scattered microbes and radiation-resistant lichen remain.
Remarkably, the planet’s largest landmass is “ringed by half-mile high spires of smoky amethyst crystal,” an utterly unique phenomenon. Nobody knows if they are natural or artificial constructs. Equally mysterious, a complex maze of tunnels connects with the buried base of each spire. Natural lava tubes? Or dug by a long dead race? That is what the Consensus archaeologists, of several different species, are here to explore. So far, they haven’t found anything to clue them into the solution of the mystery.
Asa is bored. Nothing, apart from fatal radiation, easily defeated by proper precautions, threatens the scientists. The only excitement consists of petty arguments over which scientist’s theory is correct. Their theories are purely theoretical. They have no empirical evidence to base them on. Everybody is getting grouchy. Worse, ASA is not included in discussions. She is seen as a useless appendage forced on the expedition by bureaucratic ineptitude. Basically, she is shunned. Her resentment is building.
But, just when everybody is getting to the point of contemplating letting off steam by attempting to kill each other, somebody else beats them to it. Turns out they are not alone on the planet. The soldiers of “The Menace” are carrying out excavations of their own and, being sworn enemies of the Consensus, attack the archaeologists, kill a few just for fun, and carry off the rest for god knows what purpose. Asa is no longer bored. Now she has a mission. Namely, to rescue the Consensus citizens she was supposed to protect. This becomes her quest for the remainder of the book.
She acquires a helper, a somewhat (not entirely) resurrected native inhabitant dating from the era before the sun went rogue. Being, in essence, an immature child, and a totally alien child at that, meaningful communication is at a minimum. It is almost impossible for them to concoct a plan of action because they don’t understand each other even when they think they do. Still, each copes as best they can, and sometimes their actions inadvertently coincide in surprisingly useful ways. And sometimes not. It’s a struggle.
The main function of the alien is to convert Asa’s stream of consciousness internal monologue into dialogue. This avoids the spectre of Asa striking the reader as a nutbar constantly talking to herself. She does, in fact, do that to a certain extent, but the bulk of her “conversation” is aimed at the alien, who is largely oblivious. The reader is the actual target, thus remains well informed as to Asa’s emotional state and all the plans she keeps forming and then discarding, but at the same time accepts the premise that she’s a hero who will probably figure out the proper course to take if only she can gain control of the thoughts whirling through her brain. An interesting writing technique. It works well.
I’m guessing the entire series is YA in nature. Asa may be thirty years old, but, to my mind at least, she’s as immature and as unsure of herself as the stereotypical teenager is wont to be in fiction. She dreams up solutions and shoots them down with premonitions of failure. She tries to calculate the odds of a given course of action and can’t. She makes frequent mistakes and is hypersensitive about it to the point of constantly berating herself. Her worst trait is probably her habit of attributing motivations and emotional reactions to her friends and enemies which appear to have no basis and are entirely the product of her imposter syndrome imagination. This hinders her decision making . Yet somehow, she struggles through, occasionally succeeding if only by accident.
The intense solar radiation plays havoc with sophisticated technology, so by and large everybody gets along with simple mechanisms and hand-crafted devices from bygone eras. As a result, there’s plenty of room for skulking about and resorting to fisticuffs in an old-fashioned manner which emphasises individual courage and sneaking skills. True, Asa has the advantage of living body armour which she can mentally mold into maces on her fists and other handy weapons, but the suit has its limitations and she’s getting more and more bruised and worn out after each encounter with the enemy. Consequently, it’s a race against time to rescue “her” scientists and even if she succeeds, how is she going to keep them safe long enough to figure out a way to get them off planet? The more she thinks ahead, the worse her prospects appear. As a result, she focuses on the immediate task at hand and hopes the future will take care of itself.
The rescue mission does not play out in a linear fashion. Unexpected events, encounters and absurdities keep throwing her off track and flinging her in new directions. Every plan she comes up with is rendered obsolete or irrelevant often within hours. Fair to say she’s not getting enough sleep.
The book has some grand concepts in terms of setting and nifty futuristic technology, but the real strength of the book is the complexity of Asa’s character and the even greater complexity of her constant attempts to get a grip on herself. Any ordinary fool like me can rise above one’s inability to deal with mundane reality and fantasize about dealing with science fictional threats with great aplomb and superb skills, but the truth is that is not what would happen. Without a doubt, in actuality I’d bumble about totally out of my depth, stumbling from one near disaster to the next, with only blind luck and inadvertent moments of common sense seeing me through.
In other words, with all her second guessing and rampant doubts Asa is a far more realistic hero than the usual type portrayed in space operas like this one. Let the villains have egomaniacal confidence. Real heroes don’t know what the hell they’re doing. They just remember their training, give it their best shot, and hope for the best. This is what Asa does. I had no trouble identifying with her and gleefully tagging along for the sheer fun of the ride.
CONCLUSION:
Basically, an old-fashioned space opera with just a hint of hard science, GHOSTS OF COLOSSUS entertains and amuses as it speeds along at a merry pace. Part of the fun is waiting for what happens next. The majority of the fun is seeing Asa blindsided by events and browbeating herself into defeating, surmounting, or at least avoiding each and every obstacle as they appear, all the while dreading the unseen hazards awaiting her the further she progresses.
For all her doubts and over-active imagination, Asa has one supreme virtue. She’s stubborn. She never gives up. Come to think of it, that makes her a superb role model for young readers. That’s the icing on the cake for this YA novel.
Find it at: < Ghosts of Colossus >
